How Epstein became a tech influencer

A new tranche of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails makes one thing painfully clear: Epstein was a central figure in the lives of a lot of big names in tech, and had influence on a surprising number of companies and executives. David and Nilay talk through what we’ve learned from the new emails so far. Then they turn to Anthropic’s spicy new Super Bowl ads about... ads, which caused a big reaction from OpenAI (which is betting big on ads). They also discuss this week’s antitrust hearing about Netflix’s purchase of Warner Bros., the latest in Brendan Carr is a Dummy, Google Home’s big buttons upgrade, and much more.

Further reading:

• ⁠Here's how Epstein broke the internet⁠

• ⁠Former Windows 8 boss recruited Epstein to help negotiate his messy Microsoft exit⁠

• ⁠Jeffrey Epstein arranged a meeting with Tim Cook for the former head of Windows⁠

• ⁠The Epstein files ⁠

• ⁠Google co-founder Sergey Brin visited Epstein’s private island and traded emails with Ghislaine Maxwell.⁠

• ⁠It turns out Elon Musk didn’t exactly ‘refuse’ the invite to Jeffrey Epstein’s island. ⁠

• ⁠Will Elon Musk’s emails with Jeffrey Epstein derail his very important year? ⁠

• ⁠Bill Gates says accusations contained in Epstein files are ‘absolutely absurd'⁠

• ⁠Jeffrey Epstein was permanently banned from Xbox Live ⁠

• ⁠‘We’ve basically funded an elite global pedophile ring since 2015.’ ⁠

• ⁠Anthropic says ‘Claude will remain ad-free,’ unlike an unnamed rival⁠

• Anthropic’s blog post: ⁠Claude is a space to think⁠

• ⁠Sam Altman responds to Anthropic’s ‘funny’ Super Bowl ads ⁠

• ⁠OpenAI’s CMO on X⁠

• ⁠Nvidia CEO denies he’s ‘unhappy’ with OpenAI⁠

• ⁠Netflix lands in the middle of a culture war during Senate hearing⁠

• ⁠Everyone is stealing TV ⁠

• ⁠Disney says Josh D’Amaro will replace Bob Iger as CEO ⁠

• ⁠FCC aims to ensure “only living and lawful Americans” get Lifeline benefits⁠

• ⁠Elon Musk is merging SpaceX and xAI to build data centers in space — or so he says ⁠

• ⁠Peloton’s gamble on expensive new hardware has yet to pay off⁠

• ⁠Google Home finally adds support for buttons ⁠

• ⁠Raspberry Pi is raising prices again as memory shortages continue ⁠

• ⁠Valve’s Steam Machine has been delayed, and the RAM crisis will impact pricing ⁠

• ⁠Aluminium: Why Google’s Android for PC launch may be messy and controversial⁠

Thank you for subscribing to The Verge. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to ⁠⁠⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠⁠⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices