Decoded by POLITICO

When it comes to online political culture, few personalities are as influential as Joe Rogan, host of the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast. And if you tune into the show these days, Rogan is a breathless defender of Elon Musk and his controversial role reshaping government. POLITICO’s Calder McHugh reports that’s driving away some of Rogan’s long-time listeners — the fans who made him so impactful in the last election. On POLITICO Tech, McHugh joins host Steven Overly to explain Rogan’s predicament and why other online personalities face a similar challenge. 

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The Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick as the next commerce secretary, meaning the former Wall Street CEO will soon be shaping President Donald Trump’s second-term tech agenda. During Trump’s first stint in the White House, Satya Thallam was a senior counselor in the Office of Management and Budget. And he’s now shaping tech policy through roles at Americans for Responsible Innovation and the Foundation for American Innovation. On POLITICO Tech, Thallam joins host Steven Overly to dish on what he expects from Lutnick and other tech players in Trump’s orbit.

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President Donald Trump’s nominees are trudging through the Senate confirmation process, including Gail Slater, his pick to lead the Justice Department’s antitrust division. Slater is a well-known entity in Washington tech circles. But she could soon have a pivotal role in shaping Trump’s antitrust response to tech’s market power — a sore spot for the industry’s big players. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Mohar Chatterjee joins host Steven Overly to break down Slater’s antitrust approach.

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Vice President JD Vance laid out an “America First” vision for artificial intelligence at the AI Action Summit in Paris earlier this week. He told world leaders and tech executives that the Trump administration will focus on building AI, not “handwringing” over safety. And he warned Europe and China not to stand in the way of U.S. tech dominance. Alondra Nelson, a professor who co-authored President Joe Biden’s AI Bill of Rights, attended Vance’s big speech. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly called Nelson in Paris to get her reaction.

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We’ve talked a lot lately about tech leaders cozying up to President Donald Trump. Well, Democrats are now fighting to reclaim their place as the party of Silicon Valley elites. Or at least, trying to stop more rich tech dudes from drifting to the right. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks with national political reporter Elena Schneider about House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries trying to woo Silicon Valley donors, and how hard the party still needs to work to win over skeptics. 

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Samantha Radocchia, known more widely as Sam Rad, is an anthropologist and tech entrepreneur who thinks a lot about the future, and has advised organizations like the United Nations and Federal Reserve on how to prepare for it. Society is moving toward a decentralized “operating system,” she says, one that will scramble existing institutions of power. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks with Sam Rad about her new book “Radical Next,” and the role she sees for tech and government in the “post-human world.”

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As Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency pursue sweeping cuts across federal agencies, the Trump administration is also scaling back efforts to confront election disinformation. Several officials in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a political target of Republicans since the 2020 election, were recently put on leave. On POLITICO Tech, cybersecurity reporter Maggie Miller joins host Steven Overly to detail the quiet cuts and why others at the agency are worried about their futures. 

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World leaders and tech luminaries will be flocking to Paris in the days ahead for the AI Action Summit. These global gatherings started over a year ago, but since then, the international AI agenda has shifted dramatically. The focus on mitigating the technology’s risks is now all about rolling it out fast. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks to AI pioneer and professor Yoshua Bengio about the state of the AI safety debate, and why he’s urging leaders not to give up on it. 

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President Donald Trump may have hit pause on tariffs against Mexico and Canada, but his trade penalties on China are still in place. That includes a 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports, including consumer electronics and other tech products. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks to Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, about the implications for tech companies and online retailers in both the U.S. and China.

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Elon Musk is moving fast to dismantle and downsize federal agencies. But his Department of Government Efficiency is drawing scrutiny from privacy and cybersecurity advocates, not to mention Democrats, who fear its employees may be mishandling government data. On POLITICO Tech, Alan Butler, president and executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, breaks down his concerns about DOGE and whether it could be breaking privacy laws. 

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