WEBVTT - The Last Decrypted

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, Brad, Welcome to the show. Thanks Hockey for more

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<v Speaker 1>recent subscribers to the show. Red Stone, tell us who

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<v Speaker 1>you are. Well, I'm a I guess I'm a former

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<v Speaker 1>Decrypted host, helped run the Bloomberg technology team, and I'm

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<v Speaker 1>a fan of the show. You and I were the

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<v Speaker 1>original co host of Decrypted, UM, and you took a

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<v Speaker 1>break from hosting this last season, and I invited you

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<v Speaker 1>back because we have an announcement we do. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>want to do the honors? Sure? So this is a

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<v Speaker 1>very special episode of Decrypted. It's actually our last episode

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<v Speaker 1>after what has been three or four years, I think

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<v Speaker 1>three years and three months and over episodes, which qualifies

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<v Speaker 1>us for syndication. I believe that one of the old

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<v Speaker 1>uh F channels, if they still do that anymore. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>But this is our last episode of Decrypted to make

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<v Speaker 1>way for something new and exciting. Yeah, that's right. So

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<v Speaker 1>after three amazing years, we're gonna be winding down the

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<v Speaker 1>show to make room for a new show UM led

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<v Speaker 1>by our executive producer Sean Wyn and I think we'll

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<v Speaker 1>be announcing more details on that show next spring. And

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<v Speaker 1>our listeners should say subscribed to this feed to get updates. Absolutely.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, we have gotten so much positive feedback from

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<v Speaker 1>our listeners over the years where we just have so

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<v Speaker 1>much gratitude how they have stayed with us in these

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<v Speaker 1>turbulent times for technology, and there is exciting stuff ahead. Yeah, definitely, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I just want to say thank you. You know, it's

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<v Speaker 1>been um, such an amazing three years. I've loved going

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<v Speaker 1>to conferences and just meeting new friends and then being like, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I listened to the grypt did when I

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<v Speaker 1>think back to and those first episodes we did. The

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<v Speaker 1>first episode was about fab dot com. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>kind of dot com disaster story, but it felt like

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<v Speaker 1>an outlier then. And you can really chart the evolution

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<v Speaker 1>of the show and see really the evolution of the

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<v Speaker 1>industry and how how bad things have gotten for tech,

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<v Speaker 1>how public perception and media perception has changed, right, And

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<v Speaker 1>we've covered all those stories over the years. You just

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<v Speaker 1>I've been looking back at our back catalog and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>so many of the episodes we've covered have been about

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<v Speaker 1>that shift in perception on the industry. So if we

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<v Speaker 1>go back and look at or listen to some of

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<v Speaker 1>those early episodes, uh, do they hold up hockey? I

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<v Speaker 1>think I've a little I think it a little too

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<v Speaker 1>scared to listen to those first few ones. I feel

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<v Speaker 1>like we were learning. We were That's a very gentle

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<v Speaker 1>way to put it. Um. But yeah, I mean I've

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<v Speaker 1>I've loved all the episodes that we've done, all the

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<v Speaker 1>stories we've done. I've learned so much through the process.

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<v Speaker 1>And yeah, it is with a little bit of a

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<v Speaker 1>bitter sweetness that we say goodbye to our listeners. So

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<v Speaker 1>when long running sitcoms wrapped up, they often did the

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<v Speaker 1>greatest hits episode and they revisited some of the earlier episodes.

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<v Speaker 1>Should we do that now? Yeah? I think so. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>do it. Okay, So let me play you a clip

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<v Speaker 1>from a relatively recent episode and see if you remember it.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a kind of an intensity that comes along with it.

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<v Speaker 1>You feel kind of a little more alert, a little stronger,

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<v Speaker 1>a little more in the present. Uh. And there's also

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit of a buzz that can be too much.

