WEBVTT - The Rot Society

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<v Speaker 1>A Zone Media.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello and welcome to Better Offline. I'm your host ed

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<v Speaker 2>ze Tron. It's been a hard couple of weeks. It's

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<v Speaker 2>been pretty hard to focus. I've written a few newsletters,

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<v Speaker 2>I've gone to Portugal, I've done a bunch of shit

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<v Speaker 2>just trying not to think about everything happening outside. But

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<v Speaker 2>it's time to do so. Seemingly every single person on

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<v Speaker 2>Earth with a blog or a podcast, or even a

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<v Speaker 2>Twitter account or XD everything, Apple whatever it's called now,

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<v Speaker 2>they've all tried to drill down into what happened on

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<v Speaker 2>November fifth, to find the people that blame, to explain

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<v Speaker 2>what could have gone differently, really looking for who to

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<v Speaker 2>blame though, and find out why so many actions led

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<v Speaker 2>to a result that will overwhelmingly home woman, minorities, immigrants,

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<v Speaker 2>LGBTQ people, and lower income work. Because it's terrifying. It

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<v Speaker 2>fucking sucks. I'm not going to mince words, not that

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<v Speaker 2>I would usually anyway, and I don't feel fully equipped

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<v Speaker 2>to respond to the moment. I don't have any real answers,

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<v Speaker 2>at least not political ones. I'm not a political analyst,

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<v Speaker 2>and I'd feel disingenuous trying to dissect either the Harris

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<v Speaker 2>or the Trump campaigns, because I just feel like there's

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<v Speaker 2>a take Olympics right now. It's the Dunning Kruger Festival

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<v Speaker 2>out there. Everyone is trying to rationalize and intellectualize these

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<v Speaker 2>events that ultimately come down to something quite simple. People

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<v Speaker 2>don't trust authority, and yet it's pretty ironic that this

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<v Speaker 2>often leads them towards authoritarianism. Now, I don't want to

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<v Speaker 2>give you the impression that I'm going to go on

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<v Speaker 2>my crank mode that and somehow against institutions on their face,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not. But at the same time, understanding this moment

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<v Speaker 2>requires us to acknowledge that institutions have failed us and

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<v Speaker 2>failed most people, and how certain institutions missteps have led

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<v Speaker 2>us to exactly where we are today. Legacy media, and

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<v Speaker 2>while oftentimes they're staffed by people who truly love their

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<v Speaker 2>readers and care about their beats, they're weighed down by

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<v Speaker 2>this hysterical, nonsensical attachment to the imaginary concept of objectivity

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<v Speaker 2>and the will of the markets. Case in point, regular

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<v Speaker 2>people have spent years watching the price of goods increase

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<v Speaker 2>due to inflation, despite the fact that the increase in

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<v Speaker 2>pricing was mostly driven by get this corporations raising their prices. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>that's not to say that external factors like the war

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<v Speaker 2>in Ukraine or lingering COVID restrictions in China, these things

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<v Speaker 2>did play a role in it. They did. But the

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<v Speaker 2>bulk of these price increases were caused by these fucking

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<v Speaker 2>companies raising the prices. It was in their earnings. It

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<v Speaker 2>was right there, Pepsi Cola said it on the news.

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<v Speaker 2>Yet some parts of the legacy media spent an alarming

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<v Speaker 2>amount of time chiding their readers for thinking otherwise, even

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<v Speaker 2>going against their own reporting. And there will be links

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<v Speaker 2>in the episode notes I promise as a means to

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<v Speaker 2>provide balanced coverage, insisting again and again that the economy

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<v Speaker 2>is actually good, contorting their little bodies to prove that

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<v Speaker 2>prices aren't actually higher, even as companies literally boasted about

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<v Speaker 2>raising their prices on earnings. In fact, the media spent

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<v Speaker 2>years debating with itself whether the price scuging was actually happening,

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<v Speaker 2>despite years of proof that it was. Some of them

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<v Speaker 2>even reported that the price gouging was happening. So like,

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<v Speaker 2>get this, I just don't think people trust authority, and

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<v Speaker 2>they especially don't trust the media, especially the legacy media.

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<v Speaker 2>It also probably didn't help. The legacy media implored readers

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<v Speaker 2>and viewers to ignore what they saw at the supermarket

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<v Speaker 2>or at the pump and the growing hits that their

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<v Speaker 2>wallets from the daily necessities of life. It was just

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<v Speaker 2>a national level gas lighting and it was disgusting. And

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<v Speaker 2>I know some of you might say, you know where

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<v Speaker 2>to email me. Oh, it's not just this. No, of course,

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<v Speaker 2>it's not just this asshole, but I think this is

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<v Speaker 2>a big thing. Now, before I go any further, I've

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<v Speaker 2>used the termgacy media here repeatedly, but don't completely intend

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<v Speaker 2>for it to come across as a pejorative. Despite my criticisms,

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<v Speaker 2>and believe me, I've got a few of them, there

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<v Speaker 2>are people in the legacy media doing a good job.

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<v Speaker 2>They're reporting the truth, they're doing the kinds of work

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<v Speaker 2>that matters, and they're actually trying to teach their reader's

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<v Speaker 2>stuff and tell them what's happening and giving them context.

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<v Speaker 2>I read and pay for several legacy media outlets. I

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<v Speaker 2>think the world is a better place for them existing,

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<v Speaker 2>despite their flaws. The problem is, as I'll explain, is

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<v Speaker 2>this editorial industrial complex and how these people are writing

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<v Speaker 2>about the powerful don't seem to be able to, or

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<v Speaker 2>maybe they don't want to actually interrogate the powerful. This

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<v Speaker 2>could be an entire episode on its sign, but I

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<v Speaker 2>don't think the answer to these failings is to simply

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<v Speaker 2>discard legacy media entirely. But I want to implore them

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<v Speaker 2>to do better and to strive for the values of

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<v Speaker 2>truth hunting and truth telling and actually explaining what's happening

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<v Speaker 2>and criticizing the people that don't have PR firms and

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<v Speaker 2>lobbying groups and lawyers and the means to protect them

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<v Speaker 2>cells from the world. The time for fucking around is over,

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<v Speaker 2>and we're currently finding out now. Anyway, as you know,

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<v Speaker 2>as a person existing in the real world, the price

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<v Speaker 2>of everything has kept increasing despite the fact that wages

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<v Speaker 2>are stagnating. It's forcing many of the poorest people to

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<v Speaker 2>choose between food and fuel or I don't know, eating

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<v Speaker 2>and having heat simultaneously. Businesses have spent several years telling

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<v Speaker 2>workers they're asking for too much and doing too little,

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<v Speaker 2>telling people a few years ago they were quiet quitting,

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<v Speaker 2>which is a fucking stupid term that just means going

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<v Speaker 2>to your job and doing the thing you're paying to do. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 2>and a year later, in twenty twenty three, they insisted

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<v Speaker 2>that the years of remote work were actually bad because

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<v Speaker 2>profits didn't reach the same profit levels of twenty twenty one,

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<v Speaker 2>which was something to do with remote work. Now, did

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<v Speaker 2>anyone actually prove this, did anyone actually going No, they didn't.

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<v Speaker 2>They just well, I just listened to Mark Benioff, who's

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<v Speaker 2>one of the more evil people alive. Now. I also

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<v Speaker 2>think a lot of these problems come to twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 2>one a year that we really need to dig into more.

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<v Speaker 2>We might not do so today, but we will in

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<v Speaker 2>the future. But one of the big things that punish

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<v Speaker 2>workers and led to so many layoffs in twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 2>three was the fact that we couldn't get back to

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<v Speaker 2>the post lockdown boot of twenty twenty one, when everyone

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<v Speaker 2>bought everything always as they left the house for the

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<v Speaker 2>first time in a while. Now, any corporation would be

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<v Speaker 2>smart enough to know that that was a phase, that

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<v Speaker 2>that was not going to be forever. Except every single

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<v Speaker 2>big company seemed to make the same mistake and say

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<v Speaker 2>number going up forever, line go up forever. When it didn't, Well,

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<v Speaker 2>they started punishing workers and they started thinking, well, could

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<v Speaker 2>it be that we as companies, We set unrealistic expectations

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<v Speaker 2>for the markets and we just thought that we'd keep

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<v Speaker 2>growing forever. Or maybe it was the people using the

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<v Speaker 2>computer at home. Yeah, that seems way better anyway. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>the majority of people don't work remotely. From talking to

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<v Speaker 2>the people I know outside of tech or business, there's

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<v Speaker 2>this genuine sense that media has allied itself with the bosses,

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<v Speaker 2>and I imagine it's because of the many articles that

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<v Speaker 2>literally call workers lazy and have done so for years.

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<v Speaker 2>Yet when it comes to the powerful legacy, media doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>seem to have that much pisson vinegar. They just have

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<v Speaker 2>much more guarded critiques. The appetite for shaming and finger wagging.

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<v Speaker 2>It's always directed that middle and working class workers and

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<v Speaker 2>seemingly disappears what a person has a three character job

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<v Speaker 2>title like CEO. It's fucking stupid, it's insulting, and yes,

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<v Speaker 2>it's demoralizing for the average person. Despite the fact that

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<v Speaker 2>Elon Musk has spent years telegraphing is intent to uses

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<v Speaker 2>billions of dollars to wild power equivalent to that of

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<v Speaker 2>a nation state. As you may remember from my first

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<v Speaker 2>episode of Anything over On, it could happen here too.

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<v Speaker 2>Much of the media, both legacy and otherwise, responded slowly, cautiously,

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<v Speaker 2>failing to call him a liar, a con artist, and aggressor,

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<v Speaker 2>a manipula of rasis the deadbeat dad, you know all

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<v Speaker 2>the thing's actually happening. No, no, no. They kind of

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<v Speaker 2>danced around him. They reported stories that might make you

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<v Speaker 2>think that they may be noticed it. But there's this

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<v Speaker 2>desperation to guard objectivity, and it was just it lacked

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<v Speaker 2>any real intent, It lacked any interest in calling account

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<v Speaker 2>to a man who has pretty much bought an election

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<v Speaker 2>for Donald Trump, a racist billionaire using his outsized capital

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<v Speaker 2>the ben society to his will. Just isn't a fucking

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<v Speaker 2>problem for the media, or at least not as much

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<v Speaker 2>of a problem as a worker who might not work

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<v Speaker 2>fifty to one hundred hours a week for a boss

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<v Speaker 2>who makes one hundred and thirty times what they do.

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<v Speaker 2>The news, at least outside of the right wing, is

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<v Speaker 2>always separate from opinion, always guarded, always safe for fear

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<v Speaker 2>that they might piss somebody off and be declared biased,

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<v Speaker 2>something that happens anyway, And while there are columnists are

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<v Speaker 2>given some space to have their own thoughts. Sometimes in

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<v Speaker 2>the newspaper sometimes online, The stories themselves are delivered with

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<v Speaker 2>the kind of reserved hmmmm tone that often fails to

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<v Speaker 2>express any actual consequences or context around the news itself,

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<v Speaker 2>and just doesn't seem to care about making sure or

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<v Speaker 2>that the reader or listener learns something. My mate Casey

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<v Speaker 2>has a good point about podcasts, and I apply it

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<v Speaker 2>to some of the news too, that there's too much

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<v Speaker 2>stuff out there that is there to make you feel

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<v Speaker 2>intelligent rather than make you intelligent. I think this falls

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<v Speaker 2>into it. Now. This isn't to say that outlets are

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<v Speaker 2>incapable of doing this correctly. I love the Washington Post.

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<v Speaker 2>They've done an excellent job on analyzing major text stories.

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<v Speaker 2>But a lot of these outlets feel custom built to

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<v Speaker 2>be bulldozed the moment an authoritarian turns up this force

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<v Speaker 2>that exists to crush those desperately attached to norms and objectivity.

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<v Speaker 2>Authoritarians know that they're ideologically charged. Words we quoted adverbatum

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<v Speaker 2>with the occasional ah, this could mean little dribble, this drizzle,

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<v Speaker 2>this spunk of context that's lost in the headline, that

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<v Speaker 2>repeats exactly what the fucking authoritarian wants them to and

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<v Speaker 2>guess what. Some people don't read the article, they just

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<v Speaker 2>read the headline, and Musk is the most brutal example

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<v Speaker 2>of this. By the way, despite the fact that he's

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<v Speaker 2>turned Twitter into a website pump full of racism and

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<v Speaker 2>hatred that literally helped make Donald Trump president, Musk was

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<v Speaker 2>still able to get mostly positive coverage from the majority

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<v Speaker 2>of the mainstream media for his fucking robotaxi nonsense, despite

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that he spent the best part of a

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<v Speaker 2>decade lying about what Tesla will do next. There are

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<v Speaker 2>entire websites just based on how much Elon Musk lies,

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<v Speaker 2>yet they still report this shit. It makes me very upset.

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<v Speaker 2>And it doesn't matter that some of these outlets, by

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<v Speaker 2>the way, had a company in coverage that suggested that

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<v Speaker 2>the markets weren't impressed by Tesla's theoretical robotaxi plans or

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<v Speaker 2>their fakeass robots run by people. Musk is still able

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<v Speaker 2>to use the media's desperation for objectivity against them, and

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<v Speaker 2>he knows that they never dare to combine reporting on

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<v Speaker 2>stuff with thinking about stuff for fear that Elon Musk

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<v Speaker 2>might say their bias, which he has been doing for years.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you see my goddamn point. Yet, and this, by

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<v Speaker 2>the way, is not always the fault of the rayers.

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<v Speaker 2>There are entire foundations of editors that have more faith

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<v Speaker 2>in the market and the powerful than they do the

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<v Speaker 2>people writing or the people reading their fucking words. And

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<v Speaker 2>above them are entire editorial superstructures that exist to make

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<v Speaker 2>sure that the editorial vision never colors too far outside

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<v Speaker 2>the lines or informs people a little too much. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>not even talking about Jeff Bezos or Lauren Powell Jobs

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<v Speaker 2>or any number of billionaires who are in any number

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<v Speaker 2>of publications, but the editors editing business and tech reporters

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<v Speaker 2>who don't know anything about business and tech, or the

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<v Speaker 2>senior editors there terrified of any byline that might dare

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<v Speaker 2>get the outlet under fire from somebody who could call

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<v Speaker 2>their boss it's fucking cowardice. There are, however, I should add,

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<v Speaker 2>also those who simply defer to the powerful, that assume

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<v Speaker 2>that this much money can't be wrong, even if said money,

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<v Speaker 2>in the case of Elon Musk, is repeatedly wrong. And

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<v Speaker 2>there's an entire website about the wrongness and the lies

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<v Speaker 2>and the bullshit, and I'm talking about Elon Musk still Obviously,

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<v Speaker 2>these editors are the people that look at the current

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<v Speaker 2>crop of powerful tech companies that have failed to deliver

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<v Speaker 2>any truly meaningful innovation in years, and they go ooh oh,

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<v Speaker 2>send me more. Daddy showed me more of the apps.

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<v Speaker 2>It's fucking disgraceful. Just look at the coverage of Sam

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<v Speaker 2>Mortman from the last year. You know, the guy who

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<v Speaker 2>spent years lying about what AI can do, and tell

0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:24.119
<v Speaker 2>me why every single thought he says must be uncritically cataloged,

0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:27.920
<v Speaker 2>His every goddamn decision, applauded, his every claim, trumpeted as

0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:31.079
<v Speaker 2>certain his brittle little company that burns five billion dollars

0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:33.920
<v Speaker 2>a year talked about like it's a fucking living god.

0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:37.920
<v Speaker 2>Sam Altman is a liar who's been fired from two companies,

0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:40.520
<v Speaker 2>including open Ai, and yet because he's a billionaire with

0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:43.760
<v Speaker 2>a buzzy company, he's left totally unscathed. The powerful get

0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:45.880
<v Speaker 2>a completely different set of rules to live by and

0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:49.439
<v Speaker 2>exist in a totally different media environment. Their geniuses, entrepreneurs,

0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:52.079
<v Speaker 2>fire brands. Their challenges are framed as missteps and their

0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.920
<v Speaker 2>victories framed as certainties by the same outlets that told

0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:57.160
<v Speaker 2>us that we were quiet, quitting and that the economy

0:12:57.200 --> 0:13:00.800
<v Speaker 2>is actually good and that we're the problem for high prices. Well,

0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:03.400
<v Speaker 2>it's correct to suggest that the right wing is horrendously

0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.880
<v Speaker 2>ideological and they're terribly biased. It's very hard to look

0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:08.440
<v Speaker 2>at the rest of the media and claim that they

0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:11.880
<v Speaker 2>are not. The problem is that the so called left media,

0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:15.160
<v Speaker 2>which usually is just the center, isn't biased towards what

0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.040
<v Speaker 2>we may consider left wing causes like universal health care,

0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.640
<v Speaker 2>strong unions, expanded social safety and that's you know, the

0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:22.840
<v Speaker 2>stuff that would actually be helpful. Now they're biased in

0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:26.800
<v Speaker 2>favor of pilating an ever growing carousel of sociopathic billionaire assholes,

0:13:26.960 --> 0:13:29.720
<v Speaker 2>elevating them to the status of American royalty, where they

0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:33.200
<v Speaker 2>exist above expectations and norms that you and I must

0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:38.360
<v Speaker 2>live by. This is the definition of elitism. The media

0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:41.160
<v Speaker 2>has literally created a class of people who can lie

0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.480
<v Speaker 2>and cheat and steal, and rather than condemn them for it,

0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:48.440
<v Speaker 2>they're celebrated. While it might feel a little tangential to

0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:52.160
<v Speaker 2>bring technology into this, I truly believe that everybody is

0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:55.479
<v Speaker 2>affected by the rot economy, the growth or costs ecosystem

0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:59.440
<v Speaker 2>where number must always go up because everybody is using technology.

0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.959
<v Speaker 2>All that and the technology in question is getting worse.

0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:06.760
<v Speaker 2>This election cycle saw more than twenty five billion text

0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:09.920
<v Speaker 2>messages sent to potential voters, and seemingly every website was

0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:13.720
<v Speaker 2>cram full of random election advertising. Here's the thing about elections.

0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:17.840
<v Speaker 2>They're not really always about policy. No, they're a referendum

0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.600
<v Speaker 2>on the incumbent party or president, and by proxy, a

0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.720
<v Speaker 2>poll on how people feel. And the reality is that

0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:27.800
<v Speaker 2>most people are fucking miserable. There's this all encompassing feeling

0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:30.520
<v Speaker 2>that things are just harder now. It's harder to pay

0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:32.880
<v Speaker 2>your bills, it's harder to keep in touch with your friends,

0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:35.080
<v Speaker 2>it's harder to start a family, it's harder to buy

0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:36.920
<v Speaker 2>a house, it's harder to fall in love, it's harder

0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:40.080
<v Speaker 2>to do everything. And what we're seeing is an in

0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:44.360
<v Speaker 2>shitification of existence. To use mister doctor Roe's phrase, everything

0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:46.600
<v Speaker 2>just I don't want to be this much of a commudgeon,

0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:50.440
<v Speaker 2>but everything just kind of sucks. It's all terrible, it's miserable,

0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:53.080
<v Speaker 2>and hardly anyone thinks it's going to get better. And

0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:55.720
<v Speaker 2>this creates the kind of fertile conditions for a strong

0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:58.680
<v Speaker 2>man to have emerged, one who arises and says that

0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:00.960
<v Speaker 2>only he can fix thing, even if he spent four

0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:04.160
<v Speaker 2>years proving how he could not. And the problem for

0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:06.680
<v Speaker 2>democrats and for institutions more broadly is that the all

0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:09.720
<v Speaker 2>encompassing nature of this milieu is kind of hard to solve.

0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:12.280
<v Speaker 2>It's hard to change the perception that everything's terrible when

0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.040
<v Speaker 2>you're reminded of it when you're trying to do the

0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:17.160
<v Speaker 2>most basic of tasks. Our phones are full of notifications

0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:19.560
<v Speaker 2>trying to growth hack us into doing things that companies want.

0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:22.560
<v Speaker 2>Our apps are full of micro transactions. Our websites are

0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:25.080
<v Speaker 2>slower and harder to use, with endless demands of our

0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:27.080
<v Speaker 2>emails and our phone numbers, and the need to log

0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:29.200
<v Speaker 2>back in because they couldn't possibly lose a dollar to

0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:32.080
<v Speaker 2>someone who dared to consume a Washington Post article. And yes,

0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.000
<v Speaker 2>I'm talking about the Post, which I fucking pay for,

0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:35.880
<v Speaker 2>despite the fact that it logs me out all the time.

0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:39.160
<v Speaker 2>Our social networks are so algorithmically charged that they barely

0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:41.120
<v Speaker 2>show us the things who want them to anymore. With

0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.040
<v Speaker 2>executives dedicated to filling our feeds full of AI generated

0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:47.720
<v Speaker 2>slop because despite being the customer, were also the revenue mechanism,

0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:50.120
<v Speaker 2>our search engines do less as a means of making

0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:52.520
<v Speaker 2>us use them more. Our dating apps have become vehicles

0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:54.600
<v Speaker 2>of private equity to add a toll to falling in love.

0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:56.840
<v Speaker 2>Our video games are constantly nagging us to give them

0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.400
<v Speaker 2>more money, and despite it costing money and being attached

0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:01.600
<v Speaker 2>to our account, we don't actually own any of the

0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:05.080
<v Speaker 2>streaming media we purchase. We're drowning in spam, both in

0:16:05.120 --> 0:16:07.080
<v Speaker 2>our emails and our phones, and at this point in

0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:09.720
<v Speaker 2>our lives, we've probably agreed to three million pages of

0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.960
<v Speaker 2>privacy policies allowing companies to use our information as they

0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:17.080
<v Speaker 2>see fit. We get one value transaction with every company

0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:20.280
<v Speaker 2>they get eleven, they get one hundred. We really actually

0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.760
<v Speaker 2>don't know because there's no legislation to tell us what

0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.600
<v Speaker 2>they're fucking doing. And these are the issues that hit

0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:30.200
<v Speaker 2>everything we do all the time, constantly, unrelentingly. Technology is

0:16:30.240 --> 0:16:32.680
<v Speaker 2>our lives. Now. We wake up, we use our phone,

0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:35.440
<v Speaker 2>we check our text, three spam calls, two spam texts.

0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:38.040
<v Speaker 2>We look at our bank balance, two factor authentication check.

0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:39.840
<v Speaker 2>We're riad the news. A quarter of the pages bot

0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.320
<v Speaker 2>bone advertisement asking for our email that's deliberately built to

0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:44.280
<v Speaker 2>hide the button to get rid of them and then

0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:46.800
<v Speaker 2>we log into slack and feel a pang of anxieties.

0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:50.000
<v Speaker 2>Fifteen different notifications appear in a way there is really

0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.400
<v Speaker 2>not built for us to find what we need, just

0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:57.560
<v Speaker 2>to let us know something happen. Modern existence is just

0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:02.080
<v Speaker 2>engulfed in sludge. The institutions that exist are cut through.

0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:05.120
<v Speaker 2>It seem to bounce between the ignorance of their masters

0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:09.639
<v Speaker 2>and this misplaced duty to objectivity. Our mechanisms for exploring

0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:12.320
<v Speaker 2>and enjoying the world are interfered with by powerful forces

0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:15.840
<v Speaker 2>that are just basically left unchecked. Opening our devices is

0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:20.720
<v Speaker 2>wilfully subjecting us to attack after attack after attack from applications, websites,

0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:22.959
<v Speaker 2>and devices that are built to make us do things

0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:25.840
<v Speaker 2>for them, rather than operate with dignity and freedom that

0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:29.360
<v Speaker 2>much of the Internet was actually founded upon. These millions

0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:32.360
<v Speaker 2>of invisible acts of terror are too often left undiscussed

0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:35.600
<v Speaker 2>because accepting the truth requires you to accept that most

0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:38.159
<v Speaker 2>of the tech ecosystem is rotten, and that billions of

0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:41.760
<v Speaker 2>dollars are made harassing and punishing billions of people every

0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:44.040
<v Speaker 2>single day of their lives through the devices that we're

0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:46.639
<v Speaker 2>required to use in order to exist in the modern world.

0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:50.280
<v Speaker 2>Most users suffer the consequences, and most of the media

0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:52.920
<v Speaker 2>fails to account for them, and in turn, people walk

0:17:52.960 --> 0:17:55.199
<v Speaker 2>around knowing something is wrong, but not knowing who to

0:17:55.240 --> 0:18:00.920
<v Speaker 2>blame until somebody provides a convenient excuse, like immigrants, the Democrats,

0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:04.119
<v Speaker 2>like whatever fucking works, because we can't actually call the

0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:09.359
<v Speaker 2>people out, the corporations crushing our existence. Why wouldn't people

0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:12.520
<v Speaker 2>crave change? Why wouldn't people be angry living in the

0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:16.320
<v Speaker 2>current world? Absolutely fucking sucks. Sometimes it's miserable, it's bereft

0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:21.720
<v Speaker 2>of industry and filthy with manipulation. It's undignified, it's disrespectful,

0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:25.240
<v Speaker 2>and it must be crushed if we want to escape

0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:29.480
<v Speaker 2>this depressing, goddamn world we've found ourselves in. Our media

0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:33.200
<v Speaker 2>institutions are fully fucking capable of dealing with these problems,

0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:37.360
<v Speaker 2>but it starts with actually evaluating them and aggressively interrogating

0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:41.159
<v Speaker 2>them without fearing accusations of bias that, as I've said, repeatedly,

0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:44.960
<v Speaker 2>happen either way. The truth is that the media is

0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:47.359
<v Speaker 2>more afraid of accusations of bias than they are of

0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:50.720
<v Speaker 2>misleading their readers. And while that seems like a slippery slope,

0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:52.760
<v Speaker 2>and it may very well be one, there must be

0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:55.240
<v Speaker 2>room to inject the writer's voice back into their work,

0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:57.639
<v Speaker 2>and a willingness to call out bad actors as such,

0:18:57.760 --> 0:18:59.760
<v Speaker 2>no matter how rich they are, no matter how big

0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:02.159
<v Speaker 2>they're products are, no matter how willing they are to

0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:04.720
<v Speaker 2>bark and screen that things are unfair as they accumulate

0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:08.080
<v Speaker 2>more power and money. We need context in our news.

0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:11.280
<v Speaker 2>We need it, We need it now. We need opinion,

0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:14.280
<v Speaker 2>we need voice, we need character, we need life, because

0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:18.480
<v Speaker 2>as long as we follow this bullshit objectivity path, we're screwed.

0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.280
<v Speaker 2>And if you're in the tech industry and hearing this

0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:23.760
<v Speaker 2>and saying, oh, the media is teed creticill of tech,

0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:27.280
<v Speaker 2>you flat fucking wrong, kiss my asshole. Everything we're seeing

0:19:27.280 --> 0:19:29.680
<v Speaker 2>happening right now is a direct result of a society

0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:32.360
<v Speaker 2>that let technology in the ultra rich run rampant, free

0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:34.680
<v Speaker 2>of both the governmental guardrails that might have stopped them

0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:37.040
<v Speaker 2>and the media ecosystem that might have actually held them

0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:40.800
<v Speaker 2>in check. Our default position in interrogating the intentions and

0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.080
<v Speaker 2>actions of the tech industry has become that they will

0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:45.679
<v Speaker 2>work it out as they continually redefine what work it

0:19:45.720 --> 0:19:48.399
<v Speaker 2>out means and turn it into make their products worse,

0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:53.119
<v Speaker 2>but more profitable. Covering Meta, Twitter, Google, open Ai, and

0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:55.280
<v Speaker 2>other huge tech companies as if the products they make

0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:58.960
<v Speaker 2>are remarkable and perfect is disrespectable to the reader's intelligence

0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:03.320
<v Speaker 2>and a disgust abdication of responsibility, as their products, even

0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:07.200
<v Speaker 2>when they're functional, are significantly worse, more annoying, more frustrating,

0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:09.880
<v Speaker 2>and more convoluted than ever. And that's before you get

0:20:09.920 --> 0:20:12.240
<v Speaker 2>to the ones like Facebook and Instagram that are out

0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:15.920
<v Speaker 2>right broken. I don't give a shit if these people

0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:17.800
<v Speaker 2>have raised a lot of money unless you use that

0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:20.800
<v Speaker 2>as proof that something is fundamentally wrong with the tech industry.

0:20:21.359 --> 0:20:23.600
<v Speaker 2>Meta making billions of dollars of profit is a sign

0:20:23.640 --> 0:20:26.200
<v Speaker 2>that something is wrong with society, not proof that it's

0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:28.840
<v Speaker 2>a good company or anything that should grant Mark Zuckerberg

0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:32.000
<v Speaker 2>any kind of special treatment. Shove your chains up your ass.

0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:35.320
<v Speaker 2>Mark open Ai being worth one hundred and fifty seven

0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:38.119
<v Speaker 2>billion dollars for a company that burns five billion or

0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:40.399
<v Speaker 2>more a year to make a product that destroys our environment,

0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:42.600
<v Speaker 2>for a product yet to find any real meaning, isn't

0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:44.520
<v Speaker 2>a sign that it should get more coverage or be

0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:47.679
<v Speaker 2>taken more seriously. No, it should be a sign that

0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:51.879
<v Speaker 2>something is broken, that something is wrong with society. Whatever

0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:54.520
<v Speaker 2>you may feel about chat GPT, the coverage it received

0:20:54.600 --> 0:20:57.560
<v Speaker 2>is outsized compared to its actual utility and the things

0:20:57.560 --> 0:20:59.600
<v Speaker 2>built on top of it. And that's a direct result

0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:01.800
<v Speaker 2>of a media industry that seems incapable of holding the

0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:05.479
<v Speaker 2>powerful accountable or actually learning about the subject matter in question.

