People vs Algorithms
Each week, media veterans Brian Morrissey, Alex Schleifer, and Troy Young break down patterns of change in media, culture, and technology. They discuss what matters in the evolving landscape of these fields. The podcast is part of the People vs Algorithms newsletter community.
Episodes
The Coldplay Protocol
We dig into the tangled collision of journalism and the creatory economy. Emily Sundberg’s Zuckerberg interview, Brian’s christening as the Matt Belloni-of-advertising, and why guys like Scott Galloway and Gary Vaynerchuk get a pass to cash in while "real journalists" get side-eyed for it. We also unpack AI's creeping presence in music and writing — can you love an AI song, what happens to "provid
Cannes is CES with Rosé
This week’s episode leans heavily into Cannes, which is a world where everyone is selling and many are lying. Creators are the cool kids of Cannes, while the site of a drone show by a mobile ad network is considered normal. Plus: Ana Andjelic on what makes A24 unique.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer’s Hu
Americamaxxing, AI Taste Wars, World Cup Soft Power
We debate whether Anthropic painted itself in a corner with its safety messaging, if Snap Specs pass the taste test, Elon as American icon, and the World Cup and Trump’s UFC fight showcasing the profound weirdness and contradictions at the heart of the American experience. Plus: Anonymous Banker on why Fox paying $22 billion for Roku makes sense and Troy says someone will buy Semafor.* Watch us on
The Abundance Economy
Seen one way, AI has democratized the creative process. Seen another, we are swimming in a sea of mediocrity that inevitably crowds out attention to human-led creativity. Plus: Handicapping Hot AI IPO Summer, YouTubers as Hollywood's saviors, GLP-1s vs impulse manipulators and Breaker's Lachlan Cartwright on assesses the characters in the 60 Minutes dram that’s like Viagra for media newsletters. F
The AI Pushback
ChatGPT is advertising it as a souped-up Clippy to help with date-night recipes and sibling road trips. What happened to superintelligence and curing cancer? Disruptive forces always invite pushback, as Bari Weiss is learning at CBS. In PvA OT: Anonymous Banker on People Inc's AI-hedge with MGM and why YouTube ecosystem events are far better than typical media events.* Ballgame* Watch us on YouTub
Homines Contra Algorithmos
We debate the commodification of the human experience, why the upside-down token economics is a more pressing near-term concern, the religious zeal behind SpaceX's valuation, and why HR is the new boogeywoman of the aggrieved and powerful. Plus: Ana Andjelic on why not carrying a phone and having a personal philosopher are new luxury status symbols.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Alg
Steroid Olympics
This week, we discuss the chaotic transition to an AI-augmented era, the roiling backlash trying to slow it down, and how we’ll come to terms with a weird new world. Plus: The dénouement of the scale era in publishing and beginning of the “inversion” era of media brands.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer’s
Clauditis
Meanwhile, Anthropic is on a $50 billion run rate and raising at a $900b valuation. We look back to the dawn of the assembly line, when workers suffered from “Forditis," a condition of despair caused by a lack of agency and the pressure to keep up with a pace set by machines. Plus: learning from Ferrari, Ryan Cohen's use of the information space for his long-shot takeover bid for eBay, the decline
Monkey Business
While some of this is cover for overhiring during the ZIRP era, there's clearly a move to cut the "coordination tax" that exists within companies. And what starts in tech always moves downstream. Plus: Ted Turner and the end of the media mogul archetype, James Murdoch's move to buy Vox Media's podcast network and New York magazine, and how to tell fake fakes from real fakes at the souk.* Watch us
The Clipping Economy
This week we dig into how the clip has become the unit of cultural currency and whether it's creating a mass delusion about what people actually want and what is popular. Also: a Waymo hostage situation, a vibe-coded group-texting platform, Apple vs. the interface doomers, Uber's super app survival play, Ben Sasse's deathbed honesty about young people's anxiety, and what the rise of Graham Platner
Spooning the Gravy
Troy’s vibe coding project has moved into high gear, as institutional and personal memory becomes the point of leverage with media’s ultimate goal shifting to how to get the right people in the saloon. Claude Design and GPT-Image 2 reinforce the same message: You’re either high-end craftsman or you’re orchestrating AI systems, like it or not. Plus: Tim Cook hands over the CEO reigns after Apple’s
Humans in the Loop
Troy unveils his vibe-coded media system that produces a daily briefing based on his entire media diet, underpinned with a memory layer that acts as a second brain of PvA thinking. This would turn media from a game of speed to one of accumulated worldview. We also unpack the rise of fakes, from the clip economy to Allbirds pivot to AI; handicap the Pope vs Trump battle; and get a report from an in
The Great Media Reorientation
