Recode Decode: Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden

The Hive authors Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about how they came to write a young adult book about a social media dystopia, based on a cinematic idea from actor Jennifer Beals and producer Tom Jacobson. The 2019 book is set "five minutes in the future," where social media participation is mandated by the government for everyone over 13, which introduces some familiar social issues: The pressure to be perfect when everything is public, and the risk of mob justice when you step out of line. Lyga and Baden also explain what works in YA literature now, their mixed feelings about the power of social media and "cancel culture," and how they would attempt to fix platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

Featuring:

Barry Lyga (@barrylyga) and Morgan Baden (@MorganBaden), co-authors, The Hive

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

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