Technology

I'm no psychologist, but I'm pretty sure Google has an issue with commitment.

The company famous for flip-flops has just reversed course yet again with the introduction of a new podcast app for Android. Google Podcasts, announced earlier this week, marks the company's second standalone stab at an Android podcasting service. (It also marks the launch of yet another instance of awkwardly overlapping Google services, since podcasts are currently available, too, in the wholly separate Bizarro World of Google Play Music — but that's another story for another time.)

There are only 10 more days until The Europas where the winners of this yearstartup awards will be announced at our gala dinner, in association with TechCrunch!

The Europas half-day &Unconference& will have a fantastic lineup of panels taking place in the afternoon before the awards. This year, we&ve done away with mainstage lectures, and we&ve created a series of more tightly focused discussion panels that give you a front-row seat to the biggest investors, founders and thought leaders in tech. No more seeing a huge investor or founder on stage and not even getting to talk to them! Our goal at The Europas is to break down the barriers between speakers and audience and to get the discussion going!

This year our panels are focused around three themes: Tech + Society; Start Up Central, and The Crypto Zone. You can see the complete agenda here along with the panel speakers.

In Tech + Society, we&ll be debating and discussing:

— What happens to the tech community post Brexit

— The Disinfoconomy panel will dive into whatnext after Facebookdata debacle for both companies, essentially trading in personal data and for user privacy.

— Mapping the Future of Transportation and Cities: a startup thatjust emerging from stealth mode will talk about how AVs can co-exist in todaycities.

In the Startup Central, our zone dedicated to startup life, we&ll be covering everything from seed funding to Series B and beyond. Expect to meet many investors here, as many of them will be heading up the discussion (as well as attending the awards dinner), including investors from Accel, Passion Capital, Connect Ventures, LocalGlobe, Seedcamp and many more. We&ll also be diving into startup life itself, asking if a work life balance can ever exist, and what exactly is &cultural fit& And our most popular panel is back & Meet the Press & where you can ask top tech reporters what about exactly &makes& a tech startup story.

Finally & if you haven&t noticed recently, we&ve fallen headlong into the crypto rabbit hole. By popular demand, we&ve got two blockchain tracks dedicated to exploring the opportunities and challenges in the space. One track is dedicated to the ins and outs of investing, and the other track to the number of industries and existing business practices that blockchain is disrupting.

Agenda so far (more speakers to be confirmed):

Tech + Society Zone

•Should We Stay or Should We Go Now Saul Klein, LocalGlobe Eloise Todd, CEO, Best For Britain (- other panelists to be announced)

• The Disinformation Economy Dhruv Ghulati of factmata.com

•Get Mapping, the Future of Transportation in an Autonomous Age: Steve Gledden, AiPod

•AI + Startups & A Non Starter Paul Dowling, Deeptech Mondays

Startup Central Zone

•The New World Order of Early Stage Investment Tina Baker, JAG Shaw Baker Scott Sage, VC

•Crossing the Chasm to Series B and Beyond (Speakers TBA)

•The Future of Funding: ICOs, Crowdfunding and VC Michael Jackson, Mangrove Capital Ali Ganjavian

•Meet the Press Featuring Journalists from Business Insider, WSJ and more

•This Startup Life & from work/life balance to cultural fit Brett, Forsyth Group

Crypto Zone 1

•Investing in Crypto: WhatHot and WhatNot Richard Muirhead, Fabric Ventures Damir Bandalo, Columbus Capital George McDonagh, KR1 Nancy Fechnay, blockchain Angel

•The Highs and Lows of ICOs: 3 Blockchain Projects, 3 ICOs Linda Wang, Lending Block

• Tokenize It! Understanding Token Economics Lee Pruitt, Instasupply;

•Smart Contracts, Smarter Businesses: What Smart Contracts Can Enable

•The Most Crypto Friendly Jurisdictions Diana Rotaru, Blockchip Keld Van Shreven, KR1

Crypto Zone 2

•The State of Blockchain in Europe Sasha Ivanov, Waves Lexi Willets, Coinweb Peter Wilson, Blockchain

•Blockchain for Social Impact: Where is Blockchain Making a Difference Min Teo, Consensys

•Fixing Media, the Creative Industries and Visual Arts with Blockchain Maria Tanjala, FilmChain Robert Norton, Verisart Christine Mohan, Civil

•We Don&t Need No Thought Control: Digital Identity and Blockchain & Pelle Braendgaard, uPort