This story appears in the June 2026 print edition. While some stories from this issue are not yet available to read online, you can explore more from the magazine . Get our editors' guide to what matters in the world, delivered to your inbox every weekday. The courtship between Silicon Valley and MAGA was consummated on June 6, 2024, in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood, on a street known as "Billionaires' Row," at the 22,000-square-foot, $45 million French-limestone mansion of a venture capitalist named David Sacks. Along with Chamath Palihapitiya, a fellow venture capitalist and a colleague on the podcast, Sacks hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump. He knew that other technology titans were coming around to the ex-president but remained in the closet. "And I think that this event is going to break the ice on that," Sacks said on the podcast the week before the fundraiser. "And maybe it'll create a preference cascade, where all of a sudden it becomes acceptable to acknowledge the truth." Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read. A few years earlier, Sacks had described the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol as an "insurrection" and pronounced Trump "disqualified" from ever again holding national office. "What Trump did was absolutely outrageous, and I think it brought him to an ignominious end in American politics," he said on the podcast a few days after the event. "He will pay for it in the history books, if not in a court of law." Palihapitiya was more colloquial, calling Trump "a complete piece-of-shit fucking scumbag." These might seem like tricky positions to climb down from--but the path that leads from scathing denunciation through gradual accommodation to sycophantic embrace of Trump is a well-worn pilgrimage trail. The journey is less wearisome for self-mortifiers who never considered democracy (a word seldom spoken on the podcast) all that important in the first place.

Claire chatted to Chenying Liu from University of Oxford about how a robot's physical form can actively contribute to sensing, processing, decision-making, and movement. Chenying Liu is a Junior Research Fellow and an Associate Member of Faculty in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. She leads an independent research programme focused on embodied physical intelligence, exploring how robot design can integrate geometry, materials, and control to enhance autonomy and robustness. Her work aims to develop more efficient and resilient robotic systems by embedding intelligence directly into their physical structures. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines.

Alan Winfield is Professor of Robot Ethics at the University of the West of England (UWE), Visiting Professor at the University of York, and Associate Fellow of the Cambridge Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Alan co-founded the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, where his research is focussed on the science, engineering and ethics of cognitive robotics. Alan is an advocate for robot ethics; he chairs the advisory board of the Responsible Technology Institute at the University of Oxford and has co-drafted new standards on ethical risk assessment and transparency. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines.

Claire chatted to Vikas Enti from Reframe Systems about using robotics and automation to build climate-resilient, high-performance homes. Vikas Enti is the co-founder and CEO of Reframe Systems, a physical AI company rethinking how homes are built through automation and localized fabrication. He previously spent more than a decade at Amazon Robotics, where he helped scale advanced robotics systems across global logistics networks. Today, he is applying those same principles of systems design and repeatable production to address the housing shortage. Vikas focuses on building climate-resilient, high-performance homes faster and more predictably than traditional methods.

Simona Aracri is a researcher in the Institute of Marine Engineering at the National Research Council of Italy. Previously, she was a Post Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Edinburgh, working on the award winning project ORCA Hub and focusing on offshore robotic sensors. Her research uses innovative sensors and robotic platforms to push the boundaries of observational oceanography and environmental monitoring. She has spent more than 6 months at sea on oceanographic sampling campaigns, in the Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean and the North Sea. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines.

Krystal Mattich leads global data governance, system security, and privacy compliance for Brain Corp: the world's leading autonomy platform for commercial robotics. As Senior Director of Security, Privacy, and Risk, she is the architect of the privacy-first infrastructure that powers over 40,000 BrainOS -enabled robots across retail, airports, education and logistics. Krystal played a central role in launching Brain Corp's public-facing Trust Center, reinforcing the company's commitment to data transparency, GDPR compliance, and responsible AI. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines.

Rich Walker has been at Shadow Robot since long before it was a company, working initially on software and systems engineering before "jumping the fence" into management. He led Shadow Robot's engagement with a number of R&D initiatives in UK and across Europe, as well as developing proof-of-concept projects for dexterous robotics with a number of commercial organisations. Rich represents robotics SMEs at the European level as one of the Directors of euRobotics, as well as maintaining Shadow Robot's research engagements and policy programme. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines.

Science Ask Us Anything Why don't we remember being babies? Yet we never forget how to ride a bike. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Are our childhood memories lost or locked? Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Was it a birthday party? Even though little kids remember plenty, most of us lose access to key memories as we get older. It's something scientists call childhood amnesia. We explore just that in a recent episode of the Ask Us Anything podcast, delving into the science behind why our brains forget our earliest memories. 's Ask Us Anything podcast (as well as our written series of the same name) answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions--from the everyday things you've always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask.

Science Ask Us Anything What'Jurassic Park' got wrong about venomous dinosaurs And what did'Spinosaurus' really do with that sail? Dilophosaurus didn't have a frill or spit venom. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. We all know dinosaurs were scary. While not strictly a dinosaur, the ancient shark was four times longer than the biggest great white. Now, imagine one of those big bad dinos had venom. That'd be the last thing we need, but it very well could've been a reality. In a new episode of's Ask Us Anything podcast, we dig into the fossil record to see just how likely a venomous dinosaur would've been.

Your stories about how AI is impacting your mental health, decision-making, and relationships. Please enable javascript to get your Slate Plus feeds. If you can't access your feeds, please contact customer support. Check your phone for a link to finish setting up your feed. Please enter a valid phone number.