B2B is a refuge; see the Acquired ad rates. The Boston Globe's TikTok star Emily Sweeney proves a Dorchester accent is leverage when the internet has flattened everything. The next newsroom brawl will be over AI use. Political figures now have to be expert content creators. Even geopolitics aren't immune: Iran is beating the U.S. with its AI Lego video trolling. In tech, Sam Altman lies a lot and
New Media Energy
Troy and Brian react to OpenAI buying TBPN: It pays to have viewpoints and approaches that are preferred by the powerful. FeedMe's Emily Sundberg joins as a guest this week. We discuss why new media like TBPN is beating legacy media not by distribution hacks or aesthetics but in energy. Legacy media relies on structural energy that’s dissipated while new media is built on earned energy, which is m
The War on Slop
OpenAI is pivoting to the enterprise, Kentucky farmers are modern folk heroes by not selling their land for a datacenter, and Meta and YouTube get the Big Tobacco treatment. Plus: Troy gives a progress report on his vibe coded Personal Intelligence Media Platform, AB’s take on Vox Media’s podcast business and MarketBeat’s profitable fin-pub hustle, and Wired’s reinvention as a Big Tech critic.* Wa
First Principles Meet the Real World
But physiotherapists still use accountants, dentists are in great shape and our own vibe coding experiments run into snags. Plus: The return of Travis Kalanick and the Mount Rushmore of tech titans, Google Stitch, who lost BuzzFeed, The Trade Desk’s woes, the Oscars as reflective of the end of the old Hollywood model, why The Economist is catnip for billionaires, and why mass layoffs and rapid reh
Systems Are King
YouTube became a $550 billion juggernaut by building the infrastructure: the algorithm, the ad stack, the creator revenue share, the living room app. It spent more on content than almost anyone else without producing it. Meanwhile, legacy media companies that bet everything on premium content are pivoting to events, harvesting their websites for ad yield, and watching their audiences migrate to pl
Hating the Player and the Game
Block’s 40% employee purge says more about Jack Dorsey’s CEO skills than AI. David Zaslav gets only a PE golf clap for making Warner Bros shareholders money. McDonald’s CEO becomes a symbol of out-of-touch financializers. But hope is on the way as Cal AI’s teenage founders bootstrapped their way to riches.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Re
The AI Reckoning
Data shows widespread trepidation over the AI, whether it’s datacenter construction or possible job displacement, yet little public discussion has taken place. We discuss how that’s changing as AI becomes a political issue. Meanwhile, another reckoning is happening with a return of cancel culture in a new and improved version; the open web faces its own reckoning as grotesque user experiences lead
Best/Worst of Times
They unpack the "orality thesis" and what the shift from written to spoken culture means for how we think, communicate, and vote. On the media side, they map out what's actually working right now: audience-first elite brands, B2B trojan horses like Hearst, expert creator newsletters, and the relentless pull of performance marketing, and AI-generated monkey content on YouTube. Plus: a report from t
AI Anxiety
The age of AI is off to a shambolic start. Anthropic and OpenAI ran Super Bowl ads that fell flat. The gap is widening between the AI-pilled true believers and the Normals, as AI becomes yet another existential anxiety. Plus: Alex breaks down the design systems deployed by Trump vs Mamdani, and Troy says The Washington Post has a product problem.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algori
Reputation Matters
Meanwhile, brands are facing reputational crises from their ties to the government as Scott Galloway calls for a boycott of companies who sell their products to ICE. Jeff Bezos’ well-earned reputation as a business genius is at risk as his 13-year tenure owning The Washington Post turns into an unmitigated disaster. Meanwhile, Anthropic wants to develop a high-minded reputation by dinging OpenAI f
Mind Control
Today’s mind control comes in the form of black-box algorithmic recommendation systems, autonomous robotics and agentic AI systems. The trust gap has arrived for algorithms, as seen by the backlash against TikTok's new ownership. Maybe we're hard wired to distrust men in masks. Plus: CBS News tries to “podcast-ify” a legacy network, the Atlantic’s successful pivot to subscriptions and talent, the
Monitoring the Situation
This week, like old Italian men with their hands clasped behind their backs at construction sites, we are monitoring various situations: Snowmageddon 2026, OpenAI’s inevitable embrace of advertising, Claude Code’s escape from the nerdery, why publishers are embracing prediction markets, the Davos divide between the Mark Carney and Donald Trump styles of communication, and the latest reminder that
Retro Digital
After two decades of scale chasing, feed optimization, and platform dependence, the industry is rediscovering older mechanics that actually work: events, newsletters, sponsorships, classifieds, and direct audience relationships. Plus: The difficulty of changing legacy media organizations; micro-dramas as modern media format; and field notes from CES, the Affiliate Summit and an Ojai turtle sanctua
