The Communicators: Recent Episodes

C-SPAN

Every week, hear from leaders in technology and communications about topics shaping our digital future on C-SPAN's The Communicators. Legislators and business leaders, experts and entrepreneurs discuss topics that influence technology in America today and tomorrow.

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Huawei Chief U.S. Security Officer Andy Purdy discusses Huawei's problems doing business in the U.S., including a recent FCC vote that companies cannot use federal funds to buy Huawei equipment for their networks. Huawei is suing the FCC in response.

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Adrian Shahbaz, the research director of a Freedom House report on internet freedom, talks about a crisis in social media, and what countries around the world are doing to regulate the internet.

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[Hop, Skip, Go] co-author Stephen Baker talks about the future of transportation, printable 3-D cars, and tiny helicopters that carry one person.

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Jason Oxman, the leader of the Information Technology Industry Council, looks at regulation, trade, privacy and antitrust.

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Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA) talks about a recent FCC oversight hearing, errors in broadband maps by major telecom companies, the Chinese company Huawei, and the role of tech as an issue in 2020 campaigns.

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Representative Suzan DelBene (D-WA), a CEO of start-up companies, talks about topics including, privacy, big tech companies, and free speech. Her bill, the Information Transparency & Personal Data Control Act, was introduced in the House in April.

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Telecom CEO Bob Udell talks about the future of communications and the issues facing them, such as how to bridge the digital divide between rural areas that have little internet access and urban areas that have it.

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Brendan Carr, FCC Commissioner (R), talks about issues affecting the FCC, including spectrum auctions, 5G, STELAR, impact of the Sprint-T Mobile merger, and cyber attacks.

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Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix, talks about his adventures starting Netflix with Reed Hastings. His book, [That Will Never Work], is filled with anecdotes and lessons about creating the streaming service.

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Representative Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Energy & Commerce Committee vice chair, talks about "smart cities" and the technology that enables them. She also talks about election security, "deepfakes" and facial recognition issues.

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MIT Professor Sinan Aral proposes ways to measure disinformation on social media in order to safeguard elections and democracy.

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FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson (R) talks about the Federal Trade Commission's role as a cop on the beat regulating the internet, including regulation of "big tech" companies.

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Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Science Cmte. Chair, talks about a need for more U.S. minorities and women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. She also talks about disinformation, privacy, and artificial intelligence.

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Gigi Sohn, (former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler's adviser) & Patrick Halley (USTelecom Sr. VP of Advocacy & Regulatory Affairs) discuss ramifications of last week's DC Appeals Court decision to uphold much, but not all, of a DC Federal Appeals Court ruling.

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FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly (R) reacts to recent appeals court decisions on net neutrality and media ownership. He also talks about key industry topics including, spectrum, 5G, and the Lifeline program.

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Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Commerce Committee member, and head of the Judiciary Cmte's Technology Task Force, discusses tech needs in the U.S. and her work on tech issues.

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A look at the TV, video, media and internet industries and their future with Craig Moffett, one of the nation's top telecom market analysts.

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Rep. Jerry McNerney, AI Caucus co-chair & member of the Communications & Technology Subcommittee, talks about technology & Congress. Issues include the future of artificial intelligence, whether big tech companies need more regulation, 5G & more

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Ashley Gold (The Information), Emily Birnbaum (The Hill), and Alexandra Levine (Politico) talk about the tech industry-related issues that Congress and U.S. government agencies will be focusing on this fall.

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George Mason University professor Duminda Wijesekera talks about the Black Hat cybersecurity conference and the presentation he gave at Black Hat on the vulnerabilities found in electric motors.

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CNBC cybersecurity reporter Kate Fazzini discusses her book [Kingdom of Lies], about the world of cybercrime and the people tasked with trying to stop it.

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Daniel Castro, vice president at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, talks about data privacy and whether the U.S. government and companies like Equifax and Capital One are doing enough to protect Americans from harm.

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Robert Bluey from the Heritage Foundation and Patrick Hedger from the Competitive Enterprise Institute talk about the recent White House Social Media Summit at which President Trump discussed social media censorship by the big tech firms.

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Gordon Smith, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, talks about the future of broadcast television and the challenges local broadcasters face in the age of subscription TV and online platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.

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Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) talks about the tech industry and the oversight role of Congress.

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Scott Kupor, managing partner at the venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz, talks about the role that venture capitalists play in silicon valley and the process that start-ups go through to acquire funding.

