Episode · The Ezra Klein Show · 2026-08-18

Books mentioned on The A.I.s Are Already Out of Control | The Ezra Klein Show

1 book · With Helen Toner · Watch on YouTube

Helen Toner recommended The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll.

Books mentioned, in the order they came up

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1. 

   The Cuckoo's Egg

   Cliff Stoll · at 1:08:14

   The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll is a classic memoir detailing the author's real-life pursuit of a computer hacker who infiltrated military and research networks in the late 1980s.

   Recommended

   “The real book is called The Cuckoo's Egg. It's from 1989. It's about one of the first big hacks that that happened. written by the astronomer who was working at Lawrence National Lab and noticed 75 cents discrepancy in his computing bill.”

   Helen Toner The A.I.s Are Already Out of Control | The Ezra Klein Show 2026-08-18 Listen at 1:08:14

   Where to get it

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