Caropop podcast

1:14:43

Artificial intelligence is evolving at an unprecedented pace—what does that mean for the future of technology, venture capital, business, and even our understanding of ourselves? Award-winning journalist and writer Anil Ananthaswamy joins us for our latest episode to discuss his latest book Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI . Anil helps us explore the journey and many breakthroughs that have propelled machine learning from simple perceptrons to the sophisticated algorithms shaping today’s AI revolution, powering GPT and other models. The discussion aims to demystify some of the underlying math that powers modern machine learning to help everyone grasp this technology impacting our lives, even if your last math class was in high school. Anil walks us through the power of scaling laws, the shift from training to inference optimization, and the debate among AI’s pioneers about the road to AGI—should we be concerned, or are we still missing key pieces of the puzzle? The conversation also delves into AI’s philosophical implications—could understanding how machines learn help us better understand ourselves? And what challenges remain before AI systems can truly operate with agency? If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Sign up for our newsletter at techsurgepodcast.com for exclusive insights and updates on upcoming TechSurge Live Summits. Links: Read Why Machines Learn, Anil’s latest book on the math behind AI https://www.amazon.com/Why-Machines-Learn-Elegant-Behind/dp/0593185749 Learn more about Anil Ananthaswamy’s work and writing https://anilananthaswamy.com/ Watch Anil Ananthaswamy’s TED Talk on AI and intelligence https://www.ted.com/speakers/anil_ananthaswamy Discover the MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship that shaped Anil’s AI research https://ksj.mit.edu/ Understand the Perceptron, the foundation of neural networks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptron Read about the Perceptron Convergence Theorem and its significance https://www.nature.com/articles/323533a0…

Caropop

Series home•Feed

There may be nothing more inspiring and entertaining than relaxed, candid conversations among creative people. Mark Caro, a relentlessly curious journalist and on-stage interviewer, loves digging into the creative process with artists and drawing out surprising stories that illuminate the work that has become part of our lives. The Caropopcast is for anyone who wants to dig deeper into the music, movies, food and culture that they love.

175 episodes

#Mark Caro #Music #Pt. 2

Caropop

updated 2 days ago

Series home•Feed

175 episodes

#Mark Caro #Music #Pt. 2

Kaikki jaksot

Caropop

1
Mike Mills (R.E.M.) 1:03:00

2 days ago1:03:00

1:03:00

Mike Mills of R.E.M. and the Baseball Project and a new supergroup with Darius Rucker is here, and we’ve got questions: How did R.E.M. come to share all songwriting credits, and why did Mills initially object? What impact did the albums’ producers have? Given the bandmates’ senses of humor, why wouldn’t R.E.M. smile in photographs? Had R.E.M. decided to call it quits before it made Collapse into Now ? What songs did Michael Stipe transform in surprising ways when he added lyrics and vocals? Did Stipe complete every song handed to him by Mills, Peter Buck and/or Bill Berry, and if not, would they consider going back to any of them? Have the Michael Shannon/Jason Narducy R.E.M.-celebrating live shows given Mills new perspective on any of those songs or made him want to play them again with his old bandmates? Why hasn’t Mills been driven to make a solo album? And what happened when Mills joined Bruce Springsteen on stage? (Photo by Cass Bird.)…

Caropop

1
Dave Alvin, Pt. 2 54:17

9 days ago54:17

54:17

Part 2 of our conversation with guitarist-songwriter-singer-storyteller Dave Alvin begins with him discussing musical biopics and the one that put him off the genre for good. (Hint: He was in it.) Has he seen A Complete Unknown ? How did he wind up actually recording with Bob Dylan? Will any of these recordings ever come out? Alvin also revisits his early songwriting efforts, including the first song he ever wrote and “Marie Marie,” which he wrote for the Blasters and became an international hit for Welsh rocker Shakin’ Stevens. More recently, Alvin had to overcome neuropathy from his chemotherapy treatments to resume playing guitar. How much of his focus now is on being a musician, as opposed to writing songs? What’s next? And what was it like when he left the Blasters and realized that not all bands fight? (Photo by Leslie Campbell.)…

Caropop

1
Dave Alvin, Pt. 1 1:04:09

16 days ago1:04:09

1:04:09

Dave Alvin has had such an epic career that we’re going to need two episodes to fit it all in. Much of Part 1 spotlights Alvin’s values as a musician. As he tells it, the Blasters, the revved-up L.A. roots-rock band for which he was the main songwriter/guitarist, had lots of rules. The Third Mind, his current psychedelic improvisatory band, has few. Why does the latter appeal to him now? How did seeing Jimi Hendrix twice inspire him? What were his stints in the Knitters and X like? When Alvin emerged on the other side of cancer treatments, why was restarting the Third Mind his top priority? How is what they’re doing the opposite of “choreographed modern music”? At a time when, Alvin says, “most pop music is a Broadway show,” why is it important to be a little out of control? (Photo by Steven Dewall.)…

