Decoder with Nilay Patel

Ronan Farrow on Sam Altman's "unconstrained" relationship with the truth

Today I’m talking with Ronan Farrow, one of the biggest stars of investigative reporting working today. He broke the Harvey Weinstein story, among many, many others. Just last week, he and co-author Andrew Marantz published an incredible deep-dive feature in The New Yorker about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, his trustworthiness, and the rise of OpenAI itself. So Ronan came on the show to discuss the piece, his reporting process, and why he thinks this story and the revelations it contains really matter.  Read the full interview transcript here on The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/podcast/911753/sam-altman-openai-ronan-farrow-new-yorker-feature-trust-liar-ai-industry]. Links:  * Sam Altman may control our future — can he be trusted? | The New Yorker [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted] * Hey ChatGPT, which one of these is the real Sam Altman? | New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/books/review/empire-of-ai-karen-hao-the-optimist-keach-hagey.html] * Suspect throws molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s home | Wired [https://www.wired.com/story/sam-altman-home-attack-openai-san-franisco-office-threat/] * The attacks on Sam Altman are a warning for the AI world | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/911778/ai-violence-sam-altman-home] * The vibes are off at OpenAI | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/908513/the-vibes-are-off-at-openai] * Why Sam Altman was booted from OpenAI | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/814876/ilya-sutskever-deposition-openai-sam-altman-elon-musk-lawsuit] * Sam Altman, unconstrained by the truth | Gary Marcus [https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/sam-altman-unconstrained-by-the-truth] * A brief history of Sam Altman's hype | MIT Tech Review [https://venturebeat.com/ai/sam-altman-at-ted-2025-inside-the-most-uncomfortable-and-important-ai-interview-of-the-year] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Can Puck’s CEO reinvent the news business for the influencer age?

Sarah Personette is the CEO of Puck, a media company that's been around for about five years. Puck hires big star reporters who write newsletters as part of a subscription bundle. Those newsletters are often must-reads in their industries, and those reporters get equity in Puck and a share of the company's revenue. It's a place where the financial incentives of the influencer economy crash right into the rigors of traditional journalism — and as regular Decoder listeners know, I have a lot of questions about how those two things work (or don't) in the modern media landscape.  Read the full interview transcript on The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/podcast/910443/can-puck-reinvent-the-news-business-for-the-influencer-age]. Links:  * Puck buys Air Mail in deal valued at $16M | The Wrap [https://www.thewrap.com/puck-acquires-air-mail-graydon-carter-steps-down/] * The man yelling ‘iceberg’ on the Hollywood Titanic | New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/business/matthew-belloni-puck-hollywood.html] * Sarah Personette joins news startup Puck as CEO | Variety [https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/sarah-personette-puck-ceo-1235862467/] * Are we past peak newsletter? | New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/20/business/media/newsletters-bubble.html] * Two new newsletters bet they’ve got Hollywood covered | LA Times [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-08-02/two-new-hollywood-newsletters-are-betting-theyve-got-the-town-covered] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The AI industry's existential race for profits

Today, let’s talk about the looming AI monetization cliff, and whether some of the biggest companies in space can become real, profitable businesses before they careen right off it. My guest today is Hayden Field, who’s our senior AI reporter here at The Verge. She’s been keeping close tabs on both Anthropic and OpenAI, and how these two companies, both slate to go public this year, tell us a whole lot about the AI industry in 2026. Links:  * The vibes are off at OpenAI | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/908513/the-vibes-are-off-at-openai] * Anthropic essentially bans OpenClaw from Claude | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/907074/anthropic-openclaw-claude-subscription-ban] * Why OpenAI killed Sora | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/902368/openai-sora-dead-ai-video-generation-competition] * OpenAI just bought TBPN | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/906022/openai-buys-tbpn] * National poll shows voters like AI less than ICE | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/891724/nbc-news-march-2026-poll-ai-ice] * The spiraling cost of making AI | WSJ [https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-spiraling-cost-of-making-ai-0679bcea?mod=WTRN_pos1] * OpenAI’s Fidji Simo taking leave amid exec shake-up | Wired [https://www.wired.com/story/openais-fidji-simo-is-taking-a-leave-of-absence/] * OpenAI raises another $122B at $850B valuation | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/904727/openai-chatgpt-investment] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins wants data centers in space

My guest today is Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Cisco is one of those big companies that everyone has heard of but most of us don’t have to interact with very much; they’re not really a consumer brand. But without Cisco's actual routers and switches and silicon — and the software to make those things work —  there’s no internet, no cloud, and no AI. But a data center is a really unpleasant neighbor to have, and there’s robust opposition to new data center builds all over the country. So I had to start by asking what feels, strangely, like one of the most urgent questions of the moment: Should we build data centers in space? Links: * Nvidia launches space computing, rocketing AI Into orbit | Nvidia [https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/space-computing] * Nvidia’s AI dominance expands to networking | CRN [https://www.crn.com/news/networking/2026/analysis-nvidia-s-ai-dominance-expands-to-networking-as-it-makes-bigger-cpu-push?itc=refresh] * Amid rising pushback, 2025 data center cancellations surge | Heatmap [https://heatmap.news/politics/data-center-cancellations-2025] * Billionaires want data centers everywhere, including space | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/845453/space-data-centers-astronomers] * How Ciena keeps the internet online | Decoder [https://www.theverge.com/24351247/ciena-fiber-optic-internet-subsea-cables-wdm-ai-hyperscale-data-decoder-podcast-interview] * Okta’s CEO is betting big on agent identity | Decoder [https://www.theverge.com/podcast/902264/oktas-ceo-is-betting-big-on-ai-agent-identity] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

A jury says Meta and Google hurt a kid. What now?

Today, we’re talking about the landmark social media addiction trials that just resulted in two major verdicts against Big Tech — one in California against Meta and Google, and another in New Mexico against just Meta. These are complicated cases with some huge repercussions for both how these platforms work and the very nature of speech in America. So we’ve brought on two heavy hitters: my friend Casey Newton, founder and editor of Platformer and co-host of Hard Fork, as well as Verge senior policy reporter Lauren Feiner, who’s been covering these trials since the beginning.  Links:  * Meta & YouTube found negligent in social media addiction trial | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/policy/900654/meta-google-instagram-youtube-social-media-addiction-trial-kgm-jury-decision] * Meta misled users about its products’ safety, jury decides | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/policy/899910/meta-new-mexico-jury-verdict] * Meta’s legal defeat: a victory for kids, or a loss for everyone | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/policy/903006/meta-new-mexico-los-angeles-child-safety-trial-impact] * Can you have child safety and Section 230, too? | Platformer [https://www.platformer.news/social-media-trials-230-content-design/] * The terrible cost of infinite scroll | The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/opinion/big-tech-meta-youtube-lawsuit.html?unlocked_article_code=1.WFA.4xNQ.rhJN6Un_4_tJ&smid=nytcore-ios-share] * I watched grieving parents stare down Zuckerberg in court | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/policy/893930/social-media-addiction-trial-los-angeles-zuckerberg-instagram-youtube] * Section 230 turns 30 as it faces its biggest tests yet | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/policy/875300/section-230-turns-30-social-media-addiction-cases-sunset] * Congress considers blowing up internet law | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/policy/897106/section-230-reform-hearing-jawboning-social-media] * Sen. Rob Wyden: “Why the internet still needs Section 230” | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/policy/626326/ron-wyden-section-230-history-it-takes-chutzpah-excerpt] * How America turned against the First Amendment | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/23435358/first-amendment-free-speech-midterm-elections-courts-hypocrisy] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]