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<v Speaker 1>Kind of sounds like you're explaining in adrenaline rational most

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<v Speaker 1>it's very much like that sticey smiling bread. Yes. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>first of all, the giveaway is that very distinct Australian

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<v Speaker 1>accent or sorry New Zealand accent from the one and

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<v Speaker 1>only Olivia Carville. And this is the amazing episode about

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<v Speaker 1>the plasma injection startup, right, the company that was trying

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<v Speaker 1>to make people feel younger. That's right. Um. So when

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<v Speaker 1>we ran this episode, the FDA had just sent out

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<v Speaker 1>a statement telling consumers that transfusions of blood from younger

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<v Speaker 1>people is not proven to make you healthier, and even

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<v Speaker 1>noted that it could be dangerous. And so Ambrosia, the

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<v Speaker 1>blood transfusion startup, had closed. But have you followed the

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<v Speaker 1>story over the last few months. I have not, but

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<v Speaker 1>I have to say, from Olivia Kerville's amazing work on

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<v Speaker 1>the article and on the podcast, that company, I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna guess it was not going anywhere so amazingly publicly.

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<v Speaker 1>A publication called one zero reported last month that Ambrosia

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<v Speaker 1>resumed their blood transfusion service despite the letter or the

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<v Speaker 1>statement from the f D. A. So the blood is

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<v Speaker 1>coming from Donor's sixteen. They're charging eight thousand dollars for

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<v Speaker 1>one leader transfusions and twelve thousand dollars for two leader transfusions.

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<v Speaker 1>If you could excuse me for a second, I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>go sign up right now. A few thousand dollars rolling around,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know the end of the year is making

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<v Speaker 1>you feel a little old, all right. A reporter who

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<v Speaker 1>worked on the original episode, Olivia Carvil, emailed the company

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<v Speaker 1>for comment. The CEO, Jesse Karmazine, I think that's how

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<v Speaker 1>you pronounce his name, who's still running The company confirmed

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<v Speaker 1>that Ambrosia this is the blood transfusion startup, is in

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<v Speaker 1>fact up and running again. He wrote, quote, I've consulted

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<v Speaker 1>with a number of lawyers who are experts and f

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<v Speaker 1>D regulations and feel confident I have a legal right

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<v Speaker 1>to continue offering this treatment. Please note the announcement did

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<v Speaker 1>not mention ambrosia, and furthermore, it contains no requirements on companies.

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<v Speaker 1>I should just say here, Bloomberg and Bloomberg decrypted bloomber

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<v Speaker 1>tect does not condone or doors the use of plasma injections. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so let's move on to the next one. We know

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<v Speaker 1>that the title has to be tilted. We know that

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<v Speaker 1>we have to exclude the facts because if we say

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<v Speaker 1>anything good about the opponent, then people are like, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>you're liberals, your closet liberals. So there is no room

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<v Speaker 1>to be objective, there is no room to deliver quality.

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<v Speaker 1>The market has always responded, Now give me garbage, give

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<v Speaker 1>me outrage, give me you know, a click fait. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you recognize that brand? That's our freak News episode. That's right, Yes, sir,

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<v Speaker 1>that's right. Um. So Sarah and I went to go

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<v Speaker 1>meet this young in net news entrepreneur named Cyrus Musumi

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<v Speaker 1>who built this huge business around hyperpartisan, misleading content off

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<v Speaker 1>of Facebook. And Facebook crackdown on sites like his right

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<v Speaker 1>after the elections. And I keep coming back to this

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<v Speaker 1>episode because it turned out to be just phase one

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<v Speaker 1>of Facebook's battle to clean itself up. Facebook has gone

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<v Speaker 1>so much further now, um, and I mean, looking at

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook today, it feels like a totally new sight to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Something tells me, though, that our fake news purveyors doing

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<v Speaker 1>just fine. So I reached out to Cyrus the other

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<v Speaker 1>day to see how he's doing. Um. If you remember

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<v Speaker 1>when we ran our episode, he had already shut down

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<v Speaker 1>his hyperpartisan conservative website Mr conservative dot com, but kept

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<v Speaker 1>the site's Facebook page up and running and shifted his

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<v Speaker 1>focus to this hyperpartisan liberal site called truth Examiner. So

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<v Speaker 1>the update is, last year, Facebook deleted the Facebook pages

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<v Speaker 1>of Mr Conservative and truth Examine are as part of

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<v Speaker 1>a purge of site he owns um and a Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>spooks person told BuzzFeed that Facebook deleted the pages because

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<v Speaker 1>their administrators were using fake accounts and violating Facebook span policies.

