Bernie vs. the Robots

Episode of Pod Save America · May 3, 2026 · 1 h 16 min

Jon Lovett interviews Bernie Sanders on AI risk, super PAC money and Israel arms sales, then Peter Hamby on left-wing political violence, Maine and California races.

Summary

In the first segment, Jon Lovett spoke with Senator Bernie Sanders following a panel Sanders hosted on the existential risks of artificial intelligence. Sanders called AI and robotics the most revolutionary technologies in human history, warned of mass job loss, children's reliance on chatbots, and the possibility of AI escaping human control, and defended his proposed moratorium on new data centers against criticism from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Senator Mark Warner, arguing the issue was not a race with China but a matter for international scientific cooperation akin to Cold War arms control. He argued that AI industry super PACs were deterring members of Congress from supporting regulation and pressed Democratic leaders to bar super PAC money from party primaries. Lovett and Sanders also discussed how the tax code favors automation over workers, with Sanders calling for a new social contract.

Sanders then discussed the growth in Democratic Senate support for his resolutions blocking weapons sales to Israel, from 15 to 40 votes, citing the conduct of the war in Gaza, which he described as genocidal, along with the Iran war and Israeli operations in Lebanon. He praised Graham Platner's Maine Senate campaign as comparable to Zohran Mamdani's in New York, rejected the equation of criticism of Netanyahu with antisemitism, and reflected on his time on a kibbutz.

In the second segment, Peter Hamby discussed his Puck piece arguing that parts of the left had grown too comfortable celebrating violence and embracing conspiracy theories, written after the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Hamby stressed that Democratic politicians were not the source, but cited CSIS data showing left-wing plots surpassing right-wing ones in 2025 and blamed social media algorithms and a fragmented information ecosystem. Lovett argued that influencers on the left, like the right-leaning podcast world, must accept responsibility along with their power.

The two then assessed the Maine Senate race after Janet Mills suspended her campaign, with Hamby calling Platner's contest against Susan Collins a jump ball given his controversial Reddit posts and Maine's older, independent electorate. They closed on the California governor's race, where Hamby described Xavier Becerra's rise as boring momentum and both lamented a lack of big ideas among the candidates.

Chapters

0:20
Introduction
Lovett previews interviews with Bernie Sanders and Peter Hamby.
1:00
AI existential risk
Sanders explains why he convened a panel on AI escaping human control and calls for slowing development and regulation.
5:45
China, Bessent and the data center moratorium
Sanders rejects the framing of an AI race with China and defends his moratorium proposal against Bessent and Warner.
11:21
AI super PACs and campaign finance
Sanders argues AI industry money deters regulation and urges Democrats to ban super PAC money from primaries.
17:23
Automation, jobs and a new social contract
Lovett and Sanders discuss a tax code tilted toward machines and how to respond to large-scale job loss.
21:24
Weapons sales to Israel and the Maine primary
Sanders discusses growing Democratic support for blocking arms sales, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and Graham Platner's campaign.
26:30
Jewish identity and the kibbutz
Sanders rejects conflating criticism of Netanyahu with antisemitism and reflects on his youth on a kibbutz.
32:58
Political violence on the left
Hamby discusses his Puck piece on the left's comfort with celebrating violence and conspiracy theories.
47:27
Online radicalization and conspiracy theories
Hamby and Lovett discuss attackers who grew up online, left-wing podcasters entertaining false-flag theories, and the appeal of conspiracies.
53:14
Influencers' responsibility and generational politics
Lovett and Hamby argue influencers must accept responsibility and debate the political trajectories of generations.
1:03:39
Maine Senate race after Mills exits
Hamby assesses Graham Platner's strengths and liabilities against Susan Collins.
1:07:17
California governor's race
Hamby and Lovett discuss Becerra's rise, underwhelming debates and a lack of big ideas.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Bernie Sanders
Sanders argues that AI and robotics are the most revolutionary technologies in human history.
“it is clear to me that AI and robotics are the most revolutionary technologies in the history of humanity”
Listen from 1:40 · AI existential risk
Bernie Sanders
Sanders rejects framing AI as a race with China, saying the priority is scientists preventing the technology from escaping human control.
“This is not a race with China. This is a question of scientists sitting down and figuring out how we can prevent this technology from escaping human control”
Listen from 7:57 · AI existential risk
Bernie Sanders
Sanders argues that AI industry super PAC spending intimidates candidates who might support regulation, linking AI to a corrupt campaign finance system.
“I got a $10 million check going in to negative ads against you, which takes us, John, from the dangers of AI to a corrupt campaign finance system”
Listen from 11:57 · Campaign finance in the United States
Bernie Sanders
Sanders calls on Democrats to bar super PAC money from their presidential and congressional primaries.
“Democrats within Democratic primaries, their presidential primaries, as well as congressional and other primaries, got to get super PAC money out of those primaries”
Listen from 12:41 · Campaign finance in the United States
Bernie Sanders
Sanders argues that retraining and unemployment benefits are insufficient because workers displaced by automation may never find new jobs.
“You're a 50-year-old truck driver today, and you're replaced by a driverless vehicle. Where are you going to go out and get a job?”
Listen from 19:31 · Technological unemployment
Jon Lovett
Lovett argues the U.S. tax code favors giant companies that employ few people over profitable companies with large workforces.
“our tax code says we would rather a company be gigantic and employ no one than be kind of profitable while employing hundreds of thousands of people”
Listen from 20:13 · Technological unemployment
Bernie Sanders
Sanders says he has concluded that Israel's campaign in Gaza is a genocidal attack.
“And what people, including myself, I think have concluded, this is a genocidal attack”
Listen from 22:05 · Gaza war
Bernie Sanders
Sanders praises Graham Platner's campaign as brilliant and comparable to Zohran Mamdani's anti-oligarchy campaign in New York.
“he has run a brilliant campaign to my mind, not dissimilar, Maine is obviously a very rural state, but not radically dissimilar from what Mamdani did”
Listen from 25:06 · 2026 United States Senate election in Maine
Bernie Sanders
Sanders rejects the claim that criticizing the Netanyahu government's policies makes someone antisemitic.
“if you are critical of the horrific policies of the Netanyahu government, you are somehow an anti-Semite. And that is totally absurd”
Listen from 27:12 · Gaza war
Peter Hamby
Hamby argues social media algorithms amplify extreme rhetoric, making it more prevalent on the left than before.
“I just think that it's easier to hear the crazy stuff that the algorithms have poured gasoline on than it ever was”
Listen from 37:17 · Political violence in the United States
Peter Hamby
Hamby cites CSIS data showing 2025 was the first year left-wing violent incidents and plots outnumbered right-wing ones, while noting the small numbers.
“2025 was the first year ever that left-wing violence and plots and or plots surpassed right-wing violence and or plots”
Listen from 40:52 · Political violence in the United States
Jon Lovett
Lovett argues that public comfort with killings such as those of the UnitedHealthcare CEO and Charlie Kirk is morally wrong regardless of whether it encourages future violence.
“the comfort that people have right whether it's the shooting of the united healthcare ceo or the the the the the killing of charlie kirk that is morally wrong”
Listen from 45:22 · Political violence in the United States
Linked moment · 47:53Skip to 47:53 using a listen link in the info box.
Peter Hamby
Hamby observes that recent political attackers share having grown up online with constant access to dark corners of the internet.
“all of these examples are people who grew up online”
Listen from 47:53 · Conspiracy theories in the United States
Jon Lovett
Lovett argues that right-adjacent podcasters in 2024 embraced their influence without accepting responsibility, and left-leaning influencers must avoid the same.
“you had people in the kind of manosphere, the kind of independent kind of right adjacent podcast world embracing their power, but not their responsibility”
Listen from 54:03 · Media credibility and independent journalism
Peter Hamby
Hamby cites an AP poll showing near majorities of Americans now get news from influencers and creators.
“near majorities of americans say they get news from influencers and creators now and that's a huge shift in just a few years”
Listen from 55:18 · Media credibility and independent journalism
Peter Hamby
Hamby characterizes Platner's general election race against Susan Collins as a toss-up, noting Maine's old and not very partisan electorate.
“Maine is the oldest electorate in the country. So it's also not very partisan”
Listen from 1:03:54 · 2026 United States Senate election in Maine
Peter Hamby
Hamby says Xavier Becerra has clear momentum in recent polling of the California governor's race.
“The last four polls, two independent, I think, and two sort of partisan, have showed him climbing and having clear momentum”
Listen from 1:08:14 · 2026 California gubernatorial election
Jon Lovett
Lovett argues California is in an emergency and that only Republican candidates showed passion about it in the debate.
“And the only people up there that seem to have fire about it were the Republicans”
Listen from 1:11:59 · 2026 California gubernatorial election

