Life with Machines
Episodes
Big Tech Is Coming for Rural America. Young People Are Ready.
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when Silicon Valley's AI boom collides with rural America and Indigenous communities? Big Tech is pouring hundreds of billions into data ...
Whose Future Are We Building? (cross-post)
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Baratunde joins filmmakers Valerie Veach and Charlie Terrell, Mozilla's Dio Ade, and Kena's Christie Marqueese at Sundance 2026's Solidarity House to ...
ICE, Deepfakes, and What's Real w/ Sam Gregory
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In an era of deepfakes and AI manipulation, recording reality is vital. This episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde sits down with returning gues...
AI Is Monetizing Our Mental Health
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Life with Machines, we explore the rise of AI as a substitute for human emotional support systems. With a focus on mental health, t...
BLAIR's Dead. Long Live BLAIR?
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde checks back in on BLAIR — the show’s AI co-producer and ongoing experiment in living with AI. Joi...
We Were The Machines - My AfroTech Keynote (cross-post)
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde shares his full Afrotech keynote plus a personal intro about where this show is headed and why this m...
The Real Reason Students Cheat Using AI
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Life With Machines, we explore the widespread issue of students using AI to cheat in school, and ask the hard question: Is this jus...
AI Joins the Family
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've got another cross-post for you featuring Raising Us host Elise Hu talking with Baratunde about how children and adults can navigate the evolving...
Who Tells Our Story in the Age of AI? (cross-post)
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today's cross-post, Baratunde is the guest on an episode from the acclaimed podcast 'No Small Endeavor' hosted by Lee C. Camp, an award-winning the...
When Machines Become Our Coworkers (cross-post)
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this cross-post from the Pioneers of AI podcast, Baratunde and Dr. Rana el Kaliouby dive into the wild world of AI as a teammate, not just a tool. ...
Every Parent Needs to Have “The AI Talk”
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are we using Gen Z as our AI guinea pigs? 🐷 In this first episode of our five-part Life With Machines x Young Futures series, Baratunde Thurston e...
Does Connecting with Our Humanity Require Disconnecting from AI? (cross-post)
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Shaping Freedom, host Lisane Basquiat sits down with Baratunde Thurston, a thought leader, author, and media creator, to discuss th...
Can Humor Save Us in the Age of AI and Political Chaos? (cross-post)
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode, Baratunde Thurston shares a vibrant conversation from his guest appearance on the AI for All Tomorrows podcast, hosted by Dyl...
The Shadow Workforce Powering AI | Advocate Milagros Miceli (Ep. 26)
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI may look like magic, but behind the scenes, it’s propped up by a vast human labor force. In this season finale of Life With Machines, Baratunde s...
Can AI Save Indigenous Languages? | Michael Running Wolf (Ep. 25)
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every two weeks, the world loses a language. Most of those losses are happening in the U.S. In this episode of Life with Machines, Baratunde talks wit...
Are We Ready For AI To Get a Face...and a Body? | Kate Darling (Ep. 24)
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we cry over broken robots but ignore suffering humans? In this provocative episode of Life With Machines, robot ethicist Kate Darling joins Bar...
Are We Parenting AI, or Just Using It? Plus, BLAIR Gets A Glow Up | De Kai (Ep. 23)
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if you’re not just using AI—you're raising it. In this mind-expanding episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde sits down with AI pioneer and ...
When AI Gains Power...Will Humans Lose Control? | Reid Hoffman (Ep. 22)
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Reid Hoffman has a name for the AI future he fears most: techno-fascism. In this urgent episode of Life With Machines, the billionaire LinkedIn co-fou...
Why Dictators Love AI & How To Fight Back | Sam Gregory (Ep. 21)
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you can’t tell the truth from a fake—and the people in power want it that way? Baratunde talks with internationally-recognized h...
A Deepfake Stole My Face and Voice | Rich Roll (Ep. 20)
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you wake up one morning and discover the internet has cloned you? In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde sits down with le...
How to Raise a Kid in an AI World | Dr. Avriel Epps (Ep. 19)
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when tools designed to support our kids end up policing, whitening, and gaslighting them instead? In this episode of Life With Machines, ...
The Mental Health System Is Failing—Can AI Do Better? | Alison Darcy (Ep. 18)
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde sits down with psychologist and entrepreneur Alison Darcy, who left academia to build a mental health...
AI Wants to Shop for You—Should You Let It? | Raj De Datta (Ep. 17)
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde sits down with Raj De Datta—entrepreneur, AI thinker, and co-founder of Bloomreach, the platform po...
From Division to Dialogue—How AI Can Save Democracy | Deb Roy (Ep. 16)
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do homemade smoke bombs have to do with fixing democracy? In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde Thurston sits down with Deb Roy—MIT ...
