Later this month, Amazon shareholders will vote on whether the company should implement the Rooney Rule when appointing new members to its board of directors. The Rooney Rule stems from an NFL policy that requires at least one minority candidate be interviewed for certain management positions. However, Amazon’s current board of directors is recommending that shareholders vote against the proposal, saying it wouldn’t be an effective use of resources. Marketplace’s Molly Wood talks about how to build a diverse company with Nicole Kyner, head of search for theBoardlist, a curated marketplace that aims to put more women on boards.

Cryptocurrency may have its disruptive eye cast toward venture capital. The initial coin offering is a type of crypto-crowdfunding that startups can use to raise cash quickly without kissing the Silicon Valley ring. But do ICOs really have the potential to replace venture capital for startups? Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Yuliya Chernova, who covers venture capital for the Wall Street Journal, about the pros and cons of ICOs. 

The online video company Vimeo is switching gears, moving from being a place to watch videos … to being a place that helps people create videos. The company’s new CEO, Anjali Sud, was the person behind the pivot. She speaks with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about Vimeo’s change in focus.

Mignon Clyburn has been a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission for nine years — which is forever if you think of how technology has changed in that period.  During her tenure, she’s been a staunch advocate for consumers, backing net neutrality rules and an expansion of the Lifeline Program. But some of the policies she backed have since been reversed. Commissioner Clyburn spoke with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about her tenure at the FCC — and the partisan nature of the agency. 

Facebook may be considering an ad-free subscription model that would let you pay to opt out of sharing your habits and personal information. But that raises the question: Why should we pay Facebook not to take our information instead of the other way around? A new book, called “Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society,” suggests that all of us are working as unpaid data laborers. Glen Weyl, one of the authors and a principal researcher at Microsoft, spoke about the topic with Marketplace’s Molly Wood.  

Lots of companies are working on self-driving car technology, and whoever gets there first will be positioned to make billions. But as the recent fatal accident in Arizona involving an Uber autonomous vehicle made clear, the technology is still faulty. One of the things that needs to get a lot better is how cars take in and respond to the world around them. Part of that is learning how to navigate back roads, where every bump and pothole hasn’t been intricately mapped. MIT’s Daniela Rus has research out today to help solve the problem — she talks about it with Marketplace’s Amy Scott. 

You may have noticed a trend in your inbox lately. A lot of “we’re changing our terms of service” emails. It’s no coincidence. Lots of companies are rewriting these agreements ahead of the General Data Protection Regulation rollout in Europe. That’s the new set of stricter privacy rules that goes into effect in Europe at the end of the month. Marketplace’s Amy Scott spoke with Jessica Lee, partner at the law firm Loeb & Loeb, about what the GDPR means and how it will affect the U.S.   

Should universities worry about spying? That’s what some people in the White House may think. The Trump administration is reportedly thinking about measures to prevent Chinese citizens from conducting sensitive research at American universities. The worry is that these researchers might take home secrets. Marketplace’s Amy Scott spoke with Daniel Golden, author of “Spy Schools,” about the front lines of academic espionage. 

Self-driving cars will probably save a lot of lives in the future. But right now, the tech is new, and most of it requires human intervention. Experts refer to several levels, 1 through 5, of automation in cars. A 5th level car would have no steering wheel or gas pedal. Several cars on the market now fit into the middle category; requiring human intervention with some autonomous features. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Missy Cummings, director of the Humans and Autonomy Lab at Duke University, about the risks of having humans only partly in control.