with @julesyoo @justin_larkinMD @smc90 The U.S. government issued the latest in a series of “historic" rules for healthcare a few weeks ago, and these two rules are intended to increase price transparency in what's been described as a "shadowy system where prices are hidden". We discuss the specifics and impact of these rules on both consumers and on various industry players. What's the gap between mandate and implementation; and where are the challenges... and opportunities?

with @stevesi @smc90 Apple recently announced the first new lineups of devices based on Apple Silicon M1 chips, which officially came out today. And since there’s already plenty of analysis on performance, benchmarks, and more, we cover the big picture: Apple’s moving away from Intel chips, and to their own chips (that run on the Arm instruction set); what does it all mean? Where we are on the long arc of innovation, both backwards and forwards -- and what are implications for consumers,...

with @vintweeta @jorgecondebio @smc90 A vaccine for COVID seems to be (almost) here... or is it? What's hype/ what's real beyond the headlines (and beyond the press release), when it comes to Pfizer and BioNTech's announcement that their vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. How much should/ shouldn't we read into this news? We break it all down: the math, the science, and the practical considerations.

with @tocelot @smc90 The online multiplayer game Among Us has had a tipping point of late -- including the news that a major politician livestream-played it earlier this week -- so why now? who? how? Since the premise of this show is to tease apart what's hype/what's real, we dig beyond the obvious pandemic effect and social & streaming trends, to analyze the phenomenon in less than 16 minutes.

with @vijaypande @jorgecondebio @smc90 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded this week to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for the revolutionary CRISPR/Cas9 "genetic scissors" technology for genome editing. But is that analogy too limited for describing the true power and potential of CRISPR as a platform? And while the time between (unexpected) discovery to practice to award has been less than a decade, where are we, really, with CRISPR in practice?

with @stevesi @withfries2 @smc90 We cover the latest news since Nvidia announced its intent to acquire Arm (including recent geopolitical concerns around the deal). But what's hype, what's real here -- and the broader history of computing innovation that's relevant here -- when it comes to understanding the broader implications, and players affected, by a potential merger?

with @eugenewei @smc90 In this special "2x" episodes of 16 Minutes, we cover the algorithm that powers TikTok, the short video platform that grabbed massive marketshare in cultures and markets never experienced firsthand by the engineers and designers in China, beating out other apps in the U.S. But with talk of U.S. ownership/partnership for TikTok, what happens if the algorithm isn't included? And what can we learn from the "creativity network effects" flywheel of TikTok; about "algorithm...

with @grapealope @vijaypande @smc90 With Apple's announcing new watches, new sensors, and services for healthcare, are we really, finally seeing a wedge from fitness into data for clinical applications as well? We take an, ahem, "pulse check" on where we are when it comes to the idea of the "doctor's office on a wrist", teasing apart what's hype, what's real and where we are on the long arc of innovation for mainstream wearables.

with @vintweeta @smc90 Abbott Lab's latest COVID-19 test, which was just approved by the FDA, takes 15 minutes and will cost $5 -- making it a potential "game changer" in this pandemic... But does it truly democratize coronavirus testing? How is and isn't it like a pregnancy test? What does and doesn't the data tell us, and what key concepts (and math) do we need to know here?

with @julesyoo @vijaypande @smc90 The $18.5B merger of Teladoc and Livongo is a big deal not just because of the dollars and validation in public markets, but because it's aimed at creating "the first true health tech giant", and an end-to-end digital health platform at scale. However, the scale and opportunity in healthcare is so massivel; is this a drop in the bucket of what's out there? And is digital health and virtual health really finally here, or is it a temporary pandemic effect?...

with @withfries2 @smc90 What's real, what's hype when it comes to all the recent buzz around the language model GPT-3? What is "it", how does it work, where does it fit into the arc of broader tech trends (natural language, neural networks, deep learning approaches, more) -- and are we really getting closer to artificial general intelligence?

