Podcast
Uncanny Valley | WIRED
Hosted by WIRED · EN
Welcome to Uncanny Valley—an insider look at the people, power, and influence of Silicon Valley—where each week, WIRED’s writers and editors bring you original reporting and analysis about some of the biggest stories in tech.
On Tuesdays, The Big Interview with WIRED’s Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond in conversation with influential figures in culture, politics, business, science, and beyond for a discussion captured through the WIRED lens.
On Thursdays, WIRED writers and editors Zoë Schiffer, Brian Barrett and Leah Feiger add you to the Slack group thread to let you into what they’re hearing from sources in Silicon Valley and D.C, read you into what trends you should be watching for and how WIRED is thinking about it all.
50episodes
Episodes
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Stanford Grads Say Big Tech Is Creating a 'Modern-Day Draft’
3d ago00:41:34Summary readyMore than a hundred Stanford students left their own graduation to protest Google’s military contracts and deals with ICE. Two organizers, Amanda Campos and Eva Jones, tell us why. Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian’s newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Why Apple Sued OpenAI; New York Takes On Data Centers; Cyclosporiasis Outbreak
6d ago00:38:11Summary readyThis week, the team discusses the details behind Apple suing OpenAI over alleged stolen hardware secrets. And the company's headaches don't stop there — a group of OpenAI employees just started a Super PAC to advocate for stronger AI guardrails. Plus, they discuss New York's first-in-the-nation data center moratorium and how the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not telling how they used AI to shape housing policy. Later in the show, WIRED's Emily Mullin explaisn the cyclosporiasis outbreak spreading across the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Why Apple Sued OpenAI; New York Takes On Data Centers; Cyclosporiasis Outbreak
1w ago00:40:30Summary readyThis week, the team discusses the details behind Apple suing OpenAI over alleged stolen hardware secrets. And the company's headaches don't stop there — a group of OpenAI employees just started a Super PAC to advocate for stronger AI guardrails. Plus, New York's first-in-the-nation data center moratorium draws Trump's ire, DOGE stonewalls FOIA requests on its AI use at HUD, and WIRED's Emily Mullin explains the cyclosporiasis outbreak spreading across 30+ states. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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We Interviewed a Puppet and It Made A Lot of Sense
1w ago00:40:58Summary readyAttitudes around social media are changing. A Pew Research study found that about half of teens surveyed in 2024 felt that social media had a mostly negative impact on their age group. A group advocating a more considered relationship to tech held what they called a Summer of Ludd Festival, named after the Industrial Revolution era workers movement, the Luddites. The festival in New York City featured tech-free activities ranging from meditation to a workshop on how to flirt in real life. But in 2026, is it really possible to live without the tech we’ve become so addicted to? Guest host Manisha Krishnan, WIRED’s senior culture editor, talks to Gowanus, the spokespuppet of a local Luddite movement, about the tenets of their group - and how they plan to grow it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Meta’s Threads Rivals Musk’s X; Trump Phone Review; Maine's Senate Race Implodes
2w ago00:18:59Summary readyThreads recently hit 500 million monthly users, putting it on par with X — but is it really competing, or just filling a different niche? Meanwhile, the reviews have been coming in for the Trump-branded T1 phone in recent weeks as it finally started shipping after a year of delays. Plus: Leah explains the fast-moving crisis around Senate candidate Graham Platner, who stepped down this week after a long string of controversies. Articles mentioned in this episode: The Trump Phone Is Already a Lot Different From Last Week | WIRED Republicans Gleefully Celebrate Midterms Chaos in Maine | WIRED Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from the newest ventures to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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From Mixed Signals: Bluesky COO Rose Wang on building a better social network
2w ago00:40:13Summary readyBluesky COO Rose Wang joins our friends at Semafor's Mixed Signals to talk about the platform’s reputation as a politically charged space — and betting on a decentralized approach to social media. Semafor's media editor Max Tani and editor-in-chief Ben Smith ask Wang about the Bluesky’s rapid growth, its evolving identity, and the challenge of turning a utopian vision into a business that will last. For more on what is going on in and around media, subscribe to Semafor Media. Every Sunday, Semafor Media delivers scoops and analysis on the shifting power, business models, and personalities transforming the media industry. Get the news behind the news — subscribe to the Semafor Media briefing for free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Bernie Sanders Wants You to Own Half the Profits from AI
3w ago00:37:03Summary readyWhile many politicians are still getting their bearings around AI, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has taken a leading stance. He’s proposed a sovereign wealth fund, to allow Americans to share in half of the financial profits made by big AI companies. He’s also calling for a moratorium on data center construction, until we’re able to answer some key questions – including how AI can improve our lives. Senator Bernie Sanders talks to Katie about the transformational power of AI, and why we need to keep talking about safely regulating it. Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian’s newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Why Amazon Dropped Its OpenAI Movie; Data Center Workers Are Fighting Back
4w ago00:35:24Summary readyThis week, the team discusses Amazon’s controversial decision to drop Luca Guadagnino’s film about OpenAI’s Sam Altman — which reportedly did not paint him in a favorable light. Alongside Google DeepMind’s $75 million brand new partnership with indie film studio A24, how much of a dent is AI actually having in the films we see? They also discuss the recent upheaval of workers — from electricians to software engineers — against data centers. Plus: Meta’s program to track employees’ data gets paused after a massive leak, and Anthropic is now getting along with the government thanks to CEO Dario Amodei no longer being in the room. Articles mentioned in this episode: Some Electricians Think Building Data Centers Is for Sellouts | WIRED Meta Pauses Employee-Tracking Program Following Internal Data Leak | WIRED The Trump White House Is Over Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei | WIRED Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from the newest ventures to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Until Trump Fires Her, Anna Gomez Will Fight for Press Freedom
Jun 2300:38:15Summary readyPresident Trump probably can’t get rid of her yet, but FCC commissioner Anna Gomez still checks her email every day to see if he has. Until then, she wants to stand up for the First Amendment.Anna Gomez, the only Democratic commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote a shocking letter to Disney last month, warning that the company is the target of “a sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control.” Commissioner Gomez sits down with Katie to talk about protecting the First Amendment, where the FCC is stepping out of bounds, and why media companies need to fight back. Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian’s newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Meta's AI Workers Are Revolting; Peter Thiel's Secret Society; Will Trump Free SBF?
Jun 1800:32:54Summary readyBrian and Zoë discuss the inside meltdown that has recently been unfolding at Meta and what it says about the company's relentless ambitions in the AI race. They also dive into the leaked messages and names of an invite-only group co-founded by billionaire tech founder Peter Thiel, and how Sam Bankman-Fried is now actively seeking a pardon from the Trump administration. Plus, they share their impressions on SpaceX acquiring Cursor and the latest on the negotiations between Anthropic and the government. Articles mentioned in this episode: Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth Admits the Company’s AI Reorg Was ‘Atrocious’ | WIRED ‘Tell Him He’s a Piece of Shit’: Meta’s New AI Unit Is a Total Mess | WIRED Leak Exposes Members of Peter Thiel’s Secretive ‘Dialog’ Society | WIRED Anthropic Is Still at Odds With the White House Over Claude Fable 5 | WIRED Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from the newest ventures to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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