TBPN: Diet TBPN — November 3, 2025
Hosts: John Coogan & Jordi Hays
Date: November 4, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode centers on the tech world’s reaction to a much-discussed podcast interview between investor Brad Gerstner, Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO), and Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO). Coogan and Hays break down the viral moments, debates around OpenAI’s mind-boggling revenues and spending plans, and draw parallels between Altman, Musk, and classic Silicon Valley visionary tropes. Highlights also include ribbing on haunted houses turned data centers, Elon Musk’s latest flying car tease, and fresh insights into the internal OpenAI drama via Ilya Sutskever’s deposition.
Key Topics and Insights
1. Haunted Houses and Data Center Gold Rush [00:00-01:16]
- The tech world's AI build-out is now so widespread that even haunted house operators (specifically at Pennsylvania’s Pennhurst Asylum) are planning to convert post-Halloween into data centers.
- Hollywood sound stages in Georgia are now being converted for hyperscalers, as the value is seen in prepping facilities to go “vertical" quickly for AI needs.
- Reference to Trump hailing $92B in AI and energy deals in Pennsylvania, with skepticism about whether too much investment is flooding in.
Quote:
“Apparently haunted houses are converting into data centers...”
– John Coogan (Host) [00:43]
2. The Brad Gerstner-Podcast: Sam Altman’s $1.4 Trillion Answer [01:16-04:41]
The Controversy
- Gerstner, a major OpenAI investor, interviews Satya and Sam; timeline (social media) explodes at Sam Altman's evasive answer on how OpenAI will fund $1.4 trillion in AI spending, given reported revenue of just $14B.
- Debate over whether Gerstner's question was “gotcha” journalism or simply a softball that Sam Altman whiffed.
Quote:
"A lot of journalists were like, how is this happening? How is it that Sam Altman's getting a harder interview from a direct investor than with a traditional journalist?"
– John Coogan (Host) [01:48]
Altman’s Response
- Altman’s notable quote (and attitude):
“I think there’s a lot of people who would love to buy OpenAI shares... I think we, we could sell, you know, your shares or anybody else's to some of the people who are making the most noise on Twitter, whatever about this very quickly. We do plan for revenue to grow steeply.”
– Sam Altman [02:14]
- Hosts argue the answer—sell your shares—falls flat, providing little clarity to investors or the broader public.
Medium Matters
- The hosts argue Altman's body language on video made the answer more uncomfortable than it sounded in audio:
“I was listening to the audio and I was like, that's a totally reasonable answer. But when you watch the video... you can win in one medium but lose in another.”
– John Coogan (Host) [02:42]
3. OpenAI Revenue, Spending, and the “Glut Theory” [04:41-06:48]
- Sam claims OpenAI revenue is higher than $14B, but losses are “dramatically greater” than revenue.
- The business strategy hinges on massive, continuous growth (3x annually) and potentially a home-run consumer hardware device. Otherwise, existing hyperscaler contracts could be restructured/stretched out.
- Jordi suggests the “glut theory”: Sam Altman might be “glut-pilled”—deliberately over-building AI infrastructure, thereby controlling both supply and demand.
Quote:
“I believe there’s a chance that Sam actually wants to create a massive overbuild... ultimately, he predicted a glut because he controls the demand.”
– Jordi Hays (Co-host) [05:41]
4. Comparing Altman’s and Elon Musk’s Visionary Rhetoric [06:48-09:47]
- Altman’s answers have echoes of Musk’s style—grand promises with limited immediate clarity (e.g., “we're going to cure cancer,” “we're automating science”).
- Discussion on public image: Elon is widely seen as more likeable and has a proven track record, which earns him more benefit of the doubt compared to Sam.
- Dream-big rhetoric makes people believe, which is part of how both founders maintain their momentum (even if it makes skeptics recoil).
Quote:
“There’s a thin line between grifter and visionary, and creating true believers to harvest their capital requires rhetoric that makes non believers recoil. Elon hates Sam not just because he stole his company, but he stole his whole playbook.”
– John Coogan (Host) [08:48]
5. The IPO, Retail Army, and OpenAI’s Internal Drama [09:47-13:50]
- Ilya Sutskever (ex-OpenAI research chief) surfaces to discuss IPO motivations: bringing in retail investors to build a “retail army” a la Tesla/Elon.
- Musk vs. Altman narratives: Elon accuses Sam of stealing OpenAI; Sam claims to have resurrected what Elon left “for dead.”
- New details on last year's OpenAI board coup: leaked memos and depositions show internal backstabbing, disagreements over leadership direction, and attempts to depose Sam and Greg Brockman.
Quote:
“One of the reasons he would want to IPO is so that he could bring not just venture capitalists, but the entire economy with him. So he wants the retail army.”
– Ilya Sutskever [10:03]
Memorable Moment:
Hosts mock-lawyer their way through deposition transcripts, play-acting the spat between Ilya, Dario Amodei, and Mira Murati over who should run OpenAI [13:50-14:14].
6. Elon’s “Flying Car” and Final Banter [11:20-12:23]
- Brief detour into cars: Elon Musk on Joe Rogan’s podcast hints the new Tesla Roadster might “actually be a flying car.”
- Elon promises an “unforgettable” product demo (for better or worse) and references Peter Thiel’s “flying cars” future.
- Hosts riff on the mythos of the always-one-step-ahead founder.
Quote:
“One thing I can guarantee is that this product demo will be unforgettable. Whether it's good or bad.”
– Elon Musk [11:47, 12:00]
Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)
- “It's an absolute nightmare.” – Jordi Hays, on post-Halloween Spirit Halloween store [00:30]
- “The big value play is getting this ready for a hyperscaler to go vertical in less than a year.” – John Coogan [00:55]
- “Sell your shares. We're automating science and we're going to release a hardware device and we’re going to need a lot of compute for that. I can't think of a more poor answer when people deserve to have, I think, a bit more clarity around it.” – Jordi Hays [04:06]
- “Elon is probably 10 to 50 times more likable than Sam.” – Jordi Hays [07:54]
- “There's a thin line between grifter and visionary, and creating true believers to harvest their capital requires rhetoric that makes non believers recoil.” – John Coogan [08:48]
- “One of the reasons he would want to IPO is so that he could basically bring... the entire economy with him. He wants the retail army.” – Ilya Sutskever [10:03]
- “I think it's very hard for someone who would be described as a saint to make it.” – John Coogan kidding as Ilya Sutskever [14:14]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- AI Gold Rush – Data Centers: [00:00-01:16]
- Brad Gerstner Interview Recap / Altman’s Response: [01:16-04:41]
- Contracts, Revenue, and Glut Theory: [04:41-06:48]
- OpenAI Leadership, Musk Comparisons, and Rhetoric: [06:48-09:47]
- IPO, Retail Army, Internal Drama Exposé: [09:47-13:50]
- Elon’s Flying Car Tease: [11:20-12:23]
- OpenAI Boardroom Reenactments: [13:50-14:14]
Tone and Takeaways
The episode is lively and irreverent, true to its “Tech Brothers” origins. Coogan and Hays dissect the latest tech news with inside knowledge and healthy skepticism, poking fun at Silicon Valley's love of “visionary” narratives while also acknowledging the weight of the trillion-dollar questions facing OpenAI and its competitors.
For listeners, the episode delivers a fast-paced, funny, and deeply informed look at the current tech meta-drama—balancing both genuine analysis and good-natured roast of the major players.