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<v Speaker 1>I wrote to Cyrus a few days ago and he

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<v Speaker 1>told me, quote, Facebook destroyed five million dollars of my

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<v Speaker 1>assets and fictitiously claimed I was a robot. But he

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<v Speaker 1>also said he's figured out a way to quote ghost in.

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<v Speaker 1>Those were his words and quote, I will be participating

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<v Speaker 1>in the next election. I wish them the best of

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<v Speaker 1>luck in hunting me. Why do I feel like it

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<v Speaker 1>about two decades we're going to see Cyrus as like

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<v Speaker 1>the chairman of a campaign. So yeah, I mean, I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's just further proof that Facebook is continuing to

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<v Speaker 1>crack down on all this toxic content that we've all

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<v Speaker 1>become so disgusted with, although of course Cyrus determines to

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<v Speaker 1>keep testing. Are just not going to give up, right, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so let's move on. In the next episode, I sat

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<v Speaker 1>there paying with your kids, and every day I want

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<v Speaker 1>to get to church, and uh, you know, I started

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<v Speaker 1>seeing conn Edison trucks parked out from in front of

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<v Speaker 1>my building, people hiding in vans with paperwork peeking at me.

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<v Speaker 1>This is about we don't know what Pool is doing,

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<v Speaker 1>but you know something's not right, but nobody could tell

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<v Speaker 1>me specifically what it was. These little girls, I cannot

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<v Speaker 1>allow them to go on to force to care. He said, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>well you're maasing these crimes. We have to charge you

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<v Speaker 1>with these climes. Ah. So have you heard that I

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<v Speaker 1>was a gaunter. I was dead, you know, I was done.

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<v Speaker 1>Surrid to see you nodding, Hockey. I believe that is

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<v Speaker 1>your very special friend, Sabu. Yeah, that's right. So this

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<v Speaker 1>is the episode about the former anonymous hacker Hector Monsiger,

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<v Speaker 1>about how he stumbled into this world of hacking as

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<v Speaker 1>a kid, how he ended up leading these very high

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<v Speaker 1>profile attacks, then got caught in secretly cooperated with FBI,

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<v Speaker 1>and how he was now trying to rebuild his life

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<v Speaker 1>after all that. I remember he had started a cybersecurity

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<v Speaker 1>business and was consulting. How how's he doing that? So

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<v Speaker 1>he was um he started working for a cybersecurity consultancy

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<v Speaker 1>UM back then the founder of that company was the

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<v Speaker 1>only person who would give him a chance because he

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<v Speaker 1>was a convicted felon. So I caught up with him

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<v Speaker 1>just this morning. We spoke for about half an hour.

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<v Speaker 1>He left that consultancy just another month, and now he's

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<v Speaker 1>kind of at a crossroads. You know, he's trying to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out if he wants to strike out on his

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<v Speaker 1>own and start, um, just go the consultant route, or

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<v Speaker 1>if he wants to work for a different company. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, he's built up so much more experience, so

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<v Speaker 1>as a result, he's had a ton of offers, um,

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<v Speaker 1>and he just kind of needs to decide what he

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<v Speaker 1>wants to do next. Maybe he can go and find

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<v Speaker 1>the d n C servers in Ukraine that Donald Trump

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<v Speaker 1>has been so interestingly, he's also kind of built out

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<v Speaker 1>this like career as a speaker. Um. He's given twenty

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<v Speaker 1>plus speeches this year, um to talk about his life

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<v Speaker 1>and the lessons he learned having gone through everything. Was

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<v Speaker 1>that our only two part episode? That's right? Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it was probably the most ambitious story that we've tackled.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have not listened to that two part episode,

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<v Speaker 1>you should go back. It's a great one. Please do. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>let's go into the next one. We are tired, We

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<v Speaker 1>are really tired because it's a sixteen months that we

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<v Speaker 1>fight every day to found the two to try to

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<v Speaker 1>to understand what he's happened there. We tried to involve

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<v Speaker 1>all journalists in Italy, but the nine people sent of

