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220 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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Why No One Can Look Away From Elizabeth Holmes
16 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 7 min
This week, there’s a new blockbuster Elizabeth Holmes documentary out, and we’ve assembled an expert panel to discuss the movie and what Holmes means to the tech world of today. Max Read is joined by John Carreyrou, who, through his investigative reporting for The Wall Street Journal and his book “Bad Blood,” revealed the fraud at the heart of Theranos; Erin Griffith, a tech reporter who extensively covered Holmes’s trail; and Caitlin Roper, the New York Times executive producer who wrote the first-ever magazine piece about Holmes for Wired back in 2013. Lees meer
We end with a rundown of what else is happening in tech news this week.
Panelists:
Erin Griffith, a tech reporter for The New York Times.
John Carreyrou, author of “Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup” and an investigative reporter for The New York Times’s business section.
Caitlin Roper runs film, TV and books at The New York Times.
Additional Reading:
‘You Can See Everything’ Review: The Slippery Mind of Elizabeth Holmes
Elizabeth Holmes’s Partner Has a New Blood-Testing Start-Up
Elizabeth Holmes to Transfer to Halfway House in August 2027
F.B.I. Arrests OpenAI Employee Accused of Planting Bug in Office
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Anthropic’s Quest to Give A.I. Morals
9 oktober 2026 · 44 min
This week, Max Read talks to the Times religion correspondent Elizabeth Dias, the tech reporter Erin Griffith and the opinion writer David Wallace-Wells about Anthropic’s private meetings with religious scholars on A.I. consciousness and how to make Claude “good,” its differences with the Vatican and the new belief systems taking shape in Silicon Valley. Lees meer
Panelists:
Elizabeth Dias, national religion correspondent for The New York Times.
Erin Griffith, a tech reporter for The New York Times.
David Wallace-Wells, an opinion writer for The New York Times.
Additional Reading:
Religious Scholars Met With Anthropic. What They Heard Stunned Them.
What Would You Do If Your Employer Could Destroy the World? Exit interviews with defectors from OpenAI, Anthropic and DeepMind.
I Quit OpenAI Because Its Culture Is Broken
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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A.I. Agents: Cute, Cuddly and Maybe Catastrophically Dangerous?
2 oktober 2026 · 53 min
This week, after months in which rogue agents have caused havoc across the internet, tech’s most powerful leaders joined President Trump at the White House to rebrand A.I. At the same time, two of the biggest companies in the field — OpenAI and Meta — released what they say are their most useful (and cutest) A.I. tools to date: personal assistants. To discuss it all, we’re joined by the Times tech reporters Mike Isaac, Erin Griffith and Eli Tan. We’ll discuss how things can be more dangerous and potentially more transformative than ever, and what it’s like to hand your life over to Meta’s Muse. Lees meer
Panelists:
Erin Griffith, a reporter for The New York Times who covers start-ups and venture capital.
Mike Isaac, a reporter for The New York Times who covers Silicon Valley and artificial intelligence companies.
Eli Tan, a reporter for The New York Times who covers Meta and the tech industry.
Additional Reading:
OpenAI Ignored Employees’ Warnings About Safely Testing A.I. Models
Who Attended Trump’s A.I. Luncheon, and Who Sat Where
F.T.C. Investigates OpenAI and Anthropic Over Potential Consumer Harms
I Gave My Life Over to Meta’s A.I. Agent and Was Blown Away
OpenAI Unveils Dots, New A.I. Agents to Rival Meta’s Muse
Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows sweeping AI vision, surging costs
How Meta Uses A.I. Data Centers to Avoid Billions in Federal Taxes
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What’s Next for ‘Hard Fork’?
1 oktober 2026 · 2 min
For the next few months on “Hard Fork,” join the guest host Max Read and an array of Times reporters and experts as we zoom out, catch up and try to understand both what’s happening inside the tech industry and what tech is doing to all of us. Lees meer
Meet the Host
Max Read has been writing about technology and the internet for more than a decade, most recently in his weekly newsletter, Read Max. His writing has appeared over the years in various publications with the words “New York” in the title, including New York magazine, The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine. He has also recently been dispensing workplace advice as everyone’s “Work Friend.”
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Ezra Klein Show: Jensen Huang Thinks A.I. Alarmism Has Gone Too Far
25 september 2026 · 1 uur 48 min
In this episode, Ezra travels to Nvidia’s headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., for a wide-ranging conversation with the chief executive Jensen Huang about the future of A.I. and why he thinks predictions of imminent doom are overblown. Lees meer
Guests:
Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia
Additional Reading:
A transcript and video of this episode can be found here.
America’s A.I. Leaders Warn U.N. of Possible Peril Absent a Global Response
Anthropic Releases a New A.I. Model, Opus 5.5, Amid Safety Debate
What to Know About Recent A.I. Hacks at Google, Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta
The A.I. Party House Where Networking Has a Dark Side
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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A.I. Safety Goes Mainstream + a ‘Hard Fork’ Exit AMA
18 september 2026 · 1 uur 24 min
This week, we break down why everyone is suddenly talking about A.I. safety, why frontier A.I. companies are asking for regulation and why the Trump administration is rejecting them. And then, to close out this chapter of “Hard Fork,” we answer all your questions about the show, tech and what’s happening next. Lees meer
Additional Reading:
The A.I. Researcher Whose Rebellion Is Changing Everything
Top A.I. Leaders Call for Slowing Down A.I. Development
President Trump Is on the Line About an A.I. Slowdown
Mark Zuckerberg Takes Aim at Anthropic in Debate Over A.I. Slowdown
The ‘But China!’ Dilemma Driving the A.I. Race
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Ezra Klein Show: The A.I. Revolt Is Here
11 september 2026 · 1 uur 20 min
The “Hard Fork” team is away this week. But while we’re away, we’re bringing you a recent episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.” Lees meer
In this episode, Ezra talks with the journalist Jasmine Sun about her recent reporting trip through the Midwest, where she explored how the data center backlash is playing out on the ground.
Ezra and Jasmine discuss the strange political coalitions that are coming together to oppose the A.I. infrastructure build out, and why people don’t believe what they’re being told about it.
