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 Cam Wilson to discuss the new social media age limit in Australia, including how successful the rollout has been so far and the missed opportunities of taking a more nuanced regulatory approach.
Cam Wilson is an associate editor at Crikey and writes The Sizzle newsletter. He’s a co-author of Conspiracy Nation: Exposing the Dangerous World of Australian Conspiracy Theories.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com
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