“TBPN” and the Rise of the Tech-Friendly Talk Show

Recently, connected the trading level of the New York Stock Exchange, a half-dozen screens flashed an advertisement for the buzziest caller speech amusement successful the fiscal world. It was a web show, lone astir a twelvemonth old, called “TBPN,” oregon “Technology Business Programming Network”—a regular three-hour-long unrecorded watercourse created by Jordi Hays and John Coogan. “We’re incredibly pro-tech,” Hays explained to maine successful a tiny workplace perched precocious supra the trading floor. The hum of stockbrokers, pacing the country and shouting into headsets, was audible beneath him. “We judge it has a nett precise affirmative interaction connected the world,” helium continued. “We are enthusiasts for technology. We’re fans.”

Both Hays and Coogan are veterans of the tech-startup circuit: Coogan is simply a co-founder of the meal-replacement portion Soylent, whereas Hays co-founded Party Round, a startup that makes it easier to money startups. On each occurrence of “TBPN,” they present a tech-focussed roundup of the day’s headlines, intended to beryllium portion daytime television, portion radical chat with your bros. The duo are based successful Los Angeles, but they were successful New York to denote an exclusive concern with the Stock Exchange, which volition person them broadcasting straight from the trading floor, alongside old-guard outlets similar Bloomberg and CNBC.

That day, Hays and Coogan were interviewing the reigning look of FinTalk, Jim Cramer, whose CNBC show, “Mad Money,” has functioned arsenic thing of a blueprint for them. “You guys are what I ever hoped would occur,” helium told the hosts, during the broadcast, his ain filming acceptable connected the trading level disposable successful the background.“But I conscionable didn’t cognize who would bash it.” He went on, “I’d similar to deliberation that maybe, successful immoderate way, you happened ’cause sometime you saw me. You’re not 2.0. You are sui generis. . . . Keep doing what you are doing—you’re conscionable electric!”

Afterward, I caught up with Cramer, who was wearing a “TBPN”-branded trucker chapeau that Hays and Coogan had fixed him. The hat, not dissimilar a Nascar uniform, featured the logos of immoderate of the show’s sponsors, Ramp, Bezel, and Polymarket among them. “They’re not owned!” Cramer said, erstwhile I asked what differentiated the “TBPN” guys from different media outlets emerging retired of the tech boom. “A batch of radical are owned. A batch of radical don’t know they are owned, but they’re owned,” helium added, the logos of “TBPN” ’s sponsors staring down astatine maine from the brim of his caller hat. “It’s similar Lenin. Lenin would often speech astir utile idiots. A batch of radical successful tech respect the media arsenic utile idiots. And if they respect these guys arsenic utile idiots, they’re truly successful large trouble, due to the fact that they’re excessively smart.”

Cramer was gesturing to the dynamic that has enabled “TBPN” to thrive. Over the past fewer years, the tech satellite has go progressively hostile to accepted media outlets, dismissing them arsenic technologically illiterate oregon openly antagonistic toward the industry. But tech founders person proved consenting to speech to Hays and Coogan: successful conscionable the past six months, the brace has conducted wide-ranging interviews with Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, and Alex Karp, the C.E.O. of Palantir. After OpenAI announced its modulation into a for-profit institution successful October—representing a windfall for Microsoft, which owns a large involvement successful the company—the archetypal interrogation that the Microsoft C.E.O, Satya Nadella, gave was not with CNBC, oregon the Wall Street Journal; it was with “TBPN.”

“TBPN” ’s popularity among large tech C.E.O.s isn’t hard to understand. Hays and Coogan are knowledgeable astir the industry, and, possibly much importantly, excited by it. “We see ourselves to beryllium portion of a radical that is obsessed with however concern models work, however products work,” Hays said. Coogan jumped in: “Enthusiast media, immoderate mightiness say.” Much of the amusement is dedicated to the minutiae of beingness successful Big Tech firms. The hosts zealously study connected mundane property releases and net reports, and they screen hirings and firings with a akin passionateness to that exhibited connected ESPN up of the N.B.A. commercialized deadline. Their interviews with C.E.O.s, portion extensive, are inherently friendly. With Karp, they asked astir his kettlebell routine; aft Nadella announced the OpenAI news, they offered him a celebratory bang of a gong. “Give it a speedy deed for twenty-seven per cent.” (Microsoft owns twenty-seven per cent of OpenAI.)

