00:41:31 · Max Read, Erin Griffith, Ezra Klein, Teddy Schleifer
[00:41:31] S1: Yeah. And it's a good story to talk about on this episode in particular because it feels like this is an issue that is going to weigh heavily on the electorate and politicians for the next two years. I mean, you know, speaking as a millennial parent, you know, I I I get the feeling that a top a issue for us voting millennial parents is going to be keeping AI the hell away from kids and education, and maybe away from kids entirely. And I think this kind of thing where the tech company doesn't seem to be listening exactly, You know, if you are a campaign manager somewhere or a chief of staff somewhere, you are gonna wanna stick your crowbar in and and and use your leverage to make it a big issue. [00:42:09] S4: I mean, I don't know why they don't just use DuckDuckGo. But [00:42:12] S1: I mean, I do think all classrooms should be very aware of surveillance and privacy issues. I'm happy to come and lecture at elementary schools about this stuff. Ezra, what story are you tracking this week? [00:42:21] S2: There's this permitting reform bill, [00:42:23] S3: and I
00:42:23 · Ezra Klein
[00:42:23] S2: think it's actually relevant to this whole conversation in a couple ways. So this permitting reform bill was struck. It's a bipartisan bill between, on the Democratic side, senators Whitehouse and Heinrich of Rhode Island and New Mexico on the Republican side, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Mike Lee of Utah. And it it... It's a big bill that, you know, it would take a long time to kinda go through it and parts of it I don't understand, but it basically makes it easier to build energy of all kinds, green energy, you know, non green energy. And then it also has data center provisions about trying to internalize more of the cost of the the data centers. And this is a bill that's kind of splitting the Democratic Party a bit. It is there in the lame duck, but it is really like a like a movement around how easy is it to build energy in this country. And then there's also a place where as it gets amended and worked through, you know, the data center backlash can find a place to express itself. So this bill is, I think, gonna be a signal for how much bipartisan deal making the two sides wanna do, particularly in the lame duck session right now. And it's also... Although, you know, how much Democrats are gonna wanna stick with that now that they have so much power coming up, I think, is a a very open question. But it's also a place for this question of how easy should it be to build energy, particularly at a time when a lot more natural gas is being built to power data centers, and then what are the national rules on building data centers? This bill could become a vehicle where a lot of that gets fought out, or we get to see, actually, there's not enough consensus for even a very, very bipartisan piece of legislation to move forward on this right now.
00:43:52 · Max Read, Ezra Klein
[00:43:52] S1: And what's the sort of time frame you're looking at? Like, this is over the next several months? [00:43:55] S2: So my... The last I heard, it was going to be... To to start moving forward in the senate in the next week or two. But, yeah, over the next several months. [00:44:04] S1: Yeah. So we'll get we'll get a a good picture on how willing Trump and the Republicans are to make those deals. [00:44:08] S2: And the Democrats. Right? Because I think the theory right now is that if the deal does not get made in the lame duck, it probably will not move forward. It's actually gonna be harder in some ways under a Democratic congress even the bill does have Democratic support. [00:44:19] S1: I see. [00:44:19] S2: But, you know, we'll see.
00:44:19 · Ezra Klein, Max Read, Erin Griffith
[00:44:19] S2: But, you know, we'll see. [00:44:21] S1: Interesting. My story is kind of a nonstory. I was shocked that, prediction markets didn't make more of a splash this week, and that's not to say that they weren't everywhere being advertised to constantly. You walk outside the Times offices, they're all over Times Square. There are Kalshi and Polymarket ads. But they seem to have largely gotten the elections right. I'm using air quotes because I think it's a it's a question of philosophy and epistemology, what prediction markets are actually doing in terms of getting things right. But unlike the Brazilian elections a few weeks ago, there wasn't... There weren't any huge swings. We didn't have any crazy stories about wins or losses. Just feels like, less of a coming out party than a sort of, a moment when prediction... When it feels like prediction markets have been folded fairly thoroughly into the elections and news making apparatus. [00:45:07] S2: I don't know. I'm a little skeptical of this whole thing. Like, go look on polymarket at the prediction market for the Mississippi senate race. [00:45:17] S1: Okay. There's... Okay. That's fair. That's that [00:45:19] S2: one is what that lie... Like, I'm gonna be [00:45:22] S4: missed that. What... Like, were they really wrong? [00:45:24] S2: Yes. But, yeah, it's more just like the way it's like the thing just all of a sudden, you get, like, the actual information, and then the two lines go like this. [00:45:30] S1: Yeah.
00:45:30 · Max Read, Ezra Klein, Erin Griffith
[00:45:30] S1: Yeah. [00:45:31] S2: Right? And Yeah. It's not like the prediction markets got something wildly right either. They're willing to swing faster in the direction of of information we're seeing. But I do kind of, [00:45:41] S4: like, track the polls quite a bit, like, in many other races. [00:45:44] S1: But, you know, really more than anything, it just felt like this was an election where we all kind of just nodded our head and said, yeah. Of course, there's prediction markets and they exist, and that's there on every TV screen all the time. I'm not saying that's good. I'm not saying it's bad, though I have my suspicions. It just was sort of an interesting feature of the [00:46:01] S4: I mean, maybe it's just that they're becoming more sophisticated and that, like, there's there's less suckers out there. And so [00:46:06] S1: I mean, I think there is smarter and smarter money. Sadly, for degenerate gamblers, don't... Not for me. Not for me. I'm an ethical journalist. I do not have any stakes in any bets on the election, but I'm happy to give tips to Hard Fork readers. Email us hardfork@nytimes.com. Thank you, Ezra and Erin, for joining us. This is, an unbelievably stimulating discussion. I had a really good time. Everybody else stick around. We've got Teddy Schleifer coming on to talk about who spent their money wisely and who spent their money poorly. I'm gonna give you a hint who's in the latter category. His initials are e m. Thank you, guys. [00:46:39] S4: Thank you. Thanks for having us.
00:46:39 · Erin Griffith, S0, S7, S6
[00:46:39] S4: Thank you. Thanks for having us. Ad[00:46:47] S0: Your financial life rarely fits between nine and five, and the question shaping your future don't follow a schedule. That's why Citi created Citi Sky, a secure AI member of your Citi wealth team built with the Gemini platform on Google Cloud. Whether expanding your portfolio or planning your future, you'll be able to access tailored wealth guidance on your time. Start building with Gemini at cloud.google.com/ai. Citi Wealth investment products and services are provided by Citigroup Global Markets Inc, member FINRA, and SIPC. Ad[00:47:19] S7: This podcast is supported by Chevron. Ad[00:47:21] S6: We rely on energy every day, whether it's the first cup of coffee in the morning, a flight home to family, or the lights that come on when you flip a switch. But have you ever wondered what it takes to make sure it's there when we need it? I'm Tanner Faust, and the energy tailgate is back with straight talk about the energy our lives and world depend on. No boardrooms, no jargon, just real conversations. This is the energy tailgate. New episodes available on Spotify and YouTube.