Fusion energy, potentially a fuel source that could last a thousand years, is transitioning from science fiction to business reality. Helion Energy recently signed the first fusion power purchase agreement with Microsoft, promising 50 megawatts by 2028. But the story isn't just about the physics breakthroughs that make fusion possible. The U.S. and China are tussling for global leadership in fusion, as is the case in so many fields. And as China is outspending the US on fusion research by about ...
Mar 06, 2025•56 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Zuckerberg sent shockwaves around the world when Meta announced the end of its fact-checking program in the U.S. on its platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Critics lamented the potential for more mis/disinformation online while proponents (especially conservatives) rejoiced, as they saw the decision as a rollback of political censorship and viewpoint discrimination. Beneath the hot takes lie bigger questions around who should control what we see online. Should critical decisions aro...
Feb 18, 2025•58 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast During the pandemic from 2020 to 2021, Congress dropped $190 billion to help reopen schools, provide tutoring, and assist with remote learning. The results? Fourth graders' math scores have plummeted 18 points from 2019-2023, eighth graders’ have dropped 27 points - the worst decline since testing began in 1995. Adult literacy is deteriorating too, with Americans in the lowest literacy tier jumping from 19% to 28% in just six years. Are we watching the collapse of academic achievement in real ti...
Feb 11, 2025•49 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast During the pandemic, Congress spent an unprecedented $190 billion to help reopen schools and address learning loss. But new test scores show the investment isn't paying off - fourth and eighth grade reading levels have hit record lows, performing worse than even during COVID's peak. As the Trump administration signals dramatic changes to federal education policy, from eliminating the Department of Education to expanding school choice, questions about federal involvement in education are moving f...
Feb 11, 2025•39 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast The newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has put state capacity back in the spotlight, reigniting debates over whether the federal government is fundamentally broken or just mismanaged. With Elon Musk at the helm, DOGE has already taken drastic actions, from shutting down USAID to slashing bureaucratic redundancies. Supporters argue this is the disruption Washington needs; critics warn it’s a reckless power grab that could erode public accountability. But regardless of wh...
Feb 06, 2025•1 hr•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast At Trump's second inauguration, one of the biggest stories, if not the biggest, was the front-row presence of Big Tech CEOs like Google’s Sundar Pichai and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg—placed even ahead of Cabinet members. As the plum seating signaled a striking shift in Silicon Valley's relationship with Washington, just 24 hours later, the administration announced Stargate, a $500 billion partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, and other tech giants to build AI infrastructure across America. But beneath th...
Jan 31, 2025•50 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s release of AI reasoning model R1 sent NVIDIA and other tech stocks tumbling yesterday as investors questioned whether U.S. companies were spending too much on AI development. That’s because DeepSeek claims it made this model for only $6 million, a fraction of the hundreds of millions that OpenAI spent making o1, its nearest competitor. Any news coming out of China should be viewed with appropriate skepticism, but R1 nonetheless challenges the conventional American w...
Jan 28, 2025•47 min•Ep 96•Transcript available on Metacast As revelations about Meta's use of pirated books for AI training send shockwaves through the tech industry, the battle over copyright and AI reaches a critical juncture. In this final episode of The Dynamist's series on AI and copyright, Evan is joined by FAI's Senior Fellow Tim Hwang and Tech Policy Manager Joshua Levine to discuss how these legal battles could determine whether world-leading AI development happens in Silicon Valley or Shenzhen. The conversation examines the implications of Met...
Jan 17, 2025•59 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast In the third installment of The Dynamist's series exploring AI and copyright, FAI Senior Fellow Tim Hwang leads a forward-looking discussion about how market dynamics, technological solutions, and geopolitics could reshape today's contentious battles over AI training data. Joined by Jason Zhao, co-founder of Story AI, and Jamil Jaffer, Executive Director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University, the conversation moves beyond current lawsuits to examine practical paths forwar...
Jan 16, 2025•40 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast From the SAG-AFTRA picket lines to the New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI, the battle over AI's role in creative industries is heating up. In this second episode of The Dynamist's series on AI and copyright, we dive into the messy reality of how artists, creators, and tech companies are navigating this rapidly evolving landscape. Our guests bring unique perspectives to this complex debate: Mike Masnick, CEO of Techdirt, who's been chronicling the intersection of tech and copyright for decades...