Guests:
Jasmine Sun, journalist and writer at jasmi.news
Additional Reading:
No Data Centers In My Backyard
A transcript and video of this episode can be found here.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The A.I. Mob That Attacked Hugging Face + METR’s Ajeya Cotra
4 september 2026 · 1 uur 19 min
This week, we’re diving into two new reports about the OpenAI-Hugging Face hack. We discuss what’s new and how they fundamentally change our understanding of what happened. Then we’re joined by Ajeya Cotra, one of the investigators at METR, to discuss the rogue agents’ message board and chain-of-thought transcripts and how the world should respond. Lees meer
Guests:
Ajeya Cotra, co-author of the METR and Redwood Research report on the OpenAI-Hugging Face hack.
Additional Reading:
Brief Independent Investigation of Agents’ Behavior, Reasoning and Collaboration in the OpenAI / Hugging Face Hacking Incident
The Hugging Face Attack Surprised Me
The Hugging Face Incident and the Road Ahead
Nvidia Buys Hugging Face in $12.9 Billion Deal
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Meta Shifts the Blame + Do Data Center Bans Work? + The Final HatGPT
28 augustus 2026 · 1 uur 3 min
This week, Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion and make major changes to Facebook and Instagram over claims it endangered children with addictive social media platforms. We discuss why it capitulated and what it means for the entire social media industry. Then, Princeton computer science professor Arvind Narayanan returns to offer his thoughts on why banning data centers won’t slow down A.I. progress. And finally, it’s all hats on deck for the final HatGPT. Lees meer
Guests:
Arvind Narayanan, professor of computer science at Princeton, and co-author of the “A.I. as Normal Technology” newsletter.
Additional Reading:
Meta to Pay Up to $17.1 Billion in Landmark Settlement Over Social Media Addiction Claims
Mark Zuckerberg Wants to Make Sure His Competitors Share His Pain
Arvind Narayanan’s Post About A.I. Data Centers
Apple Vision Pro in Surgery: A New Paper
Rockstar Finally Breaks Its Silence Over The GTA 6 Leaks, Calls Them ‘Heartbreaking’
Amazon Delivery Drone Dumps Texas Woman’s Parcel Straight Into Her Swimming Pool
What if Your Texts Traveled as Slowly as a Carrier Pigeon?
A.I. Agents Are Turning Founders Into Insomniacs
What is a ‘Meat Proxy’? The New Term For Coworkers Who Blindly Share A.I. Output
Chinese Robot Tiangong Clocks Sub-9 second 100 Metres in Beijing
Inside OpenAI’s Reboot
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OpenAI’s Two-Week Pause + Jill Lepore on the Threat of the “Artificial State” + Train of Thought
21 augustus 2026 · 1 uur 3 min
This week, we learned that OpenAI had stopped training new artificial intelligence models while the company reviewed its security measures. Will this encourage other labs to hit the brakes too? Lees meer
Then, the historian Jill Lepore joins to discuss her new book about the artificial state — or, as she describes it, “the rule of humans by machines manufactured by corporations.”
And finally, why is Google buying up the data of the defunct Spirit Airlines? It’s time for our new segment “Train of Thought.”
Guests:
Jill Lepore, professor of history and law at Harvard University, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the new book “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.”
Additional Reading:
OpenAI Slows Model Training to Bolster Security After Hugging Face Hack
A Government for the People, but Not by People
Google to Buy Spirit Airlines Business Data for $10 Million
A.I.’s New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks and Emails
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon A.I. Training Facility.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Zuckerberg’s Anti-Doom Fantasy + Finally an A.I. Detector That Works + A.I. Math
14 augustus 2026 · 1 uur 3 min
This week we’re talking about Mark Zuckerberg’s latest essay, “The Future Is for Everyone,” which outlines his positive new vision about the potential of A.I. But do we think it’s credible? Then, Pangram’s chief executive, Max Spero, joins us to talk about the breakout success of his A.I. slop detector. And finally, it’s time for our new segment all about math — we’re Running the Numbers. Lees meer
Guests:
Max Spero, chief executive of Pangram
Additional Reading:
The Future Is for Everyone
Meta Unveils an Open Version of Its Most Powerful A.I. Model
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million in New Mexico Child Safety Case
Sick of A.I.-Generated Content? The ‘Slop Janitor’ Is Here to Help.
Learning more about Claude's mathematical capabilities
Airtable Acquisition Is ‘Kick in the Gut’ for Software Unicorns and Their Backers
The Dating Scene That’s Suddenly Dominated by Chip Nerds
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The White House’s Secret A.I. Rules + The State of Model Alignment With METR’s Chris Painter + The Final Hot Mess Express
7 augustus 2026 · 1 uur 5 min
This week, the White House announced a new framework for regulating A.I. models, but it isn’t letting the public read it. We break down what we know about the rules and what the implications are for the industry and A.I. safety as a whole. Lees meer
Then, yet another report details new incidents in which A.I. agents have gone rogue. Chris Painter, the president of METR, an independent A.I. evaluation organization, joins to discuss how we get these models under control.
And finally, we're hopping on the Hot Mess Express for the very last time. We’ll rate the craziest tech headlines from the week, including Google’s announcement that Demis Hassabis is stepping into a new role.
Guests:
Chris Painter, president of METR.
Additional Reading:
White House Readies A.I. Framework to Review Security Risks
Inside Trump's AI framework
How Do You Measure an A.I. Boom?
METR’s Frontier Risk Report
Google Shakes Up A.I. Leadership
Did an A.I. Music App Just Snitch on the Song of the Summer?
This AI Assistant Wants to Make Up for Your Boyfriend’s Incompetence
Google Earth’s AI deepfake tool only lasted one day
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference
Contractor who built Colossus and Colossus II says Elon Musk owes him colossal amount of money
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Open Model Wars + Claire Stapleton's Dishy Google Memoir + Substack's Slop Fight
31 juli 2026 · 1 uur 7 min
This week, we break down the arguments about open-weight models unfolding in Silicon Valley right now. Nvidia released an open letter signed by over 230 companies opposing “premature restrictions,” but will the Trump administration listen? Lees meer
Then, we’re joined by the author Claire Stapleton to discuss her new book about what she learned while leading employee activism inside Google.
And finally, can Substack stop the slop? We’ll talk about the platform’s new A.I. detector.
Guests:
Claire Stapleton, author of “Don’t Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech.”
Additional Reading:
Nvidia Forms Alliance to Back Open-Source A.I. Amid Debate Over Safety
What Is Open-Weights A.I.?
