Casey Newton – your new friend who will keep you informed about tech

When I was younger, I told my mom that I would never have to get my drivers license because by the time I was 16, self driving cars would be everywhere. My prediction was, of course, incorrect, but my fascination with the evolution of technology and its integration in society remains.

In comes "Hard Fork." The weekly New York Times podcast, hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, informs listeners about the biggest stories in tech, answers listener questions, and features interviews with professionals in the industry. I began listening after Roose’s story about ChatGBT falling in love with him and have been hooked ever since.

"Hard Fork" is not explicitly an opinion podcast, but the hosts don’t shy away from integrating their personal views within the analysis. Kevin Roose writes tech news articles for the Times and Casey Newton has a substack called Platformer, where he provides his opinion and analysis on tech news.

Platformer has 155,355 subscribers, and produces three newsletters a week. The newsletter consists of the main article and links to relevant stories in the categories of industry and governing. Lastly, he includes some quality X posts from the week (which he also features on his instagram story every day.

A recent newsletter features some of his takeaways from the latest biography on Elon Musk written by Walter Isaacson. The “Hard Fork” episode a few days later included an interview with Isaacson himself. What I like most about Newton’s reporting is how accessible it is for readers who may be interested in tech but may not have a degree from MIT to support it. Though I don’t know the first thing about coding or how electric vehicles work, his articles are approachable and demonstrate his journalistic skill.

Though his journalistic skill is irrefutable, one of Newton’s most likable qualities is his humor. He can make even a conversation about superconductors amusing. Unlike his columns, his commentary in the podcast seems somewhat off the cuff and listeners can expect witty remarks interspersed in the thought provoking conversation.

One recurring segment in "HardFork" is “HatGBT” where Roose and Newton pull tech news stories out of a hat and discuss them, moving onto the next topic when one of them says “stop generating,” which the command used to tell ChatGBT to essentially stop the response.

Unlike ChatGBT, I hope that Newton never stops generating.