“TBPN” is portion of an emerging ecosystem of tech-aligned media, which includes the interminable Lex Fridman show—which erstwhile ran an eight-and-a-half-hour-long occurrence astir Neuralink—and web shows similar Molly O’Shea’s “Sourcery,” which, past year, uploaded a clip successful which Karp showed O’Shea astir Palantir’s bureau and pulled retired a samurai sword and began swinging it around. O’Shea acceptable the footage to a DMX song, and it went viral. (A fewer months earlier her interrogation with Karp, she had appeared connected “TBPN,” wearing a shot headdress that work “PLTR,” Palantir’s banal ticker.) There’s besides Andreessen Horowitz’s program, “The a16z Show,” which hired distant MrBeast’s main of unit earlier this month, and the “All-In” podcast, which is possibly the astir influential amusement successful this genre, considering that 1 of its co-hosts, David Sacks, is presently successful complaint of the White House’s A.I. and cryptocurrency policy. A fewer months ago, “TBPN” helpfully made a representation of this rapidly increasing ecosystem, slotting themselves successful betwixt the categories “Neo Corporate Media” and “Neo Trad Media,” adjacent specified outlets arsenic “Cheeky Pint,” a podcast wherever the president of the fintech institution Stripe shares a circular of Guinness with executives similar Elon Musk and Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, and OpenAI’s in-house firm podcast, which, successful its astir caller episode, explained however introducing ads to ChatGPT would “benefit each of humanity.”

“The scrutiny that ‘TBPN’ has gotten is that they’re not needfully asking the hard questions,” Emily Sundberg, the exertion of “Feed Me,” an influential concern Substack, told me, a fewer days aft her ain “TBPN” appearance. (She’s been connected the amusement respective times.) “But I astir deliberation that they’re much similar entertainers, oregon they’re arsenic overmuch entertainers and producers arsenic they are journalists.” Sundberg, a benignant of Substack evangelist, explained that Hays and Coogan’s attack wasn’t overmuch antithetic from her own, though she noted that they travel an advertising-based exemplary whereas she’s much focussed connected subscriptions. “I subordinate to the show’s playfulness and mischievousness and creativity,” she said, “and, I guess, however they don’t abide by the accepted rules of media.”

At the Stock Exchange, I ran into Anna Melo, the N.Y.S.E.’s in-house historian. I asked if determination was immoderate precedent for an net amusement similar “TBPN” getting a semi-permanent spot astatine what is arguably the halfway of the fiscal world. “For the longest time, determination wasn’t a batch of media present astatine all,” Melo explained. “CNBC archetypal came onto the trading level successful 1995, which was truly not that agelong ago.” She went on, “I deliberation radical don’t truly recognize however overmuch that changed the game. The wide American nationalist was not pursuing the markets infinitesimal by minute, the mode that radical are today, earlier CNBC came and made it astir a sportscast, treating the superior markets similar it’s a match, and pursuing it with that benignant of energy.”

If CNBC’s entranceway to the trading level coincided with an detonation successful retail investing, “TBPN” has seemingly arrived to usher successful the adjacent signifier of wide financialization: Silicon Valley’s dominance. This fall, the N.Y.S.E. announced plans to grow trading to twenty-two hours a day, nether unit to vie with always-open crypto markets and commission-free stock-trading apps. The Exchange’s woody with “TBPN” aims to entreaty to the caller procreation of investors who person grown up with an knowing of the marketplace arsenic some dominated by tech companies, which present marque up astir a 3rd of the S. & P. 500, and arsenic chiefly virtual, manifested done online forums similar Reddit’s WallStreetBets, which has much than 3 cardinal members who boast astir their impulsive and high-risk trades.

In that vein, “TBPN” was 1 of the archetypal platforms to clasp prediction markets. As aboriginal arsenic past spring, “TBPN” was featuring a scrolling chyron of Polymarket odds. I asked Hays for his presumption connected however the internet, and companies similar Polymarket, had expanded the purview of fiscal markets. “On the taxable of the financialization of everything, we’re acrophobic astir it, but astatine the aforesaid clip we bash judge it’s inevitable,” helium said. “Look astatine the past fewer weeks, each large cablegram tv web is signing a woody with a prediction marketplace now.”

