Should facial recognition be available to everybody? This week, Oz shows off his new swag from the company of the moment, Colossal Biosciences, and tells us about his visit to the labs’ responsible for Woolly Mice and Dire Wolves. Then, Oz and Karah unpack how facial recognition is being used by viral sites like Cheaterbuster AI and investigate the Trump family crypto empire. They warn about satellites leaking data, Ubers new gigs within gigs, and a new health tracker that goes in your bowl. And...
Oct 24, 2025•32 min
This week, we’re joined by tech analyst and researcher, Dan Wang, to help analyze the evolving relationship between the US and China. In Dan’s new book, Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future , he introduces a new framework, comparing and contrasting China's “engineering state” to the US’s “lawyerly society”. We also hear Dan’s take on China’s rise as a production superpower, what lessons America can learn from the country and how the current administration's tariff policies (and its ti...
Oct 22, 2025•28 min
Is it no longer ‘borderline illegal’ to be Christian in Silicon Valley? This week, Oz and Karah are diving deep into Peter Thiel’s 4-part lecture series on the Antichrist and they unpack why the tech industry might be getting more religious. Plus, Oz spills the tea on the Dutch-China microchip drama. Space junk is falling from the sky. The cops are getting called over AI pranks gone wrong. And Karah updates Oz on the latest dating trend. For Chat and Me, one listener gets in over her head, and g...
Oct 17, 2025•32 min
This week, it’s all about Sora. OpenAI’s updated video generator and the invite-only social media app. AI Video just got so much easier to make, and harder to detect… Karah and her guest, Jeremy Carrasco, who runs the social media accounts showtoolsAI , demo how Sora works and how you can determine if a short video you’re watching was created with AI. They discuss why it’s a necessary skill in a post-Sora world, what OpenAI might be trying to accomplish with this social app and why you shouldn’t...
Oct 15, 2025•30 min
Are you ready to bond over AI videos? This week in tech news, OpenAI dominates the game. Their new social media app is the talk of the internet, they signed a massive chip deal that rocked the industry, and they just released tech that gets ChatGPT one step closer to becoming the 'everything app'. Then, Oz answers the question, “Have we passed peak social media?” and introduces Karah to “wetware.” Karah explains how robots are helping make babies. And finally, a sneak peek at a new podcast, How ...
Oct 10, 2025•33 min
This week, we check in on the CIA and how it’s faring in the age of AI. Oz sits down with David Ignatius, a foreign affairs columnist for The Washington Post to discuss his article, “ A Band of Innovators Reimagines the Spy Game for a World with No Cover. ” Ignatius has been covering US foreign policy and the CIA for almost four decades and he recently had a realization – that the “future of intelligence was going to be written in zeros and ones.” Which means the intelligence community needs to ...
Oct 08, 2025•25 min
Do you know the definition of a friend? This week in tech news, workplaces may not be getting a good return on their AI investments and a new wearable goes all in on advertisements, but they are getting defaced. Then, Italy has a new AI regulation law and there’s a buzzy new “actress” in Hollywood. On Chat and Me, how one listener is personalizing AI to help his students learn Spanish. Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in an unusual or surprising way, send us a 1–2 minute ...
Oct 03, 2025•33 min
This week, we explore Hollywood’s open secret — that everyone is using AI, they just aren’t talking about it. Karah sits down with Lila Shapiro, a features writer for New York Magazine , about what Hollywood, itself, thinks of AI. She shares what she’s learned from her extensive interviews with studio executives, directors, writers, vfx artists, actors, and AI entrepreneurs. They discuss whether AI is making creative jobs easier, or threatening to destroy them entirely. See omnystudio.com/listen...
Oct 01, 2025•26 min
Who are the teens debugging in the bathroom? This week in tech news, there’s a Gen Z-led revolution in Nepal and Discord made it possible. Early 2000s hustle culture is so back in Silicon Valley — at least for teen tech founders. Then, there’s a new AI-generated political satire show airing on Russian state TV. And Albania gets an AI-avatar to seek out corruption. Finally, on Chat and Me, how ChatGPT is helping one user through a new diagnosis. Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a ch...
