80,000 Hours Podcast

Episodes

Is there a case against Anthropic? And: Meta leaks are worse than you think.

April 3, 2026

Debunking critiques of Anthropic's Pentagon dispute and exposing Meta's scam-ad profits, this episode argues for nuanced, proactive AI governance.

AI designs genomes from scratch & outperforms virologists at lab work. What could go wrong? | Dr Richard Moulange, CLTR

March 31, 2026

AI now designs novel genomes and outperforms lab virologists. Dr. Richard Moulange discusses escalating biosecurity risks and key defenses.

A Ukraine ceasefire could accidentally set Europe up for a bigger war | RAND's top Russia expert Samuel Charap

March 24, 2026

A Ukraine ceasefire won't guarantee peace. RAND's top Russia expert argues it could heighten the risk of a larger NATO-Russia war.

Why automating human labour will break our political system | Rose Hadshar, Forethought

March 17, 2026

AI threatens to concentrate power not just through military coups, but through economic automation and control of information, eroding democracy.

AI Won't End Mutually Assured Destruction (Probably) | Sam Winter-Levy & Nikita Lalwani

March 10, 2026

AI will likely not end Mutually Assured Destruction. Achieving a perfect 'splendid first strike' remains nearly impossible due to physics and countermeasures.

Using AI to enhance societal decision making (article by Zershaaneh Qureshi)

March 6, 2026

We can build specific AI tools to enhance societal decision-making, helping humanity navigate the high-stakes challenges of advanced AI.

We're Not Ready for AI Consciousness | Robert Long, philosopher and founder of Eleos AI

March 3, 2026

How do we prepare for AI consciousness? Philosopher Robert Long discusses AI welfare, moral patienthood, and the challenges of assessing digital minds.

Why Teaching AI Right from Wrong Could Get Everyone Killed | Max Harms, MIRI

February 24, 2026

MIRI's Max Harms explains why AI alignment is failing and proposes a radical solution: training AIs only to be corrigible, not 'good'.

Every AI Company's Safety Plan is 'Use AI to Make AI Safe'. Is That Crazy? | Ajeya Cotra

February 17, 2026

AI labs bet on using AI to make future AI safe. Ajeya Cotra discusses the 'intelligence explosion' and the urgent need for early warning signs.

What the hell happened with AGI timelines in 2025?

February 10, 2026

AGI timeline predictions swung wildly in 2025. This episode unpacks the hype vs. reality, from unsustainable scaling tricks to the real-world utility gap.

#179 Classic episode – Randy Nesse on why evolution left us so vulnerable to depression and anxiety

February 3, 2026

Why are we so prone to anxiety & depression? Evolutionary psychiatrist Randy Nesse explains our "bad feelings" are often useful, but miscalibrated.

Why 'Aligned AI' Could Still Kill Democracy | David Duvenaud, ex-Anthropic team lead

January 27, 2026

Even if we solve AI alignment, humanity could still lose control. David Duvenaud explains the mechanisms of gradual economic and political disempowerment.

#145 Classic episode – Christopher Brown on why slavery abolition wasn't inevitable

January 20, 2026

Historian Christopher Brown argues slavery's abolition wasn't inevitable but a contingent event, challenging the myth of automatic moral progress.

Why I quit everything to work on a biothreat nobody had heard of | James Smith, Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund

January 13, 2026

James Smith explains mirror life, a synthetic biothreat invisible to our immune systems, posing a catastrophic risk to all life on Earth.

#142 Classic episode – John McWhorter on why the optimal number of languages might be one, and other provocative claims about language

January 6, 2026

Linguist John McWhorter argues the optimal number of languages is one, language extinction is voluntary, and creoles are superior languages.

2025 Highlight-o-thon: Oops! All Bests

December 29, 2025

A deep dive into AI's race to nowhere, the US's passive response to China, and why the UK's unelected Lords are its most effective politicians.