Learn AI · Level 4 · Expert view · step 13 of 13
AI newsletters, blogs and podcasts worth following
AI changes every week, and most of what's written about it is noise. These are the newsletters, blogs and podcasts we'd keep if we could only follow a handful: each is free, independent-minded and good at explaining why things matter, not just what happened.
Newsletters and blogs
For reading over coffee. Most arrive by email once a week.
Best weekly round-up
1. The Batch by DeepLearning.AI
A weekly AI newsletter from Andrew Ng's DeepLearning.AI: a letter from Ng, then the week's most important news and research explained clearly, with why each item matters. Balanced and readable for both professionals and curious newcomers.
- Weekly, with a clear explanation of each story
- Strong on research and what it means in practice
- Topic pages for research, business, hardware and careers
Price: FreeOn: Email, Web
Best on AI at work
2. One Useful Thing by Ethan Mollick
Wharton professor Ethan Mollick on what AI means for work, education and everyday life, based on his own experiments and research. Practical, evidence-led and written for non-technical readers.
- Practical: what you can actually do with AI today
- Grounded in research and hands-on testing
- Written for managers, teachers and professionals
Price: FreeOn: Email, Web
Best on research and where AI is heading
3. Import AI by Jack Clark
A weekly newsletter that digs into the most interesting AI research papers and what they mean for the future, written by Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic. Each issue ends with a short piece of science fiction.
- Research explained by someone at the frontier
- Thoughtful on safety, policy and where AI is heading
- Weekly, every Monday
Watch out: The author co-founded an AI company (Anthropic), so read his views on the industry with that in mind.
Price: FreeOn: Email, Web
Best journalism
4. The Algorithm by MIT Technology Review
MIT Technology Review's weekly AI newsletter: one reporter's in-depth look at whatever is topical in AI, with the reporting and scepticism of a respected magazine.
- Journalism, not hype
- One topic in depth each week
- Good on AI's effects on society and policy
Watch out: Some linked magazine articles are behind MIT Technology Review's paywall.
Price: Free newsletterOn: Email
Best hands-on testing
5. Simon Willison's Weblog by Simon Willison
A near-daily blog by a respected software developer who tests every new AI model and tool as it comes out, and writes up what works, what doesn't and the security risks. The best place to follow AI as a builder sees it.
- Fast, honest hands-on testing of new models
- Clear writing on risks such as prompt injection
- Optional email newsletter that rounds up the posts
Watch out: Posts can be technical; skim for the summaries if you don't code.
Price: FreeOn: Web, Email
Best for people building with AI
6. Latent Space by Latent Space
A publication and podcast "by and for AI engineers": a daily AI news briefing, in-depth interviews with people building AI products and models, and analysis of new techniques.
- Daily briefing on new models, tools and research
- Long interviews with AI builders
- The go-to for people building with AI
Watch out: Aimed at engineers; expect technical detail.
Price: FreeOn: Email, Web, Podcast apps, YouTube
Podcasts
For the commute or the gym.
Best for keeping up
7. Machine Gods by NPR
A new video-first AI show from NPR, hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, who used to host the New York Times podcast Hard Fork. Twice a week they break down the biggest AI news and interview the people shaping it. It launched in October 2026.
- Lively, easy to follow and well informed
- Two new episodes a week
- Interviews with people at the centre of AI news
Watch out: It's brand new, so its format may still change.
Price: FreeOn: Podcast apps, YouTube, NPR app
Best in-depth interviews
8. Dwarkesh Podcast by Dwarkesh Patel
Long, deeply researched interviews with leading AI researchers, lab leaders and thinkers about how AI works and where it is heading. Known for well-prepared, probing questions.
- Hear frontier researchers and CEOs explain their thinking at length
- Unusually well-prepared questions
- Transcripts available for most episodes
Watch out: Episodes often run two to three hours and get technical.
Price: FreeOn: Podcast apps, YouTube, Web
How to choose
- Short on time? One weekly round-up is enough: The Batch, or our own weekly issue with the 5 stories worth knowing.
- Using AI at work? One Useful Thing.
- Want to understand where AI is heading? Import AI and the Dwarkesh Podcast.
- Building with AI? Simon Willison and Latent Space.
For the people behind the ideas, see AI people worth following. This page is the last step of our Learn AI path: once you know the basics, these are how you keep up.
How we chose
We picked sources that are free, publish regularly, explain why news matters and are clear about their own point of view. We noted where an author works for an AI company. We check each one is still publishing every quarter: shows and newsletters come and go (the popular Hard Fork podcast, for example, ended in 2026 when its hosts moved to Machine Gods). Think we’ve missed one? Tell us.