We explore the lives of people who are in love with their AI chatbots. Replika is a chatbot designed to adapt to the emotional needs of its users. It is a good enough surrogate for human interaction that many people have decided that it can fulfill their romantic needs. The question is whether these kinds of romantic attachments are real, illusory, or good f ... Show More
May 2023
Effective Altruism and its Critics
Curtis is setting aside a large chunk of money to donate to charity, and it is up to us to persuade him where he should donate it. Luckily, philosophers, economists, and the nonprofit world have been thinking a lot about this issue in recent years. On this episode, effective altr ... Show More
1h 1m
May 2023
The Problem with Gig Work
Willy and Heidi were both gig workers for Shipt, the fast-delivery app for groceries or same-day shopping. In 2020, they both realised: the pay algorithm had changed. Now, they couldn’t tell what a job would pay, or whether it would earn or lose them money. Instead of just taking ... Show More
54m 30s
Dec 2023
The Man Taunting Mike Johnson, Ron DeSantis and George Santos
Randy Rainbow is a three-time Emmy-nominated musical comedy sensation famous for his viral taunts of anti-LGBTQ+ politicians, hateful celebrities and, of course, George Santos. Rainbow (and, yes: that is his real name) talks about his approach to his work, his inspirations, and w ... Show More
46m 6s
Aug 2020
Hannah Gadsby on comedy, free speech, and living with autism
Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby became a global star with her Netflix special Nanette. It’s a remarkable piece of work, and it does what great art is supposed to do: Give you a sense, however fleeting, of what it is like to live inside another human’s experience. Gadsby’s new s ... Show More
1h 33m
Oct 2019
When Our Stories Move the Culture
“I have more freedom than I’ve ever had,” says Catt Sadler, journalist and host of the podcast NAKED. After more than a decade of working at E! Entertainment, Sadler, who has won three Emmys, chose to leave over a wage gap issue. Today, she sits down with chief content officer El ... Show More
49m 23s
May 2024
#368 — Freedom & Censorship
Sam Harris speaks with Greg Lukianoff about free speech and cancel culture. They discuss the origins of political correctness, free speech and its boundaries, the bedrock principle of the First Amendment, technology and the marketplace of ideas, epistemic anarchy, social media an ... Show More
42m 47s