The Decoded Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Why gun safety groups are turning to AI Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

Everytown for Gun Safety is deploying artificial intelligence in the divisive debate over gun control. And its newly launched chatbot, “Ask Everytown,” will answer questions about gun violence prevention. But research shows AI not only has the power to inform people, but to persuade them — even people with entrenched political views. On POLITICO Tech, Everytown’s senior vice president of law and policy, Nick Suplina, joins host Steven Overly to discuss the advocacy group’s AI ambitions.

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How Trump's AI ambitions are at odds with a wonky energy agency Jan 31, 2025

Show notes

In order to satisfy AI's big energy demands, President Donald Trump wants data centers to connect directly to power plants. But his plan could face problems because of a wonky federal energy regulatory agency: the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. On POLITICO Tech, guest host Nirmal Mulaikal and POLITICO energy reporter Catherine Morehouse discuss why Trump could have trouble getting regulators on board with his plan and what’s at stake in the global AI race.

Catherine Morehouse is an energy reporter for POLITICO and the author of Morning Energy.

Nirmal Mulaikal is a POLITICO audio host-producer.

Steven Overly is the host of POLITICO Tech.

Alex Keeney is a senior audio producer at POLITICO.

Kara Tabor is an audio producer for POLITICO.

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Trump’s real trade fight with China: tech dominance Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

President Donald Trump is expected to begin his global trade war as soon as Saturday, and the tech industry will surely find itself in the crossfire. His promise to slap new tariffs on China, in particular, could leave some tech companies vulnerable to retaliation from Beijing. On POLITICO Tech, longtime journalist and POLITICO contributor Bob Davis joins host Steven Overly to discuss how U.S.-China tech competition will be a defining dynamic in Trump’s coming trade war.

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U.S. vs. China: Japan’s big tech investor picks a side Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

Three tech executives stood beside President Donald Trump at the White House last week and pledged to spend $500 billion to build AI data centers. Two of them are household names in the U.S. The third isn’t as well known: Masayoshi Son, the chairman and CEO of SoftBank. But Son has long been a global power player in tech and, when it comes to Trump, a shrewd political player as well. On POLITICO Tech, journalist Lionel Barber, who wrote a biography about Son called “Gambling Man,” joins host Steven Overly to share more of Son’s story, and explain why his latest embrace of Trump sends a message to both Washington and Beijing.

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Why everyone is talking about China's DeepSeek Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

Over the weekend, Silicon Valley had a collective freakout. A Chinese company called DeepSeek released a new artificial intelligence model on par with American rivals, and appeared to do so at a fraction of the cost. For Washington and Wall Street, it’s a major wake up call that China’s AI ambitions haven’t been stifled. On POLITICO Tech, Center for a New American Security fellow Bill Drexel joins host Steven Overly to break down the significance of DeepSeek — starting with whether it’s a sign that China is winning the AI race.

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Former Rep. Will Hurd on Trump’s tech agenda Jan 27, 2025

Show notes

President Donald Trump’s first week in office was a fire hose of tech policy news, from executive orders to AI initiatives. To help break down Trump’s tech agenda so far, POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly called up former Congressman Will Hurd. The Texas Republican was at the forefront of tech and cyber issues in Congress, and he’s now the chief strategy officer at a defense tech firm. Though Hurd wasn’t supportive of Trump’s return — and even ran against him — he explains why he sees a lot of common ground on tech.

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Elon Musk has a lot to say. We picked 199 quotes. Jan 24, 2025

Show notes

A lot has been written about billionaire Elon Musk and his business empire. But his wealth and influence is now greater than ever as he entered the White House this week with President Donald Trump. POLITICO senior staff writer Michael Kruse set out to understand Musk through 199 of his own quotes, words that offer insight into his upbringing, his career and his outlook. On POLITICO Tech, Kruse joins host Steven Overly to lay out what he learned.

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All about Stargate, the AI project splitting Musk and Trump Jan 23, 2025

Show notes

President Donald Trump brought the leaders of OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank to the White House this week, and announced they will spend $500 billion to build AI data centers. But Trump’s photo-op moment was quickly dissed online… by his Silicon Valley confidante, Elon Musk. On POLITICO Tech, E&E News energy technology editor Christa Marshall joins host Steven Overly to discuss the new AI initiative, called Stargate.

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A big pivot from ‘techlash’ to Trump Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

President Donald Trump kicked off his return to the White House with a spate of executive orders aimed at the tech sector — and marked a new era for tech in Washington. But the industry’s big show at the inauguration doesn’t mean the next four years will be easy. On POLITICO Tech, the president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Rob Atkinson, joins host Steven Overly to discuss Trump’s initial actions and why the industry should still have its guard up.

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Tech is the belle of Trump’s ball Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

In Washington, seating charts are not left to chance. And yesterday’s inauguration sent a message that Big Tech not only has a seat at President Donald Trump’s table — but a really good one. And that industry leaders are more than happy to have it. Digital Future Daily author Derek Robertson joins host Steven Overly to discuss Trump’s brand of digital populism, and why his campaign rhetoric and embrace of wealthy technocrats may not be as incongruent as it seems.

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