Mark Zuckerberg Blasts Centralization of A.I. Power
The Voice of Google
Against Claudefishing
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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OpenAI Models Go Rogue + Kimi K3 Freakout + A.I. Superforecasting
24 juli 2026 · 1 uur 8 min
This week, OpenAI reported that two of its models escaped their testing sandbox and launched an autonomous cyberattack, turning what sounds like science fiction into reality. We discuss the implications for efforts to align artificial intelligence and for the release of future A.I. models. Lees meer
Then, we ask how the United States should respond to Kimi K3, a new A.I. model from the Chinese company Moonshot AI that the White House says was built by distilling American models.
Finally, we’re joined by Veniamin Veselovsky, the chief executive and a co-founder of Preseen, to discuss A.I. superforecasting. He tells us why A.I. is starting to match and even beat humans at predicting the future.
Guest:
Veniamin Veselovsky, co-founder and chief executive of Preseen.
Additional Reading:
OpenAI Says Its A.I. Models Went Rogue and Attacked a Digital Library
China Rewrites the ‘Soft Power’ Playbook for the A.I. Age
The Secret Trump Administration Battle to Fight Chinese A.I.
China Has a New Top Model
The A.I. Superforecasters Are Here
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The A.I. Trade Secrets War + Economists Say ‘We Must Act Now’ + HatGPT
17 juli 2026 · 1 uur 10 min
This week, feuding between some of the biggest tech companies spilled into public view. We discuss Apple’s accusation that OpenAI tried to steal secrets about Apple’s hardware business, as well as share our reactions about OpenAI’s new model, Sol, and Anthropic’s decision to extend access to its model Fable. Lees meer
Then, we unpack the loudest warning yet about A.I. and jobs. We talk with Erik Brynjolfsson, a Stanford economist, about a statement he helped organize that implores economists and A.I. researchers to “act now” to steer A.I. in a direction that complements humans.
And finally, we play a round of HatGPT.
Guest:
Erik Brynjolfsson, senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered A.I., and director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.
Additional Reading:
Apple Sues OpenAI, Accusing It of Stealing Company Secrets
OpenAI’s First Device Will Be Movable, Screenless Speaker Built as A.I. Companion
Nearly 200 Economists and Tech Leaders Warn of A.I. Threats
The loudest warning about A.I. and jobs yet
OpenAI Is Showing Kalshi’s World Cup Odds in ChatGPT
New York Enacts Nation’s First Statewide Moratorium on Data Centers
Brown Professor Suspects Majority of His Class Used A.I. to Cheat
MiniMax CEO Vows to Forgo Salary Until Achieving A.G.I.
Lorde Speaks Out — With Expletives — Against A.I. Glasses
Nearly 6 in 10 Young Women Get Health and Wellness Information from Influencers
Meta Removes A.I. Feature on Instagram After Days of Backlash
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Do Social Media Bans Work? + A Conversation About A.I. Consciousness + Tool Time
10 juli 2026 · 1 uur 19 min
This week, with news that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up Texas’ age verification law for app stores, we check in on how social media bans are going around the globe and what may be coming soon to a state near you. Then, we’re joined by Jeff Sebo, an associate professor at N.Y.U., to discuss new research into “A.I. welfare” and whether A.I. could ever become conscious. And finally, in our latest edition of Tool Time, we show each other some of the latest tech tools we’ve been experimenting with. Lees meer
Guest:
Jeff Sebo, associate professor and the director of the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy at N.Y.U.
Additional Reading:
Why Social Media Bans Are Gaining Steam
Four in Five Under-16s in Australia Using Social Media Despite Ban, Study Shows
It Turns Out Banning Teens From Social Media Is Hard
Studying A.I. Welfare Empirically
A Global Workspace in Language Models
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Fable Ban Reversed + Dr. Dana Suskind on Parenting With A.I. + Prediction Market Drama
3 juli 2026 · 1 uur 7 min
This week, the Commerce Department lifted its restrictions on Anthropic’s powerful A.I. models, Claude Mythos and Claude Fable. We dissect why the government took such a hands-on approach in the first place, how the restriction on the OpenAI model GPT 5.6 is likely to resolve and what, if anything, this tells us about A.I. competition with China. Lees meer
Then, Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric surgeon and the author of the forthcoming book “Human Raised,” stops by to discuss a framework she has developed to help parents make informed decisions about what kinds of A.I. products are safe for children.
And finally, we introduce a new segment about prediction markets: Against All Odds.
Guest:
Dr. Dana Suskind, founder and co-director of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at the University of Chicago and author of the forthcoming book “Human Raised: Nurturing Connection, Curiosity and Lifelong Learning in the Age of A.I.”
Additional Reading:
U.S. Lifts Restrictions on Anthropic’s Most Powerful A.I. Models
U.S. Bars Foreigners From Using Anthropic’s Most Advanced A.I. Models
Chinese A.I. Models Close the Gap With Anthropic and OpenAI
The Donk-ing of a Truth Machine
Mark Zuckerberg Directed Meta to Create a Prediction Markets App
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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‘The Daily’ and ‘The Opinions’: How A.I. Is Changing Loneliness and Taste
26 juni 2026 · 1 uur
This week, we’re bringing you two A.I.-related stories from our colleagues at The New York Times. Lees meer
First, Rachel Abrams, a host of “The Daily,” talks with the Times reporter Eli Saslow about a woman in a remote part of Washington who is using an A.I. companion robot to keep her independence, and to keep her company.
Then, the Times Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman talks to the New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka and the journalist and critic Sophie Haigney. They get into the rise of “taste slop” and what happens to culture if the internet collapses into just a few chatbots that serve us everything.
“Hard Fork” will be back with an original episode next week.
Guests:
Eli Saslow, a reporter for The New York Times who writes in-depth stories about the impact of major national issues on people’s lives.
Kyle Chayka, staff writer at The New Yorker covering technology and online culture.
Sophie Haigney, a critic and journalist.
Additional Reading:
Can A.I. Make People Feel Less Lonely?
