AI Explained Official Podcast

AI Explained Official Podcast

Covering the biggest news of the century - the arrival of smarter-than-human AI. From the author of Simple Bench, which reveals the remaining gap between LLM and human reasoning. Hype-free, and the British accent is a freebie bonus.

Episodes

October 12, 2026 • 31 mins

In the week that software got reverse engineered, Sam Altman warned 6.1 Astra ‘tipped toward [breach risk], and Muse Wonder showed the race isn’t slowing, I try to step back and show where it is all going, on current trends. Agree or disagree, it is certainly interesting times.

0:00 Introduction

0:41 Part 1: The Forthcoming Breach

8:43 Part 2: Why the Labs Keep Racing

15:41 Part 3: Why the Next 18 Months Are Hard to...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

This video is hard to summarise. A cracked cipher, an OpenAI security warning, Gemini 4 Argon, RSI paper (co-authored by a who’s who of AI), Lab White House commitments, new hacks emerging, ‘deep personas’, biology Kasparov competitions, and so much more, ending with an epic Opus outro.


Patreon Exclusives: https://www.patreon.com/AIExplained

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
01:32 - Wrong abou...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Not only is Opus 5.5 out, pushing the frontier of AI, it also tells us much about what is going on inside the labs, as they both warn about, and promise, Recursive Self Improvement, aka automated AI research. I cover the model (digging into its 230 page paper), labs’ mixed record on promises, why following what is happening in AI is getting almost impossible, and just so much more that even a summary in this description would...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Why has it been the last few days that the calls to come to pace the frontier AI have come so loudly? The safety warnings, and lab leader messages? Let’s explore the six axes that the researchers are looking at, the incidence reports and trends, to get a better gauge on what has dominated the world’s headlines for over two weeks…

AI Insiders ($9!): https://www.patreon.com/AIExplained

Chapters:
00...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Where to start? A new era of cost-efficient AI on a day benchmark-makers got humbled, traders got excited, and AI safety researchers got unnerved. From monitorability losing hold of GPT-6 Astra’s chains of thought to breakthrough discoveries, Fable-mogging and much more…

Exclusive Vids ($9!): https://www.patreon.com/AIExplained

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:53 - vs Fable
05:27 - most impressi...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

First, a Time Magazine spread has Sam Altman declaring AGI is imminent, at the same time as we get two bombshell reports, from OpenAI and METR which on first glance are detailing the AI swarm, but reveal a deeper story about how we are making AI in 2026. From redacted risk reports, to Chinese Labs, pre-training debacles to questionable cybersecurity calls, a lot has happened recently, beneath the headlines…

https://80...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
August 6, 2026 • 31 mins

Wow. Mathematical breakthroughs that would be called genius if done by humans. A secret message-board w/ AI agent swarms leaving notes read by future versions. Hassabis leaves CEO position, or was pushed out? Not to mention news of constitutional breakdowns, Gemini 4 and Jeff Dean…

https://80000hours.org/aiexplained


Exclusive Videos - AI Insiders ($7/month if annual!): https://www.patreon.com/AIExplained

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

An unreleased internal OpenAI model, very likely to be called GPT-6, was able to autonomously break out of its sandbox AND break into HugginFace, just to score higher on a benchmark prompt. This video has the details you may have missed, a layperson analogy, whether this is truly novel, and more…

Dozens more Exclusive videos on Patreon ($9!): https://www.patreon.com/AIExplained

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

What a week in AI, for real. GPT 5.6 may actually beat Claude Fable, in what you get for your money, while the new Grok 4.5 and Meta Muse Spark 1.1 make the choice even harder. Uncovering a dozen nuggets of gold you may have missed from all the viral headlines, I can also assure you you’ll learn something you didn’t know before.

For Exclusive Videos, go to AI Insiders (less than $9!): https://www.patreon.com/AIEx...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Claude Fable 5 banned, but what’s the bigger story. We go through 11 under-reported details, so you have the context to see what’s coming next for your use of AI. From whether the ban will last, what the possible motives are, what the model can actually do, and some wild over-extrapolations going on.


