Podcasts about American Innovations

On the latest episode of Advanced Manufacturing Now, the editorial team discusses the 250th anniversary of the United States, and the spirit of innovation they discovered while putting together the State-by-State of the Manufacturing Industry special report.

Pope Leo XIV's highly anticipated encyclical marks a significant milestone in the debate around artificial intelligence and what it means for the future of humanity.To analyze the document and its many implications, Oren speaks with American Compass policy director Chris Griswold, Foundation for American Innovation executive vice president Max Bodach, and Leah Sargeant, editorial director at the Institute for Progress and author of Other Feminisms and The Dignity of Dependence. The group discusses to what extent AI can exhibit human characteristics, the Pope's surprisingly strong takedown of universal basic income, and what the encyclical says about the new technology's potential role in labor relations.They conclude by looking at how the United States should approach AI development, competition, and regulation, and how to balance those competing interests while keeping an eye on global allies and adversaries alike.

Oklahoma ranks #1 among states with the lowest cost of doing business. It's one of America's top states for oil production as well as the aerospace and defense industry, attracting innovators from more expensive coastal states. Karin Lips sits down with Representative Stephanie Bice, who represents Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District and serves on the Appropriations […]

Samuel Hammond, director of artificial intelligence policy and chief economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, explores the tensions between the Old Right's free-market orthodoxy and the New Right's willingness to wield state power, and discusses how figures like Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and JD Vance are forging a new political coalition around technology and national interests. He dives deep into artificial intelligence: why it's testing the coherence of conservative ideology, and what the administration's "accelerationist" agenda ultimately means for Canada's relationship with the United States.This episode is produced in partnership with the New North America Initiative at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. From the shifting ideologies of the new Right and the new Left in the U.S., this multi-month series will bring Canadians inside debates on trade, globalization, and power that are likely to shape America's policy direction—and Canada's interests—for the years and decades to come.The New North America Initiative is generously funded in part by the Government of Alberta.Learn more about the initiative: https://newnorthamerica.org.The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this multimedia content do not necessarily represent those of the New North America Initiative, the School of Public Policy, or the University of Calgary. This content has been made available for informational purposes, and our role in production does not constitute an endorsement.The Hub is Canada's fastest-growing independent digital news outlet.Subscribe to The Hub's podcast feed to get all our best content:https://tinyurl.com/3a7zpd7e (Apple)https://tinyurl.com/y8akmfn7 (Spotify)Watch a video version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheHubCanadaFollow The Hub on X: https://x.com/thehubcanada?lang=enCREDITS:Elia Gross - Producer and EditorSean Speer - HostCarlo Dade and Alexander Giordano - New North America Initiative Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geoffrey Cain is an award-winning American journalist and author, writing about geopolitics, national security, and technology. His work has been featured in The Economist, Time, Wired, and The Wall Street Journal. He is a regular commentator on Bloomberg TV, BBC, CNN, and NPR. Cain served as an advisor to the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, was a former senior fellow for advanced critical emerging technologies at Foundation for American Innovation and was a visiting senior fellow at the GeoTech Center at the Atlantic Council. His books include Samsung Rising, The Perfect Police State, and most recently-- Steve Jobs in Exile. Learn more at https://geoffreycain.net/. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Guest speakers and their firms are not affiliated with or endorsed by PAS or Guardian. This material contains the current opinions of the speakers but not necessarily those of PAS, Guardian or its subsidiaries and such opinions are subject to change without notice. None of the organizations mentioned in this podcast have any affiliation with Guardian or PAS. Bryan Kuderna is a Registered Representative and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). OSJ: 50 Tice Blvd. Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677 (973)244-4420. Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. Kuderna Financial Team is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. CA Insurance License #OK04194    #8948580.1 exp. 5/28  

Alan Rozenshtein, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota and Research Director at Lawfare, and Kevin Frazier, AI Innovation and Law Fellow at the University of Texas School of Law and Senior Editor at Lawfare, spoke with Dean Ball, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and former Senior Policy Advisor for AI at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, about the Trump administration's reported plans to vet frontier AI models before public release.They discussed how Anthropic's Mythos model reshaped the administration's posture on AI risk; why the executive branch lacks clear legal authority for a mandatory pre-deployment vetting regime; the voluntary "kick the tires" framework Frazier and Ball have proposed using CAISI and the Cyber Resilience Fund; whether an FDA-style licensing regime is ultimately inevitable for frontier AI; and the institutional design challenges of building AI oversight that can scale with rapidly improving model capabilities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before they head out to Jazz Fest, Doug and Greg analyze why the market continues to shrug off the Iran conflict, relate AI to this generation's railroad construction, and praise the economic and technological prowess of the United States.  Key Takeaways [00:17] - Come see us at Jazz Fest [01:21] - Why the market doesn't care about Iran [04:38] - AI is the real deal [07:22] - Tech's historic capital expenditures [11:22] - Gas prices are up, but way less here at home [15:23] - The wonder of American innovation View Transcript Links Torsten Slok: The Radiologist Paradox WSJ: Big Tech Strikes Gold With AI, but at a Steep Cost Amazon's $364 Billion Backlog is the Bull Case for its AI Spending Boom Why Gasoline Is So Much Cheaper in the U.S. Than Overseas Connect with our hosts Doug Stokes Greg Stokes Stokes Family Office Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify lagniappe.stokesfamilyoffice.com Disclosure The information in this podcast is educational and general in nature and does not take into consideration the listener's personal circumstances. Therefore, it is not intended to be a substitute for specific, individualized financial, legal, or tax advice. To determine which strategies or investments may be suitable for you, consult the appropriate, qualified professional prior to making a final decision. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies referenced in our blogs/podcasts) or any other investment and/or non-investment-related content or services will be profitable, equal any historical performance level(s), be suitable or appropriate for a reader/listener's individual situation, or prove successful. Moreover, no portion of the blog/podcast content should be construed as a substitute for individual advice or services from the financial professional(s) of a reader/listener's choosing, including Stokes Family, LLC, a registered investment adviser with the SEC, with which the blogger/podcasters are affiliated.