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<v Speaker 1>the media and the journalists in Italy they don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about this story so familiar. Okay, I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>have to confess it doesn't. But I was cheating. I

0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:01.960
<v Speaker 1>had to do some some fast googling, and um, that

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<v Speaker 1>is the excellent story and podcast that are cybersecurity reporter

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<v Speaker 1>Jordan Robertson did about the African country of Mauritania. That's right. Um,

0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.440
<v Speaker 1>so it was based on this wild story he tracked

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<v Speaker 1>down and involved this shady cyber weapons dealer from India

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<v Speaker 1>who promised to sell the government of Mauritania software to

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<v Speaker 1>spy on his own citizens. Right, so sort of the

0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:27.319
<v Speaker 1>seed the underbelly of the cyber security world. And now

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<v Speaker 1>remind me because there was a very sympathetic character, a

0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:34.040
<v Speaker 1>bodyguard I think, who went there and was imprisoned. Right. So,

0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:38.480
<v Speaker 1>this shady cyber weapons dealer from India was supposed to

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<v Speaker 1>meet with Mauritanian officials and ahead of that meeting. Had

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<v Speaker 1>hired this bodyguard from Italy to go ahead and set

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<v Speaker 1>up that meeting. The cyber weapons dealer ended up never

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<v Speaker 1>showing up, but the bodyguard went right, That's what happened.

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<v Speaker 1>He was already there, UM, And because the cyber weapons

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<v Speaker 1>dealer never showed up, the Mauritanian government took him held

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<v Speaker 1>in hostage in a prison for more than a year.

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<v Speaker 1>His name was Christian Provision. So about half a year

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<v Speaker 1>after we ran our story, UM, Mauritania finally released Christian

0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.040
<v Speaker 1>the bodyguard. UM and Jordan and I got to talk

0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:21.240
<v Speaker 1>to Christian over the phone, and we ran in a

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<v Speaker 1>bridge version of that interview on our show. But it

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<v Speaker 1>was really hard to edit it, you know, because it

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<v Speaker 1>was clear from the conversation that he's still so traumatized

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<v Speaker 1>by what he went through, and he was really struggling

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<v Speaker 1>to form even just basic sentences and stay on topic.

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<v Speaker 1>So how's he doing now? So I asked Jordan to

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<v Speaker 1>reach out to Christian's brother, Maurzio. That's the guy you

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<v Speaker 1>heard from UM in that clip that we just played,

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<v Speaker 1>And unfortunately it sounds like Christian isn't doing very well.

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<v Speaker 1>He tried to see the man who sent him to

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<v Speaker 1>Mauritania and Italy's courts, but that went nowhere. He's no

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<v Speaker 1>longer together with his girlfriend, who can paigned for him

0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:59.080
<v Speaker 1>to be released. He lives with his parents, and his

0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:03.080
<v Speaker 1>mother still has trouble sleeping after all these years. So

0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.960
<v Speaker 1>let me read you what Christian's brother more reads your

0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:10.440
<v Speaker 1>wrote to Jordan's I told him to forget the story.

0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.400
<v Speaker 1>We live in Italy and there is no justice for

0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.320
<v Speaker 1>people like us. But I can understand how my brother

0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:19.120
<v Speaker 1>feels inside his heart. I believe in God, and I'm

0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:22.319
<v Speaker 1>sure these people cannot escape him. Maybe they can escape

0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:43.480
<v Speaker 1>Italian justice, but not him. Wow, we'll be right back, Okay,

0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:45.839
<v Speaker 1>so let's move on to the next clip. So his

0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:50.880
<v Speaker 1>first question, UM was he said, UM, so we've noticed

0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:54.200
<v Speaker 1>that you've been doing some government related searches. And I

0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:56.400
<v Speaker 1>didn't say anything to that. And then he said did

0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:59.640
<v Speaker 1>anybody tell you to do that? And I said, I'm

0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:02.280
<v Speaker 1>not going to answer that question. And then he said,

0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:08.040
<v Speaker 1>well you're terminated effective immediately. Um and then long awkward pause,

0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:10.960
<v Speaker 1>and then he said do you have anything to say?

