ACCESS

Alex and Ellis talk about the strange gadgets, taglines, and smells at CES in Las Vegas. Then they’re joined by Meta’s head of wearables, Alex Himel, to talk about the rise of smart glasses, what the company has learned from the recent release of the Meta Ray-Ban Displays, AI rings, meat slicers, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ellis and Alex recap their holidays and the nerdy gifts their wives gave them. They go through their ChatGPT year-in-review, discuss the significance of Nvidia's reverse acquisition of Groq for $20 billion on Christmas Eve, and reminisce about CES in Las Vegas. Then, they recap the first four months of ACCESS guests, including the most viral moments from conversations with Mark Zuckerberg, Eugenia Kuyda, Dylan Field, and more. Follow Alex: ⁠⁠⁠https://sources.news/⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/alexeheath/⁠⁠⁠ Follow Ellis: ⁠⁠⁠https://meaning.company/⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/hamburger⁠⁠⁠ ACCESS is produced in partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Alex and Ellis talk about the rise of storytelling in tech and why X is now openly pleading for its haters to come back. Then they sit down with Tarek Mansour, co-founder and CEO of Kalshi, to discuss insider trading, his rivalry with Polymarket, regulatory chaos, sports betting, and why prediction markets are having a real moment. Follow Alex: ⁠⁠https://sources.news/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://x.com/alexeheath/⁠⁠ Follow Ellis: ⁠⁠https://meaning.company/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://x.com/hamburger⁠⁠ ACCESS is produced in partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Ellis and Alex go behind OpenAI's "Code Red," discuss why Netflix says it wants Warner Bros. because of YouTube, and analyze why algorithms are becoming more customizable. Then, they sit down with guest Maxime Germain, founder and CEO of Beside: an AI receptionist answering millions of calls for everyone from priests to winery owners. Follow Alex: ⁠https://sources.news/⁠ ⁠https://x.com/alexeheath/⁠ Follow Ellis: ⁠https://meaning.company/⁠ ⁠https://x.com/hamburger⁠ ACCESS is produced in partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ellis, Alex, and Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki dive straight into the child-safety discussion, why Roblox is rolling out facial age checks, and whether the entire internet is headed toward age-gating. They unpack the Hard Fork controversy, how Roblox thinks about user safety, and how AI will shape moderation, online communities, and the future of communication. What we cover - Facial age checks to access chat and age-based communication controls. - Hard trade-offs in moderation at scale, from Snap lessons to Roblox today. - How Dave is thinking about AI and its impact on Roblox. Follow ACCESS Instagram: http://instagram.com/accesspodcast TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@accesspod Follow Alex: https://sources.news/ https://x.com/alexeheath/ Follow Ellis: https://meaning.company/ https://x.com/hamburger ACCESS is produced in partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices