Why the U.S. Government Is Taking a 10% Stake in Intel | EP 151

President Trump announced this week that the U.S. government, in a highly unusual deal, had agreed to take a 10 percent stake in the chip maker Intel, and that he was considering similar investments in other companies. We discuss why Trump cares so much about Intel, what the government is trying to accomplish with this deal, and how people in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are reacting. Then Waymo’s co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana joins us in the studio to discuss the company’s strategy for expanding its driverless car service to Miami, D.C. and the snowy Northeast. And finally, we introduce a new segment where we run through the most surprising technology projects the Trump family is getting involved in.

Guest:

Tekedra Mawakana, co-chief executive of Waymo

Additional Reading:

Intel Agrees to Sell U.S. a 10% Stake in Its Business
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/te...

First Lady Melania Trump Launches Nationwide Presidential A.I. Challenge
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-...

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Coming up
00:00:30 - Zoomers are co-opting millennial slang
00:01:15 - This week on the show
00:01:40 - The U.S. Government Acquires 10% of Intel
00:21:52 - Interview with Waymo Co-C.E.O. Tekedra Mawakana
00:48:17 - Our new segment: Trumps in Tech

Hard Fork is a weekly look into the future that's already here. Hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore stories from the bleeding edge of tech.
Casey’s publication, Platformer: https://www.platformer.news/


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Credits
“Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton. Produced by Rachel Cohn and Whitney Jones. This episode was edited by Jen Poyant. Engineering by Chris Wood and original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Sophia Lanman and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking by Caitlin Love. Our executive producer is Jen Poyant. Video production by Chris Schodt, Jake Nicol, and Sawyer Roque. Video QC by Isabella Anderson. Podcast Art Direction by Benjamin Wilkerson Tousley. Podcast Art & Animations by Julian Hespenheide. Additional Motion graphics by Phil Robibero. Thumbnails by Julia Moburg, Elizabeth Bristow, and Yvonne Stender. Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam, Niko Gallogly, Kate LoPresti and Jeffrey Miranda.