The artificial intelligence industry was thrown for a loop when the Chinese start-up DeepSeek rolled out a product that was more energy efficient, cheaper to produce, and open source. Where did DeepSeek come from, and are Silicon Valley and Washington right to be panicking? 

Guest: Zeyi Yang, senior writer at WIRED.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.

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Tapped by Trump for the role of health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presents himself as someone willing to say what other politicians won’t. But during his Senate confirmation hearings, both Democrats and Republicans questioned his previous statements about vaccines—and questioned whether he even knows what the job he’s trying to get entails. But his nomination signals that maybe it isn’t about vaccines - it’s about wanting to blow up the whole healthcare establishment. 

Guest: Dan Diamond, White House correspondent for The Washington Post

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.

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Artificial intelligence is coming to a doctor’s office near you—if it isn’t already there, working in an administrative role. Are you ready for generative A.I. to help your doctor diagnose you? Is your doctor ready to listen—with the necessary mix of humility and skepticism?

Guest: Geoffrey Fowler, Washington Post tech columnist.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.

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Choice seats for Donald Trump’s second inauguration were filled with tech founders and CEOs, signaling their importance to this presidential term. Then Elon Musk sent another signal of his own…

Guest: Nitish Pahwa, staff writer for business and tech at Slate.

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The Department of Government Efficiency was made to Elon Musk’s specifications, right down to its meme-indebted name. Now that DOGE is shaping up to be an actual part of the government, what can it actually accomplish? And isn’t this all a huge conflict of interest for Elon Musk and his many government contracts?

Guest: Teddy Schleifer, New York Times reporter on billionaires.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.

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Looking for up-to-the-minute updates on where the fires are, LA residents have been turning to the app Watch Duty, rather than getting updates directly from the local or state government, or even local media.

Guests:

David Merritt, cofounder and CTO of Watch Duty

Alyssa Jeong Perry, LA-based producer for Slate.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.

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Misinformation, disinformation, politics—Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is not going to shield users from those anymore. What’s behind the abrupt change in direction?

Guest: Sheera Frenkel, New York Times tech reporter

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.

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How the FCC and its incoming head, Brenden Carr, could enact Trump’s top policy goal: punishing anyone who says mean stuff about Trump.

Guest: Drew FitzGerald, telecom reporter for the Wall Street Journal.

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Will a First Amendment defense keep TikTok running in America? 

Guest: Emily Baker White, tech reporter for Forbes. 

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.

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Cryptocurrency spent generously on this last election cycle, and now they’ve got their top pick in the White House, and wins across Congress. Where is the industry looking to go with these favorable, regulatory winds? 

Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, tech reporter covering the crypto industry for the New York Times.

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On Christmas Eve a fracas erupted on X, when Elon Musk posted in favor of H1-B visas for specialized and high-skill workers and was met with anger from the MAGA base who view the visas as a way for immigrants to take American jobs.

Guest: Ryan Mac, tech reporter for The New York Times and the coauthor of the book “Character Limit How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter.”

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Ethan Oberman, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.

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