The Tea with Myriam Francois

Is AI really getting smarter than us or are we falling for the biggest myth in tech?

AI is transforming the way we work, think and create. As machines begin outperforming humans in more tasks, the race to AGI and even superintelligence is often treated as inevitable. But is it? Or are we buying into Silicon Valley's biggest story?

This week on The Tea, we are joined by one of Britain's sharpest voices on the human impact of technology, Anne-Marie Imafidon CEO of Stemettes and trustee at the Institute for the Future of Work to unpack what AI is really changing, why intelligence is far more complex than Silicon Valley admits, and what it means to remain human in an age racing towards artificial superintelligence.
Also on the show:

⚡ AGI & the Silicon Valley narrative – AI hype or the next reality?
⚡ What human intelligence really is
⚡ AI and the future of work
⚡ Can AI agents ever become conscious?
⚡ The race to superintelligence – Who benefits?
⚡ What it means to be human in the age of AI

Despite the apocalyptic headlines, our guest argues that a dystopian future isn't preordained. AI remains a human technology, shaped by human choices. As she puts it: "Technology is that it is still democratic... You don't have to be funded by the big whoever to build alternatives."

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#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #AnneMarieImafidon #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AGI #FutureOfWork #Technology #OpenAI #HumanIntelligence #CurrentAffairs #news

AUDIO CREDITS
Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François
Guest: Anne-Marie Imafidon
Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi
Producer: Nadège Bizimungu
Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs
Research: Constance Creswell
Video Editor: Max Bubnov
An MPWR Productions show.

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Capitalism isn't in crisis. It is the crisis.

Rising inequalities. Endless austerity. Genocide. Permanent war. Climate collapse. AI-driven job losses. For best-selling author and economist Clara Mattei, these aren't failures of capitalism—they're the system working exactly as designed.

This week on The Tea, Mattei joins us to challenge one of the most powerful assumptions of our time: that there is no alternative. Drawing from her new book, Escape from Capitalism, Mattei argues that capitalism isn't natural or inevitable. It has always depended on political intervention, economic precarity, and the violent suppression of alternatives to keep itself alive.

If today's crises feel permanent, this is because they're built into the model.
Also in the show:
⚡ BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street & the concentration of global wealth
⚡ Billionaires' growing obsession with land grabbing
⚡ China's hybrid model explained
⚡ Militarism - The beating heart of capitalism
⚡ Scandinavia and the myth of "humane capitalism"
⚡ Palestine as a lens on how austerity, militarisation, and state power converge
⚡ AI, automation & the loss of control
⚡ What would it take to build a better economic system?

If capitalism is functioning exactly as intended, the question isn't how to fix it—but how we can get out of this trap and build a better system.

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#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #ClaraMattei #Capitalism #Inequality #Economics #news #AI #UKPolitics #USPolitics #Billionaires #genocide

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AUDIO CREDITS
Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François
Guest: Clara Mattei
Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi
Producer: Nadège Bizimungu
Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs
Research: Constance Creswell
Video Editor: Max Bubnov
An MPWR Productions show.

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Say these three words in Britain today and you could face up to 14 years in prison.

The words are: "I support Palestine Action."

Following the group's proscription under UK terrorism law, expressing support can now constitute a serious criminal offence.
This week on The Tea, we're joined by Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori to examine one of the most controversial political decisions in modern Britain. Why has Palestine Action been placed in the same legal category as ISIS and neo-Nazi organisations? And what does that mean for democracy, civil liberties and the future of political protest?

From the Filton Four case to the government's use of counterterrorism powers, we ask: where is the line between criminal damage, civil disobedience and terrorism? Is this about protecting national security—or expanding the definition of terrorism to encompass political dissent?

Also in the show:
⚡ How Palestine Action was formed: Ammori’s path to direct action
⚡ Can BDS change the system? The power of political campaigning
⚡ Is Palestine treated differently? Zionist influence in British politics
⚡ The Filton Four case explained
⚡ From Greta Thunberg to Massive Attack: the policing of dissent
⚡ Arms companies, accountability and the ethics of activism

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#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #HudaAmmori #PalestineActionBan #Gaza #PoliticalActivism #BDS #IsraelPalestine #Protest

DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this video, nor in any associated social clips, should be interpreted or deemed to constitute support for, endorsement of, or affiliation with any proscribed organisation.

