Artificial Intelligence has too much hype. In this podcast, linguist Emily M. Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna break down the AI hype, separate fact from fiction, and science from bloviation. They're joined by special guests and talk about everything, from machine consciousness to science fiction, to political economy to art made by machines.
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Emily M Bender And Alex Hanna Podcasts
Silicon Valley wants to shape our future, but why should we let it? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its big promises, and the people behind them. Tech Won’t Save Us challenges the notion that tech alone can drive our world forward by showing that separating tech from politics has consequences for us all, especially the most vulnerable. It’s not your usual tech podcast.
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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.
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Because Language - a podcast about linguistics, the science of language.
Daniel Midgley, Ben Ainslie, and Hedvig Skirgård
A podcast about linguistics, the science of language.
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A show from WFMU about our shift to a digital future. Mark Hurst interviews creators and thinkers about technology, community, videogames, and whatever else is next.
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A Fresh Face in Hell with Jonathan Evison is an hour long, conversation based, format. Guests include writers, musicians, athletes, actors, philosophers, scientists, and an array of experts across a variety of disciplines. Subjects will be treated with a mix of humor and thoughtful exploration.
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Daniel Solove, author, "On Privacy and Technology" Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - "Mark's intro" - "Interview with Daniel Solove" [0:03:11] - "Mark's comments" [0:44:53] The Metronomes - "A Circuit Like Me" [0:54:31]https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/154339By Mark Hurst and WFMU
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How the Tech Billionaires Bought Radical Journalists | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
46:28
46:28
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46:28Tech lords such as Peter Thiel and Elon Musk are among the richest humans who have ever lived and have an enormous sway over the American political system but even that isn’t enough for them. They also want a compliant media, one that echoes their ideas, doesn’t investigate their business practices, and goes after their enemy. This is the subject o…
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Israel Bombs Damascus, Militant Violence in Haiti, France Withdraws Troops from Senegal | American Prestige
46:00
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46:00Derek is in the shop for maintenance, so Danny presents the news with the Quincy Institute’s Alex Jordan. This week: Israel bombs the Syrian Defense Ministry in Damascus (0:39) as Netanyahu’s corruption trial carries on (7:05), plus US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemns settlers killing a US citizen (10:24), and the Hague Group coalition m…
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Microsoft Is Gutting the Video Game Industry | Tech Won't Save Us
55:09
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55:09Paris Marx is joined by Nathan Grayson to discuss the latest round of Microsoft layoffs and how the company’s ambition to remake the video game industry around its streaming service has had significant consequences. Nathan Grayson is a co-founder of Aftermath and author of Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Scr…
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Microsoft is Gutting the Video Game Industry w/ Nathan Grayson
55:09
55:09
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55:09Paris Marx is joined by Nathan Grayson to discuss the latest round of Microsoft layoffs and how the company’s ambition to remake the video game industry around its streaming service has had significant consequences. Nathan Grayson is a co-founder of Aftermath and author of Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Scr…
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I'm back in the saddle today with another old friend - world-renowned chainsaw sculptor Steve Backus. Steve has been creating bears, whales, eagles, gnomes, and mermaids from massive pieces of wood for over 40 years. He organizes and judges sculpting competitions internationally and has appeared on the show "Saw Dogs". I talk with Steve about his t…
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Musk’s Third Party—Plus, the Birthright Citizenship Class Action | Start Making Sense
41:52
41:52
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41:52There’s trouble in Trump world: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is launching a Third Party to challenge Trump’s Republicans in the midterms and maybe in 2028. Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party, explains why Musk will fail. Also: Trump’s executive order abolishing birthright citizenship – guaranteed by the 14th Am…
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The History of America’s Entrepreneurial Work Ethic | American Prestige
58:26
58:26
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58:26Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps, rise ‘n grind, and find your calling as we welcome historian Erik Baker to the program to talk about his book Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America. The group explores the Protestant work ethic and Jeffersonian yeoman farmer, influential figures like Henry Ford and Frederick W…
