Bluesky Social is a social media app that was originally launched in 2019 on Twitter, before becoming an independent company in 2021. Bluesky’s mission is to offer a decentralized experience for users—where algorithms are not imposed on them, but they can choose their content preferences. The platform also highlights the importance of portability, enabling users to carry their social media ecosystems across different platforms. But what are the technical and social challenges to making true platform portability a reality?

To explore this, Shane Tews interviews Matt Reeder, head of legal at Bluesky. Formerly, Matt served as chief legal and operations officer at OnlyFans and as a trial attorney with the US Marine Corps. His extensive experience in creating transparent, user-focused terms and conditions, combined with his passion for expanding opportunities, makes for an engaging conversation.

Email was created over 50 years ago—so why isn’t it secure? Sixty-eight percent of IT teams report a data breach in their organization caused by phishing in the last year. Even experts trained to spot the telltale signs can be fooled: Nearly 66 percent of IT leaders admit to clicking malicious links, and more than half of employees have done the same.

Shane interviews Cy Khormaee and Ryan Luo, cofounders of AegisAI. Together, they bring over a decade of experience at Google. In this discussion, they provide both a technical and practical lens to cybersecurity. They discuss why email is the frontline of cybersecurity, describe the anatomy of a phishing email, explain how individuals and organizations can protect their inboxes, and more.

As governments around the world expand their surveillance capabilities, strong encryption remains a cornerstone for protecting personal privacy, securing business data, and preserving digital rights. For consumers, it guards against identity theft and intrusive monitoring; for businesses, it protects intellectual property and builds trust across global markets. Yet, as governmental pressure to weaken encryption intensifies, critical questions arise: How do we preserve strong encryption standards while addressing legitimate security concerns? Can privacy, innovation, and human rights truly coexist with national security imperatives? And how do we resist the false choice between security and privacy that authoritarian regimes often present?

At the Technology Policy Institute’s 2025 Aspen Forum, Shane Tews moderated a panel titled Privacy and Governmental Surveillance with Jeff Greene, Jim Kohlenberger, and Jennifer Huddleston as panelists. Together, they discussed how artificial intelligence is highlighting cybersecurity and privacy concerns and raising tough questions about governmental surveillance.