Sunday Pick: Tech Solutions (#3): How one of China's biggest tech companies is tackling carbon removal (with Xu Hao)
Host Sherelle Dorsey talks with Dr. Xu Hao, Vice President of Sustainable Social Value at Tencent, about how the company is investing in and accelerating carbon removal and decarbonization technologies, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like steel, cement, and chemicals. They examine the cost and scaling challenges these technologies face, the role of digital tools such as AI, data, and virtual power plants in improving efficiency and cutting emissions, and Tencent's own path toward carbon neutrality and net zero. The conversation also covers Tencent's use of video games for climate education and the need to pursue multiple climate solutions in the face of uncertainty about which technologies will ultimately dominate.
Government Shutdown, OpenAI's Sora 2, and Hegseth's Lecture
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, its political dynamics, and how Democrats and Republicans are messaging around healthcare subsidies and spending. They analyze Electronic Arts' record leveraged buyout led by Saudi capital, the strategic push by Gulf states into gaming, and OpenAI's new video-generation tool and the broader copyright and synthetic-relationship concerns around AI, including Scott's decision to take down an AI version of himself built with Google Labs. The hosts also critique Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's appearance before senior military leaders, review social platforms' multimillion-dollar settlements with Donald Trump, and end with a prediction that Netflix should pursue a mega-merger with Disney, plus a brief tribute to Jane Goodall.