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Duncan Moench on "soylent screens" and producerism from Jul 14, 2025
1:15:28
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1:15:28Duncan Moench on "soylent screens" and producerism Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - "Mark's intro" [0:01:51] - "Interview with Duncan Moench" [0:07:12] - "Mark's comments" [0:48:51] Posthuman - "The Screens Of Our Lives" [0:57:46]https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/153977By Mark Hurst and WFMU
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The Roots of Trump’s Foreign Policy Instability | The Time of Monsters With Jeet Heer
41:35
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41:35Donald Trump’s foreign policy has been as unstable as the man himself, shifting quickly from pushes for restraint to escalating wars in the Middle East. This volatility is a function not just of Trump’s personality but the contradictions and competing factions that are gathered under the term America First, as well as the continued power of the for…
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122: The Interaction Engine (with Stephen Levinson)
55:34
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55:34How did language start? What do all languages have in common? How does language really work? Many answers have been posed to these questions, but one thing is for sure: interaction is the combustion chamber where everything happens. We're having a chat with linguistic lion Stephen Levinson, author of The Interaction Engine. Timestamps Introductions…
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Houthis Resume Red Sea Attacks, New IDF Strikes in Lebanon, Deadly Kenya Protests | American Prestige
48:33
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48:33Remember that today is the last day to order our limited edition “Robo Washington Crossing the Delaware” poster! Paid subscribers get a 50% discount! AP’s retirement account is entirely tied to copper, so we’re not sure how long we have to do this. In this week’s news: Yemen’s Houthi/Ansar Allah fighters have resumed attacks on commercial ships in …
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How the US Weaponizes Technology in the Middle East | Tech Won't Save Us
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53:32Paris Marx is joined by Laleh Khalili to discuss how the United States uses its control of key technologies to shift global power dynamics, and how that specifically plays out in the Middle East. Laleh Khalili is Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and author of the forthcoming book Extractive Capitalism. Advertising Inquiries: ht…
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How the US Weaponizes Tech in the Middle East w/ Laleh Khalili
53:32
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53:32Paris Marx is joined by Laleh Khalili to discuss how the United States uses its control of key technologies to shift global power dynamics, and how that specifically plays out in the Middle East. Laleh Khalili is Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and author of the forthcoming book Extractive Capitalism. Tech Won’t Save Us offers…
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Jamie Ford & Jen Soriano - Generational Trauma . . . Revisited
1:00:24
1:00:24
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1:00:24Today's episode is hosted by New York Times bestselling author, and Fresh Face alum, Jamie Ford. Don't worry, Jonathan will be back next week! In Episode 7, Jonathan invited Jamie on to discuss his book "The Many Daughters of Afong Moy," which focused on inherited trauma passed down through seven generations of Chinese women. In today's conversatio…
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Trump v. L.A.—Plus, Rachel Kushner’s ‘Creation Lake’ | Start Making Sense
45:46
45:46
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45:46Trump’s ICE is attacking undocumented people in LA County because there are a lot of them -- maybe a million, out of a total of 3.3 million Latinos, and also because LA is one of the most Democratic counties in the country. And LA has a big and militant alliance of immigrants rights groups that are fighting Trump. Harold Meyerson will explain the d…
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The Human Cost of Economic Sanctions | American Prestige
51:22
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51:22Get your limited edition "Robo Washington" poster now! Economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) Mark Weisbrot joins the show to talk about economic sanctions and how they affect people’s lives. They discuss the effect of sanctions on migration flows, how the PR about them targeting governments and not civ…
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Burn Hollywood Burn - Will AI save the movies? Dan Morfitt fills in with guest John Ashbrook from Jul 7, 2025
Music behind DJ: An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn - "Audio from the motion picture trailer" [0:00:00] Music behind DJ: Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" [0:00:48] Music behind DJ: Dan Morfitt with guest John Ashbrook - "Pt 1" [0:01:25] David Bowie - "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" [0:23:17] Music behind DJ: Dan Morfitt with guest John …
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How Jeff Bezos Betrayed the Legacy of The Washington Post | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
37:26
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37:26Writing in The Nation, Pamela Alma Weymouth drew a contrast between Kay Graham, her late grandmother who was publisher of The Washington Post when it fought Richard Nixon’s administration on The Pentagon Papers and Watergate, with the current owner of the newspaper, Jeff Bezos. Unlike Graham, Bezos has been all too willing to bend the knee to a cor…
