Rewind: How AI is fueling an existential crisis in education

Rewind: How AI is fueling an existential crisis in education

Author: The Verge May 7, 2026 Duration: 42:05
Hey, everyone, Nilay here. We’re off today, while the team and I are cooking on a lot of really great stuff in the coming weeks. We’ll be back with an all-new interview on Monday.  In the meantime, we really wanted to highlight this episode we first aired in the fall, because it’s about a huge subject: AI in schools. The school year is starting to wrap up now around the country, and we’re no closer to figuring out how to thread the needle about generative AI in education than we were in September. Links:  A majority of high school students use gen AI for schoolwork | College Board About a quarter of teens have used ChatGPT for schoolwork | Pew Research Your brain on ChatGPT | MIT Media Lab My students think it’s fine to cheat with AI. Maybe they’re on to something. | Vox How children understand and learn from conversational AI | McGill University ‘File not Found’ | The Verge Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the intersection of power, innovation, and consequence, you'll find Decoder with Nilay Patel. Hosted by The Verge's editor-in-chief, this isn't a typical business or technology podcast that simply recites the news. Instead, Nilay engages with founders, CEOs, legislators, and artists in substantive conversations that dissect the mechanics behind major decisions. The dialogue focuses on the real-world implications of big ideas, probing how today's choices in boardrooms and legislatures ripple out into society tomorrow. You'll hear guests articulate their toughest challenges, the trade-offs they've made, and the often-unseen forces shaping industries from social media and artificial intelligence to transportation and entertainment. Each episode is built on a foundation of genuine curiosity, aiming to unpack not just what is happening, but why it matters for the way we all live and work. Listening to this podcast feels like gaining access to a nuanced, behind-the-scenes briefing where strategy and philosophy collide. It's for anyone who suspects that the most important stories aren't the announcements themselves, but the human decisions, the unforeseen problems, and the ethical calculations that happen long before the headlines are written. Through these detailed conversations, Decoder provides a crucial lens on the architects of our modern world and the complex systems they are building, for better or worse.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Decoder with Nilay Patel
Podcast Episodes
Recode Decode: Ron Klain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:36
Epidemic co-host Ron Klain, who led the White House's ebola response under President Obama, talks to Recode's Kara Swisher about how the COVID-19 outbreak will strain America's healthcare system; how President Trump down…
Recode Decode: Dr. Lloyd Minor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:56
Dr. Lloyd Minor, the dean of Stanford University's School of Medicine, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the novel coronavirus outbreak and his new book, "Discovering Precision Health: Predict, Prevent, and Cure to…
Recode Decode: Mark Lemley [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:59
Stanford Law School professor Mark Lemley talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about Silicon Valley's obsession with startups getting an "exit" — usually an acquisition by one of the tech giants — and why that trend is suffo…
Recode Decode: Aicha Evans and Jesse Levinson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:19
Zoox CEO Aicha Evans and CTO Jesse Levinson talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about their development of a fully autonomous robo-taxi, which will be designed for multiple passengers to share and is planned to hit public ro…
Recode Decode: Dan Pfeiffer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:09
Pod Save America co-host and former Obama advisor Dan Pfeiffer talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new book, Un-Trumping America: A Plan to Make America a Democracy Again, why Bernie Sanders owes a lot to Michael…
Recode Decode: Jason Calacanis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:16
Inside CEO and This Week in Startups host Jason Calacanis talks with Kara Swisher about the future of Uber after its troubled IPO, why one of the tech giants should buy Tesla, and Jeff Bezos' Achilles heel: His lack of g…
Recode Decode: Conor Dougherty [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:48
New York Times reporter Conor Dougherty talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about his new book, Golden Gates: Fighting For Housing in America. He talks about why San Francisco’s housing crisis is the “worst version of somet…
Recode Decode: Jorge Ramos [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:50
Univision anchor Jorge Ramos talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how much of the Latino vote President Trump might get in 2020, why Bernie Sanders’ comments about Fidel Castro might cost him dearly in a general electi…
Recode Decode: Steven Levy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:21
Technology journalist and Wired editor-at-large Steven Levy talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his latest book, Facebook: The Inside Story, for which he obtained years of direct access to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO…
Recode Decode: Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:50
Authors Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about their latest book together, The Future Is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Disrupting Business, Industries, and Our Li…