How Masayoshi Son Shaped the Tech Industry
On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, Laleh Khalili on Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank.

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Paris Marx is joined by Laleh Khalili to discuss Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, the structural factors that allowed him to build an empire, and the many ways he’s shaped the modern tech industry.
Laleh Khalili is Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Sinews of War and Trade and her forthcoming book Extractive Capitalism.
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Masayoshi Son, chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp., during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Priority conference in Miami, Florida, US, on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.
(Zak Bennett / Bloomberg via Getty Images)On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, I’m joined by Laleh Khalili to discuss SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, the structural factors that allowed him to build an empire, and the many ways he’s shaped the modern tech industry.
Laleh Khalili is a professor of Gulf studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Sinews of War and Trade and her forthcoming book Extractive Capitalism.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Paris Marx is joined by Amanda Hanna-McLeer and Lucy Jackson to discuss the story of The Luddite Club, from its beginnings as a high school organization to its pivot into a non-profit and growth into an international movement.
Amanda Hanna-McLeer is a writer, educator, and director of The Luddite Club documentary. Lucy Jackson is an early member of the Luddite Club.
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