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Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), who represents Silicon Valley, talks about the big issues facing the tech industry and the oversight role of Congress.

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Georgetown University's Cal Newport discusses his book, "Digital Minimalism," in which he questions the value of being digitally connected all the time.

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David Chavern (News Media Alliance) and Matthew Schruers (Computer and Communications Industry Association) talk about the future of journalism in the age of big tech firms like Google and Facebook.

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The Communicators visits Capitol Hill to talk to exhibitors at CES on the Hill, an event for Members of Congress and staff to give them an advanced look at new tech industry products.

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The Communicators visits Capitol Hill to talk to exhibitors at CES on the Hill, an event for Members of Congress and staff to give them an advanced look at new tech industry products.

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Carl Szabo of NetChoice and Gene Kimmelman, president and CEO of Public Knowledge, debate the pros and cons of breaking up big tech firms like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook.

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Brian McCullough, host of the Internet History Podcast, talks about his book [How the Internet Happened: From Netscape to the iPhone.]

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FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr talks about 5G, internet security, the possible T-Mobile/Sprint merger, robocalls and more.

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USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter discusses broadband availability, 5G, net neutrality and internet security.

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Huawei's chief security officer talks about 5G, discusses U.S. efforts to persuade other nations to not use Huawei equipment, and allegations that Huawei will be used to spy on Americans.

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Leaders of America's Communications Association, which is made up of small to medium-sized cable and internet providers, discuss the future of the industry and issues they face. The association was known as the American Cable Association until March.

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C-SPAN conducts interviews with digital activists and thinkers at the State of Net Conference. This week's guests, Daniel Weitzner of MIT, and Mary Stone Ross, co-author of the California Privacy Act, discuss digital privacy.

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James Lewis, a CSIS cybersecurity and national security analyst, talks about the cyber status of Russia and China, Russian efforts to influence U.S. elections, and potential risks of using equipment from the Chinese company Huawei.

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C-SPAN interviews digital leaders and officials at the State of the Net conference. This week's guests discuss the debate over when speech needs to be removed from media platforms and European Union digital issues.

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Tim Wu discusses his book, [The Curse of Bigness.] He says today's big technology companies are buying up small companies to prevent competition, and have impacts similar to Standard Oil and U.S. Steel, when they dominated the economy.

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NCTA President Michael Powell talked about changes in the way Washington views technology companies, calling it the "biggest whiplash" he's ever seen in policy. He says cable companies are thriving by delivering the internet to users.

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Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Representative Greg Walden (R-OR), two members of Congress with large roles in technology, talk about key issues such as net neutrality, privacy, mergers, and whether tech companies are too large.

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Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA), chairman of the House subcommittee overseeing technology and communications, talks about net neutrality, hate speech on the internet and social media, and mergers such as the proposed T-Mobile/Sprint deal.

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Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, talks about his new book, [From Gutenberg to Google], which outlines technological advances such as railroads, the telegraph, printing presses, computers, and search engines.

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The Communicators interviews Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Representative Bob Latta (R-OH), the Republicans who lead the Communications and Technology subcommittees in their respective chambers.

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Christopher Shelton, president of the Communications Workers of America, talks about the union's opposition to the T-Mobile/Sprint deal, Congress's role on the issues, 5G and more.

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FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly (R) talks about communications issues in 2019, including net neutrality, the FCC's role in privacy, how a Democratic-led House could affect communication, and the 5G wireless spectrum.

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C-SPAN interviews digital leaders and officials at the State of the Net conference. This week's guests include, Rebecca Slaughter (D), a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, and Neil Chilson, a fellow at the Charles Koch Institute.

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C-SPAN interviews digital leaders and officials at the State of the Net conference. Guests include officials who regulate and monitor privacy and cybersecurity, research artificial intelligence, and who investigate internet and communications crime.

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Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro talks about major technology issues facing the U.S. He also talks about the CES electronics show sponsored by CTA in Las Vegas, where thousands of tech companies showed their latest products.

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Walt Mossberg, technology thinker and columnist, talks about technology developments and why he decided to quit Facebook.

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Susan Crawford, Harvard law school professor and WIRED columnist, talks about her book [Fiber]. She contends that huge corporations are providing sub-par internet access to Americans while in many nations, internet access is plentiful and costs less.

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Tarleton Gillespie, author of [Custodians of the Internet], talks about his book that explores content moderation on social media platforms. He also discusses the role that Congress could play.

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Byron Reese, author of [The Fourth Age], talks about the current role of artificial intelligence and its future applications.