The Media Show: Investigating Sam Altman

The Media Show: Investigating Sam Altman

From The Explanation by BBC World Service

April 9, 2026 · 23 min

About this episode

Ronan Farrow investigates Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, discussing power and influence in AI with insights from Madhumita Murgia and Misha Glenny.

Ronan Farrow, perhaps the world’s most prominent investigative journalist, has turned his attention to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. The investigation, published by The New Yorker, draws on more than a year of reporting. Farrow outlines how it was conducted and the questions it raises about power and influence in AI. Madhumita Murgia, AI Editor at the Financial Times, gives her analysis of the issues at the heart of the report, including how the media covers leading figures in Silicon Valley. Also on the show, Misha Glenny discusses his podcast The Race to Control the World, as well as his role as the new presenter of In Our Time. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Content producer: Lucy Wai Sound engineer: Pat Sissons

People in this episode

Host: Katie Razzall

Guests: Ronan Farrow, Madhumita Murgia, Misha Glenny

Topics covered

  • investigative journalism
  • AI power dynamics
  • media analysis
  • Silicon Valley
  • podcast discussion

Keywords

  • Sam Altman
  • Ronan Farrow
  • OpenAI
  • investigative journalism
  • AI
  • Silicon Valley
  • media coverage

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: OpenAI, Financial Times, The New Yorker

Books & works: The Race to Control the World

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