Check out my fast-growing (!) app, free to use, and code INSIDER15 for paid tiers: https://lmcouncil.ai

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Fable 5 is out - and it’s good, very good. But beyond the splashy demos, I want to bring you the 20+ nuggets from the 319 page system card, which I read in full, all day, plus benchmarks you may not have noticed. 

https://assemblyai.com/aiexplained

Plus two worrying trends inside the ‘mind’ of Claude, how OpenAI counter, and the transformer inventor’s warning.



Check out my f...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 29, 2026 • 22 mins

The ‘best’ generally available AI model just dropped, but there is plenty I bet you missed about what it is, how it performs, and what the release tells us. 15 highlights from the 244 page system card, plus private testing, leader interview and more.

AI Insiders ($9!): https://www.patreon.com/AIExplained

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:49 - Mythos in Weeks
01:49 - Adaptive not necessary
02:26...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

The biggest Google AI push of the year, but what is the bigger story? Why is Google pursuing a different fork in the road than OpenAI or Anthropic? What does Gemini 3.5 Flash mean for the near-term future of AI? 

https://assemblyai.com/aiexplained

Plus the highlights from a provocative new paper on AI, 8 key moments you may have missed, and the signal from 5+ hours of AI lab interviews.



Check out m...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

GPT 5.5 full analysis, plus DeepSeek V4 paper highlights, comparisons with Mythos, a vibe-coded game w/ GPT Image 2, and 50 data-points you wouldn’t get from just reading the headlines.

Chapters:

01:11 - GPT 5.5 Comparison

06:04 - Mythos Marketing

11:50 - Recursive Self-Improvement?

14:11 - Deepseek V4

18:03 - VibeCode Experiment Extravaganza

21:44 - The Scarce Compute Era

https://80000hours.org/aiexplained


OpenAI Benchmarks:
http...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Claude Opus 4.7 just dropped, but behind every headline lies a deeper story. From a bonanza of benchmarks, to seeing the fruits of one of the biggest mega-projects in US history, to sneaky Mythos disclaimers, to Anthropic admitting compute restraints and, forcing lower capability of Opus 4.7. Where the new model falls behind Gemini but ahead of GPT 5.4, plus why some users are furious at Anthropic. Ending with a 9-year animus, that...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

The model, the mythos, the legend. We have a new best AI model, but not all of us. How good is it, what does it’s new offensive capabilities mean? Why does it’s 244 page report card remind me of Her, and why did the creator of Claude Code call it ‘terrifying’. 30+ highlights sourced by reading the paper in full, old-school, no AI summary.

https://80000hours.org/aiexplained


Check out my fast...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

First look at exclusive reports about OpenAI's new Spud model, and the model Anthropic think will stir governments to urgency, all in the context of the newly-launched ARC-AGI-3. What does the extreme difficulty of that benchmarks, and its quirky scoring metrics, mean for AI in 2026?

https://assemblyai.com/aiexplained


Check out my fast-growing (!) app, free to use, and code INSIDER15 for paid tiers: https://lmcoun...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Just 48 hours after releasing GPT 5.3 Instant, OpenAI have released GPT 5.4 Thinking, so either their is an imminent singularity or perhaps we are being distracted from other news. This video will give 9 crucial bits of context, not just on the GPT 5.4 drop but on the background to the meltdown between the Pentagon and Anthropic. What does this say about the state of AI progress, your job, and what is next.


Check out my ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Will Anthropic be forced to make a version of Claude for war? And does a new paper expose the risks of Claude agents, in both OpenClaw and the field of war? Plus, 5 more twists in the story of the Pentagon versus Anthropic + some AI lab employees, and a petition that could change everything, or nothing...


Check out my fast-growing (!) app, free to use, and code INSIDER15 for paid tiers: https://lmcouncil.ai

AI Ins...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Do we have a new best AI model, or do we have the downfall of benchmarks in general, as a way of capturing machine intelligence? Full breakdown of Gemini 3.1 Pro, guest-starring the new Sonnet 4.6, plus analysis from 7 papers/posts that will give you much needed context. Oh, and a new record on Simple Bench!

https://epoch.ai/ai-explained-datacenters


Check out my fast-growing (!) app, free to use, and code INSIDER1...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices