From the Jetsons to Blade Runner, flying cars have long been part of our vision for the future. They’re also closer than ever to becoming a reality. On this two-part episode of POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly explores why this fascination has persisted for over a century, and whether the sky-bound vehicles being built today are all that sci-fi promised they would be. On today's episode, Steven talks with the head of the Federal Aviation Administration — Michael Whitaker — who explains the government’s plan to make these things safe. And after that, Alef Aeronautics CEO Jim Dukhovny who is in the business of convincing people his Model A isn’t just science fiction (and worth the $300,000 price tag). 

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From the Jetsons to Blade Runner, flying cars have long been part of our vision for the future. They’re also closer than ever to becoming a reality. On this two-part episode of POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly explores why this fascination has persisted for over a century, and whether the sky-bound vehicles being built today are all that sci-fi promised they would be. Today's show features Jeremy White, WIRED senior innovation editor, and Sheryl Connelly, the former futurist for Ford Motor Company. Tomorrow's episode features Michael Whitaker, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, who actually worked at a flying car company before heading up the FAA, and Jim Dukhovny, the founder and CEO of Alef Aeronatics, who is trying to bring flying cars to the mainstream…for $300,000 a pop.

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The Supreme Court dropped a major decision affecting the future of online speech last week. But the ruling was not exactly decisive. And the legal battle isn’t over yet. On POLITICO Tech, Matt Wood from the advocacy group Free Press joins host Steven Overly to break down what comes next in the fight over laws in Texas and Florida that aim to prevent social media platforms from moderating political speech.

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The next administration will play a pivotal role in shaping artificial intelligence, but how much would that differ under Joe Biden or Donald Trump? On today’s POLITICO Tech, Dr. Alondra Nelson tackles that question. Nelson served as the head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy before leaving the administration last year and played a central role in shaping Biden’s early AI policy.

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The number of Americans dying from an opioid overdose soared during the Covid pandemic. One theory for how to bring those numbers down? Better data. A recent multi-year study from the National Institutes of Health tried to find out if county health departments could make progress against America’s horrifying opioid epidemic if they had much more robust data, with mixed results. On the show today, POLITICO healthcare reporter Ruth Reader talks with Steven Overly about the findings in the NIH study.

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Today, host Steven Overly talks with Renée DiResta, a former technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, about her book "Invisible Rulers" on online influencers' power. DiResta's work on political advocates versus profit-driven disinformation spreaders sparked controversy after the 2020 election, leading to Stanford dismantling its Internet Observatory and raising concerns about disinformation research ahead of the 2024 election.

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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration in Missouri v. Biden, a case about government influence on social media content moderation. Guest host Rebecca Kern called Alex Abdo at the Knight First Amendment Institute to discuss the court's 6-3 decision and its potential implications for online speech as we approach the 2024 election.

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Eurasia Group games out political risk. And when it comes to tech, Vice Chair Gerald Butts sees a lot of them. A former adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Butts joins POLITICO Tech to talk about the global competition around AI and tech tensions between the U.S. and Canada. 

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Nvidia has rapidly become one of the world’s most valuable companies, propelled by the global rush to develop artificial intelligence. But the company’s success was not actually all that sudden — and it’s not guaranteed to last. On POLITICO Tech, market analyst Dylan Patel of SemiAnalysis joins host Steven Overly to break down Nvidia’s humble start and the potential challenges ahead, from competition to regulation.

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Los Angeles will soon ban cell phones and social media in schools, becoming the latest school district to crack down on tech in the classroom. California at large could be next. On POLITICO Tech, Stanford professor and former schoolteacher Antero Garcia joins host Steven Overly to explain why he thinks such bans are bad policy — and bound to fail.

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