The standard story of American innovation features Silicon Valley, venture capital, and the heroic startup founder.When you trace the history of the internet, GPS, mass-produced penicillin, or the COVID vaccine, the starting point is not a term sheet but a government grant. How much does this matter,  and can we measure it?Tim Phillips speaks to Paolo Surico of London Business School and CEPR who, working with Andrea Gazzani, Joseba Martinez, and Filippo Natoli, has built the first systematic empirical account of how government-funded innovation has shaped US productivity since the Second World War. The headline result: government-funded patents account for roughly 2% of all patents filed in the post-war period, but explain around 20% of medium-term fluctuations in total factor productivity and GDP growth. The return on every dollar of public R&D is more than double the return on every dollar of private R&D. The key mechanism is not that government crowds out private investment; it crowds it in. For every dollar of public research, roughly another dollar of private investment follows, as talent from universities and research institutes moves into startups that commercialise what the public sector seeded. The logic is high-risk, high-reward: the government takes on the uncertainty and fixed costs that the private sector will not bear, accepting a large number of failures in order to find the breakthroughs that private capital would never have funded. The model is now under pressure: 2025 brought the largest cuts to US federal science funding in the post-war period. AI adds a further complication: for the first time, a general-purpose technology is being driven primarily by private capital, and that capital is now pulling the best scientific talent out of research institutes and universities and into industry. If that shift becomes permanent, the direction of innovation will be shaped by profitability rather than by broad productivity and living standards. The paper discussed in this episode:Gazzani, Andrea, Joseba Martinez, Filippo Natoli, and Paolo Surico. 2026. "The Public Origins of American Innovation." CEPR Discussion Paper DP20788. Centre for Economic Policy Research. [gated]To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim, and Paolo Surico. 2026. "The Public Origins of American Innovation." VoxTalks Economics (podcast/video).  Assign this as extra viewing. The citation above is formatted and ready for a reading list or VLE.About the guestPaolo Surico is Professor of Economics at London Business School and a Research Fellow of CEPR. [verify URL before publishing] His research focuses on macroeconomics, monetary policy, and the economics of innovation and growth. He has advised central banks and governments on macroeconomic policy and is one of the leading empirical macroeconomists working on the aggregate effects of technology and public investment.Research cited in this episodeScience: The Endless Frontier (Vannevar Bush, 1945) is the report commissioned by President Roosevelt as the Second World War was ending. Bush, Roosevelt's chief scientific advisor, was asked to distil what the wartime mobilisation of research had taught, and how it could be translated into a peacetime innovation ecosystem. The report identified three pillars: government, to set the direction of innovation by funding areas of strategic importance; research institutes and universities, to push the frontier of knowledge without the constraint of commercial goals; and the private sector, to transform new knowledge into new products. The framework became the organisational blueprint for post-war American science and, Surico argues, is the institutional foundation of American technological and economic leadership. The report is in the public domain and available online.The NIH and NSF are the two federal agencies whose funded innovations show the strongest subsequent links to productivity growth in the paper's results. The NIH (National Institutes of Health) funds health and biomedical research; the NSF (National Science Foundation) funds basic research across science and engineering. Both are predominantly funders of university and research-institute work — which is, Surico argues, precisely why their output generates larger productivity gains than defence-funded innovation. The result is not that health research is inherently more productive than defence research; it is that both the NIH and NSF fund more basic, frontier-pushing work, and that basic research generates the largest spillovers regardless of the department that pays for it.Crowding in versus crowding out is the central empirical question in the public R&D literature. Crowding out would mean that government spending on research displaces private spending that would have happened anyway, leaving total innovation roughly unchanged. Crowding in means the opposite: public research creates opportunities and trains talent that then attracts additional private investment. The paper finds consistent evidence of crowding in, particularly when government funds flow to universities and research institutes. For every dollar of public R&D, roughly another dollar of private investment follows, typically as researchers from publicly funded institutions move into startups to commercialise what they developed. This is why the aggregate return on public R&D is more than double the return on private R&D, even though government-funded patents are only two percent of the total.The Solyndra and Tesla parallel is used to illustrate why anecdote-based arguments about public R&D are unreliable. Solyndra — a solar energy company that received a US government loan guarantee and then failed spectacularly — is a frequently cited example of government waste in innovation funding. Tesla received a loan guarantee in the same round of funding and became one of the most valuable companies in history. Surico's broader point is that the government's logic for innovation investment is high-risk, high-reward: it should expect and accept a large number of failures, because the gains from the successes — when they are large enough — more than compensate for the losses. Evaluating public R&D by its failures misses this; evaluating it by its headline successes also misses it. Systematic analysis across the whole portfolio is required.Philippe Aghion's Nobel Prize lecture is cited by Surico on the relationship between innovation, competition, and market structure. Aghion, who shared the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2018, developed Schumpeterian growth theory — the idea that economic growth is driven by creative destruction, with new entrants displacing incumbents through innovation. The key implication Surico draws on is that incumbents have a structural incentive not to innovate disruptively, because doing so would destroy the market position they already hold. Startups, which have no existing position to protect, are the natural vehicle for disruptive innovation. This is why the paper finds that government-funded startups generate larger macroeconomic impacts than government-funded incumbents: startups have both the mandate from public funding and the commercial incentive to take market share.DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is the US defence department's high-risk research arm, responsible for funding some of the most consequential technologies of the post-war era, including early internet infrastructure. Surico mentions a less celebrated DARPA project — an attempt to embed microchips into bags for tracking, before drone technology made the approach obsolete — as an example of a genuine failure. It illustrates the high failure rate that comes with high-risk public R&D, and the importance of evaluating the portfolio rather than individual projects.The Draghi report on European competitiveness is cited by Surico as a potential catalyst for a different model of European public investment in innovation. Europe's problem, in his analysis, is not the level of public spending but its composition: too much goes to procurement and too little to basic research and later-stage startup support. Europe has the talent, the research institutes, and the early-stage startups. What it consistently lacks is the capacity to fund the scaling-up phase, which causes European innovations and innovators to be commercialised in the United States. A reallocation of spending toward public R&D that acts as a venture catalyst for later-stage startups — analogous to what Vannevar Bush's framework did for the US after 1945 — is what Surico believes the Draghi report could enable, if acted on.

Caleb Watney (Institute for Progress) and Max Bodach (Foundation for American Innovation) on what the new breed of DC think tanks does differently and why the old model is broken. We discuss: Why "counterfactual policy impact" matters more than white papers and what's wrong with project-based funding Cross-partisanship vs. picking sides: IFP pulls the rope sideways, FAI builds a big tent on the right Vertical integration over specialization — the person who wrote the brief should be the one selling it on the Hill Whether AI eats the think tank or just the parts that weren't working anyway Timestamps 00:38 — Applied think tank vs. white paper mill 16:56 — Partisanship: FAI's conservative tent vs. IFP's cross-partisan design 37:09 — Why researchers should do their own comms and outreach 50:26 — Betting on young talent as policy entrepreneurs 57:56 — Will AI eat the think tank? song: https://suno.com/s/I244K1rIpPdB6lO9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Caleb Watney (Institute for Progress) and Max Bodach (Foundation for American Innovation) on what the new breed of DC think tanks does differently and why the old model is broken. We discuss: Why "counterfactual policy impact" matters more than white papers and what's wrong with project-based funding Cross-partisanship vs. picking sides: IFP pulls the rope sideways, FAI builds a big tent on the right Vertical integration over specialization — the person who wrote the brief should be the one selling it on the Hill Whether AI eats the think tank or just the parts that weren't working anyway Timestamps 00:38 — Applied think tank vs. white paper mill 16:56 — Partisanship: FAI's conservative tent vs. IFP's cross-partisan design 37:09 — Why researchers should do their own comms and outreach 50:26 — Betting on young talent as policy entrepreneurs 57:56 — Will AI eat the think tank? song: https://suno.com/s/I244K1rIpPdB6lO9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The history of the American federal civil service — what can we learn from its past glories and failures, and where should we take this next? We have ⁠Kevin Hawickhorst⁠ of the Foundation for American Innovation to discuss: The Pendleton Act myth — Why civil service reform didn't begin or end with Pendleton, and why starting the story there misses what actually made the system work. The rise of the subject-matter state — How early 20th-century agencies staffed with real experts — entomologists, engineers, agronomists — made the U.S. bureaucracy arguably the most capable in the world. From expertise to org charts — How mid-century functional reorganization hollowed out mission-driven agencies and replaced subject knowledge with process management. What competence delivered — From agricultural breakthroughs to infrastructure build-out, what a serious, technically grounded civil service was able to accomplish. Whether we can rebuild — DOGE, the abundance movement, state capacity, and why this might be the best time in decades to make the government work again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From AI-generated scams that cost Americans hundreds of dollars to voice cloning schemes, the line between real and fake is becoming harder to detect. At the same time, technology companies are setting their own limits on how these artificial intelligence tools can be used. This is raising new questions about who really controls this technology — and what that will mean for our future.Host Megan McArdle is joined by Dean Ball, a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and former White House AI policy advisor, to unpack the rapidly shifting landscape of AI governance, what it will take to rein it in — and what comes next. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The history of the American federal civil service — what can we learn from its past glories and failures, and where should we take this next? We have ⁠Kevin Hawickhorst⁠ of the Foundation for American Innovation to discuss: The Pendleton Act myth — Why civil service reform didn't begin or end with Pendleton, and why starting the story there misses what actually made the system work. The rise of the subject-matter state — How early 20th-century agencies staffed with real experts — entomologists, engineers, agronomists — made the U.S. bureaucracy arguably the most capable in the world. From expertise to org charts — How mid-century functional reorganization hollowed out mission-driven agencies and replaced subject knowledge with process management. What competence delivered — From agricultural breakthroughs to infrastructure build-out, what a serious, technically grounded civil service was able to accomplish. Whether we can rebuild — DOGE, the abundance movement, state capacity, and why this might be the best time in decades to make the government work again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

April 1, 2026 ~ Cynthia Jones, Director of Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation joins Steve Grigorian in for Paul W. Smith. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to another episode of DCR, where we dive deep into the biggest questions shaping the future of technology, power, and society. In today's conversation, Kirk Offel sits down with Emmet Penney—a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and a leading voice on nuclear energy and infrastructure.Together, they tackle some of the most contentious debates facing the data center industry: energy demand, sustainability, and the role of nuclear power in the age of AI. Emmet Penney shares his personal journey into energy policy, breaking down the misconceptions around nuclear, what it takes to get new plants built, and why community support is the missing link to the next energy revolution. Kirk Offel brings his unmatched insight from inside the data center ecosystem, pushing for a future where safe, scalable, and sustainable power is not just possible—but necessary for America to lead in the fifth industrial revolution.For more about us: https://linktr.ee/overwatchmissioncritical

My fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers in America and around the world:Anxiety is running rampant about the future of artificial intelligence and its place in society. When technology CEOs warn of an impending white-collar jobpocalypse (or jobageddon, if you prefer), it's no wonder public pessimism is so widespread. Today on Faster, Please!—The Podcast, I chat with tech policy analyst Dean Ball to help us sift through some of the uncertainty.We talk about recursive self-improvement, the role of AI in everything from medicine to defense, and what to think about the possible growing risk of AI company nationalization.(FYI: Our chat occurred just before the White House released new guidelines for AI federal legislation, about which Ball opined on X/Twitter: “The White House's proposal for a nationwide AI law is a thoughtful document that will serve as an excellent foundation for the legislative work ahead. I would be happy to see these principles, if translated well into statute, become law.”) Ball is a senior fellow at FAI, the Foundation for American Innovation. He recently served as senior policy advisor for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, as well as strategic advisor for AI at the National Science Foundation. He was previously a research fellow at the Mercatus Center and a policy fellow at Fathom. He's also the author of the excellent Hyperdimensional Substack newsletter.In This Episode* Public pessimism (1:37)* Differing narratives (4:21)* The nationalization risk (16:15)* Accountability via audit (25:55)* Productivity projection (34:18)(A lightly edited transcript of our conversation will be appear in my Week in Review issue on Saturday. Another option is using the Substack auto transcript function.)On sale everywhere The Conservative Futurist: How To Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fasterplease.substack.com/subscribe

Our host, Corbin Barthold (TechFreedom), speaks on a panel at State of the Net with Joel Thayer (Digital Progress Institute) and Ashkhen Kazaryan (The Future of Free Speech), and Luke Hogg (Foundation for American Innovation). They discuss how the First Amendment should work in a world of algorithms and AI. Links: AI + 1A: Why the First Amendment Protects Artificial Intelligence (Corbin's new paper) (https://tinyurl.com/mw5vbuzf) State of the Net 2026 Tech Podcast Policy 373: Porn and the First Amendment Tech Podcast Policy 417: Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton Is Wreaking Havoc

On Friday, March 20, the Trump Administration announced a National Policy Framework for AI. White House officials have stressed that they want Congress to act on the framework's recommendations within the year. What this all means for AI policy is an open question that warrants calling in two of the smartest folks in the business: Helen Toner, Interim Executive Director at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), and Dean Ball, a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. This rapid response episode cuts to the chase as everyone makes sense of this important development in the national AI policy conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, reauthorizing the SBIR and STTR programs through September 30, 2031. The legislation aims to strengthen research security, modernize administrative processes, and accelerate innovation, providing small businesses with essential resources. The bill, introduced by Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams, now awaits the President's signature.Learn more on this news by visiting us at: https://greyjournal.net/news/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI isn't just answering questions anymore—it's doing real work that used to take humans hours, days, or even weeks. In this wide-ranging conversation, returning guest Dean Ball, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, breaks down the massive leaps in AI since mid-2024: smarter models with true reasoning, web-searching research agents, and revolutionary coding agents that control your computer via command line to automate complex tasks.We cover:- Why AI has gone from "toy" to essential tool for professionals- The rise of coding agents (Claude Code, OpenAI tools) and real-world examples- Why so many skeptics—especially on the American right—are still skeptical (and why they're likely to get left behind)- Data center backlash, NIMBYism, energy/water concerns, and how AI companies could win more community support- Dean's experience drafting the Trump administration's AI action plan at the White House OSTP- Practical tips: Go "AI-first" in your workflow (skip Google, use Claude/Grok, integrate agents)Whether you're an AI user, skeptic, policymaker, or just curious about where this tech is headed in 2026, this episode is a reality check on what's actually working today.CHAPTERS(00:00 Introduction)(00:44 How Far AI Has Come Since 2024)(02:35 Smarter Models + Better Reasoning)(03:14 From Google Search to Real Research Reports)(03:56 Coding Agents: The New Form Factor Revolution)(05:49 Aaron's AI-First Workflow (Claude, Grok, Voice Prompting))(07:46 Real Example: Building a Manosphere Podcast Transcription Tool)(10:15 AI for Work vs. Chat/Fun – Doing Useful Stuff)(12:20 Feedback on Writing, Refining Ideas, Not Great at Pure Idea Gen)(13:45 Addressing AI Skepticism (Right & Left))(16:40 Ignorance, Cultural Animosity, & Boycotts)(18:30 Josh Hawley Example & Early Impressions)(23:00 Data Centers: NIMBY Fights, Energy, Taxes, & Community Buy-In)(30:00 Trump's AI Action Plan – What It Covers & Why)(35:00 National Security, Cyber Risks, & Prudent Steps)(42:00 Dean's White House Experience & Using AI to Help Draft)(51:00 AI Is Like a Piano – Easy to Start, Hard to Master)DEAN BALL LINKS:

Whether Americans realize it or not, federal oversight and watchdog organizations can be enormously impactful in how the government spends money, makes laws and builds for the future. So why don't more Americans know about the connections between lawmakers and oversight bodies? Fellow Tim Persons, Principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Dan Lips of the Foundation for American Innovation joined James-Christian Blockwood to discuss the importance of oversight and how we should think about the role of Congress in everything from spending to building, for the future and beyond. Management Matters is a presentation of the National Academy of Public Administration produced by Lizzie Alwan and Matt Hampton and edited by Matt Hampton. Support the Podcast Today at: donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190Episode music: Hope by Mixaund | https://mixaund.bandcamp.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comFollow us on YouTube for clips and more: @NAPAWASH_YT

Last Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that he was breaking the Pentagon's contract with the A.I. company Anthropic and would declare the company a supply chain risk — a designation for companies so dangerous, they can't exist anywhere in the U.S. military supply chain. What makes this so wild is the military is still using Anthropic's A.I. system right now. They reportedly used it during the raid to capture Maduro in Venezuela, and are now using it in the war in Iran. This story raises so many questions: Why does the government think Anthropic is so dangerous? How exactly is the government using A.I. right now? How do they want to use A.I.? And who should ultimately control this powerful and uncertain technology? Dean Ball is a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and the author of the newsletter Hyperdimensional. He served as a senior policy adviser on A.I. for the Trump White House and was the primary staff writer of their A.I. action plan. But he's been furious at the Trump administration for how it has been handling the conflict with Anthropic. So I wanted to have him on the show to explain why. Mentioned: “Hyperdimensional" by Dean Ball “What if Dario Amodei Is Right About A.I.?” The Ezra Klein Show “Stratechery” by Ben Thompson Book Recommendations: Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays by Michael Oakeshott Empire Of Liberty by Gordon S. Wood Roll, Jordan, Roll by Eugene D. Genovese Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs. This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alan Rozenshtein, associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota and research director at Lawfare, and Kevin Frazier, AI Innovation and Law Fellow at the University of Texas School of Law and senior editor at Lawfare, were joined by Dean Ball, senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and author of the Hyperdimensional newsletter, and Timothy B. Lee, author of the Understanding AI newsletter, for a joint crossover episode of the Scaling Laws and AI Summer podcasts about the escalating dispute between Anthropic and the Pentagon over AI usage restrictions in military contracts.The conversation covered the timeline of the Anthropic-Pentagon dispute and Secretary Hegseth's supply chain risk designation; the legal basis for the designation under 10 U.S.C. § 3252 and whether it was intended to apply to domestic companies; the role of personality and politics in the dispute; OpenAI's competing Pentagon contract and debate over whether its terms actually match Anthropic's red lines; public opinion polling showing bipartisan concern about AI mass surveillance and autonomous weapons; the broader question of what the government-AI industry relationship should look like; the prospect of partial or full nationalization of AI capabilities; and whether frontier AI models are actually decisive for military applications. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Suresh Krishna, CEO of Protolabs (PRLB), a digital manufacturer that helps create prototypes, joins to discuss the company and its latest financials. “We work with almost all the startups and most of the Fortune 500 companies,” he says, “We are there in every industry.” He recently assumed the mantle of CEO and notes that their most recent quarter was the best in years. They are benefitting from more companies looking to manufacture in the U.S. Suresh explains how their speed makes them like the “Amazon” of prototypes, along with the wealth of materials they use. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Before trading, read the Options Disclosure Document. http://bit.ly/2v9tH6DSubscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

Lawmakers pushing for new rules say uncertainty in U.S. patent eligibility is putting innovators at risk and giving global competitors room to run. The proposal would clarify what can be patented, streamline coordination between federal agencies, and open the door for clearer pathways to generics. I'll explore the ideas driving the reform effort with one of the bill's sponsors, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As part of the Trump 2.0: From Platform to Policy webinar series last year, National Journal editor-in-chief Jeff Dufour talked to Dean Ball, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and former Senior Policy Advisor on AI and Emerging Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. They discuss the topic of reshaping federal AI strategy and the Trump administration's AI plan.

In today's episode, Tyler wraps up the first full week of trading in 2026 with a deep dive into what's shaping up to be an exciting year for investors. From all-time highs across major indexes to critical updates in jobs data, inflation, and the Trump administration's bold economic moves. Don't miss Tyler's breakdown of the week's most important headlines and what they mean for your portfolio.

Hour 1 of https://RushToReason.com opens with urgency as John Rush and Andy Peth react to wind warnings and potential power shutoffs, asking a simple but critical question: Are you actually prepared if the lights go out? From practical readiness tips to wildfire mitigation realities, the conversation quickly turns to what preparedness really looks like in modern Colorado. The hour then pivots into one of today's biggest consumer threats: holiday scams supercharged by AI. John and Andy break down how AI-generated voices, fake bank calls, and lookalike websites are making fraud harder than ever to spot. What happens when a call sounds exactly like your bank—or even a family member? John shares a real-world example that reinforces one iron rule: always call the number on the back of your card. Next comes “The 12 Scams of Christmas”, exposing fake delivery texts, counterfeit tickets, bogus charities, gift-card demands, and social media ads offering deals that are simply impossible. If it feels too good to be true—why do people still fall for it? The hour closes with a candid discussion on antisemitism, misinformation, and ideological drift, asking why resentment and conspiracy thinking are gaining traction—and who benefits when they do. HOUR 2 Hour 2 of Rush To Reason takes a hard look at why America is losing its innovation edge—and what it could cost the country if nothing changes. John Rush is joined by Randy Landreneau, president of U.S. Inventor (https://usinventor.org), who explains how the America Invents Act of 2011 quietly shifted power away from independent inventors and toward massive corporations. Is the patent system still protecting the “inventor in the garage,” or has it become a barrier designed to invalidate ideas after the fact? From there, John and Andy widen the lens, asking deeper questions about free markets, profit motive, and innovation itself. Why do socialist systems consistently fall behind in invention? Why do people move toward freer economies—and away from more controlled ones? And what can the auto industry, heavy-duty trucks, and even Hollywood teach us about the role of competition versus guaranteed outcomes? The hour challenges long-held assumptions about education, collaboration, and creativity, arguing that competition—not consensus—drives breakthroughs. If innovation depends on risk and reward, what happens when both are removed? And can America reclaim the system that once made it the world's innovation powerhouse? HOUR 3 Hour 3 of Rush To Reason turns into a no-nonsense strategy session as John Rush and Andy Peth confront the harsh realities facing Colorado Republicans heading into the governor's race. With nearly 20 GOP candidates crowding the field, they ask the question no one wants to answer: How can a fractured party win in a deep-blue state without unity, money, or momentum? John and Andy dissect the growing online faction wars between supporters of leading candidates, warning that troll campaigns, loyalty tests, and ideological purity are actively repelling persuadable voters. They argue the field must narrow quickly—and that winning in Colorado requires more than being “right.” It takes energy, charisma, fundraising power, and the ability to reach the middle. The conversation pivots into candid evaluations of the top contenders, including Victor Marx, Scott Bottoms, Mark Baisley, and Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell, examining who can realistically build a movement without alienating the base or collapsing in the general election. Is Colorado looking for a safe choice—or a political unicorn? And can Republicans adapt to the state they're actually running in, not the one they wish they had?

Former White House staffer Dean Ball thinks it's very likely some form of 'superintelligence' arrives in under 20 years. He thinks AI being used for bioweapon research is "a real threat model, obviously." He worries about dangerous 'power imbalances' should AI companies reach "$50 trillion market caps." And he believes the agriculture revolution probably worsened human health and wellbeing.Given that, you might expect him to be pushing for AI regulation. Instead, he's become one of the field's most prominent regulation sceptics and was recently the lead writer on Trump's AI Action Plan, before moving to the Foundation for American Innovation.Links to learn more, video, and full transcript: https://80k.info/dbDean argues that the wrong regulations, deployed too early, could freeze society into a brittle, suboptimal political and economic order. As he puts it, “my big concern is that we'll lock ourselves in to some suboptimal dynamic and actually, in a Shakespearean fashion, bring about the world that we do not want.”Dean's fundamental worry is uncertainty: “We just don't know enough yet about the shape of this technology, the ergonomics of it, the economics of it… You can't govern the technology until you have a better sense of that.”Premature regulation could lock us in to addressing the wrong problem (focusing on rogue AI when the real issue is power concentration), using the wrong tools (using compute thresholds when we should regulate companies instead), through the wrong institutions (captured AI-specific bodies), all while making it harder to build the actual solutions we'll need (like open source alternatives or new forms of governance).But Dean is also a pragmatist: he opposed California's AI regulatory bill SB 1047 in 2024, but — impressed by new capabilities enabled by “reasoning models” — he supported its successor SB 53 in 2025.And as Dean sees it, many of the interventions that would help with catastrophic risks also happen to improve mundane AI safety, make products more reliable, and address present-day harms like AI-assisted suicide among teenagers. So rather than betting on a particular vision of the future, we should cross the river by feeling the stones and pursue “robust” interventions we're unlikely to regret.This episode was recorded on September 24, 2025.Chapters:Cold open (00:00:00)Who's Dean Ball? (00:01:22)How likely are we to get superintelligence soon, and how bad could it be? (00:01:54)The military may not adopt AI that fast (00:10:54)Dean's “two wolves” of AI scepticism and optimism (00:17:48)Will AI self-improvement be a game changer? (00:28:20)The case for regulating at the last possible moment (00:33:05)AI could destroy our fragile democratic equilibria. Why not freak out? (00:52:30)The case AI will soon be way overregulated (01:02:51)How to handle the threats without collateral damage (01:14:56)Easy wins against AI misuse (01:26:54)Maybe open source can be handled gracefully (01:41:13)Would a company be sued for trillions if their AI caused a pandemic? (01:47:58)Dean dislikes compute thresholds. Here's what he'd do instead. (01:57:16)Could AI advances lead to violent conflict between the US and China? (02:02:52)Will we see a MAGA-Yudkowskyite alliance? Doomers and the Right (02:12:29)The tactical case for focusing on present-day harms (02:26:51)Is there any way to get the US government to use AI sensibly? (02:45:05)Having a kid in a time of AI turmoil (02:52:38)Video and audio editing: Dominic Armstrong, Milo McGuire, Luke Monsour, and Simon MonsourMusic: CORBITCoordination, transcripts, and web: Katy Moore