0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:10.280
<v Speaker 2>It's time to accept that most people's digital life fucking sucks,

0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:12.800
<v Speaker 2>as does the way we consume our information, and that

0:21:12.840 --> 0:21:16.960
<v Speaker 2>there are people directly responsible. Be as angry as you

0:21:17.000 --> 0:21:19.600
<v Speaker 2>want at Jeff Bezos, whose wealth and the inherent cruelty

0:21:19.600 --> 0:21:22.840
<v Speaker 2>of Amazon's labor practices makes him an obvious target, but

0:21:22.920 --> 0:21:26.880
<v Speaker 2>please don't forget Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Sander Peshai, Tim Cook,

0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:30.000
<v Speaker 2>and every single other tech executive that has allowed our

0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:33.879
<v Speaker 2>digital experiences to become fucked up through algorithms that we

0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:38.800
<v Speaker 2>know nothing about. Similarly, governments have entirely failed to push

0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:41.760
<v Speaker 2>through any legislation that might stop the row, both in

0:21:41.840 --> 0:21:44.840
<v Speaker 2>terms of dominance and a patness of algorithmic manipulation and

0:21:44.880 --> 0:21:47.240
<v Speaker 2>the ways in which take products exist with few real

0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:50.920
<v Speaker 2>quality standards. We may have, at least for now, consumer

0:21:50.960 --> 0:21:53.639
<v Speaker 2>standards for the majority of consumer goods, but software is

0:21:53.680 --> 0:21:55.959
<v Speaker 2>left effectively untouched, which is why so much of our

0:21:56.000 --> 0:21:59.240
<v Speaker 2>digital lives are such unfettered. Doug shit. And if you're

0:21:59.240 --> 0:22:01.720
<v Speaker 2>hearing this and say I'm being a hater or a pessimists,

0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:03.840
<v Speaker 2>shut the fuck up. I'm tired of you. I'm so

0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:06.239
<v Speaker 2>fucking tired of being told to calm down about this

0:22:06.520 --> 0:22:08.920
<v Speaker 2>as we stare down the barrel of four years of

0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:11.600
<v Speaker 2>authoritarianism built on top of the decay of our lives,

0:22:11.640 --> 0:22:14.480
<v Speaker 2>both physical and digital, with a media ecosystem that doesn't

0:22:14.520 --> 0:22:16.399
<v Speaker 2>do a great job explaining what's being done to the

0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:21.760
<v Speaker 2>people in an ideologically consistent way. There's this extremely common

0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:24.399
<v Speaker 2>assumption in the tech media based on what I'm really

0:22:24.440 --> 0:22:26.920
<v Speaker 2>not sure, that these companies are all doing a good job,

0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:28.760
<v Speaker 2>and that good job means having lots of users and

0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:31.520
<v Speaker 2>making lots of money, and it drives tons of editorial

0:22:31.520 --> 0:22:35.400
<v Speaker 2>decision making. If three quarters of the biggest car manufacturers

0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:37.680
<v Speaker 2>were making record profits by making half of their cars

0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:40.919
<v Speaker 2>or the break that sometimes didn't work, that'd be international news.

0:22:41.520 --> 0:22:44.040
<v Speaker 2>Government inquiries would appen, people will go to prison. And

0:22:44.080 --> 0:22:47.600
<v Speaker 2>this isn't even conjecture. It actually happened after Volkswagen was

0:22:47.640 --> 0:22:50.520
<v Speaker 2>caught deliberately programming its engines to only meet emission standards

0:22:50.560 --> 0:22:54.320
<v Speaker 2>during laboratory testing. They were left to spew excessive pollution

0:22:54.400 --> 0:22:58.200
<v Speaker 2>into the real world, but once lawmakers found out, they

0:22:58.280 --> 0:23:00.960
<v Speaker 2>responded with civil and criminal action. The executives and engineers

0:23:00.960 --> 0:23:03.960
<v Speaker 2>responsible were indicted. One received seven years in jail, and

0:23:04.440 --> 0:23:06.760
<v Speaker 2>their former CEO is currently being tried in Germany and

0:23:06.880 --> 0:23:10.280
<v Speaker 2>being indicted in the US too. And here we are

0:23:10.320 --> 0:23:15.040
<v Speaker 2>in the tech industry. Facebook barely Works used to nigenocides

0:23:15.160 --> 0:23:19.640
<v Speaker 2>and bullied people and harassed teen girls. Pedophiles run rampant

0:23:19.640 --> 0:23:21.720
<v Speaker 2>on there. There was a Wall Street Journal about story

0:23:21.720 --> 0:23:25.040
<v Speaker 2>about it. They're fine. So much of the tech industry

0:23:25.160 --> 0:23:28.640
<v Speaker 2>consumer software like Google or Facebook, Twitter and even chat GBT,

0:23:28.800 --> 0:23:32.440
<v Speaker 2>and business software from companies like Microsoft and Slack. It sucks.

0:23:33.160 --> 0:23:35.600
<v Speaker 2>It sucks. It's bad. You use it every day. You've

0:23:35.640 --> 0:23:38.720
<v Speaker 2>been listening to Ramble for fifty episodes. Now you know

0:23:38.760 --> 0:23:42.080
<v Speaker 2>what I'm talking about. It's everywhere. Yet the media covers

0:23:42.080 --> 0:23:44.440
<v Speaker 2>it just like, ah, you know, it's just how things

0:23:44.480 --> 0:23:48.040
<v Speaker 2>are mate now. Meta, by the admission of its own

0:23:48.080 --> 0:23:50.920
<v Speaker 2>internal documents, makes products that are ruinous to the mental

0:23:50.960 --> 0:23:53.879
<v Speaker 2>health of teenage girls, and it hasn't made any substantial

0:23:53.960 --> 0:23:56.840
<v Speaker 2>changes as a result, nor has it received any significant

0:23:56.840 --> 0:23:59.439
<v Speaker 2>pushback for failing to do so. Little bit of a

0:23:59.480 --> 0:24:01.920
<v Speaker 2>side note, big shout out to Jeff Horwitz and the

0:24:01.960 --> 0:24:03.359
<v Speaker 2>rest of the Wall Street General people who did the

0:24:03.359 --> 0:24:05.920
<v Speaker 2>Facebook files. There are are legacy media people doing a

0:24:05.920 --> 0:24:10.760
<v Speaker 2>good job on this. Nevertheless, Meta exercises this reckless disregard

0:24:10.760 --> 0:24:14.359
<v Speaker 2>for public safety, kind of like the auto industry in

0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:16.639
<v Speaker 2>the sixties, and that was when Ralph Nader wrote Unsafe

0:24:16.680 --> 0:24:19.760
<v Speaker 2>at Any Speed in his book. It actually brought about change.

0:24:19.760 --> 0:24:22.160
<v Speaker 2>It led to the Department of Transportation and the passage

0:24:22.160 --> 0:24:24.000
<v Speaker 2>of seat belt laws in forty nine states, and a

0:24:24.000 --> 0:24:26.560
<v Speaker 2>bunch of other things that can get overlooked. But the

0:24:26.600 --> 0:24:29.600
<v Speaker 2>tech industry is somehow inoculated against any kind of public

0:24:29.640 --> 0:24:32.600
<v Speaker 2>pressure or shame because it operates in this completely different

0:24:32.600 --> 0:24:34.840
<v Speaker 2>world with this different rule book and a different criteria

0:24:34.880 --> 0:24:38.520
<v Speaker 2>for success, as well as this completely different set of expectations.

0:24:52.400 --> 0:24:55.200
<v Speaker 2>By allowing the market to become disconnected from the value

0:24:55.240 --> 0:24:57.680
<v Speaker 2>it creates, we enable companies like I don't know in

0:24:57.840 --> 0:25:01.040
<v Speaker 2>video that reduced the quality of services they make more

0:25:01.040 --> 0:25:03.840
<v Speaker 2>money for their g Force now service or Facebook. They

0:25:03.880 --> 0:25:07.160
<v Speaker 2>can just destroy our political discourse, so they can facilitate

0:25:07.160 --> 0:25:10.160
<v Speaker 2>genocide in Myanmar, and then well they get headlines about

0:25:10.200 --> 0:25:12.520
<v Speaker 2>how good a CEO Mark Zuckerbig is and how cool

0:25:12.560 --> 0:25:15.480
<v Speaker 2>his chains are, and how how everything's just fine with

0:25:15.520 --> 0:25:19.320
<v Speaker 2>Facebook and they're making more money. No. No, I actually

0:25:19.320 --> 0:25:20.600
<v Speaker 2>want to take a step back, though. I want to

0:25:20.640 --> 0:25:23.840
<v Speaker 2>take a little bit of step back. I previously mentioned

0:25:24.560 --> 0:25:27.879
<v Speaker 2>I said it twice now, Oh, Meta enables genocide and

0:25:27.920 --> 0:25:31.840
<v Speaker 2>it destroys our political discourse. I want to be clear

