Fear and loathing at OpenAI | The Verge

PodcastsAITechFear and loathing at OpenAIOn The Vergecast: what it takes to be in charge of AI, some vibe-coding and DIY work, and Brendan Carr.On The Vergecast: what it takes to be in charge of AI, some vibe-coding and DIY work, and Brendan Carr.by David PierceApr 10, 2026, 12:23 PM UTCLinkShareGiftDavid Pierce is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.Sam Altman’s tenure at OpenAI has been… messy. Messy to the point where Altman was briefly fired from his role as CEO, only to be reinstated days later, at which point he began reshaping the organization permanently. This week, The New Yorker published a deep look at Altman, his time at OpenAI, and the questions about whether he’s the right person to be in charge of a technology as important and transformative as artificial intelligence.Verge subscribers, don’t forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. Head here. Not a subscriber? You can sign up here.On this episode of The Vergecast, David and Nilay discuss OpenAI, the profile, Altman, and everything. Eventually. First, they have some projects to talk about. Nilay has finally concluded his journey to turn an iMac into a monitor, though he ran into a few snags along the way. David managed to vibe-code the productivity app of his dreams, though not before accidentally tapping into someone else’s dreams. The hosts compa...