AUDIO CREDITS
Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François
Guest: Huda Ammori
Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi
Producer: Nadège Bizimungu
Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs
Research: Constance Creswell
Video Editor: Max Bubnov
An MPWR Productions show.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law. This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing. The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has feminism gone too far? Across Western democracies, nearly 60% of Gen Z men now say men face more discrimination than women. Some call it backlash. But the data points to a generation of young men increasingly shaped by algorithm-driven content that distorts feminism, women’s rights, and the meaning of equality itself.

So what’s really driving this shift? This week on The Tea, we’re joined by bestselling author and feminist activist Laura Bates to unpack the growing backlash against feminism, the rise of the so-called manosphere — and the emerging “womanosphere” — and how algorithm-driven radicalisation is reshaping ideas about gender, power and truth.

From the attention economy to masculinity politics, we ask: is this a culture war between men and women — or something deeper being engineered beneath the surface? And who is profiting from it?

Also in the show:
⚡ Institutional misogyny across policing, politics, media, and justice
⚡ Violence against women and girls — a public health crisis
⚡ Algorithms, social media, and misogynistic radicalisation
⚡ Andrew Tate and the mainstreaming of the manosphere
⚡ UK Online Safety Act — protection or mass surveillance?
⚡ Men’s mental health crisis
⚡ The Gisèle Pelicot case and global “rape academy”
⚡ Manosphere meets the far right
⚡ From Narah Smith to Savannah Stone: the rise of the “womanosphere”
⚡ Freya India and feminism’s blind spots
Our guest argues that we’re not passive users of big tech — we’re active citizens with real choices to make about the technologies we use, the AI tools we adopt, and how we embed them in our lives.
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🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts

#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #LauraBates #GenderPolitics #Feminism #GenZ #Manosphere #womanosphere #GenderEquality #UKPolitics #USPolitics #CurrentAffairs #news

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

https://www.theteanetwork.co

Eight months on from the so-called ceasefire in Gaza, the headlines may have moved on — but Israel's assault has not. The siege remains. The starvation continues. The displacement continues. The destruction continues.

This week on The Tea, we speak to Dr Mads Gilbert, the award-winning Norwegian doctor and long-standing advocate for Palestinian liberation. Having worked in Gaza for decades, Gilbert offers a devastating account of what he describes as a deliberate campaign of deprivation — one designed to destroy the very foundations of life.

Water and food supplies have been strangled. Hospitals have been besieged and bombed. Doctors have been detained and killed. Every university in Gaza has been attacked. Schools, ambulances, and civilian infrastructure have all come under fire.

This is not collateral damage. It’s a deliberate process of deprivation — one that has systematically targeted the very foundations of life.

Also in the show:
⚡ A remarkable story of survival: the world record in resuscitation from hypothermia
⚡ The Oslo Accords: corruption allegations and links to Jeffrey Epstein
⚡ The mystery of the missing Oslo documents
⚡ The so-called ceasefire? It’s a re-occupation line
⚡ UNRWA and the blockade preventing aid from reaching Gaza
⚡ Israel's impunity and the failure of Western governments to act
⚡ The systematic targeting of hospitals, doctors and medical infrastructure
⚡ Horror and abuse inside Israeli prisons
⚡ Israel and the “weaponisation” of solidarity
⚡ Palestinian resistance and the right to resist occupation
"The Palestinian people, with their heroism and sacrifice, are fighting a struggle for all of us against a new wave of brutal colonialism.” Our guest argues that “if we are to take our responsibility seriously, we have to stand with them."

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🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts]

#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #MadsGilbert #Gaza #Palestine #Israel #UNRWA #WestBank #genocides #CurrentAffairs #News #Politics #HussamAbuSafiya

AUDIO CREDITS
Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François
Guest: Mads Gilbert
Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi
Producer: Nadège Bizimungu
Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs
Research: Constance Creswell
Video Editor: Max Bubnov
An MPWR Productions show.

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.