POLITICO Tech

The POLITICO Tech podcast is your daily download on the disruption that technology is bringing to politics and policy. From AI and the metaverse to disinformation and microchips, we explore how today’s technology is shaping our world — and driving the policy decisions, global rivalries and industries that will matter tomorrow.

Tech News
Politics
Daily News
351
Warning signs cloud tech industry’s SCOTUS victory
The 5-4 decision blocking Texas’ social media law was closer than expected, and Justice Samuel Alito’s dissent suggests conservative judges may be shifting on the free speech rights of tech platforms. Brendan Bordelon reports.
11 min
352
Vax injury compensation programs were already s...
A pair of federal programs compensating people who suffer injuries from vaccines and pandemic treatments are now facing so many claims that thousands of people may not receive payment for their injuries any time soon. Covid has only made it more complicated. Lauren Gardner reports.
13 min
353
Rick Caruso's $pricey$ LA primary
Even by the cash-flush standards of modern politics, Rick Caruso’s run for mayor of Los Angeles has been a shock-and-awe campaign of financial bombardment. Elena Schneider reports.
13 min
354
Anita Dunn’s return brings Amazon ties under sc...
As the White House this month weighed how hard to engage Amazon founder Jeff Bezos over his criticism of its economic policies, it brought back senior advisor Anita Dunn, whose former firm does work for Amazon. Hailey Fuchs reports.
9 min
355
Inside FEMA’s biased flood program
A new investigation from Politico’s E&E News has pulled back the curtain on FEMA’s unfair flood grant programs, which for years have favored wealthy and white areas. Tom Frank reports.
12 min
356
How big of a threat is monkeypox?
Governments warn against panicking, but they are planning for the worst outcome. Carmen Paun reports.
12 min
357
How 'Made in America' worsened the formula crisis
Due to a combination of Food and Drug Administration regulations and trade policy, 98% of the infant formula consumed in the United States is made here. But the current nationwide shortage of infant formula is proving a cautionary tale. Doug Palmer reports.
9 min
358
The big midterm questions answered today
What’s next for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp? Will the national fight over abortion lead to Rep. Henry Cuellar’s (D-Texas) defeat in the primary? Scott Bland shares his burning questions ahead of tonight's primaries.
12 min
359
McConnell takes on MAGA over Ukraine aid
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is determined to stamp out an isolationist, pro-Trump wing of his party that has pushed back on $40 billion in aid to Ukraine — and U.S. support more broadly. Andrew Desiderio reports.
11 min
360
Kamala Harris wants to get out of D.C.
The Vice President has cast more tie-breaking votes than all but two predecessors. It’s starting to frustrate some staff. Eugene Daniels reports.
12 min
361
How Fetterman could shake up cannabis policy on...
Legalizing weed isn’t the top priority for most voters, but Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman — who clinched the Dem nom for Senate — is betting that it could help draw people to the polls. Natalie Fertig reports.
13 min
362
Ghana finally has enough Covid shots. But many ...
When friends and family got sick last year, people across Ghana scrambled to get shots. But there weren’t enough. Now, many say they don’t want the jab. Local volunteers are struggling to change their minds. Erin Banco reports.
13 min
363
Is this the end for Madison Cawthorn?
Today, primary voters in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District will decide whether their representative has become more trouble than he's worth. Once a rising conservative star, Cawthorn is now mired in controversy, facing the very real possibility his electoral career might end as quickly as it began. Michael Kruse reports.
13 min
364
The millions of tons of grain stuck in Ukraine
A growing number of U.S. lawmakers are pressing the Biden administration to establish a humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea, to help transport millions of tons of grain from Ukraine to the world food supply. But doing so is complicated — and could provoke retaliation from Russia. Meredith Lee reports.
10 min
365
Biden pilots new rural resources program
President Joe Biden and Democrats have pushed through billions of dollars in new funding for rural development. But now comes the hard part — working through a federal bureaucracy that makes it almost impossible for local leaders in the smallest, poorest areas to figure out how to get the money. Ximena Bustillo reports on a new system that hopes to solve the problem.
11 min
366
Post Roe, what's next for birth control?
Blue-state governors and lawmakers from California to New York are vowing to turn their states into sanctuaries for people seeking abortions. Plus, the years-long push for over-the-counter birth control is ramping up inside the FDA in the wake of a potential Supreme Court decision rolling back abortion rights. Lauren Gardner reports.
13 min
367
Bitcoin's drop renews risk concerns
The debate over Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies took on a new dimension last month when Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s largest asset managers, announced that it would soon allow participants in its 401(k) plans to invest some of their retirement savings in Bitcoin. Last Wednesday, that led Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., to send Fidelity a letter challenging the decision. Ben Schreckinger reports.
11 min
368
'RINO' versus 'political prostitute' in West Vi...
A bitter GOP primary in West Virginia has turned into one of the most hard-fought Republican primaries of the midterms, testing everything from Trump’s influence and the potency of ideological purity to small government to whether a GOP congressman can sell his primary voters on the merits of a bipartisan compromise in a hyper-polarized climate. Ally Mutnick reports.
11 min
369
Leaked Ukraine intelligence complicate US invol...
Last week, speculation spread that the U.S. provided intelligence to Ukraine that helped target Russian generals and Russia’s Moskva warship. Alex Ward explains why these leaks created such a firestorm.
13 min
370
Lifting the curtain on SCOTUS with a POLITICO r...
Presenting Playbook Deep Dive: This week on Playbook Deep Dive, POLITICO’s Peter Canellos talks with our own Josh Gerstein, who broke this week’s massive news that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has drafted an opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade. Peter and Josh nerd out on everything from the history of the court, to potential implications of the draft opinion — both for the country and the judiciary itself.
66 min
371
The push to modernize clinical trials
Clinical trials have long been plagued by inefficiency, lack of diversity and the inability to leverage data. The pandemic increased the need to modernize trials, which pushed many trials to lean on technology to conduct trials remotely. Ben Leonard explains why money is pouring into the space and why many clinical trials are still stuck in the previous century.
11 min
372
How repealing Roe would rewind Michigan abortio...
According to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by POLITICO, the Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, kicking abortion policy to the states. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer filed a lawsuit last month challenging her state’s 1931 law banning abortion, which would go into effect when Roe is struck down. Alice Miranda Ollstein reports.
11 min
373
Why the U.S. is worried about the Solomon Islands
The Biden administration is scrambling to counter China’s new security pact with the Solomon Islands and a possible military base in the South Pacific nation. Phelim Kine reports.
12 min
374
FDA warned about infant formula plant months be...
Months before two infants died and another was hospitalized from bacterial infections, a whistleblower alerted senior FDA officials to what he said were "lax practices, including regulatory violations" at an Abbott Nutrition infant formula plant last October. But it was still months before the FDA investigated and formula was recalled. Helena Bottemiller-Evich reports.
12 min
375
Beltway, stars want an invite: How Tammy throws...
Presenting Playbook Deep Dive: The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is back for the first time since 2019. Journalists, A-list celebrities and Washington’s power players will pack the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton. That means brunch is back too. On this week’s episode, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza gets a tour from Tammy Haddad at the site of her annual garden brunch, one of the most sought after invites of the weekend. Plus, insights from comedian and WHCD alum Elayne Boosler and Ed Solomon of Anthony's Tuxedos in Georgetown.
40 min