Lulu Garcia Navarro

Whitney Wolford, thank you so much. And we're going to talk again. Thank you. I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much. After the break, I call Whitney back and we talk about how broader political and cultural shifts are playing out in Silicon Valley.

Whitney Wolford, thank you so much. And we're going to talk again. Thank you. I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much. After the break, I call Whitney back and we talk about how broader political and cultural shifts are playing out in Silicon Valley.

Hi.

Hi.

I'm good. I know I'm interrupting vacation time.

I'm good. I know I'm interrupting vacation time.

So thanks so much for taking the time again. In our last conversation, you mentioned that many female leaders in tech who were your contemporaries have left or been pushed out. And that is true. And I am wondering, why do you think things seem to have moved backwards?

So thanks so much for taking the time again. In our last conversation, you mentioned that many female leaders in tech who were your contemporaries have left or been pushed out. And that is true. And I am wondering, why do you think things seem to have moved backwards?

Venture capital firms are giving less money to female entrepreneurs than a decade ago.

Venture capital firms are giving less money to female entrepreneurs than a decade ago.

Yeah, there is, I think, a moment that we're experiencing right now, and it's not just in Silicon Valley. There is a tech brofication of everything. You're seeing it in politics. You're seeing it in media. What do you think about the fact that men in tech have become so powerful right now outside of the companies that they've run?

Yeah, there is, I think, a moment that we're experiencing right now, and it's not just in Silicon Valley. There is a tech brofication of everything. You're seeing it in politics. You're seeing it in media. What do you think about the fact that men in tech have become so powerful right now outside of the companies that they've run?

Yeah, it does feel like we've moved past the era when it was both fashionable and maybe even good business for tech companies to be political. You know, I'm thinking of Black Lives Matter, Me Too. There was just this moment in the culture where you really had to engage with these movements. And that is no longer the case.

Yeah, it does feel like we've moved past the era when it was both fashionable and maybe even good business for tech companies to be political. You know, I'm thinking of Black Lives Matter, Me Too. There was just this moment in the culture where you really had to engage with these movements. And that is no longer the case.

To turn back to tech more broadly and its impact, I interviewed an expert in dopamine research, Anna Lembke. And we talked about digital drugs and how apps are designed to take us out of the real world and monetize our attention.

To turn back to tech more broadly and its impact, I interviewed an expert in dopamine research, Anna Lembke. And we talked about digital drugs and how apps are designed to take us out of the real world and monetize our attention.

I also talked to Robert Putnam, the author of Bowling Alone, who continues to make the case that getting involved in real life social activities is the key to combating our loneliness, our isolation. And I was wondering, why is Bumble better than a bike club or a board game night or a church group? Why should people go there instead of trying to meet the old-fashioned way?

I also talked to Robert Putnam, the author of Bowling Alone, who continues to make the case that getting involved in real life social activities is the key to combating our loneliness, our isolation. And I was wondering, why is Bumble better than a bike club or a board game night or a church group? Why should people go there instead of trying to meet the old-fashioned way?

As you're talking, it reminds me, you've been in the tech industry really since the start of the app era. Your story, as we've mentioned, tracks all of its twists and turns. You believed in the possibility of technology and you've acknowledged now the technology's limitations. And we are, as you've mentioned, again, in this new era of AI, it's this transformative change that is coming for us all.

As you're talking, it reminds me, you've been in the tech industry really since the start of the app era. Your story, as we've mentioned, tracks all of its twists and turns. You believed in the possibility of technology and you've acknowledged now the technology's limitations. And we are, as you've mentioned, again, in this new era of AI, it's this transformative change that is coming for us all.