In this in-depth panel discussion from the 2025 National Conference, moderator Norm Ornstein of American Enterprise Institute talks to an all-star panel including Loren DeJonge Schulman of the Federation of American Scientists, Mindy Romero from the Center for Inclusive Democracy at USC's Price School, Soren Dayton of Foundation for American Innovation, and Cecili Wake of Democracy 2076. The conversation took on a wide range of topics about how American governance could and should develop over the next half-century. Management Matters is a presentation of the National Academy of Public Administration produced by Lizzie Alwan and Matt Hampton and edited by Matt Hampton. Support the Podcast Today at: donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190Episode music: Hope by Mixaund | https://mixaund.bandcamp.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comFollow us on YouTube for clips and more: @NAPAWASH_YT

This week, we talk about Google's new plan to build data centers in space. Then, we're joined by Dean Ball, a former adviser at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Ball worked on the Trump administration's A.I. Action Plan, and he shares his inside view on how those policies came together. Finally, Professor Mark Humphries joins us to talk about a strange Gemini model that offered mind-blowing results on a challenging research problem. Guests:Dean Ball, senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and former White House senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence and emerging technologyMark Humphries, professor of history at Wilfrid Laurier UniversityAdditional Reading: Towards a Future Space-Based, Highly Scalable A.I. Infrastructure System DesignWhat It's Like to Work at the White House Has Google Quietly Solved Two of AI's Oldest Problems? We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

with @DavidSacks @pmarca @bhorowitz @eriktorenbergToday's episode features David Sacks, the Trump administration's “AI and crypto czar," in conversation with a16z cofounders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and General Partner Erik Torenberg.They dig into:how the U.S. is approaching AI and crypto policy,the fight over open source software,the status of tech regulation and legislation (like the CLARITY Act for crypto),what's at stake in the geopolitical race with China, and moreThis episode is a special crossover with the a16z podcast, which you can follow for more conversations like this.Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:16 David Sacks on Crypto and AI Policy02:34 Trump's Vision for Crypto06:16 The Crypto Crackdown and Debanking Years08:58 AI Regulatory Capture and Gatekeeping11:30 How Permissionless Innovation Built Silicon Valley16:21 "Woke" vs. Orwellian AI21:48 When AGI?24:29 Polytheistic AI and "End-to-End" Humans31:07 The Future of AI: Controlled or Decentralized?37:13 Open Source and Global Competition41:53 The AI Race: US vs China46:32 Amping Up Energy and Infrastructure47:17 Cultural Divides Over the American Tech Stack55:01 The European approach and Doomerism01:06:14 Crypto and the Legislative Process (GENIUS, CLARITY)01:11:13 The Future of the Democratic Party01:14:12 San Francisco Politics

Anita Raj, executive director of Tulane University's Newcomb Institute, has concerns over a major talent pipeline for innovation and technology in the US.

For three decades, conservatives abandoned science policy. Now they have a chance to rebuild it.That rebuilding effort comes with political challenges. Republicans' trust in science dropped thirty points over those decades. DOGE recently  slashed budgets at the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. And HHS Sec RFK jr. is casting doubt on the efficacy of vaccines to the alarm of many Republicans in Congress. But beyond the politics, American science is also facing a competitive threat from China. The Middle Kingdom invests tens of billions in biotech and quantum computing, and outpaces the U.S. in PhD STEM grads.Meanwhile, American research became a system that rewards process over results. Researchers spend 42% of their time on paperwork. Only 46% of cancer studies could be replicated. And our guest today argues that perverse incentives and bureaucracy led to decades wasted on Alzheimer's research that turned out to be fraudulent—among other misfires.Ian Banks is Director of Science Policy at the Foundation for American Innovation, which recently established the science program he leads at the organization. He and Evan discuss his vision for a renewed conservative approach to science—one that learns from diversified investment portfolios that maintain safe bets while also making room for moonshots. They get into the political challenges created by hot button issues like climate change and COVID response, how to properly fund science in the era of DOGE, and what the proper role for politics in science should be.Previously, Banks served in research roles at the Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions, the American Enterprise Institute and as a legislative aide to Rep. Bill Posey, where he focused on science, energy, and health policy. His Oxford master's thesis examined the replication crisis, and he brings firsthand experience navigating these questions during COVID from his time working on the Hill.

Biodegradable water-soluble films. Recycling that reuses molecules over and over. AI that can develop more sustainable polymers. In this conversation, Sustainably Speaking host Mia Quinn sits down with Anne Kolton, Chief Sustainability Officer at SK Capital Partners, to explore the next wave of innovation in manufacturing and materials. Anne shares how her team invests in companies developing breakthrough products, how U.S. manufacturing can launch smarter, more efficient processes, and why engineering and AI will transform the materials we all use every day. 

The day after last week's show, Apple announced its new M5 chip alongside a new Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, and iPad Pro. AWS had a major outage that took down good chunks of the internet. The Louvre had horrible security. All that and so much more to cover this week, so you can get out there and tech better. Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com INTRO (00:00) MAIN TOPIC: Apple M5 and F1 (05:40) Apple announces M5 chip and new Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro Apple and Formula 1 ink 5 year exclusive U.S. streaming deal worth about $750 million Apple and NBCUniversal introduce the Apple TV and Peacock Bundle Apple's stock price reaches new all-time high DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Get a Callback Reminder for a Missed Call (21:05) JUST THE HEADLINES: (24:45) Paxos mistakenly issues $300 Trillion of PayPal Stablecoin, exceeding global currency supply Steve Jobs to be honored on 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin Charmin announces new toilet paper roll designed to last up to a month Kohler unveils a camera for your toilet DOJ seizes $15 billion in bitcoin from massive ‘pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia Laywer caught using AI while explaining to court why he used AI The Numbers Six and Seven Are Making Life Hell for Math Teachers LISTENER MAIL: Don't use your work email for personal stuff PSA (31:00) TAKES: AWS services recover after daylong outage hits major sites (33:10) Veritas AI program for high schools (38:55) Louvre heist raises decades old questions about museum security - How the Louvre jewelry heist unfolded (41:45) BONUS ODD TAKE: 50 unedited photos so confusing they don't look real (45:30) PICKS OF THE WEEK:  Dave:  Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet (newest model) built for relaxation, 10.1" vibrant Full HD screen, octa-core processor, 3 GB RAM, 32 GB, Ocean (49:15) Nate: NEEWER Selfie Stick with Detachable Bluetooth Remote Shutter, Lightweight Foldable Travel Tripod for iPhone for YouTube/TikTok Vlogs Live Streaming Photography, Black, P15 (58:00) RAMAZON PURCHASE OF THE WEEK (01:01:35)