Jan 10, 2025•59 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast Copyright law and artificial intelligence are on a collision course, with major implications for the future of AI development, research, and innovation. In this first episode of The Dynamist's four-part series exploring AI and copyright, we're joined by Professor Pamela Samuelson of Berkeley Law, a pioneering scholar in intellectual property law and a leading voice on copyright in the digital age. FAI Senior Fellow Tim Hwang guest hosts. The conversation covers the wave of recent lawsuits agains...
Jan 08, 2025•46 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast As we approach the three-year mark of the war in Ukraine, and conflict continues to rage in the Middle East, technology has played a key role in these arenas—from cyber attacks and drones to propaganda efforts over social media. In Ukraine, SpaceX’s Starlink has blurred the lines between commercial and military communications, with the satellite broadband service supporting the Ukrainian army while becoming a target for signal jamming by Russia. What can we learn from these conflicts in Europe a...
Dec 30, 2024•58 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast 2024 has been a whirlwind year for tech policy, filled with landmark moments that could shape the industry for years to come. From the high-profile antitrust lawsuits aimed at Big Tech to intense discussions around data privacy and online safety for kids, the spotlight on how technology impacts our daily lives has never been brighter. Across the Atlantic, Europe continued its aggressive regulatory push, rolling out new frameworks with global implications. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., all eyes ar...
Dec 18, 2024•51 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast There is growing concern among parents and policymakers over the Internet’s harms to children—from online pornography to social media. Despite that, Congress hasn’t passed any legislation on children’s online safety in decades. And while psychologists continue to debate whether and to what extent certain Internet content harms children, several states have stepped into the fray, passing legislation aimed at protecting kids in the digital age. One such state is Texas where Governor Greg Abbott si...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast Is Medicare a valley of death for medical innovation? While the U.S. is seen as a global leader in medical device innovation, the $800+ billion program that covers healthcare costs for senior citizens has been slow to reimburse certain medical devices, even when those devices are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. On average, it takes Medicare 4.5 years to cover a new FDA-approved medical device. This length of time has been dubbed the “Valley of Death,” referring to the human cost of...
Nov 26, 2024•32 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a once sleepy, three-letter agency in Washington that serves as the nation’s general purpose consumer protection regulator—dealing with everything from deceptive advertising to fraud. In recent years, however, the FTC has become somewhat of a household name thanks to current chair Lina Khan and high-profile cases against tech giants Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon. While some populists on right and left have praised the agency for taking on big business, others,...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast President-elect Trump recently announced that entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had forecast the idea in the tail end of the presidential election, championing a commission focused on cutting government spending and regulation. In a statement posted to Truth Social, the president-elect said DOGE would “pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and r...
Nov 20, 2024•43 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Republicans won control of the Senate, and the GOP is slated to maintain control of the House. If you turn on cable news, you will see many pundits playing monday morning quarterback in the wake of this Republican trifecta, arguing about the merits of how people voted, speculating on cabinet secretaries, and pointing fingers on who to blame, or who to give credit to, for the results. But this is The Dynamist, not CNN. In today’s show, we focus on ...
Nov 14, 2024•47 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast When people hear 'quantum physics,' they often think of sci-fi movies using terms like 'quantum realm' to explain away the impossible. But today we're talking about quantum computing, which has moved beyond science fiction into reality. Companies like IBM and Google are racing to build machines that could transform medicine, energy storage, and our understanding of the universe. But there's a catch: these same computers could potentially break most of the security protecting our digital lives, f...
Nov 08, 2024•52 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast When voters head to the polls next week, tech policy won't be top of mind—polling shows immigration, the economy, abortion, and democracy are the primary concerns. Yet Silicon Valley's billionaire class is playing an outsized role in this election, throwing millions at candidates and super PACs while offering competing visions for America's technological future. The tech industry is in a much different place in 2024 than in past elections. Big Tech firms, who once enjoyed minimal government over...
