{"podcast":{"title":"Decoder with Nilay Patel","slug":"decoder-with-nilay-patel","podcast_index_feed_id":2123,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/recodedecode","website_url":"https://theverge.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/5c6a4f4a-e69c-11e8-8066-17a10182e4c8/image/893066b59c33b28520ea09510cc6a37e.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Vox Media Podcast Network","episode_count":970,"summary":"Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-20T08:19:24.429733+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoder-with-nilay-patel"},"episode":{"title":"Dr. Jill Lepore on why the AI backlash is vital for the future","slug":"dr-jill-lepore-on-why-the-ai-backlash-is-vital-for-the-future","published_at":"2026-07-20T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoder-with-nilay-patel/dr-jill-lepore-on-why-the-ai-backlash-is-vital-for-the-future","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoder-with-nilay-patel","url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/257/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP2484941224.mp3","audio_url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/257/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP2484941224.mp3","summary":"Dr. Jill Lepore is one of the best writers there is at identifying institutional patterns in history, and Decoder is a show about systems and organization — so her new book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, is a perfect fit for the show. You build systems by measuring things — gathering information, quantifying it as data, and taking action on it. The book's big thesis is that this kind of systemic measurement is really a dehumanizing act, one that flattens humanity and human concerns into something, well, artificial. These artificial structures touch everything — not just in the more obvious places like in apps or AI, but all the way up to politics, governance, and the very future of the nation-state itself. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links:  The Artificial State | The New Yorker  ‘Terminator’ to tech titans: Jill Lepore on the ‘artificial state’ | Yale Univ. The failed ideas that drive Elon Musk | New York Times Sam Altman | The Joe Rogan Experience Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Xander Adams. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices","meta_description":"Dr. Jill Lepore is one of the best writers there is at identifying institutional patterns in history, and Decoder is a show about systems and organization…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3575,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/decoder-with-nilay-patel/episodes/dr-jill-lepore-on-why-the-ai-backlash-is-vital-for-the-future/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoder-with-nilay-patel/dr-jill-lepore-on-why-the-ai-backlash-is-vital-for-the-future.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}