This episode includes an Overtime segment that’s available to paid subscribers. If you’re not a paid subscriber, we of course encourage you to become one. If you are a paid subscriber, you can access the complete conversation either via the audio and video on this post or by setting up the paid-subscriber podcast feed, which includes all exclusive audio content. To set that up, simply grab the RSS feed from this page (by first clicking the “...” icon on the audio player) and paste it into your favorite podcast app.
If you have trouble completing the process, check out this super-simple how-to guide.
0:00 Teaser
2:43 The Midas Project and the OpenAI files
12:19 What’s “Build American AI” up to?
21:00 Nathan Leamer, astroturfer and sock puppeteer
29:04 Greg Brockman, AI lobby bankroller
35:13 Astroturfing the China panic
39:51 Is OpenAI an innocent bystander?
48:31 Heading to Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Tyler Johnston (The Midas Project). Recorded June 09, 2026.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Overtime titles:
The Midas metaphor.
Rationalists vs effective altruists.
China hawkism within AI safety circles.
The Oppenheimer analogy.
Doomerism among AI's founding fathers.
Is Big Tech closing in on almonds?
The jagged edge of Marc Andreessen's intelligence.
Overtime video:







