Advertise on podcast: Decoding Tech

What does it take to help shape one of the most consequential revolutions in tech history? Boris Cherny, creator and head of Claude Code, joins CHM curator David C. Brock for a wide-ranging conversation about the past, present, and future of artificial intelligence.  This CHM Live program was recorded on September 23, 2026, and made possible by the generous support of Mark and Mary Stevens. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

The California Gold Rush created fortunes not only for prospectors, but also for the people selling picks and shovels. The contemporary version of that story is the explosive demand for AI hardware. To discuss this, Bill Dally, Nvidia's Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Research, joined Norm Jouppi, Google's VP and Technical Fellow, for a conversation led by Dave Patterson, a CHM Fellow and UC Berkeley Pardee Professor of Computer Science Emeritus.  This CHM Live program was recorded on August 27, 2026. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

Smalltalk, the transformative programming language, development, and user environment pioneered by Alan Kay, turned 50 in 2022. For the occasion, Dan Ingalls and Adele Goldberg, members of Kay’s 1972 Learning Research Group at Xerox PARC, shared their experiences creating and working with Smalltalk. Former New York Times technology columnist John Markoff moderated the conversation and Alan Kay shared insights via prerecorded video. This CHM Live program was recorded on September 1, 2022. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

David Pogue, author of the bestselling book Apple: The First 50 Years, explores Apple’s history through its four defining eras and highlights pivotal moments along the way. From the company’s founding in a garage by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to the evolution of landmark products like the iPhone, Pogue examines Apple’s cultural impact and its influence on how people relate to technology, This conversation was recorded on February 23, 2026, and CHM Curator Hansen Hsu was the interviewer. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

What if the roots of Silicon Valley’s culture weren’t written in code but taught in a classroom? Esther Wojcicki, a trailblazing educator, journalist, and mother of tech leaders Susan and Ann Wojcicki, sat down for a live Q&A following a screening of The Godmother of Silicon Valley, a new documentary about her life. The conversation was moderated by the film's executive director Maciej Kawecki. This conversation was recorded on June 2, 2026, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

Will AI finally fix healthcare, or create a whole new set of problems? Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF, joined us to discuss his new book, A Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future. Katie Hafner, host and executive producer of the Lost Women of Science podcast, moderated the conversation. This conversation was recorded on June 30, 2026, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. It was made possible by the generous support of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

How did the early internet help shape today's transgender identity and activism? Scholar and CHM Book Prize winner Avery Dame‑Griff joined us to discuss his book, The Two Revolutions: A History of the Transgender Internet, and explore the digital origins of a movement that began long before today’s social platforms existed. The conversation was moderated by Joshua K. Reason, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies, at San Francisco State University. This conversation was recorded on June 23, 2026, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

Most people know about Steve Jobs' amazing work at Apple, but what about his "wilderness years" when he created NeXT? Learn about this period from Geoffrey Cain, author of Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary, along with key figures from NeXT’s history, including: Dan’l Lewin, Cofounder and VP of Sales and Marketing, NeXT Rich Page, Cofounder and VP of Hardware Engineering / Manufacturing, NeXT Avie Tevanian, VP of Engineering, NeXT Bud Tribble, Cofounder and VP of Software Engineering, NeXT This conversation was recorded on May 26, 2026, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

What happens when you let artificial intelligence run your life? Joanna Stern, Emmy Award–winning tech journalist, asks this question in her new book, I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything. She sat down with Nilay Patel, cofounder and editor-in-chief of The Verge, to share what actually worked, what didn’t, and what her experience reveals about where AI is headed. This conversation was recorded on May 19, 2026, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

Are you part of the 92 percent? That’s how many people around the world use emojis every day. Today's conversation explores how something as small as an emoji can have a big impact on inclusion and representation. Journalist, film producer, and emoji activist Jennifer 8. Lee joined acclaimed artist Yiying Lu, alongside Rayouf Alhumedhi—named one of Time magazine’s most influential teens—for a wide‑ranging discussion moderated by Sara Dean, then a California College of the Arts professor. This conversation was recorded on March 8, 2023, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

What if the most important innovation in technology isn’t what companies build but how they build it? In this episode, New York Times bestselling author Andrew McAfee explores The Geek Way, a radical approach to corporate culture that’s fast-moving, egalitarian, and relentlessly evidence-driven. Carl Bass, Former President and CEO, Autodesk, Moderates the conversation. This conversation was recorded on December 14, 2023, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

On April 1, 1976, Apple Computer was founded with a radical idea: that powerful computing should be personal. Fifty years later, Apple stands as one of the most influential tech companies in history. To celebrate this anniversary, David Pogue, legendary journalist and author of the new book Apple: The First 50 Years, hosted an event featuring: Chris Espinosa, Senior Apple EmployeeJohn Sculley, former Apple CEO  Avie Tevanian, former Chief Software Technology Officer and SVP of Software Engineering Plus, recorded segments from Apple luminaries like Steve Wozniak as well as live audience interviews. This conversation was recorded on March 11, 2026, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

The iPod and the iPhone transformed entertainment, communications, and computing in less than a decade. Tony Fadell joins John Markoff on stage to explore his time designing these amazing products as well as his founding of Nest. This conversation was recorded on May 10, 2017, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

The tiny pixel is the “big idea” that ties all digital imaging together. In this episode, computing‑graphics pioneer and Pixar cofounder Alvy Ray Smith shares insights from his book A Biography of the Pixel, on how this humble building block reshaped art, entertainment, and our digital world. Barbara Robertson, former Senior Editor of Computer Graphics World, moderated the conversation. This CHM Live event was recorded on August 11, 2022, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

What happens when the quest for love gets outsourced to computers? Just in time for Valentine's Day, we're exploring how technology has changed the ways we live and love today and what changes might be coming tomorrow. Featuring: Jeffrey Tarr, Cofounder, Operation MatchGary Kremen, Entrepreneur & Founder of Match.comSteve Dean, Online Dating Consultant at DateworkingModerator: Hanna Kozlowska, Reporter & Author of U Up? A Social History of Online Dating, which will be published with One Signal/Simon & Schuster in the US and Icon Books in the UK in 2027.This conversation was recorded on February 4, 2026, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org