ACCESS

Alex and Ellis talk about OpenAI’s acquisition of TBPN, the tension between media and corporate ownership, and why so many people in AI seem to be working themselves into the ground. Then they’re joined by Marvin von Hagen, CEO of Poke, an AI assistant that lives in your texts and connects to everything from your email to your calendar. It's basically OpenClaw for normies. They discuss why Marvin believed in AI agents early, why he thinks texting is the best interface for AI, how Poke handles automation and security, why he sued Meta, and why a billionaire ended up paying $136,000 a month for Poke.

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ACCESS is produced in partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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Alex and Ellis talk about why Codex is becoming central to OpenAI's strategy and the competition with Claude. Then they’re joined by Mina Fahmi, CEO and co-founder of Sandbar, who is building a smart ring that acts like an AI interface for your entire life. They discuss Mina’s path from neural interface research at MIT and CTRL-Labs to consumer hardware, why he thinks the next big AI product has to feel personal and controllable, and what it means to design a wearable that remembers, responds, and stays out of your way.

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ACCESS is produced in partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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Alex and Ellis talk about navigating ethics in media and programming the pod, the rise of film photography, and Alex’s trip to OpenAI. Then they’re joined by Granola co-founder Sam Stephenson to talk about building one of the breakout AI meeting tools. They discuss why meetings are still where decisions actually get made, the London tech scene, opening an office in SF, and how Granola is evolving as a product.

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ACCESS is produced in partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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Alex and Ellis break down why SXSW no longer feels like a true tech conference and how Nvidia’s GTC has become the new center of gravity for the industry. Then they’re joined by Mercury CEO Immad Akhund to talk about building one of the most important fintech companies for startups. They discuss how Mercury thinks about plugging into AI tools like Claude, Immad's side gig as a VC, the SF poker scene, and more.

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ACCESS is produced in partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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Alex and Ellis talk about Alex’s visit to Anthropic’s headquarters as Claude downloads surge and the company faces growing scrutiny over its stance on government AI use. They discuss AI culture inside the labs, image generation experiments with Claude, and why some companies are betting that coding—not multimodal—is the fastest path to AGI.

Then they’re joined by Daniel Kuntz, the creator of Starboy, a tiny AI-powered creature designed to hang off your bag like a charm. They talk about why he chose to build a toy instead of another productivity tool, the idea of “hardware as art,” and why he thinks Silicon Valley has forgotten how to make fun products. They also discuss designing Starboy with former Disney animators, why it doesn’t connect to your phone, the influence of fashion and collectibles, and his belief that AI companions and productivity gadgets are heading in the wrong direction.

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ACCESS is produced in partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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