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Zuck's Meta Manifesto, Data Center Wars, and AI Slop Pushback
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Kevin Roose & Casey Newton Announce New AI Media Company
At 3:11 · chapter starts 1:05
Kara Swisher opens Scott-Free August by welcoming Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, who waste no time dropping their news: they've caught 'founderitis' and are leaving the New York Times's Hard Fork podcast to co-found an independent AI-focused media company. Kevin explains that Hard Fork was originally a 2021 bet on crypto — hence the name — and since that bet proved wrong, a fresh brand is warranted. The new show will publish at least twice a week and will be YouTube-first, banking on video to reach a wider audience [1] — Kevin Roose "Kevin Roose and Casey Newton are leaving the NYT's 'Hard Fork' after catching 'founderitis' — the Silicon Valley affliction that turns midd…" 02:18 . Casey credits Kara with pushing him toward independence from almost the beginning of Hard Fork. In a warm moment, Kevin formally asks Kara to be the 'podmother' of their new podcast — she accepts immediately, with the caveat that the name had better be good. Kevin's book, 'The AGI Chronicles,' covering a decade of AI history, is also set to release in early October.
Kevin Roose and Casey Newton are leaving the NYT's 'Hard Fork' after catching 'founderitis' — the Silicon Valley affliction that turns middle-aged men into startup founders. They're launching an independent, YouTube-first podcast covering AI at least twice a week, with Kara Swisher named its 'podmother.'
Kevin Roose has a book called 'The AGI Chronicles,' covering the last 10 years in AI, releasing in early October 2026 alongside his new independent podcast launch.
Mark Zuckerberg published another unedited 6,500-word manifesto laying out Meta's AI vision, arguing AI concerns are overblown and advocating for government collaboration on model releases.
Meta's AI manifesto conveniently advocates for the exact policies — like unlimited model distillation — that benefit a company that is not at the frontier. Kevin Roose puts it bluntly: the vision 'happens to suit Meta's business priorities almost exactly, and I don't think that's an accident.'
