PODCAST · news
Great Chat
by Mackenzie Bohannon, Angela Du, Ashley Mayer, Helen Min, & Sally Shin
A podcast mostly about tech.
Episodes
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AI’s Spooky Season
Between Anthropic’s soft Q3 and CoreWeave’s meltdown, everyone’s suddenly asking: is AI over? Spoiler: we don’t think so, but it’s going to be a bumpy ride. This week on Great Chat, we dig into IPO timing, the margin question nobody can answer yet, and why early-stage founders seem more…
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What happened to tech’s backbone?
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...
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The launch industrial complex
In the AI slop era, pre-seed startups are spending real money on cinematic launch videos, renting creator armies, and prioritizing attention over substance. This week on Great Chat, Ashley and Helen ask whether manufactured hype has peaked, what comes next, and how a young startup can actually...
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What does the tech industry owe San Francisco?
New York's restaurants are bankrolled by Wall Street money; LA's by Hollywood. So why has tech failed to leave a physical imprint on San Francisco? This week, Ligaya Tichy, founder of New Entity and an early community builder at Yelp and Airbnb, joins the chat to make the case for putting tech...
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Doomers at Dreamforce
Great Chat is back in its sixth season with Ashley, Helen, and guest host Taylor Lorenz. We dive into AI assistant wars, Dreamforce, the All In Summit, and Corgi in context. Plus, in our main topic, we break down Dario Amodei's "pacing" essay and discuss who actually benefits from the industry's...
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Tech's short-term era
Venture capital used to be the most patient money in finance. So why does it suddenly look like day trading? This week on Great Chat, the group digs into tech’s short-term era: founders leaving their own companies for nine-figure packages, emerging managers pitching early DPI, researchers…
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Too big to laugh: how tech lost its sense of humor
The tech industry used to be way funnier; there was a whole HBO show about it! Now the timeline is earnest, angry or self-righteous, and rarely self-aware. Comedian Alexis Gay, who spent seven years working in tech and startups, joins the chat to diagnose what happened: tech got too big to be a...
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Never follow your heroes (on X)
This week on Great Chat, we grapple with the wave of tech leaders who are trading mystique for distribution and engagement-maxxxing. Is this the new world, and we're just boomers? Probably. But that's not going to stop us from crashing out over it. We also chat about Anthropic's latest model and...
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SPVs have a brand problem
The SPV drama keeps coming, this time with some new main characters. We break down the public spat between AngelList-affiliated USVC, Anduril co-founder Matt Grimm, and the SPV/fund manager caught in the crossfire. We explore the mounting pressures around deal access and liquidity contributing to...
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Maybe Twitter isn't real life
This week on Great Chat, The New York Times piece about San Francisco's "struggling" six-figure earners has Helen and Ashley doing the math on their early-20s rent checks. Then: the New York congressional primary results, where the biggest Twitter personalities got the fewest votes (and the guy...
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How much data do we actually want about our bodies?
Inspired by Midjourney’s foray into full-body scanning, we dig into our industry’s obsession with health and longevity. From the earlier wave (think: 23andMe, Forward) to this current era (Prenuvo, Function, Neko), those of us in tech have been eager early adopters. But what are the tradeoffs in…
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After you ring the bell
This week on Great Chat, we talk about the biggest IPO in history, the wealth to follow, and what people from prior liquidity events in our industry have learned about money, identity, and happiness. We also cover venture-backed M&A activity, revisit "why Twitter is not real life," and…
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Founders dish on VC bad behavior (and bring receipts)
Over the past week, our Twitter feeds were filled with stories that rarely get told: VCs behaving poorly in pitch meetings. Some founders even named names. What does it say about this moment that founders are publicly sharing these tales? And where are we in the spectrum of founder friendliness?...
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Who are the billboards for?
You can’t turn around in San Francisco without seeing a startup billboard…or five. We share some of our favorite marketing stunts of all time, and talk about why startup-branded shuttles and cafes are all the rage in our current era. Plus: more SpaceX S-1 talk (we can’t get enough), with...
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AI services, so hot right now
The AI labs’ ARR charts only go up and to the right, but actual diffusion through the Fortune 500? Way messier. This week, Jaclyn Rice Nelson, co-founder and CEO of Tribe AI (and Ashley's partner at Coalition), joins the chat to explain why OpenAI and Anthropic each stood up their own deployment...
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Dear Graduates: we’re sorry about the Schmidt speech
Eric Schmidt delivered a pitch for AI to the University of Arizona graduating class—and the audience was not having it. We break down the nuance behind those boos, and grapple with the reality that no tech leader could have delivered a rousing AI speech in this moment. On the bright side, Schmidt...
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What does it mean to be mission-driven in 2026?
We’ve come a long way from the idealistic startup missions of the 2000s and 2010s. Today’s mission statements (when they exist) are more adversarial and more capitalist. Did we lose something, or are we just being honest? Plus: secondary sales exacerbate the already crazy SF housing market, and...
