Safe Space - Talking Trust and Safety

In this episode of Safe Space, hosts John Starr and Pailes Halai sit down with Lauren Jonas, Head of Youth Wellbeing at OpenAI, to talk about what it takes to design technology that truly supports and protects young people in the age of AI.

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Ryn Linthicum, who brings a unique perspective to AI safety at Anthropic. Ryn shares insights from time spent at TikTok and their current work on Anthropic's safeguards team, where they help build safety into AI models from the ground up. 

David Polgar, founder of All Tech is Human, shares how he built a 55,000-member community focused on responsible technology without a tech background. Polgar reveals the motivations driving trust and safety professionals as they seek to reclaim the internet's original promise of global connection. 

John Starr sits down with our new host, Pailes Halai, Thorn's Sr. Manager of Key Accounts & Partnerships, to hear how he got here and his interest in uncovering the stories of trust and safety pros in the AI industry.

Del Harvey, a legend in the field, built Twitter's trust and safety organization from the ground up, leading it for over a decade as the platform became a global phenomenon. In this Safe Space episode, the pioneering safety leader shares her unconventional journey from lifeguard to reality TV psychological screener to trust and safety icon. Del offers insights into hiring passionate teams, building psychological safety for rapid decision-making, and maintaining optimism while preparing for worst-case scenarios. She discusses the evolution of trust and safety as a field, the importance of collaborative rather than adversarial approaches, and her transition from Twitter to advising the next generation of safety leaders. Host John Starr, who worked under Del's leadership for six years, guides this conversation filled with strategic wisdom and practical advice for anyone working to make the internet safer.

After a pivotal university lecture digging into the history of child abuse in Ireland, John Buckley found his calling. His career path led him to tech giants Facebook and Google, driven by first-hand observations of how technology was playing a larger and larger role in children's lives.In this episode, John Starr talks with John Buckley, director and head of child rights & safety with the Lego Group. Buckley shares his remarkable journey, from nonprofit work to leading child safety initiatives in tech.Buckley gives us a rare insider perspective on trust and safety work inside the tech giants dominating the online landscape. Despite what many think, he emphasizes that the "humans in the loop" advocate passionately for user safety within tech companies. He discusses effective advocacy tactics, the evolution of trust and safety in 2025, and advises aspiring professionals to become a Swiss Army knife of skills while not entirely drinking the Kool-Aid.The conversation explores generative AI's impact, the vital role of nonprofit partnerships, and why—despite technological challenges—the dedicated community of trust and safety professionals gives Buckley hope for the future.

In this revealing conversation, John Starr speaks with Aaron Rodericks, Head of Trust and Safety at Bluesky, about his unexpected journey to become the trust and safety leader at one of today's fastest-growing social platforms.Rodericks candidly discusses the realities of scaling trust and safety at a pre-revenue startup with just 20 employees total while experiencing explosive growth—from 3,500 to one million new users daily. He shares how this growth forced him to "throw the roadmap in the garbage" and practice ruthless prioritization when facing 250,000 user reports in a single day.The conversation explores Bluesky's revolutionary approach to moderation—a decentralized model where users and organizations can create their own moderation systems rather than relying on gatekeepers. Rodericks explains how this "composable moderation" shifts power dynamics, allowing communities to create specialized labels for niche and specific issues.As a self-described "extreme generalist" who allocates small percentages of his capacity to everything from GDPR compliance to disinformation campaigns, Rodericks offers personal insights into the human toll of public-facing trust and safety work. He emphasizes the importance of self-care and finding identity outside work through practices like archery and meditation.

From aspiring United Nations interpreter to Trust & Safety leader, Patricia Cartes, Head of Trust & Safety at Cantina AI, takes us on her global journey into online safety. Thorn's VP of Strategic Impact, John Starr, explores Cartes' journey from translating spam websites to shaping content policies at tech giants.Patricia reflects on the early days of T&S under "online sales and operations" to its current status as a flourishing field critical to business success. She offers a robust perspective on balancing free speech with user protection, drawing from her extensive experience in public policy and global perspectives. Her vision for the future of the field is full of determined hope, where growing professionalization and dynamic cross-industry collaboration pave the way to diligently address complex online safety issues such as child sexual exploitation.Learn more about Thorn’s technology for good at safer.io

From social work to social networks online, Jerrel Peterson, Director of Content Policy at Spotify and former Twitter alum, takes us on his unexpected journey into Trust & Safety. Thorn's VP of Strategic Impact, John Starr, talks with Peterson about his fascinating transition from aspiring plastic surgeon to social worker, and ultimately to a content policy expert bringing a unique perspective to online safety. Jerrel explores the crucial role of "soft skills" in Trust & Safety and how he approaches leading teams through complex decision-making processes, balancing objectivity with organizational values in content moderation. He tackles the misconception that Trust & Safety operates in isolation and offers valuable insights into making it an essential requirement for platform success. Learn more about Thorn’s technology for good at safer.ioAccess more child safety resources for Trust and Safety professionals: https://get.safer.io/resources-trust-safety

In this candid conversation, Yoel Roth, VP at Match Group and Twitter alum, shares his personal and professional evolution in Trust & Safety. Host John Starr, Thorn’s VP of Strategic Impact, asks Roth to reflect on his interests in the early internet days and lessons learned while shaping the safety landscape of today's biggest platforms. Discover how a curious grad student became a pivotal figure in online protection, and learn why Roth believes we need to shift from reactive moderation to proactive safety by design. Yoel brings a fresh perspective to hard questions about what we can do better as a field and gives his take on why the perception of T&S as the "internet janitors" just cleaning up the bad stuff needs a serious update.Learn more about Thorn's technology for good at safer.io