Tech Talk: AI Supremacy, TikTok’s Fate, and Crypto Decadence

Tech Talk: AI Supremacy, TikTok’s Fate, and Crypto Decadence

Today, tech talk with an old friend of the pod, Kevin Roose of The New York Times, who is also host of the 'Hard Fork' podcast. This is a show about everything. And it’s going to remain a show about everything because I’m a little bit interested in everything. But one cost of that purposeful lack of narrow focus is that sometimes you fail to communicate the gravity of the important things that are happening in the world. And at the moment, I think some of the most important stories in the world are in tech—and more specifically, in the relationship between government and technology. A relationship that is closer now than it’s been in many decades. We begin with TikTok—the most popular source of news for Gen Z in America and the most downloaded mobile app in the world in 2024. Last year a bipartisan bill signed by Joe Biden demanded that the parent company of TikTok, which is the Chinese firm ByteDance, sell its American business or else face a ban. Well, today, TikTok is legally banned in America, and also in broad use, because Donald Trump—the man who called for banning the app in 2020—saved it in 2025 by essentially declaring that he won’t uphold the law. We then spend most of this episode talking about the crescendo of predictions from Silicon Valley that the AI frontier is nearing a breakthrough. In the past few weeks, members of OpenAI, Anthropic, and other frontier labs have claimed that they are less than three years away from building AI agents that are, to borrow their language, better than humans at everything. I ask Kevin how widespread these predictions are, whether we should believe them, what it would mean if they’re right, why they might wrong, what’s the biggest bottleneck still standing in their way, and why it’s so hard for the news media to report responsibly on a story like this, where we’re asked to take seriously the economy-shifting potential of a technology that we can’t actually report on because it doesn’t actually exist. And then, because I’m also completely bewildered by the bonfires of corruption that are erupting in crypto-land, we close on crypto. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Kevin Roose Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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One Big Question For: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, and Meta

One Big Question For: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, and Meta

They’re the six largest tech companies in the world. What’s the most interesting thing about each of them? Shira Ovide, author of the On Tech newsletter from The New York Times, joins Derek to talk about why Norway is a snapshot of Tesla’s future, why Microsoft is so underrated, and why Apple stands alone among the tech giants in more ways than one. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Shira Ovide Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1 Feb 202242min

Should We Cancel Student Debt?

Should We Cancel Student Debt?

Americans owe $1.7 trillion in student loans, and some Democrats think the time has come to cancel this burden. Derek shares 10 big student-loan facts that shape the debate. Then Jordan Weissmann of Slate joins the podcast to talk about the proposal to cancel student debt, the best arguments for and against it, the modern history of student loans, and their economic and psychological burden. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Jordan Weissmann Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Jan 202237min

Crypto Crashing, Pandemic Stocks Plunging: The Story Behind January’s Crazy Stock Market

Crypto Crashing, Pandemic Stocks Plunging: The Story Behind January’s Crazy Stock Market

Morgan Housel, the bestselling author of ‘The Psychology of Money’ and a partner at Collaborative Fund, is back to talk Bitcoin, Peloton, tech stocks, financial media myths, the psychology of stock market corrections, and the long view of investing. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Morgan Housel Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 Jan 202244min

2022 Is Off to a Terrible Start for Democrats

2022 Is Off to a Terrible Start for Democrats

Legendary journalist James Fallows joins to discuss the filibuster wars, Democrats’ Voting Rights Act, the political outlook for Joe Biden and the Democrats, and the media’s negativity bias (as exemplified, one might argue, in the headline to this very episode). Host: Derek Thompson Guest: James Fallows Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Jan 202241min

The Biggest Losers of the Streaming Wars: ESPN, Movie Theaters, Peacock, and More

The Biggest Losers of the Streaming Wars: ESPN, Movie Theaters, Peacock, and More

Do movie theaters have a future? What should Disney do with ESPN? And is anybody watching Peacock? Derek’s favorite entertainment-media analyst Rich Greenfield joins the pod to talk about the future of TV, movies, and live sports. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Rich Greenfield  Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Jan 202249min

Everybody Was Wrong About Inflation

Everybody Was Wrong About Inflation

Okay, almost everybody. The Biden administration was wrong. Many critics of the Biden administration were also wrong. The Federal Reserve was wrong. Investors were wrong. Banks were wrong. And Bitcoin investors weren't exactly right, either. How did everybody miss the most important economic story of the year? Derek breaks down the highest inflation rate in 40 years and welcomes back his economic roundtable guests, the finance podcasters Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson.  Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Michael Batnick & Ben Carlson  Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 Jan 202243min

Omicron: Feelings vs. Facts

Omicron: Feelings vs. Facts

Derek talks about the rise of the "Vaxxed and Done" movement before reviewing the latest omicron data with John Burn-Murdoch, data superstar at the Financial Times. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: John Burn-Murdoch  Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Jan 202236min

The Biggest Inventions of the 2020s: Cancer Vaccines, Flying Cars, Space Travel, and More

The Biggest Inventions of the 2020s: Cancer Vaccines, Flying Cars, Space Travel, and More

Let’s kick off the new year with a bit of techno-optimism! After a miserable start to this decade, we can still have a Roaring Twenties. In this episode, ‘Plain English’ presents a tour of the frontier of science and technology with Derek’s favorite innovation writer, the economist Eli Dourado. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Eli Dourado Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Jan 202254min

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