<![CDATA[Signal Podcast]]>Signal is hosted by Joel Coenes and Stephen Spellicy — two guys on the same path, just at very different points on it. Joel is 25, a former pro athlete turned Computer Science student and project manager breaking into the software industry. Stephen is a seasoned executive who's already deep in it. Together, they break down what's actually happening in tech and business — and why it matters to your everyday life, your career, your money, and your privacy. Every other week they go deep on tech news, the next on business, leadership, and career. And every other month, they bring in guests from the industry who've got something real to say.

]]>https://riverside.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:28:24 GMTSat, 28 Feb 2026 03:11:07 GMT60Signal - the Podcast<p><b>Signal</b> is hosted by Joel Coenes and Stephen Spellicy — two guys on the same path, just at very different points on it. Joel is 25, a former pro athlete turned Computer Science student and project manager breaking into the software industry. Stephen is a seasoned executive who's already deep in it. Together, they break down what's actually happening in tech and business — and why it matters to your everyday life, your career, your money, and your privacy. Every other week they go deep on tech news, the next on business, leadership, and career. And every other month, they bring in guests from the industry who've got something real to say.</p>episodicSignal - the Podcastmindthegengap.pod@gmail.comno<![CDATA[#20 - Dario, Sam & Karp: Who's Actually Walking the Walk?]]>In February 2026, Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, and Alex Karp all faced the same external pressure — a Pentagon contract, a binary choice — and responded in completely different ways. This episode uses that moment as an entry point into a deeper question: what does a leader's behavior under real-cost, real-consequence pressure reveal that normal operations never can? Joel and Stephen go through each of the three, examining their backgrounds, what shaped them, and what their public actions that week expose about how they actually lead. From Amodei turning a government blacklisting into $5 billion in monthly revenue growth, to Altman's public walkback of a deal he'd called sloppy hours after signing it, to Karp's twenty-year track record of saying exactly what Palantir does and never flinching — the episode draws out a clear through-line: leaders who are unambiguous about what they stand for create more durable organizations than those who try to be everything to everyone.

Signal — listen wherever you get your podcasts.

]]>fcc1afdd-719b-4b1f-afee-3206a1ac2afeWed, 01 Apr 2026 08:00:00 GMT<p>In February 2026, Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, and Alex Karp all faced the same external pressure — a Pentagon contract, a binary choice — and responded in completely different ways. This episode uses that moment as an entry point into a deeper question: what does a leader's behavior under real-cost, real-consequence pressure reveal that normal operations never can? Joel and Stephen go through each of the three, examining their backgrounds, what shaped them, and what their public actions that week expose about how they actually lead. From Amodei turning a government blacklisting into $5 billion in monthly revenue growth, to Altman's public walkback of a deal he'd called sloppy hours after signing it, to Karp's twenty-year track record of saying exactly what Palantir does and never flinching — the episode draws out a clear through-line: leaders who are unambiguous about what they stand for create more durable organizations than those who try to be everything to everyone.</p><p></p><p><i>Signal — listen wherever you get your podcasts.</i></p>no00:36:4120#20 - Dario, Sam & Karp: Who's Actually Walking the Walk?full<![CDATA[#19 - How Anthropic Beat the Pentagon, OpenAI Caved & Palantir Took Over the US Military]]>In the span of a single week, three of the most powerful AI companies in the world made decisions that will define how this technology is used — and who controls it. Anthropic refused a Pentagon ultimatum, got blacklisted by the Trump administration, and watched Claude climb to number one on the App Store. OpenAI signed a military deal hours after its CEO publicly aligned with Anthropic's position, triggering backlash from users and from inside the company. And Palantir, which has never been conflicted about its government work, was formally locked in as the AI backbone of the US military — a platform already running targeting operations in active strikes against Iran. Joel and Stephen dig into the decisions, the fallout, and what an open-source project from Austria has to do with all of it.

]]>ff3ab315-d23c-4a9d-b3a9-8e3525945553Wed, 25 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT<p>In the span of a single week, three of the most powerful AI companies in the world made decisions that will define how this technology is used — and who controls it. Anthropic refused a Pentagon ultimatum, got blacklisted by the Trump administration, and watched Claude climb to number one on the App Store. OpenAI signed a military deal hours after its CEO publicly aligned with Anthropic's position, triggering backlash from users and from inside the company. And Palantir, which has never been conflicted about its government work, was formally locked in as the AI backbone of the US military — a platform already running targeting operations in active strikes against Iran. Joel and Stephen dig into the decisions, the fallout, and what an open-source project from Austria has to do with all of it.</p>no00:35:3519#19 - How Anthropic Beat the Pentagon, OpenAI Caved & Palantir Took Over the US Militaryfull<![CDATA[The Degree is Dead. Long Live the Degree.]]>75% of Americans thought a college degree was essential in 2010. Today that number is 35. But the story gets stranger — the graduates struggling most right now aren't art history majors. They're computer scientists. CS unemployment sits at 6.1%, computer engineering at 7.5%. Higher than philosophy. Higher than fine arts. A decade of "learn to code" advice, and AI learned to code first.

