Big Technology Podcast - The Anthropic Rocketship, AI’s Spending Limits, SpaceX IPO

Financial Times San Francisco Bureau Chief Stephen Morris joins for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Anthropic's $20 billion fundraising round 2) OpenAI is looking at $100 billion in funding 3) Amazon alone might put $50 billion in OpenAI 4) When does the money run out? 5) The rise of Clawdbot/Moltbot 6) Meta and Microsoft beat on earnings but go in separate directions 7) The market has no idea what to do with the AI trade 8) Apple's historic quarter 9) Amazon lays off 16,000 10) SpaceX IPO in June? 11) Why a SpaceX and xAI merger could make sense

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Up First from NPR - More Epstein Files Released; Government Shutdown; New Winter Storm

The Justice Department has released its final tranche of the Epstein files - we'll look at what they have and haven't included. And, the U.S. in a partial government shutdown again, although this is one is expected to be shorter than the record-breaking shutdown that happened during the fall. Plus, another winter storm is hitting the U-S this weekend, this time, hitting parts of the Southeast.

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Newshour - At least 200 dead in DR Congo mining collapse, authorities say

More than 200 people have been killed in a mine collapse in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, rebel authorities have said.

Women and children were among those mining coltan - a mineral used to manufacture electronics such as smartphones and computers - at the time in the town of Rubaya.

Also in the programme: The search for truth and justice continues after more than three million new documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are released; we'll hear about the legacy of the Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Kuti, who has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy; and we'll discuss the implications of AI being used to create new forms of life.

(File photo of labourers working at the Rubaya coltan mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo March 24, 2025. Credit: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: What makes people instinctively kind?

We meet a woman whose near death experience as a teenager inspired her to study why some people are willing to risk their lives for others. Dr Abigail Marsh was rescued by a stranger after a car accident and wanted to understand what drove him to help her. She says altruists, those who instinctively help without expecting anything in return, are more sensitive to the needs of other people -- but we can all learn to be kinder.

Also: we hear from a man whose willingness to help others led him to donate a kidney. It went to a woman he'd become friends with after he supported her through a personal tragedy.

We find out about an Australian scheme to help dads and their kids be healthier, which also showed the benefits of rough and tumble play. And it's inspired a project at a prison in Scotland that aims to make dads better role models by playing with their kids. It's hoped that helping them become better parents will make them less likely to reoffend.

Plus, why a crying horse soft toy has been a surprise hit with young workers in China, and what its like to be a patient helping to develop new medical treatments by volunteering for a clinical trial.

Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

(Presenter: Jannat Jalil. Music composed by Iona Hampson)

(Photo: Dr Abigail Marsh. Credit Georgetown University)

WSJ What’s News - What’s News in Markets: Fed Chair, Layoffs, Meme Stock

What could the new nominee for Federal Reserve chair mean for markets? And is corporate cost-cutting good or bad news for investors? Plus, which meme stock is trying to turn its fortunes around? Host Krystal Hur discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them.


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The Daily - “A Terrifying Line Is Being Crossed”: Mayor Jacob Frey on the Turmoil in Minneapolis

The Minnesota Democrat on the battle between his city and the federal government.

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.

WSJ Your Money Briefing - What’s News in Markets: Fed Chair, Layoffs, Meme Stock

What could the new nominee for Federal Reserve chair mean for markets? And is corporate cost-cutting good or bad news for investors? Plus, which meme stock is trying to turn its fortunes around? Host Krystal Hur discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them.


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In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt - Introducing: What’s The Plan? with Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin

Today we’re popping into your feed to tell you about a new series, What’s The Plan?

What’s The Plan is one of America’s largest live, participatory political conversations, designed to inform, mobilize, and grow the pro-democracy movement. 

A weekly guide to the state of democracy and how we fight back against authoritarian threats in the United States.

Hosted by Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, Co-founders of Indivisible. What’s The Plan isn’t punditry, it’s people-powered politics in real time.

New episodes every Friday wherever you get your podcasts. Head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/WhatsThePlanwithLeahandEzrafd

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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Legal Blinkers, Moral Hazards

Lawyers love legal reasoning. It promises a clean, clear path through sticky, tricky territory. But legal reasoning can enable grotesque real-world outcomes, like torture, or arresting journalists, or masked government agents detaining and disappearing people. On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is in conversation with Joseph Margulies, Professor of Practice of Government at Cornell University. Margulies litigated some of the biggest cases of egregious human rights violations of the post-9/11 “War on Terror”, an experience that informed his recent piece in the Boston Review: The Moral Stupefaction of America. Margulies explains how, when we allow obscure legal language to overshadow moral imperatives, we can end up in very dark places. The line from waterboarding at black sites to executing American citizens in the streets is a straight one. And there will be a lawyer willing to write a memo for all of it. 


Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.


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