Finding Leverage
Troy and Brian talk about agentic advertising and why it’s being sold as salvation, the quiet consolidation happening across media and tech, and the shift from institutional power to systems, platforms, and legible individuals. We discuss sovereignty in an automated world, and why “finding leverage” has become the defining challenge for media, marketing, and anyone trying to stay relevant.* Watch
Media Goonstate
This week, we wrap up the year with our picks for the biggest narratives, deal guys, hustlers and tech oligarchs.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 Open* 00:17 Welcome* 03:22 Vanity Fair Is Back* 05:56 Is Weiss good at media?* 13:51 O
The End of the Hollywood Model
Underneath the narrative, the main plotline is the end of Hollywood’s already ailing business model built around scarcity and cable economics. That’s why the big winner of this deal, no matter who ends up owning the asset, is David Zaslav, the consummate Deal Guy. Netflix owning Warner Bros would be a fitting end, as streaming upended the reliable bulwark of Hollywood’s business model and firmly p
Code Red
This week, Sam Altman shutters side quests to chase speed, reliability, and personalization, and we ask whether he’s a deals guy or a wartime leader in a world where Gemini 3 and Anthropic are catching up. From there we get into the Olivia Nuzzi saga, the New York Times vs David Sachs accountability drama, and another round of Silicon Valley vs East Coast media grievance airing. We close on Bendin
The Hustler Ethos
We get into why America attracts them, how the term was coopted and branded, why competitive instinct sits at the center of real hustle, and how the changing nature of the economy will put a premium on hustling, for better or worse. Plus: Troy’s ‘eggsellent’ adventure at a Holiday Inn Express.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsl
Main Character Energy
With institutions losing their distribution edge, main-character energy now determines who captures attention. The Olivia Nuzzi spectacle to Michael Wolff’s improbable Epstein cameo show why legacy media suddenly needs characters again. We also cover the Gemini 3 narrative flip, Google’s structural advantages, John Malone’s tax-efficient empire building, Apple News’ strange success despite its bad
Media People
We argue that true media people are troublemakers with taste. They’re people who understand narrative, tension, and how to make others feel something. Michael Wolff and Olivia Nuzzi are Media People. Scott Galloway and Silicon Valley People are not Media People. The media industry has been downsized in the Information Space, with media personalities rewarded more than Media People. Media People wi
The Charisma Dividend
Meanwhile, the New York Times has proven to the exception to the rule in publishing, as most publishers are dealing with “toxic” pageview assets. Plus: The Great Compression has arrived for ad agencies.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:
Building Good Product
Plus: Anonymous Banker breaks down the logic of Warner Brothers Discovery’s sale, why celebrity investors are rarely additive, and the extractive logic of AOL’s $1.5b sale.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 Open* 00:21 Welcome* 01:48
Low Sovereignty
This week, Alex has a hard stop, AB is lost in Tokyo, and Brian and Troy go deep on sovereignty — who has it, who’s lost it, and whether it’s even possible to get it back for publishers and everyone else downstream of Big Tech.They debate whether Substack-style independence represents true sovereignty or just a different kind of dependency; ad tech’s extractive economics, and why “agentic ad buyin
Going Post-Truth
This week, we talk about how the information space rewards vibes over verification, the second-order effects of video swallowing social media, and how institutions lost the narrative war to influencers, memelords, and politicians who understand that truth is optional so long as the narrative is upheld.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Reboot
It’s Cool to Be Human
This week, we talk about Anthropic’s humanist branding, the fading idea of cool in a fractured culture, and why Gen Z’s nostalgia for the analog world might be the real rebellion. Plus: Anonymous Banker joins to break down why the math behind Paramount buying The Free Press for $150 million includes “free severance” as it will push out many CBS News workers.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s Peop
Alex Was Right
Sora 2’s selfie-movies, Meta’s Vibes, and OpenAI’s Pulse point to shorter, agentic, video-first habits—and a shrinking role for text. Even The New York Times is saying newsletters are too wordy and need more video.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterCh
A Good Racket
Plus: the evolving role of communications officers in the information wars, OpenAI’s new Pulse, Kimmel’s comeback, and the New York Times’ super app ambitions.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 Open* 00:42 Gaming in Japan* 08:02 CCO R
Age of Extremes
This week: Trump’s war on the media expands and intensifies; AI doomers vs AI maximalists; and Anonymous Banker on what’s behind the Puck-Air Mail deal.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer's Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 Open* 00:31 Welcome* 01:10 Trump's War On Media