Caropop

1
Bob Jackson (Badfinger) 1:02:59

23 days ago1:02:59

1:02:59

Do you know the tragic story of Badfinger? Behind such life-affirming songs as “No Matter What,” “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue” and the much-covered power ballad “Without You” lay a dark tale in which Badfinger’s manager defrauded the band and left them destitute. Bob Jackson played keyboards and guitar in the last Badfinger lineup that featured Pete Ham, the honey-voiced singer-songwriter behind most of those hits. This lineup recorded the album Head First in late 1974, but Warner Bros. refused to release it amid the manager’s financial misconduct. Ham took his own life months later. Bassist-singer-songwriter Tom Evans would take his own life in 1983. A rough mix of Head First finally came out in 2000, but Jackson, the last surviving member of the lineup that recorded it, marked its 50th anniversary by locating the original multi-tracks and releasing what he considers the definitive version. Jackson recounts his fraught yet creatively productive time with Badfinger, his chilling final visit with Ham, and how bringing the music of Head First to the world became his raison d'etre .…

Caropop

1
Nora O'Connor (The Flat Five) 1:09:46

4 weeks ago1:09:46

1:09:46

Nora O’Connor is a super collaborator, someone who loves singing harmonies and makes everyone sound good. She’s a member of the Chicago all-star group the Flat Five and a formidable singer-songwriter in her own right, as her 2022 solo album, My Heart , her first in 18 years, reminded us. Here she reflects on her life as “a music worker,” including what she’s learned from performing with such artists as the Decemberists, Iron & Wine, Mavis Staples, Andrew Bird, the New Pornographers and Neko Case. How has she has balanced her career and family life—and would a male performer have faced similar challenges? What ambitions does she have for herself and the Flat Five? What's the secret behind the alchemy she creates with frequent collaborator/Flat Five bandmate Kelly Hogan? And what role has the Chicago club the Hideout played in her musical life?…

Caropop

1
Macie Stewart (Finom) 1:04:04

5 weeks ago1:04:04

1:04:04

Macie Stewart, half of the Chicago-based duo Finom, is one of those musicians who can do almost anything. She’s a classical pianist and violinist who wrote her first piece for an orchestra at age 11 and still creates string arrangements, such as on her 2021 solo album Mouth Full of Glass . She also taught herself acoustic guitar and began writing songs on it when she was 13. When she finally picked up an electric guitar, she and fellow singer-songwriter-guitarist Sima Cunningham formed an experimental side project that has blossomed into Finom, which released one of 2024’s best albums, Not God . What distinguishes what Stewart writes for Finom and herself? What telltale characteristics do Stewart and Cunningham each bring to Finom songs? How did Jeff Tweedy push them in the studio? And what drives Stewart's creativity? (Photo by Shannon Marks.)…

Caropop

1
Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, The Third Mind) 1:23:58

6 weeks ago1:23:58

1:23:58

Michael Jerome had been drumming in a post-industrial metal band when he auditioned for Richard Thompson in 1999, little knowing he would be this brilliant guitarist's percussive foil for the next 25 years and counting. Jerome also has played with Charlie Musselwhite, the Blind Boys of Alabama and, for several years, John Cale. He’s been Better Than Ezra’s drummer since 2009 and played and toured with Slash for his latest album—and what started as an experimental side project is now moving center stage: The Third Mind, the improvisatory psychedelic band assembled by Dave Alvin and Victor Krummenacher. As thoughtful in conversation as he is dazzling behind his kit, Jerome tells how he developed his unique style and adapts it for each project—and he relates what it’s like to be in Los Angeles now as he tries to help friends and others who have lost almost everything in the catastrophic wildfires. (Photo by Robby Klein.)…

Caropop

1
Kevin Gray 2025 54:57

7 weeks ago54:57

54:57

It's time for our fourth annual check-in with masterful mastering engineer Kevin Gray as he comes off yet another crazy-busy year. What new did he and Doors engineer/producer Bruce Botnick think they could bring to the instant-sellout Rhino High Fidelity box The Doors 1967-1971 ? Which Rhino High Fidelity album doesn’t make sense to him as an audiophile release? Among Rhino, Blue Note and Craft’s Original Jazz Classics, which label works far in advance, and which one keeps him rushing? Is he still learning anything after all these years? How does he plan to balance his mastering work with his own Cohearent Records label— and what key role did his granddaughter play in the upcoming album from saxophonist Cory Weeds? And which expensive type of release does Gray consider to be “an absolute scam foisted on the buying public”?…

