pods4.me
Checking session…

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

“Why Did Big Tech Stop Building Useful Products?” from “Deep Questions with Cal Newport” by pods4.me

October 22, 2026 · 14 min

Tesla’s recent demo of a rocket-powered Roadster doing a kick-flick over a parked car touched a nerve in me. It seemed to epitomize changes to the tech sector in recent years that have been largely negative. In this short episode, I jump on the mic to explain some of my developing thoughts surrounding these ideas. More from Cal Download Cal’s FREE guide to cultivating a deeper life: calnewport.com/ideas Learn more about Cal’s books: calnewport.com/books Listen to Cal’s podcast: thedeeplife.com/listen Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:40 Factor 1: Growth companies vs. stable companies 05:40 Factor 2: Engagement-pilling 08:00 Factor 3: Building useful products is hard 10:43 Why this is a problem — and what we can do about it 13:49 Outro Credits: Podcast Production: Jesse Miller Newsletter/Research: Nate Mechler Theme Music: Jay Kerstens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listen to the episode

Add it to your feed to listen in your favourite player.

A podcast feed your agent runs for you

pods4.me finds and adds the episodes you care about to a personal podcast feed that works with your favourite player.