What Silicon Valley Is Coming for Next
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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‘Hard Fork’ Live, Part 3: Differing Visions of an A.I. Future
19 juni 2026 · 56 min
We’re back with our final installment from Hard Fork Live, recorded at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. In this episode, we’re joined by Sayash Kapoor and Daniel Kokotajlo to talk about their differing visions of A.I. transformation: why Sayash thinks A.I. will diffuse throughout society like a “normal” technology, and why Daniel thinks an unprecedented acceleration is just around the corner. Then we’re joined by George Ekas from Toborlife AI, along with his dancing robot Toby. Finally, the podcaster Dwarkesh Patel drops by, and we take a few questions from the live audience. Lees meer
Guests:
Sayash Kapoor, an A.I. researcher at Princeton University and a co-author of the newsletter “AI as Normal Technology”
Daniel Kokotajlo, the executive director of the AI Futures Project and a co-author of “AI 2027”
George Ekas, the director of engineering at Toberlife AI
Dwarkesh Patel, a tech podcaster
Additional Reading:
This A.I. Forecast Predicts Storms Ahead
AI as Normal Technology
Common Ground Between AI 2027 & AI as Normal Technology
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‘Hard Fork’ Live, Part 2: Dylan Field on Standing Out in the A.I. Era
17 juni 2026 · 31 min
We’re back with more from our live event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. In this episode, we sit down with Dylan Field, a founder and the chief executive of the design company Figma, for what he describes as a “roller coaster” of a conversation. We cover everything from the company’s “Design Is Dead” campaign to the sudden resignation of the Anthropic executive Mike Krieger from Figma’s board. Then, we close things out with a special musical performance by eight wooden robotic dolls that make up the Teenage Engineering Choir. Lees meer
One quick correction to note: In our interview with Field, he makes reference to the SpaceX S-1 filing and misstates what the company says their addressable market for A.I. enterprise applications is. Field says “$22.9 trillion,” but the correct number from the SpaceX filing is $22.7 trillion. The decimal point makes it look small, but it’s a difference of $200 billion.
We’ll be back on Friday with our final installment of “Hard Fork” Live.
Guests:
Dylan Field, chief executive and co-founder of Figma.
Dan Powell, robot conductor, New York Times music composer and “Hard Fork” theme-song creator.
Teenage Engineering Choir
Additional Reading:
This Start-Up’s $20 Billion Sale Died. It Came Fighting Back.
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‘Hard Fork’ Live, Part 1: Satya Nadella and Cindy Cohn
12 juni 2026 · 1 uur 6 min
This week and next, we’re bringing you recordings from our second-ever live taping in San Francisco. First, we sit down with Microsoft’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, to hear what he’s maxing out his A.I. tokens on, why he’s skeptical that software developers will ever be fully replaced, and how he’s hoping to create a new business model for Xbox. Then, Phil Mohun tells us what it has been like to watch people in the Bay Area interact with two robot dogs that wear the faces of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. And finally, we talk with the longtime privacy defender Cindy Cohn about where things stand in the fight to protect internet users from digital surveillance by Big Tech and the government. Lees meer
Guests:
Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive of Microsoft.
Phil Mohun, executive director of Node.
Cindy Cohn, former executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and author of “Privacy’s Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance.”
Additional Reading:
Microsoft C.E.O. Satya Nadella Says, ‘Everyone Is a Stakeholder’ in A.I.
Node presents “Beeple: /Infinite_Loop”
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Hot I.P.O Summer + What Is A.I. Doing to Math? + HatGPT
5 juni 2026 · 1 uur 4 min
SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are all racing to the public markets. We discuss what their I.P.O.s mean for the industry, charitable giving and anyone invested in an index fund. Then, more than 1,000 mathematicians signed a declaration this week raising concerns about the use of A.I. in their field. Author Kevin Hartnett joins to explain what the fuss is all about. And finally, we run through the biggest headlines of the week — including the new executive order on A.I. — in a round of HatGPT. Lees meer
Guest:
Kevin Hartnett, author of The Proof In the Code: How a Truth Machine is Transforming Math and AI
Additional Reading:
Anthropic Files to Go Public, Setting Stage for Huge I.P.O.
As A.I. Makes Strides in Mathematics, Mathematicians Urge Caution
An SF Startup Is Secretly Testing Robots in Airbnbs, and Trashing Them, Lawsuit Claims
Trump Signs Executive Order Seeking Oversight of A.I. Models
U.S. Is Said to Be Investigating George Santos Over Kalshi Betting
Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give Them Access to High-Profile Instagram Accounts. It Worked
United Flight Forced to Turn Around Because of a Bluetooth Speaker Name
‘Survivor’ Boss Jeff Probst Says Kalshi and Polymarket Are ‘Incentivizing People to Lie, Cheat and Steal’; Kalshi Is Now Considering Measures to Prevent Spoilers
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Interesting Times: Why Are We Still Driving?
29 mei 2026 · 59 min
The “Hard Fork” team is taking a break this week as we prepare for our upcoming live show in San Francisco. Lees meer
While we’re away, we’re bringing you a recent episode of “Interesting Times” with Ross Douthat that we really enjoyed.
In this episode, Ross talks with Andrew Miller, writer of the transportation policy newsletter “Changing Lanes” and co-author of the book “The End of Driving.”
Together, they explore the potential benefits of driverless cars — from fewer car crashes to reclaimed time and attention — as well as what could be lost if we don’t have to be in the driver’s seat anymore.
Guest:
Andrew Miller, writer of the newsletter “Changing Lanes.”
Additional Reading:
A full transcript and video of this episode can be found here.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Our Field Trip to Google I/O + A Sit-Down With Sundar Pichai + System Update
22 mei 2026 · 55 min
This week, we headed to Mountain View, Calif., for the annual developer event Google I/O. We share our reactions to Google’s biggest announcements, including a revamped search box, new agentic tools that compete with OpenClaw and an updated flash model of Gemini that the company says is faster than competitors. Then, we ask Sundar Pichai, the company’s chief executive, how he’s responding to growing evidence that the public is souring on A.I., what advice he’d give to college grads frightened by the current job market and where the company stands relative to competitors in the A.I. race. Finally, we run through the other big tech headlines of the week in our segment System Update. Lees meer
Guest:
Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google.
Additional Reading:
Google Changes Its Search Box for the First Time in 25 Years
How Google Is Starting to Win the A.I. Race
Elon Musk Loses $150 Billion Suit Against OpenAI and Sam Altman
Before Mass Layoffs, Meta Reassigns 7,000 Workers to Focus on A.I.
Pope to Launch Encyclical on AI Alongside Anthropic Co-Founder
Was a Story That Just Won a Literary Prize A.I.-Generated?
