Newcomer Pod

Ed Zitron Unfiltered on OpenAI, Anthropic & Why the Whole Thing Is a Con

Ed Zitron is back, and he's making his strongest case yet that OpenAI and Anthropic are running a deliberate con on the public. In his second appearance on the Newcomer Podcast, Ed Zitron sits down with Eric Newcomer to break down why he believes there is no real ROI in AI, how Sam Altman and Dario Amodei have hidden the true cost of their products behind subscription pricing, and why enterprises like Uber are already pulling back. Ed also makes the case that the entire culture around AI is a psyop designed to silence skeptics and protect a trillion-dollar house of cards. Eric pushes back throughout, defending the long-term potential of AI and pressing Ed on whether pure skepticism is its own kind of shtick. The result is one of the most honest and combative conversations about AI you'll find anywhere.

How Tech's San Francisco Values Gave Way to the Right

How San Francisco's tech culture went from countercultural idealism to right-wing power, and what it means for the rest of us. Jonathan Weber, editor at large at The New Yorker and author of City on the Edge, joins Eric Newcomer to trace the 30-year arc of how San Francisco became the center of the tech universe, and how the industry that once promised to change the world ended up changing politics instead. From the early commercial internet to the rise of OpenAI and Anthropic, Weber connects the dots between Silicon Valley's cultural roots and its dramatic political shift toward the right. The conversation covers the dot-com boom and bust, the sharing economy's broken promises, why tech executives became dismissive of public concerns, how AI is accelerating the disconnect between the industry and everyday Americans, and what history tells us about where this all goes next. City on the Edge is available now wherever books are sold.Subscribe for weekly conversations with the founders, investors, and executives shaping the tech industry.

WIRED's Editor on Elon, Trump & Silicon Valley's War on the Press

WIRED's global editorial director on why Silicon Valley wants to control the press and what she's doing about it. Katie Drummond, global editorial director of WIRED, sits down with Eric Newcomer to talk about the simmering war between tech and media. From surviving the Gawker bankruptcy to now running one of the most scrutinized publications in tech, Katie doesn't hold back on why figures like Peter Thiel and Trae Stevens want to buy or dismantle WIRED, why so much of Silicon Valley turned toward Trump, and what serious tech journalism looks like in 2026. Listen to Katie's podcast Uncanny Valley: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncanny-valley-wired/id266391367 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncanny-valley-wired/id266391367] Subscribe for weekly conversations with the founders, investors, and executives shaping the tech industry.

The Man Who Helped Destroy Gawker Is Coming Back For The Rest of Media

The man who helped bring down Gawker is back, and this time he’s coming for the media industry. Eric sits down with Aron Ping D’Souza, the Oxford law student who first pitched Peter Thiel on the idea that would eventually bankrupt Gawker. Today, Aron is building the Enhanced Games, a PED-legal sporting competition, and Objection AI, a Peter Thiel-backed platform designed to investigate news articles line by line using former CIA and FBI agents. They revisit the Gawker lawsuit and the Hulk Hogan case, then dive into the growing crisis of trust in media, from anonymous sourcing to AI-generated journalism. Aron also explains why Ronan Farrow’s Sam Altman profile concerns him and why he believes AI is about to fundamentally reshape how information is created, investigated, and trusted online. Subscribe for weekly conversations with the founders, investors, and executives shaping technology and culture.

Vinod Khosla on the End of Jobs and the Future of Capitalism

Vinod Khosla on Why AI Could End Human Labor and Change Capitalism Forever Vinod Khosla joins Newcomer to discuss AI, capitalism, freedom, education, religion, and why he believes technology will fundamentally reshape how humans live and work. The legendary venture capitalist behind Sun Microsystems and early bets on OpenAI shares his thoughts on why AI could eliminate the need for traditional jobs, how capitalism may evolve in an AI-driven world, and why future generations may no longer need careers purely for survival. He also discusses Silicon Valley’s biggest blind spots, the future of education and creativity, human purpose after AI, why institutions are failing to adapt, and what comes next for entrepreneurship and innovation. Vinod also explains why he thinks most people underestimate the speed of AI progress, and what happens when intelligence becomes effectively unlimited. Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping technology, media, startups, and culture.