S8 Ep925: Bruce Bechtol discusses his book Rogue Allies, highlighting the strategic partnership between North Korea and Iran. He emphasizes that U.S. administrations have historically underestimate...
S8 Ep924: Keach Hagey addresses the development of ChatGPT and the subsequent power struggle at OpenAI. She explains how Altman's shift from prioritizing AI regulation to commercial monetization...
S8 Ep924: Keach Hagey details Altman's trajectory from a Stanford dropout to a central figure in Silicon Valley. After launching the app Loopt, Altman used his masterful storytelling skills to impr...
S8 Ep924: Keach Hagey explores Sam Altman's upbringing in St. Louis, Missouri. She describes Altman's parents: Jerry, an idealistic real estate developer, and Connie, an ambitious dermatologist and...
S8 Ep924: Keach Hagey recounts the January 2016 founding of OpenAI in San Francisco, initially established as a modest nonprofit research lab in Greg Brockman's apartment. Co-founded by Sam Altman,...
S8 Ep923: The concluding sections of AI Valley analyze the shift toward an "accelerationist" political landscape. While the Biden administration proposed testing rules for safety, the Trump admi...
S8 Ep923: Gary Rivlin details the dramatic November 2023 firing of Sam Altman by OpenAI's nonprofit board in AI Valley. The board alleged Altman gave "short shrift" to the company's original trust ...
S8 Ep923: The quest for "artificial empathy" is a central theme in AI Valley. Gary Rivlin discusses how "personality engineers" fine-tune bots like Pi to be kind, conversational, and admit ignoranc...
S8 Ep923: AI Valley examines the "innovator's dilemma," where tech giants like Google hesitate to release advanced AI that might cannibalize their lucrative search advertising profits. This "bignes...
S8 Ep923: Addressing public fear, AI Valley uses historical analogies to argue for moderate regulation to build trust. Gary Rivlin compares AI to the automobile; early cars lacked seatbelts and kil...
S8 Ep922: Gary Rivlin's AI Valley explores the ideological rift between "doomers," who fear existential AI threats, and "accelerationists," who demand rapid development. He highlights "bloomers" li...
S8 Ep922: In AI Valley, Gary Rivlin explains how OpenAI transitioned from a $10 million nonprofit endeavor to a multi-billion dollar enterprise. The immense cost of specialized chips and million-do...
S8 Ep922: Gary Rivlin introduces his book AI Valley, highlighting the pivotal 2017 "transformer" paper by Google researchers that allowed computers to understand language contextually. This breakth...
S8 Ep921: (3/3) Athens Supreme, Sparta Discredited. Gaius and Germanicus debate in their favorite wine bar by the Thames, in Londinium, Spring 92 AD. The two examine how historical narratives are...
S8 Ep921: (2/3) The Self-Dealing Emperor. Gaius and Germanicus debate in their favorite wine bar by the Thames, in Londinium, Spring 92 AD. The Roman emperor system, initiated by Augustus, was fund...
S8 Ep921: (1/3) The Great Game. Gaius and Germanicus debate in their favorite wine bar by the Thames, in Londinium, Spring 92 AD. Germanicus compares 19th-century British strategy to modern America...
S8 Ep920: Luis Elizondo credits journalists and Chris Mellon for bringing the UAP issue into the public eye through The New York Times. He describes Mellon as a "national treasure" who pushed for c...
S8 Ep920: Luis Elizondo explores the "legacy program," a term for historic efforts by the government and defense contractors to exploit recovered UAP technology. He confirms the existence of materi...
S8 Ep920: Luis Elizondo explains that the Roswell incident of 1947 was not a joke but a serious event involving recovered biological evidence and crash materials. He notes a significant uptick in U...
S8 Ep920: Luis Elizondo, former head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), discusses his decision to resign from the Pentagon in 2017. Frustrated by the bureaucracy's ref...
S8 Ep919: Jeremy Zakis discusses the onset of a "super El NiƱo" weather pattern impacting both the United States and Australia. While currently experiencing unusually wet and cold conditions in New...
S8 Ep919: Jeremy Zakis details a burgeoning mouse plague in Western and South Australia, where mice are breeding rapidly and have become resilient to standard toxins. In response, the government ha...
S8 Ep919: Jeremy Zakis details a burgeoning mouse plague in Western and South Australia, where mice are breeding rapidly and have become resilient to standard toxins. In response, the government ha...
S8 Ep918: In the final segment, Michael McFaul outlines a grand strategy for democratic revival, asserting that democracies still hold superior military and economic power if they remain united...
S8 Ep918: Michael McFaul proposes a forward-looking strategy that includes helping Ukraine win to undermine Putin's dictatorial logic. He advocates for capitalizing on Russia's "brain drain" by ref...