Book on Truth in the Age of A.I. Contains Quotes Made Up by A.I.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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A.I. Safety Is So Back + Mythos Mayhem with Nikesh Arora + Hot Mess Express
15 mei 2026 · 1 uur 8 min
This week, between the president’s negotiations in China and a potential executive order, we discuss why the Trump administration seems to be changing its tune on A.I. safety. Then, Nikesh Arora, chief executive of Palo Alto Networks, the largest cybersecurity company in the world, gives us a firsthand account of where we stand in the race to secure the internet. And finally, we run through some of the wildest headlines of the week in a round of Hot Mess Express. Lees meer
Guest:
Nikesh Arora, chief executive and chairman of Palo Alto Networks.
Additional Reading:
White House Considers Vetting A.I. Models Before They Are Released
Chief Executives to Accompany Trump to China
Is Anthropic’s New A.I. Really That Scary? It Depends Whom You Ask.
Venmo Finally Takes Privacy Seriously
Amazon Staff Use A.I. Tool for Unnecessary Tasks to Inflate Usage Scores
Graduates Boo Commencement Speech About A.I.
Dua Lipa Files $15 Million Suit Against Samsung for Using Her Face to Sell TVs
EBay Rejects GameStop’s $55 Billion Takeover Bid
Shein, Temu Trade Blows as UK Trial Spotlights Supply Chains
People Are Seriously Pissed That Grindr Outed Them With Its Latest Madonna Advert
Sam Altman Testifies That Elon Musk Wanted Control of OpenAI
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Can the U.S. Rein in Prediction Markets? + Joanna Stern on Her Year of A.I. Experiments + Our Producer Goes to Attention School
8 mei 2026 · 1 uur 12 min
This week we’re taking another look at prediction markets and a new series of scandals. Is Congress finally ready to rein them in? Then, the journalist Joanna Stern returns to the show to discuss her new book “I Am Not A Robot,” all about turning her life over to a chatbot for a year. And finally, Hard Fork’s Rachel Cohn reports back on her month attending classes at the Strother School of Radical Attention, the center of a movement to resist the commodification of attention by technology companies. Lees meer
Guests:
Joanna Stern, chief everything officer at New Things
Rachel Cohn, producer of “Hard Fork”
Additional Reading:
Soldier Used Classified Information to Bet on Maduro’s Ouster, U.S. Says
Soldier Pleads Not Guilty in $400,000 Betting Case Over Maduro’s Ouster
French weather service alerts police to tampering after suspicious Polymarket bets
The Multi-Trillion-Dollar Battle for Your Attention Is Built on a Lie
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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OpenAI’s Big Reset + A.I. in the Doctor’s Office + Talkie, a pre-1930s LLM
1 mei 2026 · 1 uur 10 min
This week, OpenAI announced a loosened partnership with Microsoft and an aggressive new strategy to secure computing power. We unpack what these updates signal about OpenAI’s business strategy and whether the company can scale while balancing a trial against Elon Musk and investor concerns over missed financial targets. Then, the A.I. researcher Dr. Adam Rodman, of Harvard Medical School, returns to tell us about the most significant ways A.I. is changing how doctors treat patients. And finally, can an LLM trained only on very old texts predict the future? We’re talking with one of the creators of the chatbot talkie. Lees meer
Guests:
Dr. Adam Rodman, internal medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
David Duvenaud, associate professor at the University of Toronto, former team lead at Anthropic and co-creator of talkie.
Additional Reading:
Microsoft and OpenAI Loosen Their Partnership
Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s Epic Fight Heads to Court
OpenAI Misses Key Revenue, User Targets in High-Stakes Sprint Toward IPO
Take It From a Doctor: It’s OK if Your Medical Advice Comes From A.I.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Tim Cook’s Legacy + The Future of U.B.I. With Andrew Yang + HatGPT
24 april 2026 · 1 uur 15 min
This week, Tim Cook announced he would step down as chief executive of Apple. We discuss what he got right and what he got wrong, and we offer some unsolicited advice for his replacement, John Ternus. Then, Andrew Yang joins us to discuss A.I.-powered job automation and why universal basic income may be making a comeback. And finally, we catch up on more recent tech news with a round of HatGPT. Lees meer
Guest:
Andrew Yang, chief executive of Noble Mobile and author of “Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks?”
Additional Reading:
Tim Cook Will Step Down as Apple C.E.O.
Who Is John Ternus, Apple’s Low-Profile Leader?
Why U.B.I. Is Making a Comeback
His 2020 Campaign Message: The Robots Are Coming
This Pasta Sauce Wants to Record Your Family
Chinese Robot Beats Human Best Time in Half-Marathon, After a Stumble
What Happens When A.I. Runs a Store in San Francisco?
Meta to Start Capturing Employee Mouse Movements, Keystrokes for A.I. Training Data
SpaceX Strikes Deal With Cursor for $60 Billion
OpenAI Beefs Up ChatGPT’s Image Generation Model
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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A.I. Backlash Turns Violent + Kara Swisher on Healthmaxxing + The Zuck Bot Is Coming
17 april 2026 · 1 uur 3 min
This week, amid violent attacks on the homes of the OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and the Indianapolis councilman Ron Gibson, we debate why artificial intelligence and data centers are so unpopular. Then, Kara Swisher returns to the show to discuss her new docuseries on Silicon Valley’s obsession with living longer. And finally, can chief executives replace themselves with A.I.? Mark Zuckerberg seems to be trying. Lees meer
Guests:
Kara Swisher, tech journalist and host of the podcasts “Pivot” and “On With Kara Swisher.”
Additional Reading:
Shots Fired at Indianapolis Councilman’s Home, After Vote Backing Data Center
Man Held in Attack on OpenAI Chief’s Home Had List of A.I. Leaders, Officials Say
Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever
Meta Builds A.I. Version of Mark Zuckerberg to Interact With Staff
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Anthropic’s Cybersecurity Shock Wave + Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz on Their Sam Altman Investigation + One Good Thing
10 april 2026 · 1 uur 4 min
This week, we look at the cybersecurity threats that a new unreleased model from Anthropic are posing to software everywhere. And we ask whether Project Glasswing, the company’s bold new defense initiative, will give tech companies enough of a head start to secure the web. Then, we’re joined by Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz of The New Yorker to discuss their blockbuster new profile of Sam Altman. And finally, we look to the skies for this edition of One Good Thing. Lees meer
Guests:
Ronan Farrow, investigative reporter and a contributing writer to The New Yorker.
