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The Lehane Asylum

A genuinely intelligent conversation with OpenAI policy chief Chris Lehane, who led last week’s acquisition of 'TBPN.' Here, he explains the marketing value of his new podcast, its supposed independence, and Sam Altman’s trust issues.

Chris Lehane
"We are at a moment when there is a much broader and growing interest in understanding the how and the why behind A.I. The 70,000 people they hit right now are incredibly important, but imagine if it’s a much bigger audience—and that does take resources," says OpenAI chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane. Photo: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Dylan Byers
April 10, 2026

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When OpenAI announced its recent nine-figure acquisition of TBPN, the millennial tech-business talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, even the industry’s smartest analysts had a tough time making sense of the deal. Of course, no one questioned John and Jordi’s decision to take the money, even if it was almost certainly more stock than cash. But why did Sam Altman’s $850 billion A.I. giant need a digital talk show—particularly so soon after pledging to abandon “side quests” and focus on the core objective of, ya know, winning the A.I. race and revolutionizing the world?