Sep 26, 2025•33 min
This week, we’re bringing you the first episode of Season 3 of the podcast ON CRISPR. Walter Isaacson — the bestselling biographer behind Musk, Einstein and Steve Jobs – and journalist Evan Ratliff (Shell Game, Mastermind, Longform) take a behind-the-scenes look at the story of Jennifer Doudna, one of the scientific pioneers behind the gene editing software, CRISPR. In this episode, Evan sits down with Walter Isaacson to discuss Doudna’s upbringing, the history of DNA’s discovery and gene editin...
Sep 24, 2025•28 min
What does the viral video of Charlie Kirk’s assassination say about the state of content moderation on social media? This week, Oz and Karah unpack the complexities of moderating graphic-but-newsworthy content, and why tech companies commitment to moderation has waned in recent years. Then, Karah talks to a student in New York about how they’re adjusting to not having access to their phone during the school day. Then, on Chat and Me, a woman uses ChatGPT to diagnose her mother’s mysterious ailme...
Sep 19, 2025•30 min
This week, we take a deep dive into why Gen Z isn’t having sex. Karah talks with Carter Sherman, a reproductive health and justice reporter for The Guardian , and author of the book The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future . They unpack how tech factors into the “Sex Recession,” sex as a proxy measure for empathy and human connection, and how all of this is a lot more political than you might think. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 17, 2025•30 min
What does getting older actually feel like? This week, Oz and Karah discuss MIT Researchers who are using technology to simulate aging. Then, Oz tells the story of an activist who used China’s surveillance state as a form of protest. Karah dives deep into the weird world of humans quietly training chatbots. And finally, on Chat and Me, is replacing your therapist with ChatGPT a good idea? Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a surprising or delightful (or deranged) way, se...
Sep 12, 2025•31 min
This week, we’re all in. Oz chats with Kit Chellel, a Bloomberg writer who focuses on gambling, technology, and sports betting. He wrote an article about a secret Russian bot farm that infiltrated the world of online poker in the early 2000s. We follow Kit from Siberia to Armenia, and get a peek into just how bots can make or break the future of online poker. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 10, 2025•30 min
Scuderia Ferrari and IBM are redefining fan engagement with AI-driven insights, and cutting-edge digital tools. Learn how IBM is helping Scuderia Ferrari deepen connections with its almost 400 million fans worldwide, driving innovation and community in the digital age. This is a paid advertisement from IBM. The conversations on this podcast don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions. Visit us at https://www.ibm.com/think/podcasts/smart-talks See omnystudio.com/listener f...
Sep 09, 2025•28 min
We’re taking this week off! But don’t worry, we’ll be back with new episodes starting September 10th. In the meantime, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews from the year so far. This week, Oz talks with writer Nathaniel Rich about one of the biggest challenges of sending humans to Mars: isolation. Nathaniel Rich is a novelist, essayist and writer-at-large for The New York Times Magazine. Rich sits down with Oz to talk about his essay, “Can Humans Endure the Psychological Torment of Mars...
Sep 05, 2025•49 min
We’re taking this week off! But don’t worry, we’ll be back with new episodes starting September 10th. In the meantime, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews from the year so far. This week, Oz talks with journalist Ben Taub about Russia’s ice-cold testing ground for new espionage tech. Ben Taub is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker . His piece, “Russia’s Espionage War in the Arctic,” covers tensions at the Russian border with Norway, an a...
Sep 03, 2025•33 min
We’ve all read the headlines that AI will take over white-collar jobs. But this week, Oz and Karah spoke with journalist Robert Capps about the 22 new roles that might exist in an AI-partnered workplace. Plus, Robert tests AI’s journalism skills. There’s not much to worry about. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 29, 2025•28 min
This week, we went to the doctor. Oz speaks with Dr. Matthew Lungren, the Chief Scientific Officer for Microsoft Health & Life Sciences, who co-authored a study showing that AI diagnosed complex medical cases four times faster than human doctors. Dr. Lungren walked us through how multiple AI agents worked together to generate their diagnoses, what that means for the future of medicine—and how human doctors and AI could collaborate to build a more democratized healthcare system. See omnystudi...
Aug 27, 2025•32 min
How will we send memes when the world ends? This week, Oz and Karah recap the first ever World Humanoid Robot Games – the Olympics for Androids. Then, Oz explains why the US might be putting secret tracking devices inside shipments of advanced microchips. Karah explains a texting network built for the Apocalypse. And finally, on Chat and Me, how TikTokers are using ChatGPT to inspire their makeovers. Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a surprising or delightful (or deran...