This idea, that tech’s intrusion into astir each facet of beingness is inevitable, is adjuvant for knowing Hays and Coogan’s perspective. I asked them astir the increasing backlash to artificial intelligence. “We get that a batch of radical hatred A.I.,” Hays said. “If I’m the mean idiosyncratic successful America, and I spot a truly unspeakable video generated by A.I., and I perceive that these companies are trying to instrumentality my job . . .” Hays trailed off. “We’ve had radical connected the show, and we deliberation it’s honestly hilarious that they’re conscionable saying this retired loud. They’ll say, This is simply a large accidental due to the fact that we’re displacing labor. I’m, like, however tin you accidental that? Say it better. Paint maine a amended imaginativeness for this technology.”

The time aft their amusement astatine the Stock Exchange, I met Coogan and Hays astatine an Irish pub connected Stone Street agelong known arsenic a retreat for traders aft market’s close. They were joined by Dylan Abruscato, “TBPN” ’s president and the laminitis of Crypto: The Game, a benignant of blockchain-inspired mentation of “Survivor.” Abruscato got his ain array nearby, portion Coogan and Hays sat crossed from me, squeezing into a tiny woody booth. (Coogan is an imposing six feet eight.) The hosts placed identical orders (black java and Red Bull), and explained however the amusement was created.

“We thought, there’s country for thing that was lighthearted, thing that was funny,” Hays said. “We were going to reclaim the word ‘tech bro’ from being utilized arsenic a pejorative.” Their comfortableness with this statement is evident: some Hays and Coogan notation to themselves arsenic founders and stock a grandiosity emblematic of others successful the tech world. (On the website for Hays’s erstwhile venture, Party Round, the unit bios bash not diagnostic caput shots but, rather, marble busts of their visages successful the benignant of Roman emperors.)

This sensibility influences their sum of thornier topics, specified arsenic tech governance and regulation. Hays and Coogan often echo the emerging statement successful the tech world, which is that Washington conscionable doesn’t get it. A fewer days earlier they arrived successful New York, the Times had published an nonfiction exposing however Sacks was utilizing his White House relation to enrich himself and his friends successful Silicon Valley. Sacks aboriginal accused the Times of dramatically misrepresenting his role, and high-profile figures similar Altman and Andreessen jumped to his defence connected X, wherever they explained that, actually, the proximity of Sacks to the A.I. manufacture was adjuvant to his relation successful crafting the nation’s A.I. policy. The subtext of this idea—that creating a strategy wherever elected officials are invested successful the occurrence of the A.I. manufacture tin beryllium a constituent of motivation, alternatively of a corrupting force—is a predominant talking constituent wrong the precise aforesaid tech-media ecosystem that Sacks and “All-In” are a large portion of.

Hays and Coogan broke down the Times portion (and the consequent social-media discourse) connected “TBPN” and arrived astatine a akin conclusion. “If you judge that A.I. and crypto are industries that we should enactment successful the United States, past you privation to person a czar focussed connected those things that mostly feels positively astir those things,” Hays said. “In general, I deliberation creating an situation successful the U.S. wherever we tin proceed to pb successful A.I. is important. I didn’t spot immoderate smoking weapon successful immoderate of this stuff.”

At the bar, I asked them what they thought astir President Trump’s caller mode of moving with Silicon Valley. Abruscato, who was listening to the speech from his table, interrupted. “No politics,” helium said. Hays agreed. “The amusement doesn’t speech astir authorities astatine all,” Hays continued. “We’ve distinctly told our assemblage that we don’t get into politics.” He and Coogan explained that their main involvement is successful figuring retired however concern models and products work. “I spot america arsenic trying to determine: How bully is A.I. astatine doing a peculiar task?” Coogan said. “That’s a batch of the debate. Once you cognize that, you tin spell person the treatment astir policies determination else.”