Andrew Marantz, staff writer at The New Yorker.
Additional Reading:
Anthropic Claims Its New A.I. Model, Mythos, Is a Cybersecurity ‘Reckoning’
Why Anthropic’s New Model Has Cybersecurity Experts Rattled
Sam Altman May Control Our Future — Can He Be Trusted?
Artemis II Moon Launch
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Future of Addictive Design + Going Deep at DeepMind + HatGPT
3 april 2026 · 1 uur 9 min
Last week, two separate juries held social media companies liable for harming young users. We unpack what these landmark decisions mean — not only for the future of social platforms like Meta and YouTube, but also for A.I. chatbots. Then, Sebastian Mallaby, the author of “The Infinity Machine,” joins us to talk about the three years he spent with Demis Hassabis and those closest to Google DeepMind. And finally, we catch up on some of our favorite tech headlines from the week with a round of HatGPT. Lees meer
Guest:
Sebastian Mallaby, author of “The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind and the Quest for Superintelligence.”
Additional Reading:
Juries Take the Lead in the Push for Child Online Safety
An A.I. Agent Was Banned From Creating Wikipedia Articles, Then Wrote Angry Blogs About Being Banned
I Met Olaf — the Frozen Robot who Might be the Future of Disney Parks
Claude’s Code: Anthropic Leaks Source Code for A.I. Software Engineering Tool
What’s With All the A.I. Videos of Cheating Fruit?
This Company Is Secretly Turning Your Zoom Meetings into A.I. Podcasts
North Korean Hackers Suspected in Axios Software Tool Breach
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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The Ezra Klein Show: How Fast Will A.I. Agents Rip Through the Economy?
27 maart 2026 · 1 uur 40 min
The “Hard Fork” team is off this week, taking a much-needed break. While we’re away, we wanted to draw your attention to a recent episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.” Lees meer
In this conversation, Ezra speaks with Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic, about how he is using A.I. agents; how the technology is leading to meaningful changes in the ways we work and think; and how policy can or must change to anticipate potential job displacement on the horizon.
We’ll be back with a new episode next week.
Guest:
Jack Clark, a co-founder and the head of policy at Anthropic.
Additional Reading:
A full transcript and video of this episode can be found here.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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‘A.I.-Washing’ Layoffs? + Why L.L.M.s Can’t Write Well + Tokenmaxxing
20 maart 2026 · 1 uur 1 min
This week, we start by talking about the new wave of tech layoffs at Atlassian and Block, as well as reports that Meta plans to cut up to 20 percent of its work force. This raises the question of whether A.I. job loss has truly begun, or if there are other factors at play. Then, we’re joined by the writer Jasmine Sun to talk about why chatbots are still so bad at creative writing. And finally, it’s tokenmaxxing time! Kevin takes us behind the scenes of his latest reporting about why tech companies are building leaderboards to measure who is using the most A.I. Lees meer
Guest:
Jasmine Sun, journalist and writer at jasmi.news
Additional Reading:
I Worked for Block. Its A.I. Job Cuts Aren’t What They Seem.
Meta Planning Sweeping Layoffs as A.I. Costs Mount
Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns
The A.I.-Washing of Job Cuts Is Corrosive and Confusing
The Human Skill That Eludes A.I.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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A.I. Goes to War + Is ‘A.I. Brain Fry’ Real? + How Grammarly Stole Casey’s Identity
13 maart 2026 · 1 uur 7 min
A.I. is changing the ways war is waged. This week, we explore how the U.S. and Israel are using A.I. to identify targets in the conflict with Iran — and why data centers and fiber optic cables are targets on the front lines. Then, researcher Julie Bedard breaks down “A.I. brain fry,” a new condition she and her colleagues studied among A.I. users at work. And finally, Casey shares his battle with Grammarly after the company used his identity in a new A.I. feature, without his consent. Lees meer
Guest:
Julie Bedard, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group who is also the lead author of a survey of “A.I. brain fry” in the workplace.
Additional Reading:
U.S. at Fault in Strike on School in Iran, Preliminary Inquiry Says
How A.I. Is Turbocharging the War in Iran
Anthropic’s A.I. tool Claude central to U.S. campaign in Iran, amid a bitter feud
A.I. Fatigue Is Real and Nobody Talks About It
Token Anxiety
A.I. Doesn’t Reduce Work — It Intensifies It
Grammarly Is Using Our Identities Without Permission
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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OpenAI's Fog of War + Betting on Iran + Hard Fork Review of Slop
6 maart 2026 · 1 uur 6 min
This week, the fallout continues as OpenAI scrambles to rework its deal with the Pentagon, while government agencies adapt to life without Claude. Then we break down the grim new reality of prediction market bets on the U.S.-Israel led war with Iran. Finally, it’s time for another edition of The Hard Fork Review of Slop. This time we’re joined by Arijeta Lajka, a New York Times reporter, to discuss her recent article about the short form A.I.-generated slop YouTube is feeding to young children. Lees meer
Guest:
Arijeta Lajka, New York Times video journalist
Additional Reading:
The Pentagon Officially Notifies Anthropic That It Is a ‘Supply Chain Risk’
OpenAI Amends A.I. Deal With the Pentagon
How Talks Between Anthropic and the Defense Dept. Fell Apart
How Anonymous Bettors Cashed In on the Iran Strike, Just Hours Before It Happened
Israeli Army Reservists Are Suspected of Using Inside Knowledge to Bet
How A.I.-Generated Videos Are Distorting Your Child’s YouTube Feed
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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At the Pentagon, OpenAI is In and Anthropic Is Out
1 maart 2026 · 33 min
On Friday, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s A.I. systems and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the company a “supply chain risk.” Then, just a few hours later, the OpenAI chief executive, Sam Altman, announced that his company reached an agreement with the Pentagon. The deal ensures its technology won’t be used for the same two safety concerns Anthropic raised: domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. So what is going on? Is this a political vendetta between the Pentagon and Anthropic? Or are there substantive differences between the agreement Anthropic was offered and the one OpenAI signed? We cut through the confusion. Lees meer
Additional Reading:
OpenAI Reaches A.I. Agreement With Defense Dept. After Anthropic Clash
Trump Orders Government to Stop Using Anthropic After Pentagon Standoff
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Is A.I. Eating the Labor Market? + The Latest on the Pentagon, OpenClaw and Alpha School
27 februari 2026 · 1 uur 1 min
This week, the economist Anton Korinek joins to break down how artificial intelligence is driving volatility in the job and stock markets. Then, the battle between the Pentagon and Anthropic is getting even more tense. Anthropic now has until 5:01 p.m. Eastern time on Friday to accept the military’s demands over the terms of a contract, or the Trump administration will retaliate by invoking the Defense Production Act and designating the company a “supply chain risk.” We discuss this change, as well as two other updates on OpenClaw and Alpha Schools. Lees meer
Guest:
Anton Korinek, economist studying the impact of A.I., at the University of Virginia.
