The Aboard Podcast
John Herrman: The Declawing of OpenClaw
July 7, 2026
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52 min 3 sec
OpenClaw sprung up overnight—and seemed to fade just as quickly. What does that suggest about AI more broadly? On this week’s podcast, Paul and Rich are joined in the studio by New York Magazine tech reporter John Herrman, whose long career covering all corners of the industry has, like the rest of his peers, recently shifted to all AI, all the time. They discuss his piece for the magazine on OpenClaw—titled “My Adventures With ‘The AI That Actually Does Things’”—before pulling back the lens to look at AI on a whole. Plus: They take a brief diversion into the story John wrote immediately after his OpenClaw reporting, “The Mystery of ‘Human Meat’ for Sale on Temu.”
Show Notes
- Find John on Bluesky, and read all his work at New York Magazine
- Specifically referenced in the conversation: “My Adventures With ‘The AI That Actually Does Things” and “The Mystery of ‘Human Meat’ for Sale on Temu.”
- “Shitphone: A Love Story”
Transcript
Transcript coming soon!