Show Notes
Can Tim Cook save Apple from the trade war? Has Mark Zuckerberg really been a fan of Donald Trump all along? And is the bromance between Elon Musk and the president really over?
In a new season of Tech Tonic, Murad Ahmed explores the relationships between Trump and some of the titans of the tech world. What is really driving those relationships, and what might they mean for the future of technology in the US and beyond?
Free to read:
‘He is power’: billionaires line up for Donald Trump’s inauguration
Donald Trump lashes out at Apple over plan to ship US iPhones from India
How Jeff Bezos made peace with Donald Trump
What has Elon Musk’s Doge actually achieved?
How Joel Kaplan became Mark Zuckerberg’s most trusted political fixer
How Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley funded the sudden rise of JD Vance
This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Murad Ahmed and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music, Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the FT’s acting co-heads of audio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from FT Tech Tonic
Could AI help us understand ourselves and each other better? Writer and philosopher Alain de Botton speaks to the FT’s Madhumita Murgia about the challenges we face navigating human relationships, and how AI might be able to help. Recorded live at the FT Weekend Festival.
Murad Ahmed speaks to FT journalist Sarah O’Connor about her new book ‘We Are Not Machines’, which explores the impact AI is already having on workplaces. They discuss how Swedish miners dealt with the introduction of AI-powered vehicles, and how Czech translators found AI stealing the most creative part of their job. Recorded live at the FT Weekend Festival.
AI-related investments are now worth up to half of the entire value of the S&P 500. But is the AI investment boom a bubble waiting to burst? Tim Bradshaw, the FT’s global technology correspondent, speaks to Richard Kramer, founder of Arete Research, and Ophelia Brown, founder of Blossom Capital. Recorded live at the FT Weekend Festival on 5th September 2026.
At the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas earlier this year, athletes used performance-enhancing drugs and banned equipment in an attempt to break world records. At the same time, companies such as Adidas are designing new types of equipment that fall within the rules, but give athletes an edge. So where is the line between cheating and innovation?
Video-assistant refereeing (VAR) has proved to be one of the most controversial pieces of technology ever introduced in sports. But with the rise of everything from broadcasting gimmicks to data-driven gambling, it’s far from the only technology changing what it means to be a fan. The FT’s sports editor Josh Noble asks whether these advancements are making sport more fun to watch, or overshadowing the event itself.