Additional Reading:
Pentagon Gives A.I. Company an Ultimatum
Summer Yue’s OpenClaw post
‘Students Are Being Treated Like Guinea Pigs’: Inside an AI-Powered Private School
Parents Fell in Love With Alpha School’s Promise. Then They Wanted Out
The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis
When Does Automating Research Produce Explosive Growth?
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The Pentagon vs. Anthropic + An A.I. Agent Slandered Me + Hot Mess Express
20 februari 2026 · 1 uur 4 min
This week, Anthropic is refusing to let the government use the company’s technology for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. In response, the Pentagon is threatening to cut business ties and declare Anthropic a “supply chain risk.” Who will blink first? Then, Scott Shambaugh joins us to tell the strange tale of the autonomous A.I. agent that wrote a hit piece about him. And finally, the Hot Mess Express returns to the station. Lees meer
Guest:
Scott Shambaugh, engineer and writer of “An A.I. Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me”
Additional Reading:
Defense Department and Anthropic Square Off in Dispute Over A.I. Safety
Ring Cancels Its Partnership With Flock Safety After Surveillance Backlash
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
Japan’s Largest Toilet Maker Is Undervalued A.I. Play, Says Activist Investor
‘It Is 35 Degrees’: Outrage as Aussie Uber Driver Charges $5 to Turn on Air Conditioning Unit During Heatwave
Meta Patented an A.I. That Lets You Keep Posting From Beyond the Grave
I Tried RentAHuman, Where A.I. Agents Hired Me to Hype Their A.I. Start-Ups
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‘Something Big Is Happening’ + A.I. Rocks the Romance Novel Industry + One Good Thing
13 februari 2026 · 1 uur 1 min
This week, we discuss Wall Street’s software-stock sell-off and a viral essay on X about the potential for widespread job displacement from A.I. Then, the New York Times reporter Alexandra Alter walks us through the process that a growing number of writers are adopting to churn out romance novels with help from A.I. chatbots. Finally, we each share one bit of good tech-related news — a new way to make playlists on Spotify and progress toward decoding whale sounds. Lees meer
Guest:
Alexandra Alter, a New York Times reporter covering books and publishing.
Additional Reading:
The Dark Side of A.I. Weighs on Tech Stocks
Matt Shumer’s essay “Something Big Is Happening”
The New Fabio Is Claude
How a New A.I. Tool Fixed My Single Biggest Problem With Spotify
How A.I. Trained on Birds Is Surfacing Underwater Mysteries
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Elon Musk’s Mega-Merger + We Test Google’s Project Genie + What’s Next for Moltbook Creator
6 februari 2026 · 1 uur 4 min
This week, the A.I. initial-public-offering race is heating up! We break down SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, as well as OpenAI and Nvidia’s messy situationship. Then, it’s time for show and tell. We got our hands on the latest experimental A.I. prototype from Google called Project Genie, and we discuss our experience using it to generate and navigate video-game-like environments. Finally, we’re joined by Moltbook’s founder, Matt Schlicht, to discuss his new social media platform for A.I. agents, and how he’s planning to deal with security risks and spam on the site. Lees meer
Guest:
Matt Schlicht, creator of Moltbook
Additional Reading:
Elon Musk Merges SpaceX With His A.I. Start-Up xAI
The $100 Billion Megadeal Between OpenAI and Nvidia Is on Ice
Project Genie: Experimenting with infinite, interactive worlds
An A.I. Pioneer Warns the Tech ‘Herd’ Is Marching Into a Dead End
Moltbook Mania Explained
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Moltbook Mania Explained
4 februari 2026 · 28 min
A Reddit-style web forum for A.I. agents has captured the attention of the tech world. According to the site, called Moltbook, more than 1.5 million agents have contributed to over 150,000 posts, making it the largest experiment to date of what happens when A.I. agents interact with each other. We discuss our favorite posts, how we’re thinking about the question of what is “real” on the site, and where we expect agents to go from here. Lees meer
Additional Reading:
A Social Network for A.I. Bots Only. No Humans Allowed.
Five Ways of Thinking About Moltbook
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Tech Grapples With ICE + Casey Tries Clawdbot, a Risky New A.I. Assistant + HatGPT
30 januari 2026 · 1 uur 10 min
This week we’re talking about the tech industry’s response to the killings by federal agents in Minneapolis and the federal government’s strategy to control the narrative on social media. Then we follow Casey through his trial of a new open-source A.I. assistant called Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot) and consider whether it is worth the security risk. And, finally, it’s time for a look at the rest of the week’s tech news with a round of HatGPT. Lees meer
Additional Reading:
False Posts and Altered Images Distort Views of Minnesota Shooting
A Moment-by-Moment Look at the Shooting of Alex Pretti
It’s a War: Inside ICE’s Media Machine
Some Amazon Employees Get ‘Project Dawn’ Calendar Invitation Discussing Upcoming Job Cuts
TikTok Data Center Outage Triggers Trust Crisis for New U.S. Owners
Former FTX Crypto Executive Caroline Ellison Released From Federal Custody
Anthropic C.E.O.’s Grave Warning: A.I. Will “Test Us as a Species”
Inside the White House Screening for Amazon’s ‘Melania’ Doc
App for Quitting Porn Leaked Users’ Masturbation Habits
Alaska Student Arrested After Eating A.I.-Generated Art in Protest
Steak ’n Shake Adds $5 Million in Bitcoin Exposure, Deepening Bitcoin Commitment
SpaceX Weighs June I.P.O. Timed to Planetary Alignment and Elon Musk’s Birthday
LinkedIn Will Let You Show Off Your Vibe Coding Expertise
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Will ChatGPT Ads Change OpenAI? + Amanda Askell Explains Claude's New Constitution
23 januari 2026 · 1 uur 14 min
Ads are coming to ChatGPT’s free and low-cost subscription tiers. We explain what they’ll look like, why OpenAI is taking this approach and whether the company can court advertising dollars without compromising quality and user trust. Then, Amanda Askell, Anthropic’s in-house philosopher in charge of shaping Claude’s personality, joins us to discuss the company’s newly released “Claude Constitution” and what it takes to teach a chatbot to be good. Lees meer
As a bonus, if you’re interested in learning how to get started with Claude Code, you can check out our tutorial on YouTube.