0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:13.400
<v Speaker 1>And I said, um, I have some personal litems. My

0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:17.360
<v Speaker 1>desk ashould grab and then he has card to get

0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.160
<v Speaker 1>that stuff and then out of the building. How did

0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:22.320
<v Speaker 1>you feel after that? Were you said? Did you cry?

0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:25.720
<v Speaker 1>Were you angry? I was? I was angry, like my

0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:30.360
<v Speaker 1>my heart was pounding. Um, mainly angry. Where were you angry?

0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:33.520
<v Speaker 1>That was unfair? Like you can't terminate? What's a blower

0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.320
<v Speaker 1>like that? I see no adding bread? Right? A couple

0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:40.240
<v Speaker 1>of clues here. First, the malifluous voice of our long

0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.640
<v Speaker 1>lost friend Adam Sicariano, who is now a reporter at

0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:46.680
<v Speaker 1>the New York Times. And the whistle blower. This is

0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:50.280
<v Speaker 1>Rothenberg Ventures, the guy who blew the whistle on what

0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:53.600
<v Speaker 1>was a sort of ongoing and profitably get party at

0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:56.840
<v Speaker 1>a high profile venture capital firm. Right. Um, so the

0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:00.720
<v Speaker 1>clip you just heard that is Francisco Reordan. He worked

0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:03.800
<v Speaker 1>for Rothenburg Ventures, that capital venture capital firm you just

0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:07.120
<v Speaker 1>talked about. While he was there, he found some improprieties

0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:10.400
<v Speaker 1>that he ended up reporting secretly to the SEC and

0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.800
<v Speaker 1>he spoke publicly about that for the very first time

0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:16.000
<v Speaker 1>on our show. And then things didn't go that well.

0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:18.520
<v Speaker 1>If I heard a call for Rothenburg Ventures, that's right.

0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:21.840
<v Speaker 1>So when our story ran in twenty seventeen, the SEC's

0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:25.720
<v Speaker 1>investigation was still ongoing, but in August last year, the

0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:30.600
<v Speaker 1>SEC formally charged Mike Rothenburg with misappropriating seven million dollars

0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:35.000
<v Speaker 1>that his firm raised from investors, and then the SEC

0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:39.080
<v Speaker 1>and Rothenberg reached a settlement that involved Rothenburg stepping away

0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:41.880
<v Speaker 1>from his firm UH and being banned from the investment

0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:47.120
<v Speaker 1>advisory business, but they hadn't decided on a financial penalty

0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:49.280
<v Speaker 1>yet with the settlement, and over the summer, after a

0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:53.760
<v Speaker 1>deeper audit, the SEC came back and claimed that Rothenberg

0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:57.800
<v Speaker 1>misappropriated a lot more money than was initially thought, more

0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.720
<v Speaker 1>than eighteen million dollars, including three million dollars of which

0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:07.240
<v Speaker 1>Mike Rothenberg allegedly transferred to himself and with interest in

0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.480
<v Speaker 1>also civil penalties that SEC is demanding Rothenberg pay a

0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:14.840
<v Speaker 1>total of about thirty million and penalties, and Rothenberg is

0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:18.000
<v Speaker 1>now fighting that. So the case has continued. You know,

0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:20.240
<v Speaker 1>I was on the phone with Francisco the other day

0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:22.720
<v Speaker 1>and he said he was a little stressed and frustrated

0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:26.280
<v Speaker 1>that the case is still ongoing after all these years. Um,

0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:28.880
<v Speaker 1>he's still waiting for that sense of closure. But if

0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:32.120
<v Speaker 1>you remember when we ran our original episode. Francisco worried

0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:34.720
<v Speaker 1>that coming out to the world as a whistleblower would

0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:38.680
<v Speaker 1>just brand him as the big troublemaker, right and scare

0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:41.800
<v Speaker 1>potential employers away. Um. When I talked to him the

0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:45.320
<v Speaker 1>other day, he said, that hasn't really transpired in reality. Um,

0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.080
<v Speaker 1>he stayed in the tech industry. He's working for a

0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:52.000
<v Speaker 1>new company as a web developer, and he's doing really well.

0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:54.440
<v Speaker 1>Good for him. Okay, let's go onto the next one.