People

In the conversation

Jon LovettCo-host of Pod Save America; diarization split of the same speaker during the economics segment
Bernie SandersU.S. Senator from Vermont who discussed mail-in ballots before the 2020 election
Peter HambyPolitical journalist, founding partner of Puck and host of The Powers That Be podcast

Discussed

Max TegmarkMIT physicist and AI safety researcher who spoke on Sanders' panel
Geoffrey HintonComputer scientist and AI pioneer who has warned about AI risk
Scott BessentU.S. Treasury Secretary who criticized Sanders' AI panel
Mark WarnerDemocratic U.S. senator from Virginia who called the data center moratorium idiocy
Xi JinpingGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and paramount leader of China
Donald TrumpPresident of the United States whose conduct of the Iran war is the episode's main subject
Chris MurphyDemocratic U.S. Senator from Connecticut quoted on the TSA emergency
Ken MartinChair of the Democratic National Committee
Chuck SchumerSenate Democratic leader
Benjamin NetanyahuPrime Minister of Israel
Graham PlatnerPresumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine
Janet MillsGovernor of Maine who suspended her Senate campaign
Susan CollinsRepublican senator who noted Congress holds the power of the purse
Zohran MamdaniNew York Democratic politician described by Pape as a left-wing parallel to Trump's rapid rise
Jasmine CrockettU.S. representative from Texas
Jennifer WelchCo-host of the I've Had It podcast
Barack ObamaFormer president referenced in comparing 2010 midterm conditions
Isaac AsimovScience fiction author quoted in Hamby's piece
Xavier BecerraFormer U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and California attorney general running for governor
Tom SteyerDemocratic candidate for governor of California and billionaire investor
Katie PorterDemocratic candidate for governor of California
Steve HiltonRepublican candidate for governor of California and former Fox News host
Eric SwalwellDemocratic U.S. Representative and candidate for governor of California

Topics

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From the publisher

Lovett sits down with Senator Bernie Sanders about what we need to do rein in AI, getting super PAC money out of Democratic politics, and building support for stopping weapons sales to Israel. Then, Lovett speaks with Puck Political writer Peter Hamby to talk about his reporting on the embrace of political violence and conspiracy theories in certain corners of the political left, the big news in the Maine Senate race and the latest in the California governor's race. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here . For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 27, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Politics·Technology·News Commentary