with @martin_casado @chrislyons @davidu @smc90 For this holiday break episode we cover two timely yet still developing-news topics: (1) That the National Science Foundation could rebrand and get a significant amount of funding, which has implications for U.S. competitiveness and corporate innovation; and (2) There’s been a whole spate of companies that announced they’re going remote, not just during COVID or extending beyond it but by default -- so what are the implications?

with @fromedome @conniechan @smc90 Apple "App Clips" and "App Clip Codes" were announced at WWDC this week -- but what are they really? They're part of a broader trend, with implications for businesses and brands big and small. But where do (and don't) the parallels to WeChat apply; what does it mean for discovery, super apps, and the future of context-aware computing... especially when more mainstream AR glasses arrive to, er, augment smartphones?

with @nikillinit justinlarkin @vijaypande @smc90 The FDA just approved the first ever videogame that can now be legally marketed and prescribed as a medicine -- it's for 8-12 year olds with ADHD. But where does this fit in the broader category of "digital therapeutics"... and what is' isn't a digital therapeutic as compared to traditional drugs, or even telemedicine?

with @tocelot @farming_xp @smc90 Recent Snap features announced around navigation redesign, Snap Games, and Bitmoji for Games have broader implications for the gaming industry and future of social networks. Especially when such messaging games (built on HTML5 and "mini programs" or apps-within-apps) merge the key trends of mobile, social, cloud gaming... and identity.

with @mmasnick @smc90 Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has been in the headlines a lot recently, in the context of Twitter, the president's tweets, and an executive order put out by the White House just this week. So we break it all down, explaining nuances, debunking popular rhetoric, and sharing thoughts on a way forward for content moderation and more.

with joeldelagarza @smc90 Contact tracing is a key strategy for preventing further spread of a disease like COVID-19, but approaches and frameworks vary in how, who, and where -- especially on privacy and security. Yet technology is not the biggest part of this discussion; it’s also about rights, cultures, and values... and the bigger questions around what happens when people are "transformed into cellphone signals".

with @jorgecondebio @andy23tran and @smc90 Better and widespread testing is key to re-opening the economy. So we discuss the first authorized use of CRISPR for testing -- diagnostics, not just therapeutics! -- and what the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization means. Where are we when it comes to CRISPR in practice?

with joeldelagarza @davidu @smc90 Zoom has been in the headlines a lot lately for security related issues and concerns, while experiencing unprecedented growth as well as shift in its user base from enterprise to consumer due to the coronavirus pandemic. What's hype/ what's real, and what does it tell us about bottom-up SaaS and cloud security?

with @vijaypande @smc90 The debate around real world evidence vs. clinical trials given claims and concerns around particular drugs in the context of the novel coronavirus pandemic; the role of the FDA; and where statistics do and don't come in, when it comes to policy.

with @arampell @smc90 How do we make sure the economy -- and especially small businesses -- survive the current coronavirus pandemic and public health crisis? How do the Fed, Congress, or local policymakers decide on monetary and fiscal policies? And where does technology come in?

with @julesyoo @vmocherla @smc90 It's been a historic week for healthcare, for more than one reason; we cover the latest HHS rules to provide patients more control of their data and how that fits into what's going on in hospitals right now with the novel coronavirus; what the rules are; and implications for patients, providers, payers, startups, and incumbents.

with @tocelot @andrewchen @arampell @smc90 We cover: (1) the implications for the gaming and device ecosystem if Google decides to bring Steam support to Chrome OS; (2) what NYC legislators banning cashless restaurants and retail establishments says about the banking system more broadly; and (3) the latest stats on COVID-19.

with @illscience @skupor @smc90 What's going on with all the spate of fintech acquisitions recently, and why now? Meanwhile, what's worrisome about using enforcement actions to make policy.

with @julesyoo @heyjudka @smc90 This episode shares the latest coronavirus and COVID-19 disease updates; implications for U.S. healthcare system readiness and evolution in future; and how the virus tests work and what the latest data does/ doesn't tell us.