Kevin Roose is taking two related bets on how people will follow the artificial intelligence industry: a reported book about the companies pursuing artificial general intelligence, and a new podcast designed to work especially well on video. In an interview with The Verge, he discussed why he left The New York Times, what he hopes to build with Casey Newton, and the challenge of making journalism fit a platform where it has not played a central role.
A new outlet for a fast-moving AI story
Roose is a journalist and the author of The AGI Chronicles, a book about the recent transformation of the AI industry. The book focuses on the main frontier labs and how their culture has changed as AI has become more prominent as a commercial product. It is based on reporting into the companies racing to build artificial general intelligence.
He and Casey Newton have also left The New York Times to start Machine Gods, a tech podcast made in partnership with NPR. The interview describes it as a new project after their work on Hard Fork. Their move pairs coverage of new AI companies and ideas with an experiment in how to present that coverage.
Roose sees a connection between a shift in technology and a shift in media. When new platforms and characters emerge in a field, he argues, the formats used to tell its stories can change too. For him, the growth of the AI story makes this a moment to try a different kind of journalism outlet.
Why the podcast puts video first
Machine Gods is intended to be video-first. Roose says that means paying more attention to how the show looks and giving people reasons to watch as well as listen. The team also wants the audio version to remain enjoyable for listeners who do not want a video podcast.
That approach reflects Roose’s view that podcasts now need a video component. He wants the show to embrace that direction and find a version that works for its hosts and audience. The interview does not present video as a guaranteed business model; it frames the project as an attempt to discover what can work both creatively and economically.
The format is also part of a larger effort to make video journalism sustainable. Roose says news organizations have had reason to be cautious about committing to YouTube: a video pivot can consume money without paying for itself, and many institutions are not set up to make a long-term bet. His aim is to test what a durable approach could look like.
Making room for journalism on YouTube
Roose considers YouTube the most important media platform in the world, while also describing high-quality journalism as a very small part of its overall ecosystem. That gap is central to his ambition. He wants to find formats that can help reported journalism earn a place among the platform’s broader offerings.
He points to work by The Verge, Joanna Stern, and MKBHD as examples that excite him. He also sees video as an area with less competition than text or podcasts. Those observations help explain why he wants to experiment there, though the interview makes clear that he is still working out the right formats and the economics.
Roose is not proposing that every listener watch. He acknowledges that some people prefer audio and says the show should serve them too. The challenge is to give viewers something worth watching while preserving a satisfying listening experience—a balance that will shape how Machine Gods develops.
Reporting on AI while testing new formats
The book and podcast address different parts of the same moment. The AGI Chronicles reports on the companies and industry culture behind the push toward artificial general intelligence. Machine Gods gives Roose and Newton a new place to cover the evolving AI landscape and explore how technology stories can be told.
Together, they reflect a journalist trying to adapt both the subject and the medium of his work. The source interview leaves the larger destination of the AI race open, but it shows why Roose sees the present as a time for close reporting and media experimentation. His bet is that video can become a stronger home for that journalism if the format is built with care.