Tech Won't Save Us - We All Suffer from OpenAI’s Pursuit of Scale w/ Karen Hao

Paris Marx is joined by Karen Hao to discuss how Sam Altman’s goal of scale at all costs has spawned a new empire founded on exploitation of people and the environment, resulting in not only the loss of valuable research into more inventive AI systems, but also exacerbated data privacy issues, intellectual property erosion, and the perpetuation of surveillance capitalism.

Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and the author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Trump’s Brittle Authoritarianism

Donald Trump is sending the troops to California, while also getting ready for a big birthday parade—for himself and the US Army—in DC. Does grasping for symbols of military strength smack a bit of desperation? 

Guests: Jamelle Bouie, columnist at the New York Times

Jeremy Lindenfeld, reporter and Capital and Main local news fellow.

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.


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Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova - This Year’s World Series Of Poker Is Different

Nate and Maria are back in Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker 2025. They discuss a key rule change that will have a major effect on their strategy. Then, they’re joined by a Risky Business listener who gets a crash course in tournament play. Finally, they look back on their own early days at the WSOP.

For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters:

The Leap from Maria Konnikova

Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver 


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It Could Happen Here - On The Ground In LA

James talks to Robert about the LA protests after spending Monday night on the ground in DTLA covering the protests and police response.

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Planet Money - Are Trump’s tariffs legal?

When President Trump announced his sweeping new tariffs this year, many trade law experts were startled. Typically, presidents don't have the authority to impose broad tariffs with a snap of their fingers.

But Trump's advisors have an unusual new legal theory. They say that as long as there's a national emergency of some kind, Trump may be able to create whatever tariffs he wants. This is a creative interpretation of a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. To justify his latest tariffs, the president declared national emergencies involving illegal immigration, the fentanyl crisis, and the trade deficit.

But no president has ever tried to use the law in this way.

Now, the fate of Trump's tariffs — and the creative legal theory behind them — lies with the courts. About a dozen lawsuits have challenged his tariffs, claiming that they are unlawful and possibly even unconstitutional. And some judges have started to agree.

On today's show: What are the President's powers when it comes to tariffs? Where do they come from? What are their limits? And, what will be the fate of Trump's tariffs?

For more on Trump's tariffs:
- The 145% tariff already did its damage
- Do trade deficits matter?
- What "Made in China" actually means

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1A - Seniors Are The Fastest-Growing Group Experiencing Homelessness. Why?

People aged 50 and older have grown from about 10 percent of the homeless population to half. That's according to the most recent federal data.

The increase is being driven by a number of factors including housing affordability and fixed incomes. It comes as social safety net programs like Medicaid are on the chopping block and fears grow over the future of Social Security under the Trump Administration.

We talk about the reasons behind the dramatic increase in homelessness among seniors and how can they be protected.

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