Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

“I get calls from people inside of some of the AI labs,” says technology ethicist Tristan Harris. “And it feels like getting a call from Robert Oppenheimer before the atomic bomb.”
Harris (a former Google insider and AI expert) has spent more than a decade sounding the alarm about the effects of technology on our wellbeing. He’s currently the co-founder of Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to align technology with humanity’s best interests.
In light of Anthropic whistleblower Jacob Coxon’s recent resignation (0:45), which has since been echoed by Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Sam Altman (OpenAI), and Elon Musk (1:30), we wanted to represent our prescient conversation with Harris from this spring.
We discuss The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (6:30), how AI has developed over the past ten years (10:12), why the most powerful figures in tech are preparing for doomsday scenarios (13:15), the AI arms race underway (15:45), the ‘balance sheet of benefits’ that shapes Silicon Valley’s thinking around AGI (24:30) and the unsettling lack of control being exercised over their own nascent systems (33:55).
On the back-half, we talk about Chat GPT’s role in the devastating death of teenager Adam Raine (40:30) [content warning], Tristan’s early ethical concerns about technology as a Stanford graduate working at Google (48:34), and the rewiring he attempted as part of the widely-seen 2020 documentary The Social Dilemma (53:00). To close, Harris outlines his tech safety practices to protect our future on the planet (1:08:05), top leaders’ prognostications of (p)doom at the hands of AI (1:10:43), and, as a counter, the ‘human movement’ that he believes can lead us to a narrow path toward a better future (1:17:30).
Original air date: March 29, 2026
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These days Nick Offerman appears to be one of the few remaining men who enjoys “making things rather than destroying things.” Career-best performances, best-selling books, a wooden, cedar-strip canoe built out of his Los Angeles Offerman Woodshop. Nick does what he can (and then some).
He joins us this week on the heels of his double Emmy nominations to talk through his emotionally complex performance in Margo’s Got Money Troubles, its connection to his past (8:48), and the range of projects born from his tendency to keep busy (13:10). Then, we turn to the words of the late, beloved poet Wendell Berry (15:35), Offerman’s rural upbringing in Illinois (16:45), and his timely role in the crime thriller Sovereign (26:55)
On the back-half, we talk about masculinity in America (30:35), Ben Shapiro’s vexing response to Offerman’s Emmy-winning turn in The Last of Us (40:52), what Parks and Recreation symbolizes to its fans, new and old (56:00), and why he believes “if you can finish your day having offered more flowers than you’ve stepped on… that’s a good goal” (1:05:40).
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Rest in peace to writer and activist Gloria Steinem.
The trajectory of Steinem’s life and work was unparalleled. Her cultural and political impact, incalculable. We sat to discuss the life-altering procedure she had completed at age 22, why she helped create the women's liberation movement alongside Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Flo Kennedy, and how she learned to become angry—on her own behalf—about race and gender bias throughout America.
Original air date: December 15, 2019
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With the fall movie season upon us, who better to sit with than ⁠The Big Picture⁠ co-hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins?
We begin with a post-vacation check-in (2:38), the god-given gifts of Ben Affleck and Jacob Elordi (6:19), and the latest film from “influencer” Ridley Scott (7:05).
Then we move on to our fall movie preview/draft, highlighting Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid (19:25), Julianne Moore in The Debut (21:39), Robert Pattinson in Primetime (26:12), and new films from directors Alejandro G. Iñárritu (32:37), David Fincher (36:24), James Gray (42:37), and Danny Boyle (58:00). Plus, two personal, familial projects in Once Upon a Time in Harlem (50:51) and The Making of Marie Antoinette (49:11).
On the back-half, we talk all things The Big Picture: Sean and Amanda’s New York origin story (1:01:39), moving to Los Angeles to launch The Ringer (1:12:22), the call from Bill Simmons that brought this duo together (1:12:36), the power of the Dob Mob (1:17:44), and the ongoing race for the show’s third chair, featuring Chris Ryan (1:23:02) and Tracy Letts (1:27:30). We also discuss Sean’s Mount Rushmore of dream guests (1:30:36), the movie he’d most like to do on The Rewatchables (1:34:06), ChatGPT Ebert (1:34:34), the role of AI in film and media (1:35:33), the contemporary challenges of making good work in a “crumbling industry” (1:38:44), and why this show—and this pair—continue to work after nearly a thousand episodes (1:45:39).
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From “The Good Place” and “Barry” to “A League of Their Own” and “The Five-Star Weekend,” D’Arcy Carden has become one of the most recognizable and beloved performers on television.
We sit to discuss her Bay Area upbringing (6:33), moving to New York to pursue acting (16:05), and finding her community in long-form improv at UCB (21:08). Then, she reflects on the day jobs that kept her afloat—including babysitting Bill Hader’s kids (24:53), watching friends around her begin to break through (29:54), and what kept her from submitting an application for SNL (35:08).
On the back-half, Carden revisits “The Good Place” audition that changed her life (42:49), the pressure she felt on set (51:34), and an enduring piece of advice from her co-star Ted Danson (56:48). To close, we talk about the joy and heartbreak of “A League of Their Own” (58:37), the future of Hollywood (1:01:50), and why, after reaching her wildest dreams, she hopes to keep acting forever (1:10:08).
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