Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

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. This episode originally aired in June 2025.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Karen was the first journalist to profile OpenAI.

• Karen has reported on the environmental impacts and human costs of AI.

• The New York Times reported on why we're unlikely to get artificial general intelligence anytime soon.

The rising cost of health care is among Americans’ biggest worries, according to recent year-end polls. Insurance coverage for prescription drugs has been decreasing as their prices have been increasing. Texas is the hardest hit state for the uninsured.array(3) { [0]=> string(38) "https://www.tpr.org/podcast/the-source" [1]=> string(0) "" [2]=> string(1) "0" }

The thriller-machine (and civics savant) returns to talk The Viper, the latest Zig-and-Nola mystery, and why he'll write 350 pages before he bothers naming the thing. Plus, a harrowing Minneapolis video after an ICE agent shoots into a slowly moving SUV—and the yawning gap between what the footage seems to show and DHS talk of "rioters" and a "weaponized" vehicle. Also: the debut of what may become a recurring segment—Let's Parse What Tony Dokoupil Said—from a 17-second January 6th mention to a Marco Rubio kicker that might have been a "meh" joke or might have been the death knell of democracy, depending on your source.

Produced by Corey Wara

Coordinated by Lya Yanne

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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Last night, President Donald Trump announced that Venezuela would start sending the U.S. oil. He’s voiced his desire to exploit the country’s vast reserves since ousting Nicolás Maduro in a midnight raid over the weekend.

The Venezuelan government hasn’t yet confirmed the move. And the country’s leaders continue to condemn U.S. actions in their country as they crack down on anti-Maduro sentiment.

This begs the question – who is in charge of Venezuela? And what does the relationship between the Trump administration and the Delcy Rodriguez, their pick to lead the nation, look like?

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• Monday's "Morning Shots," including Mark Hertling on the "belly-button rule" 
  
  
• Tim’s 2025 Music Year in Review 

• Snag the hoodie that will bring you comfort for life, the American Giant Classic Full Zip. Go to https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code BULWARK. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!
  

The U.S. just carried out a stunning strike in Venezuela—capturing Nicolás Maduro—and Ravi argues the hard part isn’t the raid, but the chaos, precedent, and “what happens next,” with oil looming over everything. He’s then joined by The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer to unpack the CBS/60 Minutes controversy, where a vetted segment on deportations to an overseas prison was spiked, allegedly to appease the Trump administration. Serwer argues this exposes a growing double standard on the right: “free speech” as the freedom to speak, but not to criticize—backed by real pressure on newsrooms, universities, and public debate. A sharp episode about power—who gets to invade, who gets to speak, and who decides what the public is allowed to see.

Adam Serwer’s writing at The Atlantic

––––

Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta

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• Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com 

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• Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/ 

Join Washington Examiner Senior Writer David Harsanyi and Federalist Editor-In-Chief Mollie Hemingway as they discuss the Trump administration's operation targeting deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro, examine President Donald Trump's interest in Greenland, and give an update on the Minnesota Somali fraud scandal and Tim Walz's decision to drop his re-election bid. Mollie and David also share several reviews of movies, including The Ref, Crazy Rich Asians, One False Move, The Phoenician Scheme, and F1.

The Federalist is a nonprofit, and we depend entirely on our listeners and readers — not corporations. If you value fearless, independent journalism, please consider a tax-deductible gift today at TheFederalist.com/donate. Your support keeps us going.

Hello!

Today, we have Matt Duss on the show. Matt is an executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, co-host of the Un-Diplomatic podcast, and the former foreign policy advisor for Bernie Sanders. We talked about what the hell Trump is doing in Venezuela, what Rubio’s vision for the world might be, the dangers of a fully unrestrained Trump administration, what Democrats could be doing to provide an alternative vision of the world, and also what is going to happen with Greenland. It’s a great episode and very informative and we hope you both check out Matt’s pod and take a listen.

thanks!

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This year, the 2026 midterm elections will decide which party controls Congress, and whether Republicans can hold on to every lever of influence in Washington.

Annie Karni and Shane Goldmacher, who cover politics, discuss the opportunities and perils for both parties.

Guest:

• Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent at The New York Times.
• Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Both President Trump and the Democrats are floating unusual midterm conventions.
• Here are six big political questions for the new year.
• And here are the latest polls for the 2026 elections.

Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 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.