Michael and Xochi Birch launch Bebo, one of the first social networks, and ride it to extraordinary heights before it all comes crashing down. In the conclusion to this two-part story, we tell of the rise and collapse of Bebo, and how the Birches become billionaires anyway.  In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The Valley read Danny's longform commentary on the series at&nbs ..read more

Michael and Xochi Birch launched Bebo, one of the first social networks. They sold it at the height of the market for $850 million to AOL Time Warner. Two years later, AOL sold it again - for $1. In a two-part podcast, we tell the Bebo story: its extraordinary rise, the fall, and how the Birches made away with the GDP of a small nation. In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The Va ..read more

Nolan Bushnell arrived in Silicon Valley in 1968 - and changed it forever. He started Atari, launched the video game industry, gave Steve Jobs his first job, and created the wild, convention-defying model of the modern tech executive that everyone from Jobs to Mark Zuckerberg has followed. In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The Valley read Danny's longform commentary on th ..read more

A special extra episode for you from the daily podcast from The Times; President Trump has ordered firms to stop doing business with social media giant TikTok over security concerns. Microsoft was the front-runner to buy the company, but now Twitter has emerged as a possible suitor. What has made the app so popular and so controversial? If you like this episode please rate and subscribe. Simply search for Stories of our times on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you get your podcasts. Guests:  Danny Fortson Sunday Times west coast correspondent. Host: Manveen Rana. Clips used ..read more

Today an edition of our new daily podcast - Stories of our times. Our new free daily news podcast takes you to the heart of the stories that matter, with exclusive access and reporting. Published for the start of your day, it is hosted by Manveen Rana and David Aaronovitch. Technology might be the answer to our problems - but could we be giving up our privacy in return for our liberty?  Guest: Danny Fortson, The Sunday Times West Coast correspondent  Host: David Aaronovitch If you want to hear more please search for Stories of our times and subscribe wherever you get yo ..read more

In an additional bonus episode to Tales From Silicon Valley, The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, for the full interview that was featured in episode 1 of Tales Of Silicon Valley. He talks about growing up in Utah (0:45), setting up his first business at age 10 (3:00), managing the games department (4:20), coming to Silicon Valley (7:10), working at Ampex (8:30), playing Space War (9:30), starting a gaming company with $500 (12:30), creating Pong (16:20), running on a shoestring (19:15), selling to Warner (23:30), the Atari culture (24 ..read more

Millions of people are working every day, every hour, every minute to keep the web safe for the rest of us. They are human filters, finding and blocking the worst things that humanity can muster. But who are they? Why do we hear so little about them? We take an inside look at the world of content moderators, the shadow work force that is doing the web's dirty work - often to their own detriment.   For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy ..read more

Scott Kriens helped build the internet. Now he’s helping undo the havoc it has unleashed with a mountain retreat centre he’s built on the doorstep of Silicon Valley. We journey to 1440 Multiversity in the Santa Cruz mountains to commune with nature, go device-free and explore how the tech industry is trying to find its soul. In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER Longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The Valley Read Danny ..read more

A race has broken out in Silicon Valley to create a breakthrough "brain-computer interface". Such a device would herald a new era of telepathy, and eventually merge with artificial intelligence. It also brings with it a hornet’s nest of challenges. Who will control it? Will our thoughts be policed? Billions of dollars are being poured into the technology that remains wrapped in secrecy. We talk to people on the front lines to figure out what is really going on. In this new eight-part series, The Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through surpri ..read more

Fifty years on from Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk, we investigate how billionaires are racing to become the first to settle on the moon. They are convinced that humans will soon be a multi-planetary species, with a permanent settlement in outer space within five years. Is this the ultimate ego trip? Is it realistic? We find out all the answers. In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER Longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The Va ..read more