Caropop

1
Steven McDonald (Redd Kross) 1:21:32

8 weeks ago1:21:32

1:21:32

Redd Kross, a band overdue for massive appreciation, is having a moment. There’s a new page-turner of a memoir, Now You’re One of Us , co-written by brother bandmates Jeff and Steven McDonald with Dan Epstein. Their narrative rocks to life in Andrew Reich’s new documentary, Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story. The movie, in turn, inspired the 2024 double album Redd Kross , a candy-colored collection of irresistible hooks, massive riffs and sharp reflections, all wrapped in a cover that one brother thought shouldn't be red. Steven McDonald, the younger bass-playing brother, opens up here about what it’s been like to work with Jeff (a previous Caropop guest) since the age of 11, his abduction at age 13, his increased songwriting role in Redd Kross, how he juggles his many Redd Kross duties with playing in the Melvins and other bands, what Kurt Cobain said to tick him off and why he takes Redd Kross's commercial struggles personally.…

Caropop

1
Bruce Spizer (Beatles U.S. 1964 Albums in Mono) 1:11:25

9 weeks ago1:11:25

1:11:25

Beatles author Bruce Spizer wrote the liner notes for the new vinyl box The Beatles U.S. 1964 Albums in Mono, and here he digs into the history of these reconfigured U.S. Capitol albums, from Meet the Beatles! through Beatles ’65 and The Early Beatles. Spizer is a New Orleans tax lawyer and CPA, and that expertise has helped him untangle the Beatles’ early dealings with labels such as Chicago’s Vee-Jay. Capitol executive Dave Dexter passed on the Beatles four times before being put in charge of their U.S. releases, and Spizer details how Dexter added singles and cut out other songs to create the albums that introduced millions of listeners to the Beatles. Then there’s the sound of this all-analog-from-the-original-masters collection, with Spizer discussing how the U.S. mixes were different and sometimes more exciting than their U.K. counterparts. (Photo by Zach Smith.)…

Caropop

1
Steve Conte 1:11:31

10 weeks ago1:11:31

1:11:31

Steve Conte became lead guitarist in one legendary band, the New York Dolls, and co-wrote half of his latest album, The Concrete Jangle , with the main singer-songwriter of another one: Andy Partridge of XTC. Conte is a longtime New York working musician who has played with such artists as Paul Simon, Peter Wolf, Phoebe Snow and, in a great story, Chuck Berry. Now he has released two solo albums on Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool label and has two songs vying for the Coolest Song of the World 2024 on Little Steven’s Underground Garage. Here he recalls what it was like to join the New York Dolls and to work with David Johansen—and with guitar in hand, he tells how he got connected with Partridge and demonstrates how the two of them wrote some very catchy songs together. (Photo by Anja van Ast.)…

Caropop

1
Don Was, Pt. 2 (Blue Note President) 50:28

11 weeks ago50:28

50:28

Don Was may be an accomplished performer and producer, as covered in Pt. l, but he’s also got quite the day job: president of Blue Note Records. How did this rock-funk musician become the top executive at one of the most prestigious, influential jazz labels? What was the Blue Note album that turned him on to jazz when he was 14 years old? What early mistakes did he make at the label, and how did the Tone Poet reissue series factor into the solution? How much does Was prioritize new artists? What have been the most significant releases of his tenure? How much of Blue Note’s business is catalog vs. new releases? Which legendary performer is he producing right now? And what is Bob Dylan like to produce? (Photo by Myriam Santos)…

Caropop

1
Don Was, Pt. 1 (Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, B-52's) 52:37

12 weeks ago52:37

52:37

His ‘80s band Was (Not Was) scored a top 10 hit, “Walk the Dinosaur,” but Don Was has had an even greater impact on the music world as a producer. In 1989 he produced two big comebacks: Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-winning Nick of Time and “Love Shack” and other songs on the B-52’s Cosmic Thing . Then came work with Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Willie Nelson and—in a long, fruitful collaboration—the Rolling Stones. He’s got amazing stories detailing his Stones job interview and the origin of Cindy Wilson’s cry of “Tin roof! Rusted.” He also relates how he helps artists get to the essence of what they do best. Then there’s his own return to performing in Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble and how playing live helps him as a producer and as president of Blue Note Records (the subject of next week's episode).…

Caropop

1
Caropop Happy Thanksgiving 2024 2:45

13 weeks ago2:45

2:45

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you so much for listening to Caropop since our launch in the fall of 2021. We’re now 157 episodes and more than three years in, and we can’t wait to share more great conversations about creative work with you. Please enjoy this brief message from the Caropop team, and take this opportunity to catch up on any episodes you may have missed, and we'll be back with another fantastic guest next week. Thanks!…

Caropop

1
Graham Gouldman (10cc) 1:00:55

14 weeks ago1:00:55