logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2023
24m 48s

The Ballad of ‘Deepfake Drake’

The New York Times
About this episode
This month, an anonymous producer jolted the music industry by using artificial intelligence to impersonate the singers Drake and the Weeknd, creating a fake track, “Heart on My Sleeve,” that quickly went viral. Joe Coscarelli, a culture reporter for The Times, talks about how the song’s rise and fall could presage widespread changes in the way music is mad ... Show More
Up next
Today
As the Iran War Escalates, Is the U.S. Hiding Its Toll?
The war in Iran has recently escalated in dangerous new ways, drawing in Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, as the Trump administration reeled from the Iranian killing of U.S. service members in Jordan. Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times, discus ... Show More
26m 1s
Yesterday
More Trump Tariffs Are Coming
At a moment when inflation and affordability are on virtually everyone’s mind in America, Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, said the Trump administration was planning a new slate of tariffs. Ana Swanson, who covers international trade for The New York Times and spoke ... Show More
40m 27s
Jul 19
The World Cup Final Is Here
After a month of competition across North America and 103 matches, the 2026 World Cup is down to its final game. Spain and Argentina will meet this afternoon in a match expected to draw over one billion viewers around the world. Spain is hoping its well-oiled machine and young st ... Show More
30m 41s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
A.I. Drake has put music in a tailspin
We have an emergency podcast drop because the biggest and fastest moving story on the internet right now is about a song called “Heart On My Sleeve.” The track sounds like it was made by the producer Metro Boomin featuring Drake and The Weeknd. It might be one of the most consequ ... Show More
37m 14s
Apr 2023
AI ‘Flips the Switch’ to Mimic Drake, The Weeknd 4/11/23
<p>A viral song over the weekend was created using artificial intelligence. What does this small event signal about AI’s broader impact? The Last Call panel separates fact from fiction.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pc ... Show More
47 m
Apr 2023
Fake Drake
The Verge’s Nilay Patel explains how a spurious collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd started a copyright fight over generative AI. Holly Herndon introduces her AI alterego, Holly+. This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Avisha ... Show More
26m 36s
Mar 2024
AI in Music: Whose Voice Is It Anyway?
<p>From production tools to actual music creation, AI is tearing into every segment of the music industry. The latest fad is the scarily accurate regeneration of artists’ voices: from Drake to Kanye West, Michael Jackson to SP Balasubrahmanyam. But the trend has raised excitement ... Show More
33m 49s
Apr 2023
Deepfake Drake + HatGPT + Ben Smith on the End of the BuzzFeed Era
<p>A song featuring A.I.-generated versions of Drake and the Weeknd went viral — before being taken down by streaming services. Is censorship of A.I.-generated songs the way forward? Or can singers benefit from synthetic voices, as some artists like Grimes are suggesting?</p><p>T ... Show More
1h 1m
Mar 2025
How AI Could Change the Future of Music
Artificial intelligence tools for musicians are getting eerily good, very fast. Their work can be maddening, funny, ethically dubious, and downright fascinating all at the same time. TV and podcast composer Mark Henry Phillips joins to describe his experience working with them. W ... Show More
57m 41s
Jul 2023
AI hits the music industry
Note: We want to be clear that this episode does include material that has been generated by Financial Times journalists using AI tools...we've done it to illustrate just how much AI is influencing the music industry.-------AI has arrived in the music world, and the industry is b ... Show More
22m 25s
Aug 2023
YouTube and Universal Music leap into the AI copyright void
YouTube recently announced a partnership with Universal Music Group to launch a music AI incubator. Their goal is to come up with new artificial intelligence projects and protect artists. The venture comes after songs featuring AI versions of singers like Drake, Kanye West and Fr ... Show More
9m 3s
Apr 2024
Drake's Kendrick Lamar diss track features AI-generated Tupac and Snoop Dogg.
<p>The &lsquo;Taylor Made Freestyle&rsquo; song, a diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar, features AI-generated audio for Tupac Shakur&rsquo;s and Snoop Dogg&rsquo;s verses.</p> <p>Artie Intel and Micheline Learning report on Artificial intelligence for the AI Report.</p> <p>Microso ... Show More
3m 14s