Skip to content
What happened to tech’s backbone? episode artwork

Oct 16, 2026 46 min

What happened to tech’s backbone?

from Great Chat Hosted by Mackenzie Bohannon, Angela Du, Ashley Mayer, Helen Min, & Sally Shin

People beyond Silicon Valley used to love the products tech companies made. Now, they feel like AI tools (and data centers) are being shoved down their throats. This week, comms pro Aaron Zamost joins the chat to rant about tech’s reputational decline and leadership vacuum. Maybe what we really need is a spokesperson who is, well…normal (it's a lot to ask). Plus: we debate what has and hasn’t changed since Aaron’s famous “startup clock” essay from 2015, lament the AI to SI rebrands, and dissect Twitter beefs spanning Vinod Khosla and Kelly Clarkson. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

What happened to tech’s backbone?

0:00 46:16

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of Great Chat?

This episode is 46 minutes long.

When was this Great Chat episode published?

This episode was published on October 16, 2026.

Can I download this Great Chat episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.