0:25:31.960 --> 0:25:35.960
<v Speaker 2>when I say that everything is justified at Meta, I'm

0:25:35.960 --> 0:25:40.560
<v Speaker 2>actually quoting their chief technology officer. That's quite literally what

0:25:40.640 --> 0:25:43.720
<v Speaker 2>Andrew Bosworth said in an internal memo from twenty sixteen

0:25:44.040 --> 0:25:48.040
<v Speaker 2>where he said that and I quote ahem, all the

0:25:48.080 --> 0:25:52.440
<v Speaker 2>work Facebook does in growth is justified, even if that includes,

0:25:52.480 --> 0:25:55.600
<v Speaker 2>and I'm quoting him directly, somebody dying in a terrorist

0:25:55.640 --> 0:26:01.280
<v Speaker 2>attack coordinating using Facebook's tools. A mere mention of violent

0:26:01.320 --> 0:26:04.320
<v Speaker 2>crime is enough to create dreams of articles questioning whether

0:26:04.400 --> 0:26:06.679
<v Speaker 2>society is safe and whether we need more plastic in

0:26:06.720 --> 0:26:09.960
<v Speaker 2>our walgreens. Yeah, our digital lives are this wasteland that

0:26:10.440 --> 0:26:13.840
<v Speaker 2>people still discuss like a utopia, seriously putting aside the

0:26:13.840 --> 0:26:17.240
<v Speaker 2>social networks. Have you visited a website on the phone recently.

0:26:17.440 --> 0:26:19.560
<v Speaker 2>Have you tried to use a new app? Have you

0:26:19.600 --> 0:26:22.320
<v Speaker 2>tried to buy something online starting with a Google search?

0:26:22.640 --> 0:26:26.399
<v Speaker 2>Within those experiences, sis, has anything gone wrong? You know it,

0:26:26.560 --> 0:26:30.240
<v Speaker 2>I know it has, you know it has. It's time

0:26:30.280 --> 0:26:34.560
<v Speaker 2>to wake up. We the users of products. We're at

0:26:34.600 --> 0:26:36.959
<v Speaker 2>war with the products we're using and the people that

0:26:37.000 --> 0:26:40.560
<v Speaker 2>make them, and right now we are losing. The media

0:26:40.720 --> 0:26:43.960
<v Speaker 2>must realign to fight for how things should be. This

0:26:44.000 --> 0:26:46.640
<v Speaker 2>doesn't mean that they can't cover things positively, or give

0:26:46.680 --> 0:26:49.040
<v Speaker 2>credit where credit is due, or be willing to accept

0:26:49.040 --> 0:26:52.800
<v Speaker 2>that something could be something cool. But has the change

0:26:52.880 --> 0:26:55.359
<v Speaker 2>is the evaluation of the products themselves, which have been

0:26:55.400 --> 0:26:57.080
<v Speaker 2>allowed to decay to a level that has become at

0:26:57.160 --> 0:27:01.040
<v Speaker 2>best annoying and at worst actively harmful for society. Our

0:27:01.080 --> 0:27:04.360
<v Speaker 2>networks are rotten, Our information ecosystem is poisoned, with its

0:27:04.400 --> 0:27:08.440
<v Speaker 2>pure parts ideologically and strategically concussed. Our means of speaking

0:27:08.480 --> 0:27:10.679
<v Speaker 2>to those that we love and making new connections are

0:27:10.720 --> 0:27:13.760
<v Speaker 2>so constantly interfered with that personal choice and dignity is

0:27:13.800 --> 0:27:17.639
<v Speaker 2>all but removed. But there is hope. There really is.

0:27:18.000 --> 0:27:20.200
<v Speaker 2>Those covering the tech industry right now have one of

0:27:20.240 --> 0:27:23.080
<v Speaker 2>the most consequential jobs in journalism if they choose to

0:27:23.119 --> 0:27:27.480
<v Speaker 2>fucking do it. Those willing to guide people through the wasteland,

0:27:27.520 --> 0:27:30.200
<v Speaker 2>those willing to discuss what needs to change, how bad

0:27:30.240 --> 0:27:33.320
<v Speaker 2>things have gone, and hold the powerful accountable and say

0:27:33.320 --> 0:27:35.800
<v Speaker 2>what good might look like, have the opportunity to push

0:27:35.800 --> 0:27:38.000
<v Speaker 2>for a better future by spitting in the faces of

0:27:38.000 --> 0:27:40.720
<v Speaker 2>those ruining it. I don't know where I sit, by

0:27:40.720 --> 0:27:43.000
<v Speaker 2>the way, I don't know what to call myself. Am

0:27:43.040 --> 0:27:45.600
<v Speaker 2>I legacy media? I got my start writing in print magazines.

0:27:45.840 --> 0:27:49.160
<v Speaker 2>Am I an independent contractor? Am I an influencer? Am

0:27:49.160 --> 0:27:51.520
<v Speaker 2>I content? I truly don't know, and I don't know

0:27:51.560 --> 0:27:53.760
<v Speaker 2>over care. But all that I know is that I

0:27:53.840 --> 0:27:56.280
<v Speaker 2>feel like I'm at war two and that we, if

0:27:56.320 --> 0:27:58.840
<v Speaker 2>I can be considered part of the media, are at

0:27:58.880 --> 0:28:01.359
<v Speaker 2>war with people that change the terms of innovation so

0:28:01.359 --> 0:28:05.080
<v Speaker 2>that it's synonymous with value extraction. Technology is how I

0:28:05.160 --> 0:28:07.600
<v Speaker 2>became a person, how I met my closest friends and

0:28:07.640 --> 0:28:09.880
<v Speaker 2>loved ones. And without it, I wouldn't be able to write,

0:28:09.880 --> 0:28:11.760
<v Speaker 2>I wouldn't be able to read this podcast. I wouldn't

0:28:11.760 --> 0:28:16.280
<v Speaker 2>have got this podcast. And I feel this poison flowing

0:28:16.280 --> 0:28:18.399
<v Speaker 2>through my veins as I see what these motherfuckers have

0:28:18.440 --> 0:28:21.200
<v Speaker 2>done and what they're continuing to do, And I see

0:28:21.200 --> 0:28:26.879
<v Speaker 2>how inconsistently and tipidly they're interrogated. Now is the time

0:28:26.960 --> 0:28:31.400
<v Speaker 2>to talk bluntly about what is happening. The declining quality

0:28:31.600 --> 0:28:35.040
<v Speaker 2>of tech products, the scourge of growth, hacking, the cancellor

0:28:35.119 --> 0:28:37.639
<v Speaker 2>us growth at all cost mindset. These are all the

0:28:37.680 --> 0:28:39.920
<v Speaker 2>things that need to be raised in every single piece,

0:28:40.280 --> 0:28:44.080
<v Speaker 2>and judgments must be unrelenting. The companies will.

0:28:43.880 --> 0:28:47.719
<v Speaker 1>Squeal ooh that they're being so unfairly treated by the

0:28:47.760 --> 0:28:52.320
<v Speaker 1>biased legacy media. Oh oh, save me, hey, Nell Patel

0:28:52.400 --> 0:28:55.040
<v Speaker 1>interview with Sondar Pishai. This is how you sounded when

0:28:55.040 --> 0:28:56.000
<v Speaker 1>you handed him your phone.

0:28:56.000 --> 0:28:58.800
<v Speaker 2>It was pathetic. They should be scared of you, Nile.

