10 Best Karen Hao Podcasts in 2025

1. Karen Hao: Superintelligence & Supreme Hype on the A.I. Frontier

Follow Play Jun 09, 2025 1:19:26
Website Apple Spotify YouTube
About Episode John is joined by journalist Karen Hao to discuss her new book, “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI,” and both the promise and the perils of the coming age of artificial intelligence. Hao explains how OpenAI went from being an altruistic nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that A.I. would “benefit all of humanity” to a burgeoning commercial colossus valued at north of $300 billion; how Altman wrested control of the company from his co-founder Elon Musk; why skepticism is warranted regarding the claims that superhuman A.I. is inevitable; and how that narrative, true or not, serves the economic and political interests of the cabal of tech bros who are A.I.’s most fervent boosters. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoicesMORE Podcast Title Impolitic with John Heilemann
Podcast Description Join Puck’s chief political columnist, MSNBC/NBC News national affairs analyst, and best-selling author John Heilemann as he roams the corridors of power and influence in America on this twice-weekly interview show, taking you behind the scenes and beyond the headlines with the people who shape and shift our culture: icons and up-and-comers, incumbents and insurgents, moguls and machers in the overlapping worlds of politics, entertainment, tech, business, sports, media, and beyond. The conversations are rich and revealing, unrehearsed and unexpected … and reliably impolitic. A Puck-Audacy joint, new episodes drop every Wednesday and Friday.MORE Host John Heilemann
Guest Karen Hao
Producer/Network Audacy
Email ****@gmail.com
Apple Rating 4.8/5Facebook 28.1KTwitter 360.9K Avg Length 67 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

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2. Is OpenAI Building an Empire or a Religion?

Follow Play Jun 05, 2025 36:21
Website Apple Spotify
About Episode Some companies just build products. Others build empires — with innovative leaders who inspire fierce devotion. But when does innovation become something more like faith? Tech journalist Karen Hao joins Audie Cornish to talk about the rise of Sam Altman, the near-religious culture growing around AI, and what it all means for our future — whether you’re feeling hopeful, skeptical, or somewhere in between.  Karen Hao’s book is called Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI  Listen to our interview with the CEO of Microsoft AI, Mustafa Suleyman.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesMORE Podcast Title The Assignment with Audie Cornish
Podcast Description Every Thursday on The Assignment, host Audie Cornish explores the animating forces of this extraordinary American political moment. It’s not about the horse race, it’s about the larger cultural ideas driving the conversation: the role of online influencers on the electorate, the intersection of pop culture and politics, and discussions with primary voices and thinkers who are shaping the political conversation.MORE Host Audie Cornish
Guest Karen Hao
Producer/Network CNN
Email ****@cnn.com
Apple Rating 4.6/5Facebook 41.3MTwitter 63.6MInstagram 21.7M Avg Length 28 min Format Medium form Since Jun 2020 Get Email Contact

3. Empire of AI: Inside OpenAI’s Race to Conquer the Future | Karen Hao

Follow Play May 19, 2025 1:07:23
Website Apple Spotify
About Episode In Episode 418 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas sits down with award-winning journalist Karen Hao to discuss Empire of AI — her inside account of how OpenAI evolved from an idealistic, safety-first nonprofit into one of the world’s most valuable private companies in its race to conquer the future. This conversation takes you inside that transformation—from the heady idealism of OpenAI’s founding, through the billion-dollar Microsoft deal and the 2023 boardroom coup, to the unresolved questions that hang over Silicon Valley and Washington alike about the private concentration of power in the age of artificial intelligence and the nature of the world we are building. Whether you’re an investor, a policymaker, or simply a concerned citizen trying to make sense of today’s headlines, this episode will equip you with the context you need to understand what’s really at stake in the race for AGI—and the levers we still have to steer it. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you’d like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today’s episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Joining our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 05/12/2025 MORE Podcast Title Hidden Forces
Podcast Description Get the edge with Hidden Forces where media entrepreneur and financial analyst Demetri Kofinas gives you access to the people and ideas that matter, so you can build financial security and always stay ahead of the curve.MORE Host Demetri Kofinas
Guest Karen Hao
Producer/Network Demetri Kofinas
Email ****@hiddenforces.io
Apple Rating 4.8/5 Avg Length 49 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

4. Karen Hao on How AI Colonialism Is Threatening the World: Part 2

Follow Play Jun 04, 2025 59:00
Website Apple
About Episode Extended interview with Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. The book documents the rise of OpenAI and how the AI industry is leading to a new form of colonialism.MORE Podcast Title Democracy Now! Audio
Podcast Description Democracy Now! is an independent daily TV & radio news program, hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. We provide daily global news headlines, in-depth interviews and investigative reports without any advertisements or government funding. Our programming shines a spotlight on corporate and government abuses of power and lifts up the stories of ordinary people working to make change in extraordinary times. Democracy Now! is live weekdays at 8am ET and available 24/7 through our website and podcasts.MORE Hosts Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman
Guest Karen Hao
Producer/Network Democracy Now!
Email ****@rutgers.edu
Apple Rating 4.7/5Facebook 1.4MTwitter 836.1KInstagram 1.3M Avg Length 59 min Format Long form Since Apr 2017 Get Email Contact