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The hills we’ll die on
In this era of hot takes loosely held, we each reveal the hills we’re willing to die on. Helen defends advertising as the perfect business model, Angela says the maths never really math (so throw out your spreadsheets), and Ashley insists you only lose when you try to play someone else’s game....
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Developer marketing when everyone is a developer
When everyone is a developer, what does developer marketing even mean? This week on Great Chat, we're joined by developer relations expert Matt Palmer to discuss developer marketing and the eternal question of what's cool in San Francisco. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of...
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OpenAI's new media M&A and old media exposé
In the wake of its historic $122B fundraise, OpenAI just wrapped one of the crazier weeks in news, but we couldn't miss the chance to zero in on its surprise acquisition of new media darling TBPN. We asked Alexia Bonatsos, early stage investor and former editor of TechCrunch (a new media darling...
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Go touch some grass (but don’t tweet about it)
So we all survived Q1—barely. When the world gets crazy, how do you stay sane? Spoiler alert: we don’t have any answers, but we have lots of hot takes. Plus: Mac opens a factory and schools us on submarine life, we wonder if anyone has reached Goldilocks status of being just the right amount…
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Bubble talk
We’re hearing the B word a lot more lately, and while it’s clear there’s a valuation bubble, we’re not betting on a correction just yet. Plus: OpenAI trades its “you can just do things” era for focus (RIP Sora and assorted side quests), Emil Michael shows us what it means to hold a grudge, and we...
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Are startup HR teams okay?
With all this talk of looming layoffs and AI automation, we have to wonder: what’s the People/HR world like these days? Emily Herron, a longtime startup People leader and current HR Evangelist at Rippling, joined the chat to share her refreshingly candid and pragmatic POV. Plus: Travis Kalanick…
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What comes after the Girl Boss?
Inspired by International Women’s Day, we reflect on the different narratives for women in tech over the past few decades. From Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In to the rise (and fall) of the Girl Boss to…whatever this moment is? We break down what’s actually helpful to women, and what’s just…
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Will empathy make a comeback?
AI makes a lot of things easier, but reading the room is not one of them. On this week's Great Chat, we discuss how this moment feels different from 2020 and 2008, and debate whether we will see a return to empathy from our tech leaders. How do you lead when no one knows what will happen next? It...
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The best career decisions come from the gut
This week, we revisit one of our favorite topics: how to decide between operating roles and the portfolio life when it comes to your career. Ceci Stallmith joins us to talk about jumping back into operating as head of marketing at Lovable, and we get radically candid about all the things…
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Venture is in its growthmaxxing era
This week, we try to explain looksmaxxing…and almost certainly kill that linguistic trend in the process. Meanwhile in venture, each new AI fundraise is valuation-mogging the last, and we unpack what extreme capital concentration might mean for the startup ecosystem more broadly. Plus: dancing...
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No one won the AI Bowl
AI companies spent millions on Super Bowl ads, but none of them stuck! This week, we're joined by Dan Stroud, who runs an ad agency for tech companies, to break down what went wrong, what (if anything) went right, and whether startups should even be buying Big Game spots. Plus: the Winter…
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Is building in public over?
Welcome back to year two of Great Chat. This week, the pod covers Chinese peptides, Brexit (the fintech exit, not the UK's withdrawal from the EU), Clawdbot/Moltbot/Moltbook, and contemplates whether there is a vibe shift in just one month into the new year. Does building in public work anymore?...
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The stories we told ourselves in 2025
As we wrap up 2025, we look at the stories tech told itself—and why they worked. From the bundling of everything, knowing when to make a change yourself in a rapidly changing labor market, and a lesson that you can survive any scandal as long as you keep winning. Plus, we weigh in on the SaaS...
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So what happens after AGI?
Aubrie Pagano, GP at Alpaca VC, joins the chat! We talk about why no one is talking about what happens after AGI, and then dive into Aubrie’s mind-bending effort to tackle the subject with The Aquarius Economy: part white paper, part science fiction, part investing thesis. We also compare our...
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Code red: our favorite tech rivalries
Inspired by Sam Altman’s “code red” for ChatGPT in the wake of the Gemini 3 launch and the rumored beef between the Kalshi and Polymarket founders, we talk about legendary tech rivalries. Uber versus Lyft, Rippling versus Deel, Jobs versus Gates, and much much more. What are the different…
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Thankful for the unexpected
Our obligatory Thanksgiving episode, with a twist. We're sharing what we're grateful for now - even if it felt devastating at the time. The setbacks, the lucky breaks, the uncomfortable truths. Plus Nano Banana, Ryan Lizza Substack part 3, Rippling v Deel part 17, and more. Happy Thanksgiving -...
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That Portfolio Life
This week, we get real about the benefits and tradeoffs of making the transition from a traditional full-time role in tech to taking a portfolio approach to your career. And it’s not just about income—you’ll have to rethink identity, purpose, time management, and more. Should you do it, and when?...
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Turns out, there’s still a line (don’t mock the pope)
This week, we dare to ask the question: Are there limits to founder mode when it comes to your online persona? And when does building in public hurt more than it helps? We also unpack the latest tech Twitter drama—the monagamish guy, Marc Andreessen versus the pope—for anyone who isn’t terminally...
