Stranger Than Sci-Fi

Stories about the pioneering technologies, polarizing personalities, and colorful Silicon Valley subcultures that could shape our future.

Dawn of the Silicon Valley Superbaby

Dawn of the Silicon Valley Superbaby

Billionaires like Sam Altman, Peter Thiel and Brian Armstrong are behind a boom in fertility tech startups developing sophisticated embryo testing, sperm freezing—even artificial wombs.

The race to make the perfect baby is creating an ethical mess

The race to make the perfect baby is creating an ethical mess

A new field of science claims to be able to predict aesthetic traits, intelligence, and even moral character in embryos. Is this the next step in human evolution or something more dangerous?

Has Humane Created the Next iPhone—or the Next Google Glass?

Has Humane Created the Next iPhone—or the Next Google Glass?

A peek inside secretive startup Humane before the grand unveiling of its first product, the screenless, wearable Ai Pin.

The Antichrist and the New Apostles

The Antichrist and the New Apostles

Why many in tech are turning to devout Christianity.

How the World Plans to Stop American AI Domination

How the World Plans to Stop American AI Domination

Countries and startups around the globe are scrambling for a foothold in artificial intelligence, determined to avoid becoming dependent on U.S. tech innovations—again.

The Elon Musk Investors With Dreams of a New Social Order

The Elon Musk Investors With Dreams of a New Social Order

At their venture firm, Gigafund, Luke Nosek and Stephen Oskoui seek out founders with transformative visions of the future. What does their vision look like?

Is OpenAI's Sam Altman Building a Tech Dream or a Sci-Fi Nightmare?

Is OpenAI's Sam Altman Building a Tech Dream or a Sci-Fi Nightmare?

He's played chess with Peter Thiel, sparred with Elon Musk and once, supposedly, stopped a plane crash: Inside Sam Altman's world, where truth is stranger than fiction.

‘Not Everyone Is Trying to Build God’

‘Not Everyone Is Trying to Build God’

Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela Tries to Dampen the Doomerism

‘Don’t Put Your Head in the Sand’: Stars Are Quietly Inking Deals to License Their AI Doubles

‘Don’t Put Your Head in the Sand’: Stars Are Quietly Inking Deals to License Their AI Doubles

As generative AI companies multiply, celebrities and their estates are starting to see the profit potential in digital twins.

Meet the Pronatalists

Meet the Pronatalists

Billionaires like Elon Musk want to save civilization by having tons of genetically superior kids. Inside the movement to take 'control of human evolution.'

Elon Musk had twins last year with one of his top executives

Elon Musk had twins last year with one of his top executives

On June 17, Musk tweeted the opening scene of "Idiocracy," the 2006 Mike Judge comedy depicting a world in which highly intelligent people are reluctant to reproduce while those with low IQs continue to have large families, dumbing down the Earth's population.

Sam Altman & the Battle for OpenAI | Is OpenAI Out of the Woods?

Sam Altman & the Battle for OpenAI | Is OpenAI Out of the Woods?

A lot has happened at OpenAI since that whiplash week in November 2023 when the board ousted its chief executive. There was an investigation to determine whether Sam Altman’s firing was just, and a lawsuit from OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk. Meanwhile, the company’s competition has been charging ahead. Julia Black, a reporter with The Information, joins host David Brown to break down the latest developments and shed light on where Sam Altman — and the future of AI — are going next.

Pronatalism and Silicon Valley’s Right-Wing Turn

Pronatalism and Silicon Valley’s Right-Wing Turn

I joined Paris Marx on the podcast to discuss tech billionaires’ embrace of pronatalism and how it’s part of a broader rationalist project to remake society and protect their privileged positions.