The Week: China Is Undercutting America’s AI Boom

George Hahn connects the dots across the week’s biggest stories: how cheaper Chinese models are challenging America’s AI dominance, why Oracle’s growing debt is raising alarms about the AI boom, and what Derek Thompson’s “antisocial century” reveals about risk, isolation, and the declining power of friendship. We’d love your feedback as we build this show! Let us know what you think: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a conversation recorded live on Substack, Scott Galloway and Derek Thompson discuss the rise of the “antisocial century” — and what our growing isolation is doing to our happiness, relationships, and politics.  They also explore the optimization of everyday life, young men’s retreat into the digital world, AI’s economic bubble, and whether moderate drinking has been unfairly caught in the wellness backlash. Plus, Derek explains the rise of democratic socialism and offers three simple rules for dating in the antisocial century. Subscribe to Prof G+ to join our next livestream at profgmedia.com. And if you're not already reading Derek’s work, check out his Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Galloway explains why the economics of renewables are already beating fossil fuels, advises a listener sitting on a $1.4 million equity windfall, and shares what enduring decades of rejection taught him about failure. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [email protected], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Plus, you can now call or text Scott a question at our new Office Hours hotline: ‪(201) 472-3656‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alice Han and James Kynge start with Trump's claim that China ran an influence operation using voter files from over 220 million Americans, and why Beijing is calling it fabricated. They dig into what the underlying intelligence actually shows, how it lands just two months before Trump's planned visit to China, and what it means that global public opinion is now tilting toward Xi over Trump. Then, Selina Xu, head of China research for former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, joins to talk about her recent trip to China with Schmidt, where the U.S. and China each have the edge in the AI race, how culture and adoption differ between the two countries, and whether Beijing's pushback against emotional dependence on AI is a sign of things to come. Subscribe to China Decode on Substack for weekly analysis, livestreams, and deep dives into the biggest story shaping the global economy: chinadecode.profgmedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Galloway explains why AI's reputation is cratering even as usage climbs — and why he blames Washington more than any single CEO — shares his hard-won tricks for beating stage fright and public-speaking nerves, and owns the political positions he's reversed on, from DEI and tax rates to supporting military action in Iran. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [email protected], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Plus, you can now call or text Scott a question at our new Office Hours hotline: ‪(201) 472-3656‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As read by George Hahn. https://profgmedia.substack.com/p/1999ai Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Hahn connects the dots across the week’s biggest stories: a housing market that works for owners and no one else, and a Congress where the median senator is nearing 65 while the median American is 38. Plus, a version of the same generational opt-out playing out in China — and why Julia Angwin still sees reason for hope. We’d love your feedback as we build this show! Let us know what you think: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Galloway speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Angwin and former White House senior advisor Ami Fields-Meyer to discuss their new book, On Courage.  They explore what modern authoritarianism looks like, why it often advances gradually rather than through dramatic coups, and what ordinary people can do to resist it. They also debate the role of Big Tech, anonymous speech, coalition-building, and why small acts of courage can matter more than grand gestures. Algebra of Happiness: It goes fast. Want to listen to this and other episodes ad-free? You can, if you subscribe at profgmedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Galloway breaks down whether an MBA still justifies the debt, why late night TV is collapsing while podcasts arbitrage the same talent for a fraction of the cost, and what he wishes someone had told him about the first years of fatherhood. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [email protected], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Plus, you can now call or text Scott a question at our new Office Hours hotline: ‪(201) 472-3656‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alice Han and James Kynge look at why, for the first time in decades, China's new Five-Year Plan sets no numerical target for urban job creation. With unemployment at 5.1%, producer prices at a four-year high, and AI anxiety rippling through the labor market, what does it mean when Beijing, a government that treats jobs numbers as sacred, stops setting one? Then: Tencent is in talks to become the largest shareholder in Manus, the Chinese AI agent startup Meta tried to buy for $2 billion before Beijing forced the deal to unwind. Alice and James unpack why Chinese regulators intervened, what happened to Manus's founders, and what this all signals about Beijing's grip on its AI sector. Finally: Gen Z in China is skipping the megacities. Alice and James dig into why more young people are choosing Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities over Beijing and Shanghai, and whether it's a lifestyle choice or a symptom of a tougher economy. Subscribe to China Decode on Substack for weekly analysis, livestreams, and deep dives into the biggest story shaping the global economy: chinadecode.profgmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices