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Behind every innovation is a new kind of power. TechStuff unpacks how technology reshapes influence, creativity, and control, from Silicon Valley’s rising moguls to the cultural forces they create. Because tech is the new religion, economy, and entertainment, all at once.

Each week, Oz Woloshyn and the brightest minds covering tech dig into the weird, funny, and sometimes unsettling ways technology, AI, and the internet shape our daily lives. From AI and social media to privacy, digital burnout, and the creator economy, they ask how all this innovation is changing who we are, how we work, love, and make meaning.

Smart talk, strange stories, and the questions everyone’s Googling: whether AI will replace us, how social media is affecting our kids, and what it all says about us.

Get in touch here: techstuffpodcast@gmail.com

TechStuff

OpenAI dominated this week's headlines — and it wasn’t all flattering. Reed Albergotti (Semafor) breaks down the chaos: IPO drama and Ronan Farrow's probing New Yorker profile of Sam Altman paint a picture of a company under pressure, even as it remains the most talked-about name in AI. Taylor Lorenz (User Mag) tells us about the AI tools marketed to schools as safety solutions that end up tracking students in ways with real consequences for kids and adults alike. And Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker) reviews the new book, Techno-Negative, tracing the long, often misunderstood history of anti-technology movements. Spoiler: it goes way deeper than the Luddites.
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 Leap of Faith | Semafor Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? | The New Yorker OpenAI CEO and CFO Diverge on IPO Timing | The Information They're Putting AI on School Buses | User Mag The Age-Old Urge to Destroy Technology | The New Yorker • 
 
Download SAILY in your app store and use our code techstuff at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/techstuff

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OpenAI's Sam Altman: Philosopher King Or Sociopath? - Week in Tech

TBPN started with a simple premise: what if the tech world got the ESPN treatment? Eighteen months later, it is a profitable independent media company — until last week, when OpenAI acquired it for hundreds of millions of dollars. 
 
Oz sits down with Emily Sundberg, author of the daily business newsletter Feed Me and frequent TBPN guest, to unpack what the deal actually means. They get into why OpenAI went shopping for a media company in the first place, what independence is really worth when a nine-figure offer lands in your inbox, and what this deal reveals about the strange new economy of attention. They also get into how Emily Sundberg built Feed Me into a thriving independent business — and why she's in no rush to follow TBPN out the door.

Additional Reading: 
 
 You cannot compete with people who are having more fun than you. • 
 Processing my San Francisco trip. - by Emily Sundberg • 
 
 
 
EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/techstuff Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee 

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Sam Altman Bought A Media Company. Now What? w/ Emily Sundberg - The Story

This week: Iranian propaganda gets a Lego makeover — and it's going viral. Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker) tracked down the collective behind the AI-animated videos flooding your feed. Nitasha Tiku (The Washington Post) was in a documentary, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, and the press tour feels like ChatGPT doomsday déjà vu. Reed Albergotti (Semafor) celebrates Apple’s 50th birthday, but wonders if the company is entering its Microsoft era. Plus: SpaceX files for IPO — it could be the largest in history. 
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 The Team Behind a Pro-Iran, Lego-Themed Viral-Video Campaign | The New Yorker 
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AI Propaganda Goes Viral - Week in Tech

What drives a man to turn down half a million pounds at 18, test Mark Zuckerberg's sincerity over dinner, and wonder aloud if he can win a second Nobel Prize? For Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, the answer is a lifelong pursuit of artificial general intelligence — and an unshakeable belief that the technology he's creating will change everything about what it means to be human. Oz speaks with journalist and author Sebastian Mallaby about his new book, The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence, tracing Demis's extraordinary journey from chess prodigy to the man at the center of the most consequential technological race of our time.

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How Google DeepMind Accidentally Started the AI Race - The Story

The Week in Tech is back with a new roundtable! Every Friday, Oz and three of the best writers covering tech will discuss the latest news, decode emerging trends and debate what actually matters for the future of technology and for us.
 