Oct 31, 2024•59 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast Over the past few years, Elon Musk’s political evolution has been arguably as rapid and disruptive as one of his tech ventures. He has transformed from a political moderate to a vocal proponent of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement and his outspokenness on issues like illegal immigration make him an outlier among tech entrepreneurs and CEOs. Musk's increasing political involvement has added a layer of scrutiny to his businesses, particularly as SpaceX aims to secure more contracts and regulatory...
Oct 23, 2024•53 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Have tech companies become more powerful than governments? As the size and reach of firms like Google and Apple have increased, there is growing concern that these multi-trillion dollar companies are too powerful and have started replacing important government functions. The products and services of these tech giants are ubiquitous and pillars of modern life. Governments and businesses increasingly rely on cloud services like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services to function. Elon Musk's Starl...
Oct 09, 2024•53 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast On September 29th, Governor Newsom vetoed SB 1047, a controversial bill aimed at heading off catastrophic risks of large AI models. We previously covered the bill on The Dynamist in episode 64 . In a statement , Newsom cited the bill’s “stringent standards to even the most basic functions” and said he does “not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology.” Senator Scott Wiener, the bill’s author, responded, “This veto leaves us with the tr...
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast Since the advent of platforms like Uber, Instacart, and DoorDash, the so-called gig economy has been intertwined with technology. While the apps no doubt created loads of opportunity for people seeking flexible work on their own schedules, they have been lambasted by critics who say they don’t provide drivers and grocery shoppers with a minimum wage and health benefits. This tech-labor debate has largely played out in state legislatures and in the courts. Voters have weighed in as well, with gig...
Sep 12, 2024•49 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast When the average person thinks of nuclear energy, there’s a good chance they’re thinking in terms influenced by pop culture—Homer Simpson’s union job at the Springfield plant, or the HBO miniseries Chernobyl , which dramatized the world’s biggest meltdown. For all its promise in the mid-20th century, U.S. nuclear energy largely stalled in the 1970s and 80s. While public anxiety over its safety played a role, experts have pointed to the hefty cost of building plants and poor regulatory/policy dec...
Aug 27, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast The recent riots in the United Kingdom raise new questions about online free speech and misinformation. Following the murder of three children in Southport, England, false rumors spread across social media about the killer’s identity and religion, igniting simmering resentment over the British government’s handling of immigration in recent years. X, formerly Twitter, has come under fire for allowing the rumors to spread, and the company’s owner Elon Musk has publicly sparred with British politic...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has made headlines for being picked as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate. One underreported aspect of his record is signing Minnesota’s first “right to repair” law last year. The bill took effect last month. The concept sounds simple enough: if you buy something like a phone or a car, you should have the right to fix it. But as our world becomes more digitized, doing it yourself, or having your devices repaired by third-party mechanics or cell phone shops, c...
Aug 15, 2024•55 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast OpenAI unleashed a controversy when the famed maker of Chat GPT debuted its new voice assistant Sky. The problem? For many, her voice sounded eerily similar to that of Scarlett Johansson, who had ironically starred in the dystopian movie Her about a man, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who developed a romantic relationship with a virtual assistant. While OpenAI claimed that Sky’s voice belonged to a different actress, the company pulled it down shortly after the launch given the furor from Johansson ...
Aug 05, 2024•53 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast Trump’s pick of J.D. Vance as his running mate is seen by many as the culmination of a years-long realignment of Republican and conservative politics—away from trickle-down economics toward a more populist, worker-oriented direction. While the pick ushered in a flood of reactions and think pieces, it’s unclear at this stage what Vance’s impact would truly be in a Trump second term. Will Vance be able to overcome some of Trump’s more establishment-friendly positions on taxes and regulation? Will ...
Jul 25, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast On July 1, the Supreme Court issued a 9-0 ruling in NetChoice v. Moody , a case on Florida and Texas’s social media laws aimed at preventing companies like Facebook and YouTube from discriminating against users based on their political beliefs. The court essentially kicked the cases back down to lower courts, the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, because they hadn’t fully explored the First Amendment implications of the laws, including how they might affect direct messages or services like Venmo and ...
Jul 16, 2024•58 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast 