Aug 22, 2025•31 min
This week we go on a romantic getaway for people who are in love with AI. Karah talks with Sam Apple, an author and journalist who wrote an article for Wired about a couples retreat he organized for people with AI companions. We’ll discuss how the weekend unfolded, whether AI romance is real, what it takes to develop genuine emotional connections with chatbots, and whether AI romance is the future of dating in the digital age. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 20, 2025•30 min
Is technology actually good for older people? This week, Oz and Karah explore the French palace of Versailles by talking to a statue-turned-chatbot. Then, Oz gives an update on Apple’s new make-or-break Siri overhaul. Karah weighs whether everyday use of technology is rotting our brains, or making them stronger. And finally, on Chat and Me, Reddit mourns the death of some beloved AI models. Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a surprising or delightful (or deranged) way, ...
Aug 15, 2025•34 min
How did around 100,000 ChatGPT conversations end up indexed on Google? Users who sent conversations with a now-defunct “share” feature in ChatGPT made their conversations public — often without realizing they were exposing them to the open web. 404 Media’s Joseph Cox joins Oz and Karah to unpack how it happened, what kinds of chats were revealed, and why everyone should care about this privacy lapse. They discuss why OpenAI may have underestimated the privacy risks, how archived conversations co...
Aug 13, 2025•22 min
Should we let AI have its own language? This week, Oz and Karah check out what the world’s most powerful people have on their Spotify playlists. Then Oz weighs the benefits and dangers of GibberLink Mode — a way for AI agents to communicate with each other that’s incomprehensible to humans. Karah explains how Tour de France cyclists are using technology to outperform doping-era Lance Armstrong. And finally, on Chat and Me, a listener asks ChatGPT to explain how she uses the program. Also, we wan...
Aug 08, 2025•33 min
Documentary director Ines Novacic spent five years following kidfluencers and their families to get the behind the scenes scoop on the industry. She joins Karah to discuss Born to Be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers , her six-part docuseries on these content creators. Karah and Ines explore the rise of kidfluencing as a modern path to generational wealth, how the business is changing and the potential psychological toll of growing up on camera. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...
Aug 06, 2025•38 min
How good is Dr. GPT? This week, Oz and Karah spill the tea on Elon Musk’s new retro-futurist diner in LA—where robots serve popcorn and the food comes in Cybertruck-shaped boxes. Then, Oz gets serious about Trump’s new AI Action Plan and what it could mean for American infrastructure and free speech. Karah addresses the rise of TikTok PI’s and public shaming. And finally, on Chat and Me, AI makes a diagnosis that is a little too real. Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a...
Aug 01, 2025•36 min
On the Inside View, we talk to the experts behind the innovations shaping our lives. This week, Andrey Zarur discusses the future of cancer surgery and makes a bold prediction — that we could effectively see the end of cancer within our lifetimes. Zarur, a biochemist and co-founder of Lumicell and GreenLight Biosciences, is on his way to making this prediction a reality. He sits down with Oz to discuss the FDA-approved technology that is helping surgeons see and remove cancer tissue with unprece...
Jul 30, 2025•34 min
Which company has the best AI engineering talent? It may be shifting. This week, Oz and Karah discuss how the most powerful CEO’s in the tech industry are poaching each others’ talent using some dramatic hiring practices. Then, is the normalization of location sharing helping us or hurting us? Plus, a human programmer beats an AI model in a coding competition for the first (and last?) time, scientists use robotic bunny rabbits to crack down on an invasive species, and a new app that helps you ge...
Jul 25, 2025•35 min
This week we unpack a disturbing new phenomenon: people being driven into a state of delusion after extended conversations with ChatGPT. Oz sits down with Kashmir Hill—a features writer covering technology and privacy for The New York Times —to discuss the users who found themselves spiraling into conspiracy-laced narratives and self-destructive behavior, often reinforced by the chatbot’s eerily affirming responses. These are extreme cases. But they raise a much bigger question: What happens whe...
Jul 23, 2025•35 min
Are we starting to sound like ChatGPT? This week, Oz and Karah explore a new AI-powered recipe tool and test whether mustard and pasta actually go together. Then, a new study suggests AI may already be changing the way we talk. Plus, impersonations of U.S. politicians and the Danish bill that would give people legal rights to their digital selves. And finally, on the new segment Chat and Me, what happens when bots prioritize efficiency over honesty? One novelist’s frustrating, multi-hour standof...
Jul 18, 2025•31 min