The Media Singularity
We talk about how fandom now powers news, why comedians have turned into pundits, and how combat dynamics are incentivized by the feed. We also explore the blurring of media and politics, from Charlie Kirk’s rise as both activist and media brand to Sam Altman’s combative interview with Tucker Carlson. Along the way, we debate whether niche formats like link dumps and newsletters offer an antidote,
Everything is Fine (Really)
Troy surveys the media landscape and finds a rich buffet of options and many admittedly smaller models that are working just fine, notwithstanding the gloom that shrouds large swathes of institutional media. Perhaps a sign of the times: renewed interest in niche print titles, particularly ones that cater to the affluent and can play a convening role. Alex laments Google's great escape from a struc
The Trough of Disillusionment
Plus: the demise of cultural criticism, publishers embracing apps again, and an activist investor taking on The New York Times.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer's Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 Open* 00:33 Welcome* 01:02 AI & Coffee* 19:39 Re-brands* 28:13 Decline O
Getting Mad At Toasters
We start with Charlie Warzel’s essay in The Atlantic, “AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event”, a sober reframing of where we are with AI right now. Pablos insists LLMs are “average engines,” not wisdom machines—good at language, terrible at judgment. Stop anthropomorphizing. These are tools that make daily processes cheaper, faster, or more efficient. Drop illusions of creativity or sentience. From there, w
AI Is Not Your Friend
Plus: the case for media cooperatives and aperitivo, and why running agencies inside publishers is tough.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer's Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 Open* 00:31 Welcome* 01:41 Summer Stories* 02:30 Food 52* 13:17 Newsette* 15:46 GenZ vs AOL* 1
Performative Intelligence
We explore how new tools like Snipd and AI chat bots promise frictionless access to knowledge, but may be trading comprehension for convenience. Along the way: the slow death of the open web, the rise of moral disgust with AI-generated culture, and the parallel media worlds being built by tech and alternative voices. At the center of it all is a question: are we getting smarter, or just better at
Winners Take All
These aren’t companies operating in a different industry than media; they’re different universes. They’re hoarding compute, restarting nuclear reactors, and offering $1 billion pay packages to AI superstars—while laying off hired help. Meanwhile, The New York Times gets over $20 million a year from Amazon in an AI licensing deal that almost no other publisher can touch. The superintelligence econo
Institutional Collapse
As the old order gives way, the contours of the new media world are coming into view: video and audio are eating text, performance and participation are mandatory, individuals matter more than formats, and being a brand is better than being a publisher.We get into the Washington Post’s third-newsroom experiment, the rise of Pablo Torre's performance investigative journalism, and why Colbert was AO
Substack As A Unicorn
The valuation is a classic bet on potential vs reality, as Substack’s execution has been spotty. We unpack the bet on creating an OnlyFans-like network, presumably with less risqué content. Plus: the mini-pivot to livestreams, AI's brand problem with Gen Z, Google Discover gets compressed, the power shift to golf YouTube, and AI coming for Excel jockeys because nothing is sacred.* Watch us on YouT
The AI Head Fake
The real issue isn’t that AI killed media. It’s that the old distribution ecosystem has broken down. Plus: the end of Demand Media and Linda Yaccarino’s tenure as X CEO; the coming AI browser wars; why Gen Z skips to the comments; and the afterlife of dead flowers as potpourri.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schl
The End of Advertising
This week, we talk about the collapse of traditional advertising, the rise of memetic political communicators like Zohran Mamdani, why words might not matter much longer, and whether publishers fighting back against AI bots is folly. We also get into the cognitive toll of generative AI, the backlash to wealth spectacle, and how grilling large-format meats is at the heart of middle-aged American ma
The Substack Conundrum
Plus: the AI disconnect in Cannes, Momdani’s media savvy and the case for European fruits and park’s supremacy.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer's Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 Open* 00:51 Welcome* 01:36 Smaller Media M&A* 06:59 Substack's Raising Money* 15:23 No A
AI Optimism in Cannes
We take a mostly optimistic view of publishing in the AI era, even if Neil allows that search traffic will inexorably trend to zero. Plus: A path to publisher leverage against AI companies.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer's Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 PvA Live @
Liquid Courage