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Tech is getting more political—should you?
This week on Great Chat, we celebrate Election Day by talking about… talking about politics in the workplace. Yoni Rechtman, Partner at Slow Ventures and friend of the pod, joins us to discuss politics, humanoids, AI wearables, Sam Altman, and how’s he’s successfully unlocked opportunities in...
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The Ellisons are the new Murdochs (and we're ready for Succession round 2)
This week on Great Chat, every media company wants to be a tech company, and every tech company wants to be a media company. We unpack what has been happening in the world of media: Big M&A, streaming wars, the Ellisons are the new Murdochs, and where short dramas stand now. We also learn that...
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Don't want to burst your bubble, but ...
This week on Great Chat, we ask the question everyone’s whispering ... what happens if we’re in an AI bubble? We unpack the signals, the hype, and what founders and investors should be thinking about. Plus, a quick detour into the wild jewelry heist at the Louvre, the new ranking shakeup at...
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PSA: Don’t bother trying to plan your tech career
This week on Great Chat, it’s Spooky Season! Join us as we discuss the ultimate Halloween matchup overtaking social media, what Goldman’s acquisition of Industry Ventures means, and a rapid fire of our fall favorites. We also reflect on whether we as investors and operators need a five year plan...
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David vs. Goliath, but make it venture-backed
It’s SF Tech Week, and there’s lots of AI news - surprise! We talk about why OpenAI’s less polished DevDay meets the moment, reflect on the Sora 2 launch, and give Anthropic props for a well executed coffee shop pop-up. Inspired by Anthropic, we go deep on challenger brands and why the #2 spot is...
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Too late to AI proof your career?
This week on Great Chat, we explore how to AI proof your career. We reflect on what our younger selves would do differently today, and share advice for college students navigating a rapidly changing job market shaped by AI. We also react to OpenAI’s new Sora app, Meta’s Vibes launch, and the…
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The state of tech media (fact check not included)
This week, we asked a longtime friend and favorite tech journalist to join the chat: Casey Newton of Platformer and Hard Fork fame! We dig into the tech media landscape: The rise of podcasts and newsletters as formats of choice, “going direct” as a viable strategy for getting reporters’…
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The art of quitting
This week on Great Chat, we talk about knowing when to walk away. We share our own stories of leaving at the peak of our careers to enter new industries, and unpack recent departures from Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and Suhail Doshi, as well as the great returns of Ryan Peterson at Flexport and…
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Are startups a young person’s game?
This week, we tackle a taboo topic: age. Is it harder than ever for young people to break into tech, or does it just feel that way? What does career longevity look like, especially for people who don’t hit escape velocity in their 20s? Also: we grapple with Serena Williams' Ro partnership,...
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Is AI a job killer or job creator?
This week on Great Chat, we discuss some interesting findings from a newly released report from Mercury called "The New Economics of Starting Up." We learn that founders are becoming more creative with financing and team building in an AI-first world. Separately, we revisit SPVs and explore the...
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Warm intros and hot takes: It's time to get ready for fundraising season
We’re halfway through August and there’s still no summer slowdown in sight! As fall approaches, we gear up for a peak fundraising season with a favorite group chat topic: The dos and don’ts of raising venture capital. We share our takes on some of the most divisive topics as investors and…
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We are so back (thanks, Figma)
This week on Great Chat, we talk about the topic on everyone's minds: Figma’s textbook IPO. We compare it to the IPOs we experienced first-hand as early employees, investors and journalists: Facebook, Box, Dropbox and Uber. Plus: celeb sightings in SF (hello, Andrew Garfield) and products that…
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Does startup PR even matter anymore?
In the era of “going direct,” do startups still need to care about media coverage? Actually, yes: LLMs are bringing the primacy of press back, but the way companies get covered has fundamentally changed. Also: Figma’s IPO looms, Astronomer claps back with some help from a friend, and we are...
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The tech origin story: No straight lines
This week on Great Chat, we are getting personal. We share our stories of how we got into tech in the first place. The detours and the unexpected opportunities that defined our careers from covering IPOs to early days at Facebook and those long hours at Goldman. Also, is Hollywood starting to…
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Windsurf: The straw that broke the camel’s back
This week on Great Chat, we talk about the 96 hours of Windsurf frenzy that consumed Silicon Valley, and what the implications are for the (broken) social contract that tech startups have with employees. We also share notes from the Backstreet Boys Into the Millennium concert, what Sally is…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast mostly about tech.
HOSTED BY
Mackenzie Bohannon, Angela Du, Ashley Mayer, Helen Min, & Sally Shin
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Great Chat have?
Great Chat currently has 64 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Great Chat about?
A podcast mostly about tech.
How often does Great Chat release new episodes?
Great Chat has 64 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Great Chat?
You can listen to Great Chat on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Great Chat?
Great Chat is created and hosted by Mackenzie Bohannon, Angela Du, Ashley Mayer, Helen Min, & Sally Shin.
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