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Recode Radio presents Recode Decode, hosted by Cara Swisher, powered by digital media.

I am Cara Swisher, Executive Editor of Recode. You may know me as the commanding officer

of absolutely nothing, but in my spare time I talk tech and you're listening to Recode

Decode, a podcast about tech and media's key players, big ideas and how they're changing

the world we live in. You can subscribe to Recode Decode at iTunes.com slash recode

decode and while you're there, leave us a review. Today in the red chair, it is my privilege

to have Ash Carter, the United States Secretary of Defense. Secretary Carter is a physicist

by training a former Harvard University professor who has served under President Bill Clinton

in the early 1990s. He was nominated by President Obama to lead the Defense Department in 2014

and has served as the country's 25th Secretary for just over a year now. Mr. Secretary,

welcome to the show. Good to be here, can't thank you very much.

You're in Silicon Valley. You've been doing a tour. I am. Third time. Third time, which

is the first time you said in the speech was the first time in 20 years at a defense

secretary. I was astonished to find out when I came here shortly after the coming Secretary

of Defense. And I'll tell you why in a minute that no secretary of defense had been here

in 20 years. And the reason I came out here is the same reason I was astonished, namely,

this is one of the innovative parts of the United States. Innovation is what has made

...