Apple has released three new devices with the M5 processor, but very few other changes. The new MacBook Pro, Apple Vision Pro, and iPad Pro are all better than their predecessors -- and they are at the same price -- but the question is whether or not they are worth upgrading to.Contact your hosts:@williamgallagher_ on Threads@WGallagher on TwitterWilliam's 58keys on YouTubeWilliam Gallagher on email@hillithreads on Threads@Hillitech on TwitterWes on BlueskyWes Hilliard on emailSponsored by:Private Internet Access: get 83% off Private Internet Access's VPN with four months free at PIAVPN.com/AppleInsiderCleanMyMac by MacPaw: Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use my code APPLEINSIDER20 for 20% off at clnmy.com/AppleInsiderPodcastSurfshark: go to https://surfshark.com/appleinsider or use code appleinsider at checkout to get4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!Links from the Show:How much faster is M5 versus M4?Apple Vision Pro gets spec bump to M5 for enhanced spatial computingYou can't trade-in Apple Vision Pro for a new one - yetApple Vision Pro Dual Knit Band and more accessories hit Apple StoreLakers fans will get court-side seats with Apple Vision ProNew iPad Pro arrives with M5 speed, Wi-Fi 7, and Apple's C1X modemiPad Pro M5 vs M4 iPad Pro: Where Apple's best tablet got updated14-inch M5 MacBook Pro is here without Pro and Max versionsM5 MacBook Pro vs M4 MacBook Pro: Incremental but welcome upgradeSVP Eddy Cue talks Apple TV, hints at subscriber numbers, & dropping the +Apple TV ditch of 'plus' just adds to Apple's video branding confusionApple TV+ loses the Plus in Apple's quietest rebranding exercise everRumored Apple Home Hub tablet to be made in Vietnam, cost $350Health+ could debut in 2026 as Apple's next subscription serviceApple Clips social video app killed after eight yearsSteve Jobs featured on American Innovation $1 gold coin for 2026Support the show:Support the show on Patreon or Apple Podcasts to get ad-free episodes every week, access to our private Discord channel, and early release of the show! We would also appreciate a 5-star rating and review in Apple PodcastsMore AppleInsider podcastsTune in to our HomeKit Insider podcast covering the latest news, products, apps and everything HomeKit related. Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, or just search for HomeKit Insider wherever you get your podcasts.Subscribe and listen to our AppleInsider Daily podcast for the latest Apple news Monday through Friday. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.Those interested in sponsoring the show can reach out to us at: advertising@appleinsider.com (00:00) - Intro (00:29) - M5 iPad Pro (14:16) - M5 Apple Vision Pro (37:11) - Dual Knit Band and other accessories (53:33) - M5 MacBook Pro (56:21) - Apple TV minus (01:02:43) - Clips (01:04:19) - Coining it in ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Squeaky lawsuit. National holidays and celebrity birthdays over the weekend. Body cameras in Chicago. Ukraine. The rich get richer. American Innovation $1 Coin Program. Pennies are harder to find. Plus local news and sports.

Send us a textWatch the video!https://youtu.be/0UqHTAelAHIIn the News blog post for October 17, 2025https://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2025/10/in-the-news800.html 00:00 Happy 800 Post!00:51 M5 > M417:55 Apple TV is Nonplussed23:23 Coining History27:28 16,000 Selfies Every Second38:45 Missing CarPlay42:53 Cha-Ching Exploits!46:25 In the Show! F1 Royale54:51 Design Deluxe55:27 Brett's Watch Tip: Adjust brightness on Apple Watch flashlight1:01:23 Jeff's Gadget: DODOcase for iPadJohn Voorhees | MacStories: Apple Debuts New 14” MacBook Pro with the M5 ChipJeff's Review: Apple updates the iPad ProDan Moren | Six Colors: Apple launches M5 powered Vision Pro with new Dual Knit BandHarley Charlton | MacRumors: Discontinued M2 Vision Pro Not Available for Trade-InJason Snell | Six Colors: Maybe it's time to rename the Apple TV 4KMarcus Mendes | 9to5Mac: Steve Jobs to be honored on 2026 American Innovation $1 CoinSahil Mohan Gupta | BW Businessworld: Exclusive: Jon McCormack On How Apple Reinvented The Selfie For The iPhone 17David Sparks | MacSparky: Rivian and CarPlayMichael Simon | Macworld: If you find an Apple vulnerability, you could walk away with $2MAlex Sherman | CNBC: Apple's Eddy Cue says sports streaming needs fixing as company nears F1 rights dealDesign is how it works | AppleBrett's Watch Tip: Adjust the brightness on your Apple Watch flashlight with the Digital Crownhttps://support.apple.com/guide/watch/use-the-flashlight-apde99fd96c4/watchos Jeff's Gadget: DODOcase - turn your iPad into a nice bookhttps://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2013/01/review-dodocase-hardcover-ipad-mini-mobilefun.html https://dodocase.com/ Support the showBrett Burney from http://www.appsinlaw.comJeff Richardson from http://www.iphonejd.com

“Starting small, but aspiring to grow” defines the little tech agenda. Big Tech companies often depend on smaller innovators for key components of manufacturing and new technologies. With this dependence on little tech, what are the “gaps” in its agenda? The U.S. has technological capital waiting to be unlocked by small innovators. What steps can be taken to address this gap and channel little tech's efforts towards our national interests? Can we strike a balance between Big Tech and little tech to further the goals of the United States’ technological development? Join the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project and host Prof. Kevin Frazier for an in-depth discussion of the “Little Tech Agenda” with special guest Sam Hammond, Foundation of American Innovation.

Last week, we hosted the first ever American Innovation and Abundance Program at Climate Week NYC. Leaders from across US policy, business, and civil society took the stage to share how we can best drive forward climate action across America.Hear from actor and activist Jane Fonda and California Attorney General Rob Bonta on their strategies to build a movement and make substantive progress on meeting our climate goals.

