They are wealthy.
They are powerful.
They believe themselves to the smartest people on earth.
But they are babes in the dark woods of Washington.
Abby Alton and Ed Kowalski, respectively the CEO and legendary CTO of the tech giant Talking & Shopping, have decided that they need a better relationship with the political leaders of the United States. To date, they have thought little about politics. Alton views it as just one more impediment to her personal success. Kowalski thinks that he can replace politics with algorithms. Algorithms plus data.
But Talking & Shopping has had some trouble of late. It has lost government contracts. It has had trouble getting permits for its new delivery system. It was thrown out of Atlanta by residents who refused to let the company build a 50 story office in a residential suburb. It is having trouble with its workforce in Vietnam.
Alton and Kowalski thought that a little good PR might fix the problem but it has not and so to Washington they have come.
In their work they are being guided by Sulley, an old Washington hand who is a little more concerned with his wardrobe than his clients, and his faithful colleague, Yasmin, who is every bit as bright as her client Abby Alton, but not quite as experienced. Both work in their snug but well-located office (next to the Capitol Power Plant) and are part of the global consultancy, How We Manage Stuff.
Thus begins our Story: What Big Tech Doesn’t Know [About Washington]
- Sahara Ale – Yasmin, Attorney-Advisor
- Margaux Amie – Rachel D’Fino, aide to Senator Stassen; Senator Christine Stassen; Evelyne of T&S
- Zoe Anastassiou – Faith of Beva’s Place; Waiter; Female Aide
- Debbon Ayer – Abby Alton, CEO of T&S
- Ron Bianchi – The Ancient One; Waiter; Bashir, the Uber Driver
- Geoffrey Grier – Fitz Morris of NTIA; Vinny of HWMS
- Kit Kusenok – Ed Kowalski, CTO of T&S
- Josh LaForce – Sulley Bowman, Director HWMS Washington Office
- Noah Masur – Buckley Williams of Federation for Digital Future; Male Aide
- Jake Minevich – Victor Numerov of T&S; Chad Dockerly of Technica Publica
- Skippy – Maggy, the Fury
- Sarah Corbyn Woolf – Anna, once an Intern
Swapping Gossip.
A pair of old friends meeting for lunch.
What is Talking and Shopping trying to do in DC? Is Big Tech vulnerable? Is there some agenda that they don’t see?
And then there is the reporter. Did I mention the reporter?
What they do see is a little meeting between congressional aides, aides sho are in love, just not with each other.
The senior leadership of the Internet firm Talking and Shopping starts to encounter the politics of Washington DC.
Seventh episode in the new series begins “What Big Tech Doesn’t Know” from the audio drama “How We Manage Stuff.”
Cast:
- Waiter – Ron Bianchi
- Morris Fitz, Department of Commercial Official – Geoffrey Grier
- Rachel D’Fino, Chief of Staff to Senator Stassen – Margaux Ami
- Chad Dockerly, Publisher/Reporter Technica Publica – Jake Minevich
- Young Female Aide – Zoe Anastassiou
- Young Male Aide – Noah Masur
- Maggie, the Fury – Skippy
[19130]