The crypto industry poured tons of money into the last election cycle. Is the GENIUS Act, which has bipartisan support, their big payoff?

Guest: Hilary Allen, professor at American University’s Washington College of Law.

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OpenAI started as a non-profit dedicated to building safe A.I. Now, they’re obsessed with building artificial general intelligence by any means necessary - even if they don’t quite know what that is. 

Guest: Karen Hao, reporter and author of “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI”

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What do you do when your likeness has been turned into A.I.-generated pornography?—it’s a problem people are already facing. But legislation moving through Congress may cause more problems than it would solve.

Guests:

Joanne Chew, actress and visual artist based in LA.

Samantha Cole, cofounder of 404 media and author of “How Sex Changed the Internet and How the Internet Changed Sex.”

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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Aging equipment and chronically understaffed air traffic control have made flying in and out of Newark’s Liberty International Airport a delay-snarled mess. And the problems there aren’t entirely unique. Will Congress and the Trump administration be the ones to fix it? 

Guest: Will Guisbond, staff reporter covering air traffic control for The Air Current

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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The intimate and extremely personal experience of bringing a child into this world? There’s an app for that…and forums…and so much advice…that contradicts other advice…and a surprising amount of eugenics.

Guest: Amanda Hess, critic at the New York Times and author of the book “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.”

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Why artificial intelligence isn’t waiting for consumer demand.

Guest: Gerrit De Vynck, tech reporter for The Washington Post.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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What is it about the way that Elon Musk wields power that led 65 percent of Americans to agree he has too much influence on the federal government?

Guest: Faiz Siddiqui, Washington Post tech reporter and author of “Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk.”

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What drove Marc Andreessen’s transformation into a political actor, and what is he looking for from having Washington in his thrall?

Guest: Zoe Schiffer, WIRED journalist covering business and Silicon Valley.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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The Trump administration has already begun cutting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the U.S. National Weather Service. What’s the advantage to understanding the weather less?

Guest: Daniel Swain, weather and climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

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One of DOGE’s goals is to get government data out of “silos” and make it more easily shared across departments. But there are good reasons for some data to be kept apart. 

Guest: Vittoria Elliot, WIRED reporter covering platforms and power.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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