Hard Fork

The New York Times

“Hard Fork” is a show about the future that’s already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech. Listen to this podcast in New York Times Audio, our new iOS app for news subscribers. Download now at nytimes.com/audioapp

  • 1 hour 9 minutes
    A Flood of A.I. Slop + Searching for Satoshi + the Hot Mess Express Returns

    This week, in the wake of recent natural disasters, we dig into the rise of A.I.-generated slop that’s polluting the internet and disrupting rescue efforts. Then we talk with the investigative filmmaker Cullen Hoback about his new documentary on the history of Bitcoin and about why, after so many others have failed, he thinks he has found the real Satoshi Nakamoto. And finally, we hear the train whistle approaching, and that can only mean one thing: It’s once again time to board the Hot Mess Express.

    Guest:

    • Cullen Hoback, Documentary filmmaker

    Additional Reading

    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    11 October 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 9 minutes
    Can California Regulate A.I.? + Silicon Valley’s Super Babies + System Update!

    On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California vetoed Senate Bill 1047, an A.I. safety bill that would have curtailed the growth of the technology. What received a lot less attention were the 18 other important A.I. bills he signed into law over the past month. We walk through what is in them and what they mean for the rest of the country. Then, The Information’s Julia Black joins to discuss the baby craze that’s sweeping Silicon Valley, including investment in some wild new fertility technologies. And finally, it’s time for a system update! We get into OpenAI’s massive fund-raising deal and the senator who hopped on a call with a “deepfake” former Ukrainian official.


    Guest:

     

    Additional Reading:

    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

     

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    4 October 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 12 minutes
    Meta’s Race for Your Face + Google’s Hit A.I. Notebook + HatGPT

    This week, Casey reports back from a wild day at Meta Connect, discussing what’s new with Meta’s efforts in artificial intelligence, virtual reality headsets and the Holy Grail — augmented reality glasses. Then, Steven Johnson, a writer and editorial director at Google Labs, stops by to talk about the company’s new hit NotebookLM, which uses A.I. to turn even boring PDFs, such as user manuals and Kevin’s bank records, into chatty, disturbingly good podcasts. Finally, so much happened in tech news this week that we reached for the bucket hat in the latest installment of HatGPT!
     

    Guest:

    Additional Reading: 

    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    27 September 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    OpenAI's Reasoning Machine + Instagram Teen Changes + Amazon RTO Drama

    Last week, OpenAI released a preview of its hotly anticipated new model, o1. We discuss what it has excelled at and how it could accelerate the timeline for building superintelligence. Then, we explain why Meta is making teenagers’ Instagram accounts private by default. And, finally, we chat with the New York Times reporter Karen Weise about why Amazon is forcing its corporate employees to go back to working in the office five days a week and whether other companies will follow suit.

     

    Guests:

     

    Additional Reading:

     

    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    20 September 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 12 minutes
    Do You Need a New iPhone? + Yuval Noah Harari’s A.I. Fears + Hard Fork Crimes Division

    Apple unveiled its latest gadgets at its big September event on Monday. We discuss the most interesting new features — including AirPods that can function as hearing aids and Apple Watch software that can help detect sleep apnea — and offer our advice on when to buy a new iPhone. Then, the best-selling author Yuval Noah Harari joins us to discuss his new book and his biggest fears about A.I. And finally, we crack open some criminal cases in a new segment we’re calling the Hard Fork Crimes Division. We’ll explain how one man made $10 million by manipulating music streaming services and how online instructions for building a 3D-printed gun have ended up in the hands of criminals around the world.

     

    Guest:

    • Yuval Noah Harari, author of “Sapiens,” “Homo Deus” and “Nexus.”

     

    Additional Reading:

     

    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    13 September 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 8 minutes
    X Gets a Brazilian Ax + Founder Mode + Listeners Respond on School Phone Bans

    Over the weekend, X was banned in Brazil. We talk with The New York Times’s Brazil bureau chief, Jack Nicas, about how Brazilians are reacting, whether its owner, Elon Musk, has made a business miscalculation and what this means for free speech around the world. Then, we’re going “founder mode.” We explore why an essay about start-up founders reclaiming their authority went viral and what that tells us about how Silicon Valley thinks about power. And finally, we hear from listeners. Teachers and students left us voice messages describing how phone bans in schools are transforming their lives.

     

    Guest:

     

    Additional Reading: 

     

    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    6 September 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 14 minutes
    The Telegram Problem + Gov. Kathy Hochul on School Phone Bans + Kevin's A.I. Reputation Rehab

    Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France and charged with several crimes connected to his operation of the platform. We’ll tell you what the charges against him mean for the internet. Then Gov. Kathy Hochul, Democrat of New York, joins us to discuss why she wants to ban phones statewide in public schools. And finally, Kevin has been using secret codes to try to change what A.I. chatbots think of him. We get to the bottom of whether it is possible to manipulate A.I. outputs.

    This episode contains discussion of suicide connected to youth mental health. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

    Guest:

    • Kathy Hochul, governor of New York

    Additional Reading:

    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    30 August 2024, 9:05 am
  • 1 hour 8 minutes
    What Happened to the A.I. Election? + ChatGPT for Mayor + The Productivity Tools We’re Using

    This week, we discuss why so few campaigns seem to be experimenting with A.I. The Times’s Sheera Frenkel joins us with examples of the many different artificial intelligence products that have been turned down by campaigns in this election cycle, from A.I.-generated endorsements from long-dead historical figures to a synthetic version of Donald Trump. Then, we interview the Wyoming man who ran for mayor on the promise that he would exclusively use a customized ChatGPT bot to run the city. And finally, it’s time for a tech check. We run down the apps we’re using to become more productive.


    Guest:


    Additional Reading: 


    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    23 August 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 8 minutes
    Can Musk Get Trump Elected? + Steve Ballmer’s Quest for the Facts + This Week in A.I.

    This week, we debate whether Elon Musk’s recent stumping and fund-raising for former President Trump could help him get re-elected. Then, former Microsoft’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, stops by to discuss his effort to depolarize our politics using government data. And finally, This Week in A.I. returns: We run down some of the biggest recent stories that caught our attention.

     

    Guest:

    • Steve Ballmer, former chief executive of Microsoft, founder of USAFacts

     

    Additional Reading:

     

    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    16 August 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 13 minutes
    Google’s Monopoly Money + Is the A.I. Bubble Popping? + The Hot-Mess Express

    This week, a federal judge ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. David McCabe, a New York Times reporter, joins to discuss what happens next. Then, are we in an A.I. bubble? We weigh in on the wild market swings that started the week and consider the argument that A.I. is overhyped. And finally, it’s time for our new segment: We bat around some of the weirdest recent tech drama — including a MrBeast competition that went awry and a founder who dropped a diss track aimed at a rival. All aboard the Hot-Mess Express.


    Guest:


    Additional Reading:


    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    9 August 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    The Zoom Election + Google DeepMind's Math Olympiad + HatGPT! Olympics Edition

    This week, with hundreds of thousands of people joining online political rallies for Kamala Harris, we discuss whether 2024 is suddenly becoming the Zoom election, and what that means for both parties’ political organizing. Then, Pushmeet Kohli, a computer scientist at Google DeepMind, joins us for a conversation about how his team’s new A.I. models just hit a silver medal score on the International Mathematical Olympiad exam. And finally, it’s time for a new round of HatGPT! This time, it’s a special Olympics tech edition.
     

    Guest:

    • Pushmeet Kohli, vice president of research at Google DeepMind
       

    Additional Reading:

     

    We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTubeand TikTok.

    Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

    2 August 2024, 8:59 am
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