0:28:59.760 --> 0:29:02.800
<v Speaker 2>The powerful should be scared of the media. They shouldn't

0:29:02.840 --> 0:29:05.320
<v Speaker 2>be sitting there sending letters to the editor like fucking

0:29:05.360 --> 0:29:09.720
<v Speaker 2>customer support. No, they should see this podcast, They should

0:29:09.720 --> 0:29:12.479
<v Speaker 2>see these news letters. They should see everything published by

0:29:12.480 --> 0:29:15.680
<v Speaker 2>the tech media and go uh oh. And there can

0:29:15.760 --> 0:29:17.760
<v Speaker 2>be good people. There can be good boys and girls

0:29:17.880 --> 0:29:20.720
<v Speaker 2>than others. There can be plenty of people that make

0:29:20.760 --> 0:29:23.440
<v Speaker 2>good products and get great press for it. But do

0:29:23.480 --> 0:29:27.640
<v Speaker 2>you really think meta Google, Apple to an extent. Frankly,

0:29:28.240 --> 0:29:30.200
<v Speaker 2>do you think Amazon looks good right now? Do you

0:29:30.200 --> 0:29:31.960
<v Speaker 2>think it's easy to find stuff? Or do you think

0:29:32.000 --> 0:29:35.120
<v Speaker 2>it's slop full of more slop? Mark Zuckerberg said on

0:29:35.160 --> 0:29:38.040
<v Speaker 2>an earning score the other day that he intends there

0:29:38.120 --> 0:29:42.760
<v Speaker 2>to be an AI specific slop feed that should These

0:29:42.840 --> 0:29:48.520
<v Speaker 2>are harmful things. This is pouring vants of oil into

0:29:48.640 --> 0:29:52.040
<v Speaker 2>rivers and then getting told you're the best boy in town.

0:29:52.960 --> 0:29:55.960
<v Speaker 2>These companies, they're poisoning the digital world, and they must

0:29:55.960 --> 0:29:58.840
<v Speaker 2>be held accountable for the damage they're causing. Readers are

0:29:58.880 --> 0:30:02.720
<v Speaker 2>already aware. But ah, and this is really thanks to

0:30:02.880 --> 0:30:05.000
<v Speaker 2>members of the media, by the way, the gaslighting themselves

0:30:05.040 --> 0:30:07.840
<v Speaker 2>into believing that, oh, I just don't catch I don't

0:30:07.920 --> 0:30:10.240
<v Speaker 2>keep up with technology. He is getting away from me.

0:30:10.480 --> 0:30:12.960
<v Speaker 2>I'm not technical enough to use this, when the thing

0:30:12.960 --> 0:30:15.160
<v Speaker 2>that they don't get, that the average person doesn't get,

0:30:15.200 --> 0:30:18.520
<v Speaker 2>is that the tech industry has built legions of obfiscations,

0:30:18.600 --> 0:30:22.040
<v Speaker 2>legions of legal tricks, and these horrible little user interface

0:30:22.080 --> 0:30:25.560
<v Speaker 2>traps specifically made to trick you into doing things, to

0:30:25.640 --> 0:30:29.240
<v Speaker 2>make the experience kind of subordinate to getting the money

0:30:29.280 --> 0:30:31.880
<v Speaker 2>off of you. And I think that this is one

0:30:31.880 --> 0:30:34.600
<v Speaker 2>of the biggest issues in society. And yes, of course

0:30:34.600 --> 0:30:37.960
<v Speaker 2>I'm biased. I'm doing a podcast about tech, but for real, though,

0:30:38.080 --> 0:30:40.840
<v Speaker 2>billions of people use smartphones, billions of people are on

0:30:40.880 --> 0:30:44.000
<v Speaker 2>the computer every day. It's how we do everything. And

0:30:44.120 --> 0:30:48.320
<v Speaker 2>it stinks. It stinks so bad. This is the rot economy.

0:30:48.400 --> 0:30:53.080
<v Speaker 2>We're in the rot society. But things can change, and

0:30:53.120 --> 0:30:54.760
<v Speaker 2>for them to change, it has to start with the

0:30:54.800 --> 0:30:58.320
<v Speaker 2>information sources, and that starts with journalism. And the work

0:30:58.320 --> 0:31:01.440
<v Speaker 2>has already begun and we'll continue, but it must scale up,

0:31:01.520 --> 0:31:04.719
<v Speaker 2>and it must do so quickly. And you, the user,

0:31:04.960 --> 0:31:07.400
<v Speaker 2>have the power. Learn to read a privacy policy. And

0:31:07.400 --> 0:31:09.360
<v Speaker 2>the link there is to the Washington Post. Yes, there

0:31:09.360 --> 0:31:12.600
<v Speaker 2>are plenty of great reporters there. Fuck Bezos. You can

0:31:12.600 --> 0:31:14.720
<v Speaker 2>move to Signal, which is an encrypted messaging app that

0:31:14.760 --> 0:31:17.800
<v Speaker 2>works on just about everything. Get a service like delete me,

0:31:17.880 --> 0:31:19.640
<v Speaker 2>and by the way, I pay for it, I work

0:31:19.640 --> 0:31:22.800
<v Speaker 2>from four years ago. I have no financial relationship with them,

0:31:23.160 --> 0:31:26.640
<v Speaker 2>but they're great for removing you from data brokers. Molly White,

0:31:26.680 --> 0:31:28.520
<v Speaker 2>who's a dear friend of mine and even better right

0:31:28.600 --> 0:31:31.360
<v Speaker 2>you might remember from one of the early episodes about Wikipedia.

0:31:31.440 --> 0:31:33.880
<v Speaker 2>She's also written this extremely long guide about what to

0:31:33.880 --> 0:31:35.520
<v Speaker 2>do next that are linked to in the notes, and

0:31:35.560 --> 0:31:37.120
<v Speaker 2>it runs through a ton of great things you can

0:31:37.160 --> 0:31:40.760
<v Speaker 2>do unionization, finding your communities, dropping apps that collect and

0:31:40.800 --> 0:31:43.800
<v Speaker 2>store sensitive data, and so on. I also heartily recommend

0:31:43.840 --> 0:31:46.480
<v Speaker 2>Wired's guide to Protecting Yourself from Government Surveillance, which is

0:31:46.520 --> 0:31:52.320
<v Speaker 2>linked in the show notes. Now, before we go, I

0:31:52.320 --> 0:31:54.000
<v Speaker 2>want to leave you with something that I posted on

0:31:54.080 --> 0:31:58.640
<v Speaker 2>November sixth on the Better Offline redditpp the last twenty

0:31:58.640 --> 0:32:00.560
<v Speaker 2>four hours of felt bleak, and we'll like feel more

0:32:00.560 --> 0:32:02.720
<v Speaker 2>bleak as the months and years go on. It'll be

0:32:02.720 --> 0:32:04.920
<v Speaker 2>easy to give into doom, to assume the fight is lost,

0:32:05.000 --> 0:32:07.280
<v Speaker 2>to assume that the bad guys are permanently won and

0:32:07.360 --> 0:32:10.400
<v Speaker 2>there will never be any justice or joy again. Now's

0:32:10.400 --> 0:32:13.360
<v Speaker 2>the time for solidarity to crystallize around ideas that matter,

0:32:13.480 --> 0:32:16.160
<v Speaker 2>even if their a position in society is delayed. Even

0:32:16.240 --> 0:32:18.240
<v Speaker 2>as the clouds darken and the storm's brew and the

0:32:18.320 --> 0:32:22.560
<v Speaker 2>darkness feels all encompassing and suffocating, reach out to those

0:32:22.600 --> 0:32:26.040
<v Speaker 2>you love and don't just commiserate. Plan It doesn't have

0:32:26.080 --> 0:32:28.160
<v Speaker 2>to be political, it doesn't even really have to matter.

0:32:28.640 --> 0:32:31.520
<v Speaker 2>Put shit on your fucking calendar. Keep yourself active and busy,

0:32:31.560 --> 0:32:35.800
<v Speaker 2>and if not distracted at very least animated. Darkness feeds

0:32:35.800 --> 0:32:38.680
<v Speaker 2>an idleness. Darkness feasts on a sense of failure and

0:32:38.720 --> 0:32:42.040
<v Speaker 2>a sense of inability to make change. You don't know

0:32:42.160 --> 0:32:44.720
<v Speaker 2>me very well, but know that I'm aware of the

0:32:44.800 --> 0:32:47.440
<v Speaker 2>darkness and the sadness and the suffocation of when things

0:32:47.480 --> 0:32:50.880
<v Speaker 2>feel overwhelming. Give yourself some mercy and then the days

0:32:50.880 --> 0:32:54.120
<v Speaker 2>to come. Don't castigate yourself a feeling gutted. Then keep going.