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Why "AI" Is a Con: Our Book Launch! (with Vauhini Vara), 2025.05.08
1:16:52
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1:16:52It's finally here! The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want hit the shelves in May. In this special bonus episode, Alex and Emily speak to tech journalist Vauhini Vara at one of the book's online launch events, where they covered the misleading nature of the term "artificial intelligence," why the use of tools like Cha…
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DRC-Rwanda Peace Deal, PKK Disarmament, US Airstrikes in Somalia | American Prestige
42:26
42:26
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42:26Our news roundups are sometimes big, but never beautiful. This week: the PKK to begin its disarmament in Turkey (1:17); Iran suspends its cooperation with the IAEA (4:30), but remains open to negotiations with the US (6:53); the debate continues on how far the war set back Iran’s nuclear program (9:18); in Gaza, a new ceasefire push (12:24) while j…
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The Geopolitical Fight Against Huawei | Tech Won't Save Us
54:05
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54:05Paris Marx is joined by Yangyang Cheng to discuss how Huawei became one of the most powerful companies in China and how current geopolitical narratives distract from the issues at the heart of surveillance capitalism in the US and China. Yangyang Cheng is a Research Scholar in Law and Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center. Advertising …
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The Geopolitical Fight Over Huawei w/ Yangyang Cheng
54:05
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54:05Paris Marx is joined by Yangyang Cheng to discuss how Huawei became one of the most powerful companies in China and how current geopolitical narratives distract from the issues at the heart of surveillance capitalism in the US and China. Yangyang Cheng is a Research Scholar in Law and Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center. Tech Won’t S…
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Jonathan has gone fishing. Stepping in as his substitute this week is his good friend Danny O'Neil, who you may remember from the Grudges episode. Danny sits down with national champion and Olympic diver Cassidy Krug to discuss her book "Resurface: A Guide to Navigating Life's Biggest Transitions". Cassidy opens up about her time competing at the h…
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How Mamdani Won—Plus, Harvard v. Trump | Start Making Sense
45:07
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45:07The surprise victory of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s Democratic mayor primary over a well-funded establishment candidate shows that progressive politics, when pursued with discipline, vision and vigor, can win broad support. Bhaskar Sukara, President of The Nation and author of The Socialist Manifesto, has our analysis. Al…
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The Continued Assault on Gaza and the West Bank | American Prestige
1:03:05
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1:03:05Derek welcomes back to the show Dalia Hatuqa, a journalist specializing in Israeli/Palestinian affairs and regional Middle East issues, to talk about the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. They recap what has been happening to Palestinians in Gaza while the world was distracted by Israel’s war with Iran, discuss the lost generations of Gazan chil…
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Compulsory surveillance and other threats Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - "Mark's comments" 8X8 (Lane Steinberg & Alex Khodchenko) - "Are You Gaslighting Me, Alexa?" [0:53:33]https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/153625By Mark Hurst and WFMU
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Our Fifty States of Disunion and Who Could Secede | The Nation Podcast
28:56
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28:56The term “the nation”—as it refers to the country—has a relatively recent history in American political rhetoric. Until the Civil War, politicians more commonly used “the Union” or “the Republic.” That changed with Abraham Lincoln, who referenced “the nation” five times in his 1863 Gettysburg Address. Two years later, in July 1865, the first issue …
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The Never Trump Crowd Still Loves Mid-East Wars | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
53:47
53:47
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53:47Over the last decade, centrist Democrats have diligent courted Never Trump Republicans, hoping that this cohort could help create a new consensus politics to oppose the MAGA coalition. From the start, this strategy seemed flawed: after all, this faction is very small and also carries a lot of baggage. In particular, neo-conservatives such as Willia…
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121: Learning from LLMs (with Adele Goldberg)
2:22:45
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2:22:45How do large language models (LLMs) do their thing, and it is anything like how we do our thing? What can we learn about human language from this software? The answer might involve constructions — pairings of form and meaning that we use to make language. And here to discuss it with us is constructionist pioneer and linguistic legend, Professor Ade…
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Iran Strikes and Ceasefire, Nato Ups Defense Budgets, Supreme Court Okays Government Trafficking Migrants | American Prestige
