Donald Trump has signed an executive order limiting state regulation on artificial intelligence. On this week’s On the Media, Republicans spar over AI, and what deregulating the industry means for the rest of us. Plus, how AI fakery got better in 2025.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Maria Curi, tech policy reporter for Axios and author of the Axios Pro: Tech Policy newsletter, to chat about the massive bets that Silicon Valley and the White House are making on artificial intelligence.

[13:10] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Stephen Witt, author of the book The Thinking Machine, about the massive infrastructure project, and potential problem, that is AI.

[28:54] Brooke speaks with Craig Silverman, cofounder of Indicator, about why Big Tech embraced fakeness in 2025, and what that means for 2026 and beyond.

Further reading / watching:

• “States defiant in face of Trump's AI executive order,” by Maria Curi
• “MAGA scrambles to influence Trump's AI executive order,” Maria Curi
• “Inside the Data Centers That Train A.I. and Drain the Electrical Grid,” by Stephen Witt
• “2025: The year tech embraced fakeness,” by Craig Silverman & Alexios Mantzarlis

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This year, Silicon Valley poured its collective resources in AI. Billions and billions of dollars. But behind the snazzy ads and glowing endorsements, some users and journalists are warning of bigger issues with the largely unregulated industry. Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Craig Silverman, cofounder of Indicator, a publication dedicated to understanding and investigating digital deception, to discuss his article arguing that this is the year Big Tech embraced fakeness.

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The Supreme Court appears ready to let Donald Trump fire Federal Trade Commission members at will. On this week’s On the Media, why the court’s expansion of presidential powers would impact the entire government. Plus, how two Hollywood giants are squaring off over a massive merger.

[02:47] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Noah Rosenblum, associate professor of law at New York University, to discuss how the Supreme Court’s pending decision in Trump v. Slaughter could radically expand the president’s power, and the history behind the case.

[23:02] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Oliver Darcy, lead author of the newsletter Status and co-host of the podcast Power Lines, about the moguls at Netflix and Paramount Skydance battling over Warner Brothers Discovery, and what this means for the future of CNN, which is owned by Warner Brothers Discovery, and Hollywood.

[37:41] Micah speaks with Joel Simon, founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, about what happened with Blake Lively’s legal team subpoenaed Perez Hilton, the gossip blogger, and why expanding the legal framework of journalistic protections is essential.

Further reading / watching:

• The Supreme Court Is About to Hand Trump a Cudgel in the Paramount-Netflix Fight, by Mark Joseph Stern
• The CNN Sacrifice, by Oliver Darcy
• The O.G. News Influencer, by Joel Simon

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.