Our AI Brutally Roasts Elon Musk—Live at SXSW (Ep 15.5)
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
LIVE from SXSW! This wild bonus episode is a no-holds-barred conversation about AI, culture, comedy, and what we actually want from our machines. From...
Is AI the Death of Creativity? | Brian Eno (Ep. 15)
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde Thurston sits down with legendary artist and producer Brian Eno. From inventing ambient music to coll...
AI Isn’t Intelligent—Here’s What’s Missing | Jeff Hawkins (Ep. 14)
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde sits down with Jeff Hawkins—PalmPilot inventor and author of A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Int...
Could AI Be Reparations? | Van Jones (Ep. 13)
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde sits down with CNN host and contributor Van Jones, who opens up like never before. From his early day...
We Could Win the Climate Fight…Thanks to AI | Gavin McCormick (Ep. 12)
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this eye-opening episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde speaks with climate scientist and tech innovator Gavin McCormick, who delivers a message ...
Can AI Help Us Talk to Animals? | Aza Raskin (Ep. 11)
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Life with Machines episode, Baratunde Thurston talks with Aza Raskin about something straight out of science fiction—teaching AI to communic...
Should AI Have Emotional Intelligence? | Sean White (Ep. 10)
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Life with Machines episode, Baratunde Thurston sits down with Sean White, CEO of Inflection AI, to talk about the future of AI that actually f...
Bonus: How Creatives Can Survive AI (Cross-post from The Dough)
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re doing something different in this episode and cross-posting Baratunde’s appearance on The Dough with X Mayo where they had a long discussion...
Can We Fix AI Before It’s Too Late? | Dr. Rumman Chowdhury (Ep. 9)
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Life with Machines episode, Baratunde Thurston talks with Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, a leading voice in AI ethics and accountability. As the former...
Will AI Ever Write Good Comedy? | Matt Klinman (Ep. 8.5)
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Baratunde Thurston sits down with long-time friend and comedy writer Matt Klinman, co-creator of 'High Science' and former Onion colleague. They delve...
Is AI on the Verge of a Meltdown? | Sara Hooker (Ep. 8)
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A week in which Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has upended the AI industry is the perfect moment for tjis prescient episode of Life with Machines. Host B...
Why Artists Must Think Like Founders | James Andrews (Ep. 7)
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Baratunde sits down with James Andrews, the Chief Innovation Artist at Creator Mode Studios, to explore the intersection of AI and the creator economy...
AI Is the Best and Worst of Culture | Rahaf Harfoush (Ep. 6.5)
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of 'Life with Machines,' host Baratunde Thurston discusses the ethical, social, and emotional ramifications of AI with digital anthrop...
Is it Too Late to Regulate AI? | Dr. Alondra Nelson (Ep. 6)
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Host Baratunde Thurston welcomes Dr. Alondra Nelson, the visionary behind the White House's AI Bill of Rights. Together, they break down the rapidly e...
Who Gets to Decide What AI Can and Can't Do? | Anthropic’s Jared Kaplan (Ep. 5)
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Host Baratunde Thurston and Anthropic co-founder Jared Kaplan delve into the foundations and aspirations of AI development, discussing Anthropic's mis...
Why is the Man Who Killed Clippy All-In on AI Today? | Peter Loforte (Ep. 4)
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of 'Life with Machines,' host Baratunde Thurston speaks with Peter Loforte, a tech visionary who spent over three decades at Microsoft...
Why Should Non-Techies Care About AI? | Elizabeth Stewart (Ep. 3.5)
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this special, bonus episode, I sit down with executive producer and co-creator Elizabeth Stewart, an entrepreneur and civic innovator deeply devote...
Can AI Make Us More Human? Arianna Huffington Thinks So (Ep. 3)
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can AI help us thrive? Arianna Huffington thinks it can. We discuss her new AI wellness venture aimed at hacking health and happiness. Plus, our AI co...
Why AI Is NOT The Manhattan Project | Verity Harding (Ep. 2)
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The future of AI is being written NOW. Will we repeat the mistakes of the past or create something better? In this episode, Verity Harding (Google Dee...
How An AI Song Broke the Internet | King Willonious (Ep. 1)
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I sat down with King Willonius, the genius behind “BBL Drizzy.” We talked about his journey from making the live serialized audio drama "The Young...
Sneak Peek at Life With Machines feat. Arianna Huffington, King Willonius, and more
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
🚀 Sneak Peek: Life with Machines 🚀 In this series, Baratunde dives deep into the human side of the AI revolution. From viral AI-created music t...
Life with Machines Trailer
02 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Life With Machines explores the human side of the A.I. revolution – the good, the bad, and the weird – and asks, “How can these machines help us...