This week: Big Tech loses in court. Twice. Nitasha Tiku (The Washington Post) breaks down what the verdicts mean for Meta and YouTube and why it seems like we’re living in the past. Reed Albergotti (Semafor) explains why OpenAI killed Sora, its video-generation tool, and what it reveals about the resource war quietly reshaping the entire global economy. Plus, Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker) found a weather app worth caring about. We're as surprised as you are.
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 Verdicts against Meta, YouTube reshape legal protections for Big Tech • 
 A New Cost Crunch | Semafor • 
 Why You Hate Your Weather App | The New Yorker 
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Jury Blames Meta and YouTube, Goodbye Sora Videos, Weather Apps That Don't Suck - Week in Tech

A $30,000-a-year piece of software has tech and finance bros beefing on LinkedIn. The Bloomberg Terminal has a rabid Wall Street fanbase. So when some tech bros claimed to have vibe-coded a version of the terminal, with one prompt, there were some strong emotions among its finance superfans. Oz talked to Isabelle Bousquette, a tech reporter for The Wall Street Journal, to break down the drama and what it says about the future of software. Then, Isabelle updates us on Nvidia’s massive developer conference last week, the company’s new OpenClaw obsession and why making a claw almost broke her brain. 
 
Additional Reaching: 
 
 Finance Bros to Tech Bros: Don’t Mess With My Bloomberg Terminal | Wall Street Journal 
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Is Software Dead? Finance and Tech Bros Clash - The Story

The Week in Tech is now a roundtable! Every Friday, Oz and three of the best writers covering Silicon Valley will discuss the latest news, decode emerging trends and debate what actually matters for the future of technology and for us.
 
This week, guests Reed Albergotti (Semafor), Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker) and returning panelist Taylor Lorenz (User Mag) each share a story. Reed fills us in on what he saw at the Nvidia GTC conference in San Jose, and why we shouldn’t ignore OpenClaw. Taylor gives a primer on Section 230, the 30-year-old foundational internet law, and why there’s a campaign to repeal it. And finally, Kyle tells us what ‘taste’ means to Silicon Valley’s tech bros and why it may annoy you. 
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 We’re all living inside Jensen Huang’s ‘triangle’ | Semafor • 
 How Powerful People Became Obsessed w/ Section 230 | User Mag • 
 Why Tech Bros Are Now Obsessed with Taste | The New Yorker 
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Did Nvidia Give OpenClaw Its ChatGPT Moment? - Week in Tech

Iran's Shahed drone costs $30,000 to build. The US missile sent to destroy it? Up to $4 million. Pulitzer Prize-winning conflict journalist Ben C. Solomon wants you to do the math. Oz sits down with Ben to break down the economics driving the conflict with Iran, why the Pentagon may already be making impossible choices about what to defend, and why Ukraine — largely abandoned by the West — has quietly become the world's leading authority on drone warfare.
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 Ben C. Solomon Instagram: Just follow the money. Pentagon acknowledges tough quest to counter Iranian drones | Military Times • 
 US may not have capacity to take down full barrage of Iranian drones, officials warn | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian 
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$30K Drones vs $4M Missiles: Can the US Win This War? - The Story

The Week in Tech is back and it’s growing. Starting this Friday, Oz will be joined by a panel of the brightest minds covering Silicon Valley. Each week, they will discuss the latest news, decode emerging trends and debate what actually matters for the future of technology and for us.
 
This week, TechStuff asked Taylor Lorenz, Stephen Witt and Nitasha Tiku to share a story. Nitasha catches us up on the drama unfolding between Anthropic and the Pentagon. Stephen covers another tragic case of AI psychosis with fatal consequences. And Taylor makes the case for why 'social media addiction' is a harmful framework — and how age-verification laws could lead to mass surveillance and censorship of adults and children alike.

Additional Reading: 
 
 Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over National Security Risk Label - The Washington Post Gemini Said They Could Only Be Together if He Killed Himself. Soon, He Was Dead. - WSJ • 
 Congress Is Considering Abolishing Your Right to Be Anonymous Online - The Intercept • 
 The world wants to ban children from social media, but there will be grave consequences for us all | Taylor Lorenz | The Guardian • 
 
This episode contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know needs support, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or visit 988lifeline.org.

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Did Anthropic Have the Best Week in Tech?

This week, we're talking 'human technology' — specifically, neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP. If you have any interest in modern day cults like NXIVM or Twin Flames Universe, you may have heard of it. But did you know that NLP also has roots in therapeutic practices like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy, or that Tony Robbins was an NLP practitioner before becoming a motivational speaker?

In the new podcast Mind Games, journalists and best friends Alice Hines and Zoë Lescaze investigate the origins of NLP, from its roots in the new age movement in 1970s California through the pick-up artist trend of the early 2000s. They even try their hand at hypnotizing themselves. But does it work? 
 
Check out Mind Games from Kaleidoscope and iHeartPodcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.

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What Do EMDR, Tony Robbins, and NXIVM Have in Common? NLP - The Story

How do water systems work? We take a look at how water gets from a municipal system (or a well) to your home. Gravity is your friend!

 
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