With Nima Momeni convicted of second degree murder, the media storm around Bob Lee faded. Reporter Shawn Wen tries to make sense of the widespread fascination with Lee’s death. She looks to the period before his death, when San Francisco was gripped by a bitter political fight over street crime, and to the years afterwards, when it emerged from the doom loop and into the AI boom. 

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Nima Momeni's trial for murdering Bob Lee began in October 2024. Lee's killing, no longer a stand-in for random street crime, no longer fit neatly into the political zeitgeist. Instead, the tabloids latched onto the story for its salacious mix of drugs, violence and sex. Reporter Shawn Wen brings listeners inside the made-for-TV murder trial, which also served as a referendum on San Francisco. 

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Weeks after his death, Bob Lee’s toxicology report was released, indicating that he had alcohol, cocaine, and ketamine in his system. While his killing no longer fit neatly with the San Francisco Doom Loop narrative, a new story emerged that Lee traveled through an underground party scene known as “the Lifestyle.” Lee was twisted into a symbol for a second time, now representing the secret world of the wealthy tech elite. In conversation with Lee’s friends and family, reporter Shawn Wen tells the tale of the man they knew.

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Nine days after Bob Lee was found stabbed in San Francisco, police arrested Nima Momeni for his murder. Desperate to squash the ‘Doom Loop’ narrative, San Francisco officials insisted that Bob Lee was killed by someone he knew, a fellow tech executive. But the Cash App founder’s friends and family had never heard of Momeni. Reporter Shawn Wen tells the story of Momeni’s teen years in the East Bay, his minor brushes with the law, and the events that put him on a collision course with Lee. 

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Three years ago, Bob Lee, a tech executive famous for creating Cash App, was found stabbed in San Francisco. His killing set off a wave of online fury. Reporter Shawn Wen takes us back to the turbulent days before his killer was arrested, when misinformation and rumors ran rampant. Several tech industry leaders decried violent crime in San Francisco, including David Sacks, who “bet dollars to dimes” that Lee was stabbed by “a psychotic homeless person,” and Elon Musk, who called the city “horrific.” 

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Three years ago, Bob Lee, a tech executive best known for creating Cash App, was found stabbed in the streets of San Francisco. His killing set off a wave of online fury. Rumors and misinformation ran rampant. Several tech industry leaders weighed in, including David Sacks, who “bet dollars to dimes” that Lee was stabbed by “a psychotic homeless person,” and Elon Musk, who disparaged the district attorney. When Lee’s killer was arrested, it became clear that the truth of what happened could not be further from the initial speculation. 

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It’s an open secret that the Chinese government has engaged in a global campaign to acquire intellectual property from foreign rivals. At the center of that campaign is the Ministry of State Security, China’s elusive intelligence agency. The US has apprehended hundreds of people accused of giving information to the MSS, but the agency’s inner workings have been a mystery — until now.

Today, we’re bringing you Episode 1 of The Sixth Bureau, a limited-run series from The Big Take. The series follows an MSS intelligence officer whose mission was to acquire the crown jewels of American aerospace companies. With aliases, blackmail and the occasional break-in, he targeted corporate giants. That is, until his sloppiness — and a cunning FBI sting — led to a stunning reversal: Xu Yanjun became the first Chinese intelligence officer ever convicted on American soil.

Listen to Episode 2, available now in The Big Take.

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Right as Sam Altman was at the peak of his success, touring the world to espouse the virtues of AI, his board turned on him. Altman was unceremoniously fired. OpenAI’s coup is a story of secrets, betrayal, employee revolt and Altman’s expert political maneuvering to regain his position of power. In this episode, reporter Ellen Huet also examines Altman’s history of broken promises and alleged manipulation.

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It’s widely predicted that AI will upend the economy and threaten many existing jobs. Sam Altman, in trying to stay ahead of public fears of mass unemployment, has offered universal basic income as a solution. He also has envisioned an AI future of abundance. In this episode, reporter Ellen Huet looks at Altman’s proposals for ending poverty and his current relationship with his sister, Annie Altman, who struggles with homelessness in Hawaii.

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A group of high-level early employees who had glimpsed the fluidity and power of the technology behind ChatGPT left OpenAI to start a new company. Their exit sparked concerns that OpenAI is not prioritizing safety. Meanwhile, the success of ChatGPT drove a craze within the tech industry but also added fuel to existing apocalyptic fears. In this episode, reporter Ellen Huet examines the frenzy around AI, both its utopic dreams and visions of impending doom.

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OpenAI employees were motivated by the dream of building an artificial general intelligence, which could think and solve problems like a human mind. In reality, they sometimes spent their days building bots that played video games. But new research allowed the company to create increasingly powerful AI models, giving them a lead in the AI race. Meanwhile, a power struggle between Sam Altman and Elon Musk led to Musk’s departure from the company. In this episode, reporter Ellen Huet takes a look at OpenAI’s early days and the company’s shift away from its promises to be open-source and nonprofit.

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