POLITICO Tech

POLITICO

The POLITICO Tech podcast is your download on the disruption that technology is bringing to politics and policy. New episodes on Thursdays.

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1,037 episodes
Updated Dec 18, 2025

Episodes1037

Newest first

May 22, 2024 · 14 min
Biden, Trump and the battle to be tough on China
President Joe Biden just ramped up tariffs on electric vehicles, solar cells and other products made in China. It marks Biden’s latest move in an ongoing tech and trade war with Beijing, as well as his newest attempt to show voters he’s tougher on China than 2024 challenger Donald Trump. On POLITICO Tech, former White House senior director of international economics, Jen Harris, joins host Steven Overly to break down Biden’s trade approach to China and how she thinks he should be selling it on t
May 21, 2024 · 16 min
So what is Sam Altman's 'universal basic compute' anyway?
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman floated a radical idea recently: What if everyone got to own a piece of artificial intelligence? He called it “universal basic compute.” And while it may never become actual social policy, it reveals how the nation’s most influential tech brains are thinking about the AI future. POLITICO Digital Future Daily author Derek Robertson joins host Steven Overly to discuss.
May 20, 2024 · 18 min
‘It does feel like a disappointment’: An AI expert blasts the Senate’s new policy roadmap
The Senate spent months consulting dozens of experts when crafting its new AI “policy roadmap.” One of them, computer science professor and former White House adviser Suresh Venkatasubramanian, is now blasting the final plan for being too favorable to the tech industry and failing to address risks like bias and deception. Venkatasubramanian joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to explain where he thinks the roadmap comes up short.
May 17, 2024 · 16 min
Sen. Todd Young delves into the new AI roadmap
The roll out this week of the Senate’s artificial intelligence policy roadmap was about as close to bipartisanship as Washington gets these days. But can it last? Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), one of the roadmap’s four co-authors, joins host Steven Overly to discuss what’s next as lawmakers look to pass actual legislation, and political divisions begin to emerge.
May 16, 2024 · 15 min
Two unlikely states tried to rein in AI. Then came the tech lobbyists
Colorado and Connecticut attempted to become the first states to regulate artificial intelligence but faced significant pushback from the tech industry. In Connecticut, the governor then threatened to veto the legislation. And in Colorado, the governor is under pressure to do the same. Mallory Culhane, author of POLITICO's Morning Tech newsletter, joins host Steven Overly to discuss the fate of Colorado's AI legislation and whether other states will follow similar approaches to AI regulation.
May 15, 2024 · 24 min
Chuck Schumer just fired the Senate’s AI starting gun
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s AI policy roadmap is out this morning. The bipartisan report, co-authored with Sens. Martin Heinrich, Todd Young and Mike Rounds, calls for big bucks for AI research, and legislation in areas like workforce training. It’s expected to kick off a flurry of legislative action in the Senate, even as the election rapidly approaches. Reggie Babin, an attorney and lobbyist at Akin, worked as Schumer’s chief counsel until 2022. He joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Ov
May 14, 2024 · 15 min
What Biden’s ‘next chapter’ of AI looks like
When President Joe Biden talks about artificial intelligence, he’ll often refer to the technology’s “promise and peril.” Yet much of his AI agenda to date has focused on the latter. Now, the White House is shifting focus to the “aspirational” uses of AI -- a change in tone that could be complicated by the perils that remain. On POLITICO Tech, Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar tells Steven Overly about Biden’s plan to “start shaping the next chapter” of AI focused o
May 13, 2024 · 14 min
Big dreams, small budget. NSF's director on funding AI research
President Biden’s signature CHIPS and Science Act promised the National Science Foundation a budget boost of $81 billion over five years. But so far, Congress hasn’t come through with the money. That has Sethuraman Panchanathan, the director of the NSF, persuading lawmakers to loosen the national purse strings, while in the meantime, cobbling together money from the NSF’s shrinking budget and the private sector to fund AI research projects. Steven Overly talked with "Panch" for today's episode o
May 10, 2024 · 21 min
How the US beats China on AI
The relationship between Washington and the tech industry has gone through no shortage of ups and downs over the years, but things were all smiles earlier this week at an AI expo hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project. The CEO of that group, Ylli Bajraktari, talked to host Steven Overly about the Washington-Silicon Valley divide and why collaboration between industry and government is the only way he sees the U.S. beating China on AI.
May 9, 2024 · 26 min