S8 Ep918: Focusing on U.S. leadership, Michael McFaul discusses the importance of "peace through strength" while maintaining robust alliances with fellow democracies. He critiques recent U.S. forei...
S8 Ep918: Michael McFaul explores the evolution of Putinism, characterizing Vladimir Putin as an ideological risk-taker who views the West as a threat to "Russian civilization." He critiques the We...
S8 Ep918: Michael McFaul analyzes how China's "Century of Humiliation" profoundly shapes Xi Jinping's drive for national strength and order. He observes that Xi is significantly more autocratic tha...
S8 Ep918: Drawing on his time in Moscow during the early 1990s, Michael McFaul describes the revolutionary transition from Gorbachev's reforms to the radicalism of the Yeltsin era. He highlights th...
S8 Ep918: In Autocrats vs. Democrats, Michael McFaul examines the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, critiquing the U.S. decision to "look away" from human rights for economic gain. ...
S8 Ep918: Michael McFaul discusses his book Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America and the New Global Disorder, reflecting on the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis as the most dangerous moment of ...
S8 Ep917: The 13 letters attributed to Plato remain a source of intense scholarly debate, with some considered clear forgeries. In Plato and the Tyrant, James Romm accepts five letters as genuine...
S8 Ep917: In the Republic, Plato argues that philosophers make the best kings because they can perceive the "Form of Justice." James Romm explains that Plato illustrates this through the Allegory o...
S8 Ep917: As Syracuse collapsed into disorder, the mother city of Corinth sent Timoleon with a small hired army to intervene. James Romm notes that to the surprise of many, Dionysius the Younger ab...
S8 Ep917: Dion eventually led an invasion fleet to liberate Syracuse, but the revolution quickly descended into chaos and factional splits. James Romm explains that despite his Platonic education, ...
S8 Ep917: During his five-year exile, Dion determined to overthrow the regime after Dionysius confiscated his estate and forced his wife to marry a loyalist. James Romm notes that Plato refused to ...
S8 Ep917: Following the death of the Elder in 367 BCE, Dion invited Plato back to tutor the immature Dionysius the Younger. James Romm explains that Dion hoped Plato could transform the new ruler i...
S8 Ep917: In Plato and the Tyrant, James Romm explains that Plato, born approximately 428 BCE, was deeply influenced by the 30 Tyrants of Athens, a regime involving his cousin Critias that conducte...
S8 Ep917: James Romm discusses his book Plato and the Tyrant. Syracuse emerged as an immensely powerful and prosperous state in the 4th century BCE under the rule of Dionysius the Elder. He rose to...
S8 Ep916: SCHEDULE THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 5-22-2026. 1900 ADAMS BOULEVARD.
S8 Ep915: CDouglas Messier discusses a new partnership to develop asteroid mining technology. Key innovations like optical mining and solar thermal engines could eventually allow for large-scale ro...
S8 Ep914: Conrad Black proposes a Commonwealth economic fund to rival China and the U.S. He critiques Britain's failed governance and suggests the Reform Party offers a necessary shift away from we...
S8 Ep914: Mariam Wahba describes the jihadist threat in Mali led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. The group's siege on the capital endangers Nigeria, necessitating U.S. intelligence support for allies without usi...
S8 Ep914: Henry Sokolski argues that the NPT review highlights the failure to prevent Iran's nuclear enrichment. He warns that this creates a domino effect of proliferation across Saudi Arabia and ...
S8 Ep914: Peter Mauch covers Tojo's failed suicide and his transition to a scapegoat for the Tokyo trials. He accepted responsibility for war crimes while shielding the Emperor from any legal prose...
S8 Ep914: Peter Mauch reveals Emperor Hirohito's daily involvement in military details. Tojo suppressed any talk of an exit strategy, though he eventually complied with the sacred decision to surre...
S8 Ep914: Peter Mauch notes that Tojo acted as a tyrant by assuming multiple cabinet positions. After losing four carriers at Midway, Tojo utilized propaganda and censorship to hide the truth from ...
S8 Ep914: Peter Mauch examines Hideki Tojo's 1941 strategy, where he balanced Army and Navy demands. The Navy's push for oil in Southeast Asia ultimately led to the circular logic of war. (9/16)
S8 Ep914: Bob Zimmerman explains that the Psyche probe successfully completed a Mars flyby. Meanwhile, reanalyzed data suggests Europa may lack water plumes, contradicting previous theories about t...
S8 Ep914: Bob Zimmerman details SpaceX's IPO filings, which show Starlink earns $12 billion annually. These profits fund Starship development, while new ventures like high-powered satellite buses e...
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