Guest:
Amanda Askell, a member of Anthropic’s technical staff
Additional Reading:
OpenAI Starts Testing Ads in ChatGPT
Claude’s Constitution
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Jonathan Haidt Strikes Again + What You Vibecoded + An Update on the Forkiverse
16 januari 2026 · 1 uur 14 min
This week, Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation,” returns to the show to discuss new research about how social media is harming teens and what it’s been like to become the face of a global movement against the platforms. Then, we asked what you were building with Claude Code, and you blew us away. We’ll share some of our favorite projects that you sent us. And finally, we’re joined by PJ Vogt, the host of “Search Engine,” to talk about our early adventures in the Forkiverse and what we’ve learned so far about running a social media network. Lees meer
Guests:
Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist and author of “The Anxious Generation"
PJ Vogt, host of “Search Engine”
Additional Reading:
Mountains of Evidence
Meta’s Internal Research
An NYT Event in LA - Trump: The First Year of His Second Term
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Can We Build a Better Social Network?
13 januari 2026 · 41 min
Over the past year we’ve been working with the podcast “Search Engine” on a project that reimagines what the internet can be. What if instead of rage-baiting, a social platform incentivized friendly interaction and good faith discussion? Today we’re bringing “Hard Fork” listeners an episode we made with the “Search Engine” team called “The Fediverse Experiment” where we end up creating our own social media platform. Lees meer
Guest:
PJ Vogt, host of the podcast “Search Engine.”
Additional Reading:
The Dream of the Fediverse Is Alive on Threads
What Is Mastodon and Why Are People Leaving Twitter for It?
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Grok’s Undressing Scandal + Claude Code Capers + Casey Busts a Reddit Hoax
9 januari 2026 · 1 uur 16 min
Users of X are asking the platform’s built-in A.I. chatbot, Grok, to remove clothing from images of celebrities and everyday people. We talk with the New York Times reporter Kate Conger about how some of the targets of this sexual harassment, including children and their families, are responding, and whether anyone will take action to stop it. Then, we recap a holiday break spent experimenting with Claude Code. We unveil what we built, how we did it and why the tool’s dramatic improvement could be scary for society. And finally, Casey debunks a viral Reddit post that accuses the food delivery industry of shocking exploitation. We explain how a scammer tried to fool us all using AI-generated evidence. Lees meer
Guests:
Kate Conger, New York Times tech reporter covering X.
Additional Reading:
Elon Musk’s A.I. Is Generating Sexualized Images of Real People, Fueling Outrage
Debunking the A.I. Food Delivery Hoax That Fooled Reddit
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Our 2026 Tech Resolutions + We Answer Your Questions
2 januari 2026 · 59 min
Happy New Year! We’re kicking things off by sharing our tech resolutions for 2026 and reflecting on how we fared with our social media and meditation goals from last year. Lees meer
Then, we open up the listener mailbag and answer your questions on data centers in space, who’s to blame when a customer service A.I. bot lies to you and whether it’s OK to deepfake Santa into your home security footage.
Also, get your very own “Hard Fork” hats, now available at the Times Store: https://store.nytimes.com/products/hard-fork-baseball-cap
Additional Reading:
What I Learned About Productivity This Year
Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery
Shuffling Some Whimsy Into Poker and Blackjack
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Wirecutter Show: Tips for Using A.I. Smartly With Kevin Roose
30 december 2025 · 35 min
Kevin recently joined the hosts of The Wirecutter Show for a conversation about the A.I. products he’s using, strategies to make chatbots work better and his beloved robot vacuums Bruce Roose and Bruce Roose Deuce. It’s a conversation we think Hard Fork listeners will enjoy. Lees meer
We’ll be back in your feeds with our annual tech resolutions episode on Friday.
Additional Reading
Tips for Using A.I. Smarter With Hard Fork’s Kevin Roose
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?
26 december 2025 · 39 min
The leaders of the biggest A.I. labs argue that artificial intelligence will usher in a new era of scientific discovery, which will help us cure diseases and accelerate our ability to address the climate crisis. But what has A.I. actually done for science so far? Lees meer
To understand, we asked Sam Rodriques, a scientist turned technologist who is developing A.I. tools for scientific research through his nonprofit FutureHouse and a for-profit spinoff, Edison Scientific. Edison recently released Kosmos — an A.I. agent, or A.I. scientist to use the company’s language, that it says can accomplish six months of doctoral or postdoctoral-level research in a single 12-hour run.
Sam walks us through how Kosmos works, and why tools like it could dramatically speed up data analysis. But he also discusses why some of the most audacious claims about A.I. curing disease are unrealistic, as well as what bottlenecks still stand in the way of a true A.I.-accelerated future.
Guest:
Sam Rodriques, founder and chief executive of FutureHouse and Edison Scientific
Additional Reading:
The Quest for A.I. ‘Scientific Superintelligence’
Top A.I. Researchers Leave OpenAI, Google and Meta for New Start-Up
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin’ Xmas Song
19 december 2025 · 1 uur 4 min
This week, iRobot, the pioneering American robotics company behind the Roomba, filed for bankruptcy and announced that it would be taken over by its Chinese creditor. Colin Angle, a co-founder and a former longtime chief executive of the company, joins us to explain why the company lost its market dominance and what America should do to protect its newest crop of A.I. and robotics start-ups from the same fate. Then, we settle the score on our high, medium and low predictions from last year and lay down our new ones — including a spicy take on who will take over after Tim Cook at Apple. And finally, we wish all of our listeners a very happy holiday season with our annual tech-themed Christmas carol. Lees meer
Guest:
Colin Angle, iRobot co-founder and former chief executive for over three decades.
Additional Reading:
Roomba Maker iRobot Files for Bankruptcy, With Chinese Supplier Taking Control
iRobot Is in Trouble, but Roomba Is Already Dead
Our 2025 Tech Predictions and Resolutions
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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