Van Jones and Arun Gupta on the new AI civilization
CNN contributor and Dream Machine founder Van Jones met NobleReach Foundation CEO Arun Gupta at a tech festival. It turned out they’re both AI optimists, and think all the doom and gloom about the technology belies its larger benefits. On a live taping of POLITICO Tech, they join host Steven Overly to make the case for more communities to embrace — not fear — AI and for tech workers to enter public service.
May 8, 2024 · 15 min
How TikTok’s algorithm really handled the Israel-Gaza war
TikTok has long faced criticism for suspected ties to the Chinese government. But since the start of the war, U.S. officials have also accused the app of amplifying posts that are sympathetic to Hamas and damaging to Israel. But data from the app tells a more complex story. POLITICO reporter Mark Scott worked with Northeastern University researcher Laura Edelson to analyze some 350,000 TikTok posts about the war, and on today’s show, Mark explains their findings to host Steven Overly — and what
May 7, 2024 · 16 min
How AI will upend non-elite universities, according to Coursera’s CEO
Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda says AI is transforming education -- both how it’s delivered and what people are studying. On today's Politico Tech, Jeff’s case to host Steven Overly for why higher education needs an AI overhaul, and how he uses AI to help decide Coursera’s business strategy.
May 6, 2024 · 14 min
What losing TikTok could mean for online culture
There’s a legal battle brewing between TikTok and the federal government. But how anxious are US companies about losing one of the newest and frankly most exciting social media outlets in years? Rachel Karten had that question, too. She’s a social media consultant for brands like Cava and West Elm, and author of a Substack called Link in Bio, a newsletter about the business of social media. She spoke with host Steven Overly to talk about what she's hearing from brands and what losing TikTok coul
May 3, 2024 · 17 min
R U there? Plz donate 2 my campaign ASAP
Right now, there’s probably a political candidate in your inbox asking for donations. Online fundraising has taken off in recent election cycles, and it’s now how many Washington hopefuls raise big bucks. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Jessica Piper joins host Steven Overly to talk about how digital platforms have changed the fundraising game.
May 2, 2024 · 20 min
One-on-one with Anthropic cofounder Jack Clark
Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark says building a safe AI model — named Claude — will differentiate the company from its competitors. And he’s in Washington pushing for safety testing and product standards. Will that ultimately help established companies like his? He joined host Steven Overly to discuss.
May 1, 2024 · 20 min
What TikTok’s Washington nemesis is targeting next
Jacob Helberg was influential in pushing for the law that forces the sale of TikTok. Now, he wants Congress to prepare for a future conflict with China, one that has artificial intelligence at the center. Helberg, who is a senior policy adviser at Palantir Technologies and sits on the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, joins host Steven Overly to talk about the next frontier in U.S. tech competition with China.
Apr 30, 2024 · 14 min
What worries consumer advocates about state AI bills
States are considering a slew of bills to regulate artificial intelligence, including whether companies must disclose that they’re using the technology to make decisions in areas like employment and housing. Consumer Reports policy analyst Grace Gedye joins POLITICO Tech to discuss loopholes that the advocacy group argues state lawmakers must close before passing new laws.
Apr 29, 2024 · 17 min
The untold story of how computers forever changed election night
In 1952, TV news producers needed an edge on election night. And they found it in new "fearsome contraptions" called computers. On POLITICO Tech, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ira Chinoy joins host Steven Overly to talk about his new book, “Predicting the Winner: The Untold Story of Election Night 1952 and the Dawn of Computer Forecasting.” They go inside that pivotal election night, and what it tells us about political journalism and technology today.
Apr 26, 2024 · 22 min
Inside the parties AI is crashing during Washington’s big weekend
Washington’s fascination with AI has permeated its social life — from salon dinners to embassy receptions to networking nights. That includes festivities surrounding this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. On POLITICO Tech, media maven Tammy Haddad joins host Steven Overly to talk about her Washington AI Network and how AI is shaping D.C.’s social scene.
Apr 25, 2024 · 15 min
How many chips does $29 billion buy?
Micron Technology is getting $6.14 billion from the Biden administration to build microchip facilities in the U.S., becoming the fourth and final maker of leading-edge semiconductors to get government subsidies. On POLITICO Tech, Michael Schmidt, the director of the Commerce Department’s CHIPS Program Office, breaks down the deals and explains what comes next.