Nora: The guy who ran the App Store just quit... because Apple isn't greedy enough. Let that sink in.
Dex: I'm Dex.
Nora: And I'm Nora.
Dex: This is Down Round. It's Monday, September 7th.
Nora: Today on the show: we're tracking that thin line between ambition and sheer absurdity.
Dex: First, there's major drama in Cupertino, where a top exec just walked over the future of the App Store.
Nora: Then, authors who won a big AI settlement are now fighting their own publishers for the cash.
Dex: And just when you thought it was safe to cross the street… Travis Kalanick might be getting into robotaxis.
Dex: Alright, let's start with that bombshell out of Apple.
Nora: So Phil Schiller—an Apple Fellow, one of the last of the old guard—is out. He's no longer running the App Store.
Dex: And the story is he clashed with the new CEO, John Ternus. But the reason they clashed is... just wild.
Nora: Go on. You said it in the intro and I still don't believe it. He quit because the App Store wasn't making enough money?
Dex: Not just money—not enough recurring revenue. Ternus apparently wants to squeeze even more subscription fees out of the ecosystem.
Nora: You have to be kidding me. The App Store, which developers already call a protection racket, needs to be more extractive?
Dex: Well, Ternus is an ops guy. He sees the whole world moving to subscriptions, and he wants Apple's cut of everything. Forever.
Nora: And Schiller, who helped build this thing into a multi-hundred-billion-dollar business, thought that was a bridge too far. I never thought I'd say this, but… good for Phil Schiller?
Dex: Right? When a top Apple exec starts siding with the developers, you know you've gone too far.
Nora: So what does this mean for anyone building an app? Your 30% tax is about to go up, or just get more… creative?
Dex: That’s the writing on the wall. Expect more pressure, more rules, and a bigger push to lock you into their 'services' revenue line. Schiller walking away means a fundamental shift is coming.
Nora: A tectonic shift, powered by pure greed. Unbelievable.
Nora: Alright, let's move from one money fight to another. This time, it’s authors versus... well, pretty much everyone.
Dex: Right, so a group of authors are getting settlement checks from Anthropic, because the AI company trained its models on their books without permission.
Nora: A win for the little guy! Except... not so fast.
Dex: Exactly. Because now the publishers—and even the literary agents—are showing up demanding their cut.
Nora: Of course they are. Let me guess: they're citing some vague clause in the contract about 'ancillary' or 'electronic' rights?
Dex: That's exactly the argument. But the Authors Guild is pushing back, hard. They say this isn't some licensing fee—it's payment for damages from copyright infringement.
Nora: Meaning the harm was done to the author, who owns the copyright. Not the publisher, who's basically a distribution partner.
Dex: It's a huge distinction, and it could set a massive precedent. If publishers win this, they could get a cut of all future AI training settlements.
Nora: This is what always happens. The creator takes the risk, and the second there's a payout, a dozen middlemen show up with their hands out, waving a hundred-page contract nobody understood.
Dex: So the takeaway for any creator is read your contracts. And maybe get your own 'AI training' clause in there before you sign anything new.
Nora: Yeah. Don't let your big win against the robots turn into a payday for your agent.
Dex: Alright, our last story… Nora, are you ready for this? He's back.
Nora: Don't say it. Don't you dare say his name.
Dex: Travis Kalanick. His new mystery startup, Atoms, is reportedly sniffing around the robotaxi business.
Nora: Of course he is. Because the first time he tried to tackle self-driving it went so well.
Dex: He's been saying Atoms is about 'unfinished business,' and this has to be it. The end-game for Uber was always getting rid of the driver.
Nora: Unfinished business? You mean burning through billions of dollars, fighting every city on the planet, and… other stuff we can't mention on the air? That unfinished business?
Dex: Okay, yes, all of that. But from a pure, cold-blooded founder perspective... you have to admire the audacity. Getting knocked out of the ring, then deciding to build a new stadium next door to fight again?
Nora: I don't call it audacity, I call it ego. He couldn't win at Uber, so he's taking a new pile of someone else's money to try again.
Dex: Well, that pile of cash is reportedly huge. And the word is he's not building cars, just the software—the 'brains' of the operation.
Nora: A brain I would not want driving me anywhere. So what does this mean for the rest of us? More AV hype? Another decade of 'it's just two years away'?
Dex: It means the robotaxi wars just got a new, very aggressive, and very well-funded player. Buckle up.
Nora: So, an Apple exec gets a conscience because the company isn't being greedy enough.
Dex: Authors who won a settlement against an AI company now have to fight their own team for the money.
Nora: And Travis Kalanick is back with his 'unfinished business,' which is probably a future headache for all of us.
Dex: And before we go, a quick note: it's Labor Day here in the U.S.
Nora: A day for workers. Feels… ironic, after that story about authors fighting for their own settlement money.
Dex: It is a little ironic. So maybe today, actually stay off your work Slack. Unless you're a founder, in which case, we know you're not listening to this anyway.
Nora: That's our show. We're back tomorrow with more.
Dex: See you then. And try not to have any 'unfinished business' that lands you in the news.
This show is made with AI: the hosts’ voices are synthetic and the scripts are AI-assisted. Every story links to its original source.