Is Anthropic Slipping? Plus, Sam Altman’s Bad Week and AI’s Messaging Crisis | Cerebral Valley Show #6

Ed Zitron's OpenAI Numbers, the Fable Fight Continues, and Midjourney Built a Weird Bath

Ed Zitron got OpenAI's actual financials, and the numbers are more interesting than anyone expected. In this episode of the Cerebral Valley Show, we break down Ed Zitron's FT-reported scoop on OpenAI's 2025 financials, including a reported $60 billion net loss and what that actually means once you separate training costs from the cost of serving the models. We debate whether this proves Ed's "AI bubble" thesis or quietly disproves it. We also dig into the ongoing Fable saga, including the Trump administration's continued ban on Anthropic's most advanced model, the supposed jailbreak behind it, and whether Anthropic's pushback is actually a coherent moral stand or something murkier. We also get into JD Vance and David Sacks calling AI a "communist technology" over surveillance fears, why that argument is dividing conservatives, and why no one under 60 seems to care. We close with one of the strangest product launches of the year: Midjourney's new full body diagnostic bath. Cerebral Valley Show is a biweekly AI podcast hosted by journalist Eric Newcomer alongside founders Max Child and James Wilsterman. Each episode breaks down the biggest stories in AI and venture, debates who's winning and losing, and puts bold predictions on the record.

Ed Zitron’s AI Cult, Anthropic’s Fable Crisis, and Elon Musk Is Now a Trillionaire | Cerebral Valley Show #9

The Trump administration gave Anthropic 90 minutes to respond before pulling Fable, their most advanced AI model, from public access. In this episode, we break down the Fable shutdown and whether it was a real safety call or political retaliation, react to the SpaceX IPO and Elon becoming a trillionaire, debate whether AI will actually kill jobs, and get into why Codex might be quietly beating Claude Code. We also cover Apple's Siri AI launching in July, and close with Ed Zitron's impossible bar for AI. Cerebral Valley Show is a biweekly AI podcast hosted by journalist Eric Newcomer alongside founders Max Child and James Wilsterman. Each episode breaks down the biggest stories in AI and venture, debates who's winning and losing, and puts bold predictions on the record.

SpaceX's Insane IPO, Karpathy Joins Anthropic, and Kanye's AI Earbuds | Cerebral Valley Show

SpaceX is going public at $1.75 trillion, Karpathy just chose Anthropic, and Kanye may be wearing OpenAI's first hardware product. In this episode of the Cerebral Valley Show, we dig into the SpaceX S-1 filing and debate whether its $28.5 trillion total addressable market is visionary or intellectually lazy. We break down the case for space-based data centers, Elon's Mars colony pay package, and why Eric thinks this IPO could be the thing that breaks the stock market. We also unpack the secondary share chaos at Anthropic, what it means that Andrej Karpathy is joining the company, and whether Anthropic hitting a profitable quarter at a $44 billion run rate finally puts the AI bubble narrative to rest. We also cover Kanye reportedly spotted wearing OpenAI's unreleased AI earbuds, Meta's 8,000 person layoff and whether AI is really the reason, the anti-AI backlash spreading across college campuses, and a rapid-fire debate round on the biggest stories in tech. Cerebral Valley Show is a biweekly AI podcast hosted by journalist Eric Newcomer alongside founders Max Child and James Wilsterman. Each episode breaks down the biggest stories in artificial intelligence and venture, debates who's winning and losing, and puts bold predictions on the record.

The Goblin Problem at OpenAI | Cerebral Valley Show

OpenAI’s momentum is back, AI voice agents are getting eerily human, and even GPT-5.5 can’t stop talking about goblins. In this episode of the Cerebral Valley Show, we break down the recent “vibe shift” toward OpenAI after the launch of GPT-5.5, new realtime voice updates, and the growing popularity of Codex among developers. We debate whether Anthropic is actually losing momentum, why AI Twitter sentiment matters more than ever, and how much of the AI narrative is driven by vibes versus real product progress. We also unpack the rise of AI voice technology after the Cerebral Valley Voice Summit, including why founders believe we’re approaching the voice Turing test, what Apple’s Siri relaunch could mean for the industry, and whether voice agents will eventually replace screens, call centers, and traditional app interfaces. Along the way, we cover Character AI’s medical advice controversy, AI generated “fruit drama” videos, and the strange discovery that GPT-5.5 had to be explicitly told to stop talking about goblins and gremlins. Cerebral Valley Show is a biweekly AI podcast hosted by journalist Eric Newcomer alongside founders Max Child and James Wilsterman. Each episode breaks down the biggest stories in artificial intelligence, debates who’s winning and losing, and explores where technology is headed next.

Is Anthropic Slipping? Plus, Sam Altman’s Bad Week and AI’s Messaging Crisis | Cerebral Valley Show #6

Anthropic’s momentum hits its first real resistance, Sam Altman faces mounting pressure, and AI leaders keep making the same messaging mistake. In this episode of the Cerebral Valley Show, we debate whether the “vibes” are actually turning against Anthropic or if this is just noise from power users, and what it means for the broader AI race. We also unpack a rough stretch for Sam Altman, including media scrutiny, leadership questions at OpenAI, and whether one strong model release could reset the narrative overnight. From there, we zoom out to a bigger issue across the industry: why AI leaders keep framing the future in ways that scare people, and whether that approach is hurting adoption more than helping. We also cover Figma’s vulnerability in the age of AI design tools, the rise of agentic coding, and what real-world use cases like AI-powered medical insights might look like in the near future. Cerebral Valley Show is a biweekly AI podcast hosted by journalist Eric Newcomer alongside founders Max Child and James Wilsterman. Each episode breaks down the biggest stories in artificial intelligence, debates who’s winning and losing, and puts bold predictions on the record.