Safe Space - Talking Trust and Safety
What does it take to make the Internet a safer place? More importantly, who does it take? Safe Space explores the human side of trust & safety—featuring the leaders, thinkers, and builders working to protect online communities. Hosted by John Starr, VP of Operations and Strategic Impact at Thorn, this podcast dives into the personal journeys of those shaping the future of the digital world—one policy, one decision, and one conversation at a time. Presented by Safer by Thorn.
Episodes
In this episode of Safe Space, hosts John Starr and Pailes Halai sit down with Lauren Jonas, Head of Youth Wellbeing at OpenAI, to talk about what it takes to design technology that truly supports and protects young people in the age of AI.
Join us for a fascinating conversation with Ryn Linthicum, who brings a unique perspective to AI safety at Anthropic. Ryn shares insights from time spent at TikTok and their current work on Anthropic's safeguards team, where they help build safety into AI models from the ground up.
David Polgar, founder of All Tech is Human, shares how he built a 55,000-member community focused on responsible technology without a tech background. Polgar reveals the motivations driving trust and safety professionals as they seek to reclaim the internet's original promise of global connection.
John Starr sits down with our new host, Pailes Halai, Thorn's Sr. Manager of Key Accounts & Partnerships, to hear how he got here and his interest in uncovering the stories of trust and safety pros in the AI industry.
Del Harvey, a legend in the field, built Twitter's trust and safety organization from the ground up, leading it for over a decade as the platform became a global phenomenon. In this Safe Space episode, the pioneering safety leader shares her unconventional journey from lifeguard to reality TV psychological screener to trust and safety icon.
Del offers insights into hiring passionate teams, building psychological safety for rap...
After a pivotal university lecture digging into the history of child abuse in Ireland, John Buckley found his calling. His career path led him to tech giants Facebook and Google, driven by first-hand observations of how technology was playing a larger and larger role in children's lives.
In this episode, John Starr talks with John Buckley, director and head of child rights & safety with the Lego Group. Buckley shares his re...
In this revealing conversation, John Starr speaks with Aaron Rodericks, Head of Trust and Safety at Bluesky, about his unexpected journey to become the trust and safety leader at one of today's fastest-growing social platforms.
Rodericks candidly discusses the realities of scaling trust and safety at a pre-revenue startup with just 20 employees total while experiencing explosive growth—from 3,500 to one million new users daily....
From aspiring United Nations interpreter to Trust & Safety leader, Patricia Cartes, Head of Trust & Safety at Cantina AI, takes us on her global journey into online safety. Thorn's VP of Strategic Impact, John Starr, explores Cartes' journey from translating spam websites to shaping content policies at tech giants.
Patricia reflects on the early days of T&S under "online sales and operations"...
From social work to social networks online, Jerrel Peterson, Director of Content Policy at Spotify and former Twitter alum, takes us on his unexpected journey into Trust & Safety. Thorn's VP of Strategic Impact, John Starr, talks with Peterson about his fascinating transition from aspiring plastic surgeon to social worker, and ultimately to a content policy expert bringing a unique perspective to online safety.
Jerrel expl...
In this candid conversation, Yoel Roth, VP at Match Group and Twitter alum, shares his personal and professional evolution in Trust & Safety. Host John Starr, Thorn’s VP of Strategic Impact, asks Roth to reflect on his interests in the early internet days and lessons learned while shaping the safety landscape of today's biggest platforms. Discover how a curious grad student became a pivotal figure in online protection, and...
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