0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:07.280
<v Speaker 1>You're doing great. Zone four. I can see the red

0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:27.080
<v Speaker 1>that's from d This is the hardestful way to go nice,

0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:31.520
<v Speaker 1>is he smiling? Yeah? I had hoped to never listen

0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:35.080
<v Speaker 1>to that again. Okay, so this is going to take

0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:39.320
<v Speaker 1>some explanation. But somehow, several years ago, you got really

0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:42.280
<v Speaker 1>into fitness trackers and fitness gatchets. You decided you were

0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:44.800
<v Speaker 1>going to rank them all, and then you had somehow

0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:48.040
<v Speaker 1>convinced me to strap a was a move it or

0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:52.159
<v Speaker 1>move I haven't used it since. And we that was

0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:55.280
<v Speaker 1>a workout session where animals had a heart attack. Well,

0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:56.720
<v Speaker 1>I tried to remember. I tried to get you to

0:17:56.760 --> 0:18:00.760
<v Speaker 1>do it in a conference room downstairs, went to the

0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:03.879
<v Speaker 1>gym and it's funny because that thing is still in

0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:07.080
<v Speaker 1>my bag. I've never I haven't in my gym bag,

0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:08.920
<v Speaker 1>and I haven't used it since. It's funny. Yeah, I

0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:11.159
<v Speaker 1>remember you asking me for a link for it and

0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:13.520
<v Speaker 1>like buying it in front of me. I'm disappointed though,

0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:15.800
<v Speaker 1>that you didn't use it, never used it. So I

0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:19.080
<v Speaker 1>bought my own two after that story, and I continued

0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:22.400
<v Speaker 1>using it. Um. I just used it the other day. UM.

0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:25.240
<v Speaker 1>It's been pretty great now. As I recall, in addition

0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:29.160
<v Speaker 1>to reviewing all these fitness gadgets, you also to sort

0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:31.800
<v Speaker 1>of find a control group. You you hired an actual

0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:34.879
<v Speaker 1>human personal trainer, right, that's right. So they do was

0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:39.879
<v Speaker 1>to compare these gadgets to having a human personal trainer

0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.640
<v Speaker 1>and see which one was better. Whatever happened to her,

0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:45.800
<v Speaker 1>So she's still around. UM, I talked to her the

0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:48.119
<v Speaker 1>other day. She's doing really well. At the time of

0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:51.760
<v Speaker 1>our story, she was transitioning to launch her own company

0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:56.280
<v Speaker 1>running outdoor fitness classes called Public Recreation. They've now raised

0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:59.000
<v Speaker 1>one point three million dollars in seed funding and they're

0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:01.639
<v Speaker 1>about to roll out a new app. So now, several

0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:05.160
<v Speaker 1>years later, what's your verdict, person or gadget I still

0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:08.160
<v Speaker 1>think it's person Actually, um, you know, I would never

0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:10.400
<v Speaker 1>be able to afford a trainer like her. I mean

0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:12.480
<v Speaker 1>she at the time she charged more than a hundred

0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:16.879
<v Speaker 1>dollars per hour. But uh yeah, like you, like we

0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:20.720
<v Speaker 1>talked about in the episode, the robotrainer just doesn't quite

0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:23.080
<v Speaker 1>motivate you in the way that a real human can.

0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:26.120
<v Speaker 1>Are you a fan of peloton I actually am. Yeah,

0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:29.679
<v Speaker 1>we had one in um our old apartment. UM. I

0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:32.080
<v Speaker 1>got really into it. I think the classes are pretty great,

0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:35.400
<v Speaker 1>but once again, probably too expensive for me to pay

0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:41.600
<v Speaker 1>for on my own. So, Brad, there's so many more

0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:45.200
<v Speaker 1>episodes that we could go through, but that would take forever. Um.

