Hard Fork

We’re back with part two of Hard Fork Live (see last week’s episode [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/podcasts/hardfork-live-sam-altman.html] for part one). This week, Patrick Collison, Stripe’s chief executive, joins us onstage for a wide-ranging conversation about how Silicon Valley could unleash greater progress, from building new housing to curing diseases, and why he believes prestige television is a waste of time. Then, after a quick costume change, Kathryn Zealand, the chief executive of Skip, joins us to talk about her company’s robot pants. We test them out live on a StairMaster. Finally, we end the show by taking questions from audience members. Guests: * Patrick Collison [https://patrickcollison.com/about], Co-founder and C.E.O. of Stripe * Kathryn Zealand [https://www.skipwithjoy.com/aboutus], Founder and C.E.O. of Skip   We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork]and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The first Hard Fork Live is officially in the books, and for those who couldn’t attend, we’re playing highlights from the event in this episode and the next. This week, Mayor Daniel Lurie of San Francisco makes a surprise appearance to discuss the advice he’s receiving from tech executives during the early days of his administration, as well as how he built a social media presence that’s got Kevin wondering: Could we do that? Then, the conversation that had everyone talking: We’ll play our interview with OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, and chief operating officer, Brad Lightcap, and explain what was going on in our heads as the conversation unfolded in a way we did not expect.   We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork] and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This week, President Trump’s family business announced that it was introducing a mobile phone and a cellular network. We tick through the many potential conflicts of interest this new business venture raises. Then, the co-founders of the startup Mechanize defend their efforts to automate away all jobs — starting with software engineering. And finally, we take a trip to the movie theater. “M3GAN 2.0” is out next week, so its star, Allison Williams, joins us to discuss the film, and A.I.’s impact on her career and parenting. Guests: * Matthew Barnett and Ege Erdil, co-founders of Mechanize [https://www.mechanize.work/]. * Allison Williams, actor. Additional Reading: * Trump Mobile Phone Company Announced by President’s Family, but Details Are Murky [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/us/trump-mobile-phone.html] * The President Is Selling a Phone [https://www.platformer.news/trump-mobile-phone-t1-conflicts/] * This A.I. Company Wants to Take Your Job [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/technology/ai-mechanize-jobs.html]   We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork] and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This week, Meta hits the reset button on A.I. But will a new research lab and a multibillion-dollar investment in Scale AI bring the company any closer to its stated goal of “superintelligence”? Then we break down Apple’s big developer conference, WWDC: What was announced, what was noticeably absent, and why Apple seems a little stuck in the past. Finally, a couple of weeks ago we asked if your job is being automated away — it’s time to open up the listener mail bag and hear what you said. Additional Reading: * Meta looks for an A.I. reset [https://www.platformer.news/meta-scale-investment-zuckerberg-wang/] * Apple Executives Defend Apple Intelligence, Siri and A.I. Strategy [https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/apple-intelligence-ai-strategy-siri-627ce650] * This A.I. Company Wants to Take Your Job [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/technology/ai-mechanize-jobs.html] We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork] and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This week, Kevin and Casey discuss the sudden breakdown between President Trump and Elon Musk, whose disagreements over the policy bill before Congress quickly erupted into an all-out feud. Then, an ex-DOGE coder explains what it was really like to work inside the Trump administration’s cost-cutting arm. And finally, the former New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells explains why some chefs are turning to A.I. for inspiration.   Guests: * Sahil Lavingia, C.E.O. of Gumroad, who spent 55 days working for DOGE [https://sahillavingia.com/doge] * Pete Wells [https://www.nytimes.com/by/pete-wells], New York Times restaurant critic from 2012 through 2024   Additional Reading: * If Elon Musk and President Trump Divorce, Who Gets Silicon Valley? [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/technology/elon-musk-trump-silicon-valley-tech.html] * This Year’s Hot New Tool for Chefs? ChatGPT. [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/dining/ai-chefs-restaurants.html]   We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork] and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.