Kevin Werbach interviews Dean Ball, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and one of the key shapers of the Trump Administration's approach to AI policy. Ball reflects on his career path from writing and blogging to shaping federal policy, including his role as Senior Policy Advisor for AI and Emerging Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he was the primary drafter of the Trump Administration's recent AI Action Plan. He explains how he has developed influence through a differentiated viewpoint: rejecting the notion that AI progress will plateau and emphasizing that transformative adoption is what will shape global competition. He critiques both the Biden administration's “AI Bill of Rights” approach, which he views as symbolic and wasteful, and the European Union's AI Act, which he argues imposes impossible compliance burdens on legacy software while failing to anticipate the generative AI revolution. By contrast, he describes the Trump administration's AI Action Plan as focused on pragmatic measures under three pillars: innovation, infrastructure, and international security. Looking forward, he stresses that U.S. competitiveness depends less on being first to frontier models than on enabling widespread deployment of AI across the economy and government. Finally, Ball frames tort liability as an inevitable and underappreciated force in AI governance, one that will challenge companies as AI systems move from providing information to taking actions on users' behalf. Dean Ball is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, author of Hyperdimensional, and former Senior Policy Advisor at the White House OSTP. He has also held roles at the National Science Foundation, the Mercatus Center, and Fathom. His writing spans artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, bioengineering, infrastructure, public finance, and governance, with publications at institutions including Hoover, Carnegie, FAS, and American Compass. Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zLLOkndlN2UYuQe-9ZvZNLhiD3e2TPZS/view America's AI Action Plan Dean Ball's Hyperdimensional blog  

Rivka Galchen reads her story “Unreasonable,” from the September 29, 2025, issue of the magazine. Galchen is the author of three books of fiction, including the story collection “American Innovations" and the novel “Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch,” which was published in 2021. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Today's blockchain and cryptocurrency news  Bitcoin is up slightly at $115,579 Eth is up slightly at $4,311 XRP, is down slightly at $3.01 Tether brings in Bo Hines Treasury Dept moving forward with new stablecoin framework SEC delays ETF decisions. AIP non-profit launches Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Scaling Laws, Dean Ball, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and former Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, joins Kevin Frazier, AI Innovation and Law Fellow at the University of Texas School of Law and a Senior Editor at Lawfare, and Alan Rozenshtein, Associate Professor at Minnesota Law and Research Director at Lawfare, to share an inside perspective of the Trump administration's AI agenda, with a specific focus on the AI Action Plan. The trio also explore Dean's thoughts on the recently released ChatGPT-5 and the ongoing geopolitical dynamics shaping America's domestic AI policy.Find Scaling Laws on the Lawfare website, and subscribe to never miss an episode.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Gibson and Danielle Strachman, co-founders of 1517 Fund, join the show to discuss their rebellion against higher education, why universities stifle creativity, why IQ doesn't correlate with innovation, and how betting on "misfit toys" is the way to go—plus we explore Girardian mimesis, the perishable nature of creativity, the laziness of pessimistic storytelling and MORE! I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that's interesting!”, check out our Substack. Important Links: 1517 Fund Michael's Twitter Danielle's Twitter 1517 Substack Show Notes: Why 1517 Fund Rebels Against Higher Education Giving Individuals a Shot “It's cool to be building stuff, it's not cool to be a Thiel Fellow” The ‘ATM Founder' and ‘Rich Too Early' Syndrome The Power of Predictive Character Traits Flipping Credentialist Thinking "How do we become Spielberg? How do we do something truly great?" Simple Memes and Powerful Narratives Avoiding a Monoculture of Misfits The Incestuous Universities Scene Choosing Your Own Path People Contain Multitudes Michael and Danielle as World Emperor and Empress Books & Essays Mentioned: A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age; by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions; by Todd Rose "A Gift for My Daughter"; by Harry Browne (Full text available here) Paper Belt on Fire; by Michael Gibson The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation; by Jon Gertner The Right Stuff; by Tom Wolfe The Status Game; by Will Storr The Two Cultures; by C.P. Snow What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy White Mirror: Stories; by Tinkered Thinking Zero to One; by Peter Thiel The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley; by Jimmy Soni Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar; by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World; by Harry Browne

Colette Delawalla, the founder and executive director of Stand Up for Science, joins the podcast to talk about how the Trump administration's cuts to scientific research undermine American innovation. Colette and Colin also talk about the larger ramifications for what appears to be an increasingly fragile U.S. economy and how to fight back. 

Made in the West: American Innovation in OverlandingWhat does overland innovation look like when it's born in a Montana machine shop instead of an international trade show? In this episode, we sit down with Matt Linder, CEO of Truckhouse, and Graeme MacPherson of Go Fast Campers—two leaders shaping the future of American-made expedition vehicles. From composite monocoques to ultra-light pop-up campers, both are proving that thoughtful design and domestic manufacturing can still punch above their weight. This conversation explores the philosophy behind their products, the value of restraint in design, and why American ingenuity still matters in a space often dominated by imported gear.

The race to develop ever-more-powerful AI is creating an unstable dynamic. It could lead us toward either dystopian centralized control or uncontrollable chaos. But there's a third option: a narrow path where technological power is matched with responsibility at every step.Sam Hammond is the chief economist at the Foundation for American Innovation. He brings a different perspective to this challenge than we do at CHT. Though he approaches AI from an innovation-first standpoint, we share a common mission on the biggest challenge facing humanity: finding and navigating this narrow path.This episode dives deep into the challenges ahead: How will AI reshape our institutions? Is complete surveillance inevitable, or can we build guardrails around it? Can our 19th-century government structures adapt fast enough, or will they be replaced by a faster moving private sector? And perhaps most importantly: how do we solve the coordination problems that could determine whether we build AI as a tool to empower humanity or as a superintelligence that we can't control?We're in the final window of choice before AI becomes fully entangled with our economy and society. This conversation explores how we might still get this right.Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_. You can find a full transcript, key takeaways, and much more on our Substack.RECOMMENDED MEDIA Tristan's TED talk on the Narrow PathSam's 95 Theses on AISam's proposal for a Manhattan Project for AI SafetySam's series on AI and LeviathanThe Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty by Daron Acemoglu and James RobinsonDario Amodei's Machines of Loving Grace essay.Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World by Deirdre McCloskeyThe Paradox of Libertarianism by Tyler CowenDwarkesh Patel's interview with Kevin Roberts at the FAI's annual conferenceFurther reading on surveillance with 6GRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESAGI Beyond the Buzz: What Is It, and Are We Ready?The Self-Preserving Machine: Why AI Learns to Deceive The Tech-God Complex: Why We Need to be Skeptics Decoding Our DNA: How AI Supercharges Medical Breakthroughs and Biological Threats with Kevin EsveltCORRECTIONSSam referenced a blog post titled “The Libertarian Paradox” by Tyler Cowen. The actual title is the “Paradox of Libertarianism.” Sam also referenced a blog post titled “The Collapse of Complex Societies” by Eli Dourado. The actual title is “A beginner's guide to sociopolitical collapse.”