0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:47.760
<v Speaker 1>And we're gonna be posting links to the episodes we

0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:50.240
<v Speaker 1>just talked about in our show notes. I want to

0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:53.199
<v Speaker 1>zoom out a little bit and speak a little bit

0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:56.159
<v Speaker 1>more broadly about this moment that we're in in the

0:19:56.280 --> 0:19:59.359
<v Speaker 1>history of the tech industry. I'm still relatively new to

0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:03.200
<v Speaker 1>tech cover, but you've been covering text since then nineties, right,

0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:06.800
<v Speaker 1>that's right, Thank you, ACKI get any of their Um. Yeah,

0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:09.639
<v Speaker 1>and I've seen a number of media cycles, um. And

0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:12.400
<v Speaker 1>during the ninety nineties, you know, there was a lot

0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:16.600
<v Speaker 1>of hagiographic coverage. People were very enthusiastic of the tech

0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:19.560
<v Speaker 1>companies whose fortunes seemed to be soaring right along with

0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:22.400
<v Speaker 1>their stock prices. And then things got tempered a little

0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:24.240
<v Speaker 1>bit during the dot com bust and it seemed like

0:20:24.280 --> 0:20:28.320
<v Speaker 1>things were falling apart um and the coverage turn negative.

0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:31.960
<v Speaker 1>And then slowly but surely things that became more upbeat

0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:34.000
<v Speaker 1>with the I p o s of Google and Facebook,

0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:39.080
<v Speaker 1>and and then these incredible startups like uber um, you know, lift,

0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:44.560
<v Speaker 1>Airbnb um now more recently with we work in jewel Um,

0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:48.120
<v Speaker 1>the election in two sixteen, introducing concepts like fake news

0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:52.159
<v Speaker 1>into the ecosystem, you know, skepticism, hard scrutiny is really returned,

0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:55.320
<v Speaker 1>I'd say more so than the dot com bust. So

0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:58.560
<v Speaker 1>it really does feel like a different moment now compared

0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:00.440
<v Speaker 1>to three and a half years ago when we first

0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:03.080
<v Speaker 1>launched this show. Certainly, I mean, I think tech now

0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:06.960
<v Speaker 1>is almost equated with you know, fairly or not. Industry

0:21:07.000 --> 0:21:10.840
<v Speaker 1>is like tobacco or petroleum, you know, or maybe financial services.

0:21:10.920 --> 0:21:14.040
<v Speaker 1>These are the status quo establishments that kind of govern

0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:17.040
<v Speaker 1>our lives. And I think the media now probably quite

0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:20.040
<v Speaker 1>rightfully is bringing some very tough scrutiny to bear. Yeah,

0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:22.080
<v Speaker 1>it's been a really fun time and really great time

0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:25.040
<v Speaker 1>to be a technology journalist. And it's been it's it's

0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:27.800
<v Speaker 1>all coincided with the rise of podcasts, which is it's

0:21:27.840 --> 0:21:31.359
<v Speaker 1>made it so fascinating to just explore this new medium.

0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:34.040
<v Speaker 1>It's actually one of the reasons why we're retiring Decrypted.

0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:37.199
<v Speaker 1>We're not giving up podcasting. We've decided next year to

0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:39.399
<v Speaker 1>just go a little bit deeper into a couple of

0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:42.800
<v Speaker 1>stories that we're passionate about. So we'll be announcing more

0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:45.240
<v Speaker 1>details on that next spring. Yes, and I can't wait

0:21:45.280 --> 0:21:52.040
<v Speaker 1>to get started. Well, for everyone who listened to the

0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:55.480
<v Speaker 1>very end, thank you so much once again for listening

0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:58.359
<v Speaker 1>to the show all these years, and please stay subscribed

0:21:58.400 --> 0:22:00.640
<v Speaker 1>to this feed because we'll be announcing the team's new

0:22:00.760 --> 0:22:03.480
<v Speaker 1>show here next year. You can continue to reach out

0:22:03.520 --> 0:22:07.960
<v Speaker 1>to me on Twitter at Akito seven. Brad You're at Bradstone,

0:22:08.000 --> 0:22:12.679
<v Speaker 1>Is that right? Derpted's executive producer is Sean When this

0:22:12.840 --> 0:22:15.920
<v Speaker 1>very last episode was mixed by Ethan Brooks. Francesca Levie

0:22:16.040 --> 0:22:19.000
<v Speaker 1>is the head of Bloomberg Podcasts. Have a great holiday

0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:20.720
<v Speaker 1>and you'll be hearing from US next year,