Sometimes it seems like there’s nothing that tech companies won’t try to disrupt. The new novel “Mother of Invention” by Caeli Wolfson Widger takes that idea all the way to the womb. The book tells the story of a biotech startup that shortens pregnancy to just nine weeks … and questions whether that’s actually a good idea. Wolfson Widger talks with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about how observations from her tech recruiting firm inspired the book. (06/04/2018)

Venmo has been a major player in the peer-to-peer payment scene the past few years. If you’re not familiar with the PayPal-owned app, one popular feature is its public news feed. That’s where people post their payments, often with emoji to describe them. But as it gets more popular, some are wondering if it’s secure or private enough. In fact, PayPal recently settled a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over Venmo about privacy and security. Alison Griswold has covered Venmo at Slate and now at Quartz. She spoke with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about the app. (06/01/2018)

Bitcoin’s wildly fluctuating price may not be the result of free market forces. The Department of Justice has reportedly opened an investigation into whether traders are manipulating the price of bitcoin and other digital currencies. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Peter Tchir, a market strategist at the investment bank Academy Securities about digital currency price manipulation his article on the topic for Forbes. (05/31/2018)  

Intel Capital is the venture capital arm of the chip giant Intel. It’s invested over $12 billion since it was started in 1991. Lately, it’s focused on big data, artificial intelligence, robotics and diversity. In 2015, it announced the $125 million Intel Capital Diversity Fund, which is to be invested in female and minority startup founders. Two and a half years later, after they’d invested all that money, the Diversity Fund became the Diversity Initiative with a broader definition of diversity. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Christine Herron, one of the leaders of the fund, about its evolution. (05/30/2018)         

There’s a lot of focus right now on the tech industry and its big personalities, as well as what they’re doing to help (or possibly hurt) society. However, one tech founder is trying to be a smaller personality while still leaving a big footprint on issues like education, support for military families, equality in tech and journalism. Craig Newmark founded Craigslist, Inc. in 1995 and the site basically looks the same now as it did then. Though it still bears his name, Newmark isn’t involved in the day-to-day at Craigslist. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Newmark about why he’s chosen philanthropy over being an entrepreneur in an effort to effect change. (05/29/2018)

John Doerr is a legend in Silicon Valley and the venture capital world. He’s the chairman of the VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, at which he has funded companies like Google, Amazon and Netscape. Doerr has also mentored many of their founders and sits on the boards of Google, Zynga and One.org — Bono’s nonprofit campaign to fight global poverty. But in his new book “Measure What Matters,” Doerr doesn’t dish on the history of the Valley or gossip about U2’s front man. Instead he talks about why setting objectives and measuring results is key to building a successful business. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Doerr about why the idea of setting goals and sticking to them is so controversial for some companies. (05/28/2018)

Tech founders and CEOs often become household names. Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs are just a few examples. So is Elon Musk, who cut off an analyst for asking boring supply chain questions in a recent earnings call. This week, Musk attacked the media overall after news reports about problems with Tesla production, factory injuries and crashes related to its Autopilot technology. Some analysts said investors should be worried about Musk’s behavior and its impact on the company. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Paul Kedrosky of SK Ventures about how the founder’s role has changed since the first dot-com boom. (5/25/2018)    

This week, Amazon is facing backlash for selling facial recognition tools to police. The American Civil Liberties Union says the company was powering a government surveillance infrastructure. Amazon says its services can be used for anything from finding lost children to spotting celebrities at the royal wedding to tracking down criminals. Facial recognition is an increasingly powerful tool that’s raising a lot of privacy concerns. And not every company thinks these tools should be sold to every buyer. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke to Brian Brackeen, CEO of the facial recognition software company Kairos, about why his company’s code of ethics prohibits selling services to governments. (05/24/2018)

This week Microsoft bought a company called Semantic Machines which works on something called “conversational AI” – that means computers that sound and respond like humans. Mostly it’s for digital assistants like Microsoft’s Cortana, Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa or Bixby on Samsung. Last month Google showed off its own smart assistant called Duplex, which can call a hair salon to make an appointment on your behalf, or a restaurant to make a reservation. But it’s clear from what Google showed off that the people on the other end of these calls don’t know they’re talking to a computer — leading some to ask what the rights of the human on the other end of line are. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Jacob Metcalf of the Data & Society Research Institute about the business case for making computers sound so real. (05/23/2018)