Joel and Stephen dig into what the data actually says about degrees, the job market, and why the fields everyone was told to chase are the ones under the most pressure right now. They also push back on the doomsday narrative — because the story of Excel and the ATM machine suggests we've been here before, and the ending wasn't what anyone predicted.

If you're a student, a parent, a career changer, or just someone trying to make sense of where things are heading — this one's for you.

Signal — listen wherever you get your podcasts.

]]>6b38b5e8-75f6-4bc2-a8c5-936d9b1cefa1Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT<p>75% of Americans thought a college degree was essential in 2010. Today that number is 35. But the story gets stranger — the graduates struggling most right now aren't art history majors. They're computer scientists. CS unemployment sits at 6.1%, computer engineering at 7.5%. Higher than philosophy. Higher than fine arts. A decade of "learn to code" advice, and AI learned to code first.</p><p></p><p>Joel and Stephen dig into what the data actually says about degrees, the job market, and why the fields everyone was told to chase are the ones under the most pressure right now. They also push back on the doomsday narrative — because the story of Excel and the ATM machine suggests we've been here before, and the ending wasn't what anyone predicted.</p><p></p><p>If you're a student, a parent, a career changer, or just someone trying to make sense of where things are heading — this one's for you.</p><p></p><p>Signal — listen wherever you get your podcasts.</p>no00:39:4118The Degree is Dead. Long Live the Degree.full<![CDATA[#17 - No Guardrails, No Deal]]>We're back — and this episode covers two of the biggest stories in tech right now.

First, Nvidia. The company just reported 73% revenue growth and beat every estimate on Wall Street. So why did the stock still drop? We break down the four forces quietly reshaping the AI chip market — DeepSeek's $6 million bombshell, Trump's tariffs, big tech building their own chips, and whether Michael Burry's billion-dollar bet against AI is starting to look a lot smarter than people thought.

Then, the story that shook the entire AI industry. Anthropic — the company behind Claude — had a $200 million Pentagon contract, the first AI ever cleared to operate on classified military networks. Then the government came back with a demand: remove all safeguards. Allow mass surveillance of American citizens. Enable autonomous weapons that fire without a human in the loop. Anthropic's CEO said no. By the next day, the Trump administration blacklisted them entirely.

We get into what the Pentagon actually wanted, why Anthropic's decision might be the smartest business move in AI right now, and why the comparison to Apple's famous privacy standoff tells you everything about where this is headed.

This is the episode where the AI boom stops being about hype — and starts being about power.

]]>813537c1-2448-41fa-b5b2-b364ee9e6fb4Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT<p>We're back — and this episode covers two of the biggest stories in tech right now.</p><p>First, Nvidia. The company just reported 73% revenue growth and beat every estimate on Wall Street. So why did the stock still drop? We break down the four forces quietly reshaping the AI chip market — DeepSeek's $6 million bombshell, Trump's tariffs, big tech building their own chips, and whether Michael Burry's billion-dollar bet against AI is starting to look a lot smarter than people thought.</p><p>Then, the story that shook the entire AI industry. Anthropic — the company behind Claude — had a $200 million Pentagon contract, the first AI ever cleared to operate on classified military networks. Then the government came back with a demand: remove all safeguards. Allow mass surveillance of American citizens. Enable autonomous weapons that fire without a human in the loop. Anthropic's CEO said no. By the next day, the Trump administration blacklisted them entirely.</p><p>We get into what the Pentagon actually wanted, why Anthropic's decision might be the smartest business move in AI right now, and why the comparison to Apple's famous privacy standoff tells you everything about where this is headed.</p><p>This is the episode where the AI boom stops being about hype — and starts being about power.</p>no00:32:1617#17 - No Guardrails, No Dealfull<![CDATA[Episode 16 - Reupload]]>The conversation explores the concept of responsibility in the context of autonomous systems and the implications for liability. It delves into the impact of automated driving systems on accountability and the legal and ethical considerations surrounding autonomous vehicles.

Takeaways

  • Autonomous systems introduce a separation between human oversight and operational behavior, leading to a shift in responsibility.
  • The legal and ethical implications of autonomous driving systems raise questions about liability and accountability.

Chapters

  • 00:00 New Year Revelry and Responsibility
  • 07:24 Regulatory and Ethical Considerations
]]>f52af546-538e-4806-b91e-f8137e4bc91dThu, 05 Mar 2026 22:32:02 GMT<p>The conversation explores the concept of responsibility in the context of autonomous systems and the implications for liability. It delves into the impact of automated driving systems on accountability and the legal and ethical considerations surrounding autonomous vehicles.</p><p></p><p>Takeaways</p><ul><li>Autonomous systems introduce a separation between human oversight and operational behavior, leading to a shift in responsibility.</li><li>The legal and ethical implications of autonomous driving systems raise questions about liability and accountability.</li></ul><p></p><p>Chapters</p><ul><li>00:00 New Year Revelry and Responsibility</li><li>07:24 Regulatory and Ethical Considerations</li></ul>no00:15:1616Episode 16 - Reuploadfull