Alex reviews the “liquid” interface and wonders if anyone at Cupertino actually used the beta outdoors. Plus: a spirited defense of Zaslav as the media's embattled savior, fighting for the spoils of the operator class; the sad saga of the link economy and why publishers are stuck tolling bots for pennies. Also: the gloriousness of popcorn and Coke, Peter Kafka as Good Product, and renewed apprecia
From Pageviews to Proximity
As performance metrics grow murky and traditional advertising falters, proximity is becoming the new proxy for value. We talk through the bloated conference circuit, the rise of curated events, the logic behind Cannes as a marketplace, and why some publishers are pulling back while others double down. Along the way, we debate the wisdom of Newsweek buying an ad tech company, the challenge of turni
One-Trick Pony
It used its dominant position in search to be the arbiter for the web. As the web moves into an agentic AI era, we break down how Google is positioned and the impact its next evolution will have for the ecosystem it shaped and de facto ruled. Plus: why media’s unionization craze didn’t fix bad models, why nobody can remember any ad campaigns, and the charms of the Shelter Island dump as a communit
From Pages to Protocols
In this episode, we dive into how the rise of AI agents and new protocols is replacing browsing with prompting, and pages with machine-readable interfaces. Google and Microsoft are rolling out AI-powered tools that make websites disappear into the background, forcing publishers, marketers, and product teams to rethink how value is surfaced and monetized.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People v
Brittle Apple
Plus: we learn that Alex is no David Zaslav because he doesn’t see the genius in a CNN weather app, an appraisal of Airbnb’s “everything” app, and a celebration of kookiness of Eurovision.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer's Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 Open* 01:38
The AI Overhang
We unpack Google’s search reinvention, publishers acting like a deer in the highlights, Perplexity’s emergence as a heel, Apple’s AI misfires, and the risks of AI reinforcement loops. Plus: what happens when publishers still rely on traffic models that are quietly unraveling.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schlei
Group Chat
* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter* Alex Schleifer's Human Computer* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterChapters:* 00:00 Open* 00:22 Intro* 00:45 Welcome* 01:20 Marketing Advertising Media Events* 07:01 The Shoes That Have Not Dropped* 20:43 Group Chats* 31:38 Zuck Derangement Syndrome* 54:54 Epic Beats Apple* 59:14 Tr
Tech Bros With Mics
From TBPN to Turpentine, it’s not journalism—it just looks like it. They also explore the “Chaos Economy” through Foxconn’s EV pivot and unpack why analogies beat logic in shaping how we process tech shifts. Plus, Pete Buttigieg’s appearance on Flagrant shows that even politics is adapting to the influencer era.* Watch us on YouTube* Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter* Brian Morrissey's
Hyperpunditry
This week we dig into the spread of hyperpunditry and why the Information Space rewards those who confidently switch lanes with abandon. Plus: AI’s bottoms-up adoption curve, Anonymous Banker on golf media’s strength and the crazy life of sea turtles.Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human ComputerFollow Alex,
Loro Piana Populism
The tariff wars kicked off and confirmed that we are in a post-expertise era where your bona fides matter less than your confidence. Plus: celebrating GDPR’s impending demise. what to do with Vanity Fair, and Shopify’s AI manifesto.Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human ComputerFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on T
Media, narratives, markets with Nick Denton
Gawker Media founder Nick Denton joins the show to discuss how narratives and memes run the world, and why it’s better to trade on them than run the old media playbook of the attention economy.Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human ComputerFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter This is a public episode. If you
The Taste Premium
We dig into the idea of taste—how it’s formed, how it signals identity, and where it fits in media and business today. We also unpack how taste once defined media gatekeepers, how it’s now being democratized (or commodified), and why developing taste is less about money and more about intentionality. We are then joined by sociologist and brand strategist Ana Andjelic to debate the merits of Europe
The Abundance Agenda
The media industry, like politics, has been stuck in a scarcity mindset—managing decline instead of building for the future. In this episode, we dig into The Abundance Agenda, the new book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, and explore what a pro-growth strategy could look like for media. Plus, TheSkimm exits to Ziff Davis, the rise of AI-driven advertising, and Anonymous Banker joins to explain wh
Oral Exams