5. A.I. Companies Believe They're Making God with Karen Hao

Follow Play May 28, 2025 1:10:13
Website Apple Spotify
About Episode EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/adamconover Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Silicon Valley has started treating AI like a religion. Literally. This week, Adam sits down with Karen Hao, author of EMPIRE OF AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI to talk about what it means for all of us when tech bros with infinite money think they’re inventing god. Find Karen's book at factuallypod.com/books -- SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconover SEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/ SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on: » Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577 » Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWydBlDyJ About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com. » SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1 » FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum » FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/ » FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum » Advertise on Factually! via Gumball.fm See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. MORE Podcast Title Factually! with Adam Conover
Podcast Description Comedian Adam Conover talks to exceptional experts, revealing shocking truths and thought-provoking new perspectives. It’s an investigative comedy podcast for curious people who never stop asking questions.MORE Host Adam Conover
Guest Karen Hao
Producer/Network Headgum
Email ****@headgum.com
Apple Rating 4.7/5Twitter 2K Avg Length 68 min Format Long form Since May 2019 Get Email Contact

6. “Empire of AI” with Karen Hao

Follow Play Jun 03, 2025 50:27
Website Apple Spotify YouTube
About Episode There’s a good chance that before November of 2022, you hadn’t heard of tech nonprofit OpenAI or cofounder Sam Altman. But over the last few years, they’ve become household names with the explosive growth of the generative AI tool called ChatGPT. What’s been going on behind the scenes at one of the most influential companies in history and what effect has this had on so many facets of our lives? Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and the author of “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI” and has covered the impacts of artificial intelligence on society. She joins WITHpod to discuss the trajectory AI has been on, economic effects, whether or not she thinks the AI bubble will pop and more. MORE Podcast Title Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast
Podcast Description Every week Chris Hayes asks the big questions that keep him up at night. How do we make sense of this unprecedented moment in world history? Why is this (all) happening? This podcast starts to answer these questions. Writers, experts, and thinkers who are also trying to get to the bottom of them join Chris to break it all down and help him get a better night’s rest. “Why is this Happening?” is presented by MSNBC and NBCNews Think.MORE Host Chris Hayes
Guest Karen Hao
Producer/Network MSNBC
Email ****@gmail.com
Apple Rating 4.6/5Facebook 3.7MTwitter 2.2MInstagram 2.3M Avg Length 55 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

7. We All Suffer from OpenAI’s Pursuit of Scale w/ Karen Hao

Follow Play Jun 12, 2025 51:18
Website Apple Spotify
About Episode Paris Marx is joined by Karen Hao to discuss how Sam Altman’s goal of scale at all costs has spawned a new empire founded on exploitation of people and the environment, resulting in not only the loss of valuable research into more inventive AI systems, but also exacerbated data privacy issues, intellectual property erosion, and the perpetuation of surveillance capitalism. Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and the author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: Karen was the first journalist to profile OpenAI. Karen has reported on the environmental impacts and human costs of AI. The New York Times reported on Why We're Unlikely to Get Artificial General Intelligence Anytime Soon.  Support the show MORE Podcast Title Tech Won't Save Us
Podcast Description Silicon Valley wants to shape our future, but why should we let it? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its big promises, and the people behind them. Tech Won’t Save Us challenges the notion that tech alone can drive our world forward by showing that separating tech from politics has consequences for us all, especially the most vulnerable. It’s not your usual tech podcast.MORE Host Paris Marx
Guest Karen Hao
Producer/Network Paris Marx
Email ****@parismarx.com
Apple Rating 4.8/5Facebook 405Twitter 36.8K Avg Length 58 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

8. Sam Altman, OpenAI and the Future of Artificial (General) Intelligence

Follow Play May 22, 2025 51:39
Website Apple Spotify
About Episode Few technological advances have made the kind of splash –– and had the potential long-term impact –– that ChatGPT did in November 2022. It made a nonprofit called OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, household names around the world. Today, ChatGPT is still the world’s most popular AI Chatbot; OpenAI recently closed a $40 billion funding deal, the largest private tech deal on record. But who is Sam Altman? And was it inevitable that OpenAI would become such a huge player in the AI space? Kara speaks to two fellow tech reporters who have tackled these questions in their latest books: Keach Hagey is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Her book is called “The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI and the Race to Reinvent the Future.” Karen Hao writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series. Her book is called “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI.” They speak to Kara about Altman’s background, his short firing/rehiring in 2023 known as “The Blip”, how Altman used OpenAI’s nonprofit status to recruit AI researchers and get Elon Musk on board, and whether OpenAI’s mission is still to reach AGI, artificial general intelligence. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesMORE Podcast Title On with Kara Swisher
Podcast Description It's on. Twice a week, award-winning journalist Kara Swisher gets to the heart of the story through no-holds-barred interviews with power players across business, tech, media, politics and beyond. So why do her guests show up? “Smart people,” says Kara, “like difficult questions.” Mondays and Thursdays from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. MORE Host Kara Anne Swisher
Guest Karen Hao
Producer/Network Vox Media Podcast Network
Email ****@voxmedia.com
Apple Rating 4.2/5 Avg Length 58 min Format Long form Get Email Contact