40:04
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40:04Don’t forget to purchase our “Welcome to the Crusades” series before the price increases next week. Paid AP subscribers get a 25% discount, so subscribe today! Danny and Derek broadcast from an undisclosed resort location. This week: an update on the conflict with Iran, including the ceasefire (2:34), Trump’s disagreement with US intelligence asses…
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Chatbots Are Repeating Social Media’s Harms | Tech Won't Save Us
53:48
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53:48On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Nitasha Tiku to discuss how AI companies are preying on users to drive engagement and how that’s repeating many of the problems we’re belatedly trying to address with social media companies at an accelerated pace. Nitasha Tiku is a technology reporter at the Washington Post. Advertising…
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Chatbots Are Repeating Social Media’s Harms w/ Nitasha Tiku
53:48
53:48
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53:48Paris Marx is joined by Nitasha Tiku to discuss how AI companies are preying on users to drive engagement and how that’s repeating many of the problems we’re belatedly trying to address with social media companies at an accelerated pace. Nitasha Tiku is a technology reporter at the Washington Post. Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective o…
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Willy Vlautin - Write Me a Love Song Where Nobody Gets Decapitated
1:07:20
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1:07:20Jonathan speaks with his old friend and great American fiction writer, Willy Vlautin. Willy is the author of seven novels, including his most recent, The Horse, which helped earn him the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Three of his books have been adapted into films, including Night Always Comes, The Motel Life and Lean on Pete. In addition to his wr…
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How E. Jean Carroll Beat Trump in Court—Plus, What Really Happened in the 2024 Election | Start Making Sense
36:45
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36:45Donald Trump, found guilty of sexual assault and defamation, owes E. Jean Carroll $88 million. She explains how she beat him in court, twice, proving that he attacked her in a Bergdorf dressing room and then lied about it. Her new book is Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President. Also, the leading autopsies on the 2024 defeat of Democrats are missing…
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Tracking Think Tanks w/ Ben Freeman and Nick Cleveland-Stout | American Prestige
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54:33Ben Freeman and Nick Cleveland-Stout from the Quincy Institute join the program to talk about their Think Tank Funding Tracker, a repository that tracks funding from foreign governments, the U.S. government, and Pentagon contractors to the top 50 think tanks in the United States over the past five years. The group discusses think tanks’ role in the…
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Lori Emerson, author, "Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook" Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - "Mark's intro" [0:02:25] - "Interview with Lori Emerson" [0:07:27] - "Mark's comments" [0:44:22] Kirk Pearson - "Modem of Home" [0:57:29]https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/153378By Mark Hurst and WFMU
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Greater America and the Victims of Its Ambition | The Nation Podcast
40:55
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40:55On a recent trip to El Salvador, writer Viet Thanh Nguyen noticed striking parallels between the small Central American nation and his own country of origin, Vietnam. Both endured the atrocities of war, each fueled by anti-communist U.S. intervention. And both conflicts—the Vietnam War and El Salvador’s civil war—triggered refugee and migrant crise…
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Democrats Need to Reclaim Anti-War Politics | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
39:03
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39:03Donald Trump has betrayed his promise to be a pro-peace president. Prodded by Washington hawks and the Israeli government, he has green-lit Israel’s attack on Iran, which the Untied States might soon join directly. A new Middle Eastern war would be a catastrophe. In order to stop it, Democrats will need to recover the anti-war politics that they ad…
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Israel-Iran War, Russia Strikes Kyiv, Trump Expands Travel Ban | American Prestige
47:37
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47:37No ChatGPT here—our em dashes are organic. This week: in the Iran-Israel war, an update on the casualties and targets (1:52), US involvement remains in question (7:45), Ayatollah Khamenei refuses to surrender (14:47), and US and Israeli intelligence agencies disagree over “evidence” of Iran pursuing a nuclear weapon (18:14); Trump quits the G7 summ…
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"Like Magic Intelligence in the Cloud", 2025.05.26
59:50
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59:50Because Sam Altman hates opening his laptop, OpenAI is merging with iPhone guy Jony Ive's design firm in the name of some mysterious new ChatGPT-enabled consumer products: Alex and Emily go full Mystery Science Theater and dissect the announcement video. Plus how tech billionaires like Sam Altman mythologize San Francisco while their money makes it…
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