Hard Fork Ends Its Run as New AI Podcast Machine Gods Launches
Casey Newton and Kevin Roose are concluding their podcast Hard Fork, which began in 2022 and became a major outlet for AI coverage, including interviews with industry leaders and discussions on safety. The duo announced a successor show, Machine Gods, produced in partnership with NPR. The final episode of Hard Fork is set to air as the new project begins.
Hard Fork debuted in fall 2022, originally pitched as a crypto-focused show, but pivoted sharply after OpenAI released ChatGPT weeks into its run. The podcast became a prominent platform for AI coverage, featuring regular interviews with executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, alongside researchers, educators, and doctors. A notable early moment was cohost Kevin Roose's widely discussed conversation with Microsoft's Bing chatbot, which helped push AI safety discussions into mainstream discourse.
The show's production team included founding producer Davis Land, who developed the cold-open format, and producer Whitney Jones, who streamlined the creative process. Rachel Cohn served as a voice for the audience, suggesting alternatives to potentially boring segments. The successor show, Machine Gods, launches in partnership with NPR as Hard Fork airs its final episode.
The transition from Hard Fork to Machine Gods could signal a shift in how mainstream audiences consume AI journalism, moving from a major newspaper's platform to public broadcasting. This may affect listener trust and reach, as NPR's distribution could broaden the audience beyond tech enthusiasts. The continuity of hosts suggests sustained public interest in AI coverage, though the change in institutional backing may influence editorial independence and the types of stories prioritized.