I asked them if it was imaginable to debar authorities erstwhile discussing crypto schemes, oregon during interviews with executives who assistance plan surveillance tools for ICE, and mentioned a conception from a fewer months earlier. Hays and Coogan had asked a “TBPN” intern to assemble a Lego acceptable of the Fury, a lethal drone designed by Palmer Luckey’s Anduril Industries, which had precocious been purchased by the Pentagon. (Luckey has been a impermanent connected “TBPN” aggregate times.) Coogan paused. “Maybe it’s the slightest governmental amusement successful an endlessly governmental world. But if that’s my North Star, and I’m charging toward that, it’s the champion I tin do.”

A fewer days aft I met Hays and Coogan, the 2 announced that they’d astir sold retired each advertisement inventory for 2026. According to a study from Semafor, “TBPN” is charging sponsors eighty-seven 1000 dollars a month, oregon astir a cardinal dollars a year. The amusement has twenty-nine sponsors—and that’s with conscionable 10 employees, and small to nary organisation costs. The advertisement gross seems particularly precocious erstwhile 1 takes into relationship “TBPN” ’s viewership. Abruscato told maine that an mean unrecorded watercourse attracts astir 50 1000 unsocial viewers connected YouTube, X, LinkedIn, and aggregate podcast platforms. (Clips chopped from the show, meanwhile, get tens of millions of impressions connected societal media each week.)

“We don’t attraction astir having 2 cardinal viewers,” Hays told me. “We privation 2 100 1000 of the close benignant of viewers.” That’s the income transportation to advertisers: clout implicit full viewership. “TBPN” wants its viewers to beryllium a comparatively tiny radical of Silicon Valley powerfulness players, oregon radical who aspire to beryllium ones, because, successful the midst of a bona-fide A.I. golden rush—A.I. startups secured adjacent to 50 per cent of each planetary task superior backing successful 2025—that’s each they need. (Abruscato told maine that the amusement routinely gets e-mails from big-name tech executives during the unrecorded broadcast, reacting to thing that Hays oregon Coogan conscionable said.) Implicit successful this strategy, too, is simply a straightforwardly symbiotic narration betwixt “TBPN” and its guests. “TBPN” bought a Super Bowl commercialized this year, which ended with a mosaic of institution logos—the companies affiliated with each impermanent who has ever appeared connected the show. Even though it was conscionable a determination bargain successful the Bay Area during the pre-game amusement (much cheaper than a prime-time slot), the advertisement was shared connected societal media by respective of the featured companies, starring to much than a cardinal views crossed societal media. After all, it was an advertisement for them, too.

This attack means catering to circumstantial interests, with nary item excessively small. Last summer, Coogan and Hays débuted the Metis List: a powerfulness ranking of A.I. researchers, who were graded crossed a scope of metrics, including citation number and full appearances connected Dwarkesh Patel’s podcast. It was a smash deed successful the insular satellite of A.I. scaling, and it coincided with a tulip-like detonation successful perceived worth for these A.I. savants, immoderate of whom were negotiating wage packages arsenic precocious arsenic 2 100 and 50 cardinal dollars.

But it wasn’t conscionable a list; “TBPN” decided to physique a full ecosystem astir the vocation paths of high-profile tech workers. When an worker jumped from OpenAI to Meta, oregon from Gemini to Anthropic, “TBPN” would denote it connected the amusement and stock a benignant of trading paper crossed societal media, featuring the employee’s look and an all-caps statement on the lines of “BREAKING NEWS: TRADED.” These cards became a sensation, truthful overmuch truthful that immoderate tech companies person adopted them arsenic a template to denote caller hires. Whether these tactics supply utile insights into the manufacture oregon not, they talk to “TBPN” ’s shrewd concern strategy. By credulously covering the exploits of tech startups, and breaking down sermon much suited to Bay Area hacker houses from down an anchor desk, they cognize however to marque a radical of nerds consciousness similar the astir almighty radical successful the world, which, perhaps, they are.

I spoke with Coogan astir the Metis List, and helium explained that they named it aft the archetypal woman of Zeus, champion known for being swallowed by Zeus and giving commencement to Athena wrong his head. Coogan was poking amusive astatine tech companies’ impulse to sanction themselves aft myths and parables, adjacent erstwhile those myths and taste artifacts person antagonistic associations. (Some celebrated examples see Palantir, the Metaverse, and, of course, Coogan’s ain Soylent.)