AI is giving rise to vibe coding while old conventions fall away. Thinking on your feet is now more important than rehearsed, polished presentation, which soon can be done with the push of a button. It’s time to find your inner Rick Rubin. Plus: How to build an enterprise brand.Show Notes:PvA Weekend Fan MailVibe CodingCreative AI Superpowers You're Not Using YetA love letter to LA----------------
Getting Chegged
Online education company Chegg is suing Google for AI Overviews and might become the first major company felled by AI. We go over the hitlist of others at risk of getting Chegged, including SEO-dependent publishers, SaaS companies and even the email newsletter industrial complex. Plus: Why Lenny Rachitsky has succeeded, the case against all-inclusive resorts and a debate on whether reading is dyin
Arbitrage Media
Troy’s at “advanced” tennis camp, so Brian and Alex discuss the shifting dynamics of the newsletter and video game markets. Newsletters are entering into bubble territory, while parts of the video game market are losing ground after a long run of robust growth. Plus: an urban redevelopment good product.Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting n
Messy Media
Media has never been neat, but it’s getting messier. This week, Brian and Troy explore how AI is reshaping the creative process, how different personality-driven brands thrive on particular platforms, and the developing messy aesthetic of modern media that’s spreading to earnings calls and product launches. Troy shares how OpenAI’s Projects feature changed his workflow, turning AI into a true rese
The Great Realignment
This week, we examine the great realignment as tech and government unite to assert US tech dominance over ideas of digital sovereignty. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed plans its own social platform, despite toothpaste rarely going back into the tube. Plus: assessing OpenAI’s grandiose Super Bowl ad.SOLSTICE - 5: Forgotten archivesGarys EconomicsMerlin Bird IDWatch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithm
Does AI need an iPhone moment?
This week, on the heels of OpenAI releasing Deep Research, we assess whether AI has caught on with regular people beyond kicking the tires on ChatGPT. Maybe the AI Super Bowl ads will make it more appealing. Plus: the memeification and financialization of everything, volatility as the norm, X shows signs of a financial turnaround and alarm clocks with apps and a subscription program. Watch us on Y
Decentralized Work
The nature of work and careers is undergoing profound changes that are often obscured by debates over return-to-work mandates. This week we consider the rise of decentralized work that’s networked and elevates autonomy over outdated command and control approaches developed in a different century. Plus: a celebration of Data Privacy Day and Deepseek’s cannonball into the Big Tech AI pool party.Watc
Tech Oligarchy
Our tech overlords reported for duty to Washington while Troy perused the powder at Davos. This week, we go beyond first principles to consider the second-order impact of a politicized tech elite. Plus: The Washington Post gets a BHAG and CNN plots a post-TV future. Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human Compu
The Gospel of Productivity
Economic growth requires labor productivity. We all aspire, in our own ways, to be productive, if only because our productivity is directly tied to our rewards. Yet American labor productivity has stagnated since the first decade of the internet coming to business. AI is now held out as the latest savior to productivity.Modern productivity culture is an outgrowth of optimization obsession. We can
Zuckerberg’s Capitulation, Rabbit Holes and the War on Attention
This week, we discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s craven capitulation on content moderation, even if it was an inevitable decision; the upside of algorithmic rabbit holes vs the downside of the commodification of attention; and how creator culture is reshaping trust in media institutions. Plus: why the Ninja Creami and IVs are good products.Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBria
The Information Space in 2025
This week, we discuss the outlook in 2025 for legacy media (not great), alternative media (much better), chat as a new media mode, X emerging as a critical power center, and culture wars morphing into class wars.The Information Space in 2025 newsletterWatch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human ComputerFollow Alex,
The End of Artifice
Podcasting challenges late nite, lying in media, shopping as content, super consumers and Alex rediscovers America at Disney.Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human ComputerFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to
The New American Power Center
Tech has swallowed media, and is increasingly swallowing other industries and accruing power along the way. Plus: why adding a chatbot won’t save the article page, the real message of the big ad holding company merger, and an introduction to the new PvA companion product. Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human
Poly News
Prediction market + news; media’s bifurcating star system; media’s management-labor divide; AI + browsers; car talk; LinkedIn cringeWatch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human ComputerFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc
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