0:32:54.960 --> 0:32:56.960
<v Speaker 2>I realize it's little solace to think, well, if I

0:32:57.000 --> 0:32:59.239
<v Speaker 2>keep saying stuff out loud, things will get better. But

0:32:59.240 --> 0:33:01.160
<v Speaker 2>I promise you do it so as an effect and

0:33:01.200 --> 0:33:04.720
<v Speaker 2>actually matters. Keep talking about how fucked up things are,

0:33:05.160 --> 0:33:07.400
<v Speaker 2>Make sure it's written down, make sure it's spoken cleanly,

0:33:07.520 --> 0:33:09.479
<v Speaker 2>and with the rage and fire and piss and vinegar

0:33:09.480 --> 0:33:12.479
<v Speaker 2>it deserves. Things will change for the better, even if

0:33:12.520 --> 0:33:18.080
<v Speaker 2>it takes more time than it should. Look. I know

0:33:18.120 --> 0:33:22.240
<v Speaker 2>I'm imperfect, emotional, off kilt At times I get emails

0:33:22.240 --> 0:33:26.400
<v Speaker 2>saying that too angry. I'm sorry if it's ever triggered.

0:33:26.440 --> 0:33:29.600
<v Speaker 2>You really do mean that. It's not intentional. I just

0:33:29.680 --> 0:33:33.160
<v Speaker 2>I feel this in everything I do. I use technology

0:33:33.200 --> 0:33:35.240
<v Speaker 2>all the time, and it is extremely annoying. But also

0:33:35.560 --> 0:33:38.120
<v Speaker 2>I'm aware that I have privilege, and the more privilege

0:33:38.160 --> 0:33:40.040
<v Speaker 2>you have with intake, the more you're able to escape

0:33:40.040 --> 0:33:42.680
<v Speaker 2>the little things. Go and buy a cheap laptop today.

0:33:42.760 --> 0:33:46.040
<v Speaker 2>Try and see what two hundred, three hundred dollars laptop is.

0:33:46.080 --> 0:33:48.280
<v Speaker 2>It's slow, It's full of eighteen pop ups trying to

0:33:48.280 --> 0:33:50.320
<v Speaker 2>sell you access to cloud storage, to shit that you'll

0:33:50.320 --> 0:33:54.920
<v Speaker 2>never use, tricking grannies and people who can't afford laptops,

0:33:54.920 --> 0:33:58.040
<v Speaker 2>so people that just don't know. When I see this stuff,

0:33:58.240 --> 0:34:00.600
<v Speaker 2>it enrages me. Not just for me, but because I

0:34:00.680 --> 0:34:03.160
<v Speaker 2>know that I'm at least lucky enough to know how

0:34:03.160 --> 0:34:06.040
<v Speaker 2>to get around this shit. Spent most of my life online,

0:34:06.240 --> 0:34:08.080
<v Speaker 2>spent most of my life playing with tech and now

0:34:07.960 --> 0:34:11.960
<v Speaker 2>how it works. And I know I have my tangents

0:34:12.239 --> 0:34:15.360
<v Speaker 2>and my biases, but I wear them, can't let my

0:34:15.400 --> 0:34:18.480
<v Speaker 2>heart on my sleeve. I care about all this stuff

0:34:18.480 --> 0:34:20.440
<v Speaker 2>in a way that might be a little different to some.

0:34:21.360 --> 0:34:25.640
<v Speaker 2>And it's because I've I've watched an industry that really

0:34:25.680 --> 0:34:28.719
<v Speaker 2>made me as a person, that allowed me to grow

0:34:28.760 --> 0:34:32.560
<v Speaker 2>as a person, to actually meet people, to not feel

0:34:32.600 --> 0:34:35.319
<v Speaker 2>as alone. And I imagine some of you feel like

0:34:35.360 --> 0:34:39.000
<v Speaker 2>this too, And then watching what happens to it every day,

0:34:39.360 --> 0:34:42.399
<v Speaker 2>watching the people who get so rich off of making

0:34:42.440 --> 0:34:44.040
<v Speaker 2>it so much worse, and then seeing what happen on

0:34:44.080 --> 0:34:47.200
<v Speaker 2>November fifth, and you can draw a line from it.

0:34:48.400 --> 0:34:53.120
<v Speaker 2>People are scared, they're lost, Their lives are spent digitally,

0:34:53.360 --> 0:34:58.800
<v Speaker 2>and your digital lives are just endless terrorism, endless harm.

0:34:59.600 --> 0:35:01.840
<v Speaker 2>Some of you know your way around takes, so you

0:35:01.880 --> 0:35:04.120
<v Speaker 2>can escape some of it, but it's impossible to escape

0:35:04.160 --> 0:35:07.640
<v Speaker 2>all of it. Try meeting people these days, you can't.

0:35:07.760 --> 0:35:11.320
<v Speaker 2>Everything is online, and everything online, everything on your phone

0:35:11.400 --> 0:35:15.240
<v Speaker 2>is mitigated and interfered with. It's an assault on your senses,

0:35:15.280 --> 0:35:20.040
<v Speaker 2>one deprived of dignity. And I see the people doing

0:35:20.040 --> 0:35:23.759
<v Speaker 2>this and it feels me full of fucking rage, and

0:35:23.800 --> 0:35:27.360
<v Speaker 2>it makes me angry for you and for me, for

0:35:27.480 --> 0:35:29.960
<v Speaker 2>my son growing up, and what will probably be a

0:35:30.040 --> 0:35:32.920
<v Speaker 2>worse world, for my friends and loved ones who are

0:35:32.960 --> 0:35:36.160
<v Speaker 2>harder to see, harder to speak to, whose lives too

0:35:36.239 --> 0:35:39.720
<v Speaker 2>are interfered with. And there are the millions and millions

0:35:39.719 --> 0:35:43.239
<v Speaker 2>of people who have no fucking idea it's happening, that

0:35:43.400 --> 0:35:46.880
<v Speaker 2>just exist in this swill, in this active digital terrorism,

0:35:47.239 --> 0:35:53.400
<v Speaker 2>poked and prodded and nagged and notified constantly. And I

0:35:54.120 --> 0:35:56.600
<v Speaker 2>don't want. Early on in this I got a message

0:35:56.640 --> 0:35:58.760
<v Speaker 2>saying don't tell people to be angry, and I stick

0:35:58.800 --> 0:36:02.279
<v Speaker 2>by that. But I'm not going to hide that I am.

0:36:02.840 --> 0:36:04.520
<v Speaker 2>I'm not going to hide the pain I feel. I'm

0:36:04.520 --> 0:36:06.120
<v Speaker 2>not going to hide the pain I feel seeing this

0:36:06.160 --> 0:36:12.239
<v Speaker 2>shit happen. And I've watched this thing that I love technology,

0:36:13.080 --> 0:36:16.360
<v Speaker 2>Really do love tech, I really do deeply. I've watched

0:36:16.360 --> 0:36:21.160
<v Speaker 2>it corrupted and broken and the people breaking it. They

0:36:21.160 --> 0:36:23.840
<v Speaker 2>don't just make billions of dollars. They get articles in

0:36:23.920 --> 0:36:28.040
<v Speaker 2>they get interviewed on the news. Mark Zuckerbug, he wears

0:36:28.040 --> 0:36:30.080
<v Speaker 2>a chain and there's articles about how cool he is.

0:36:30.480 --> 0:36:33.040
<v Speaker 2>He should be in fucking prison. He should be on

0:36:33.120 --> 0:36:35.320
<v Speaker 2>a prison on a boat that just circles the world,

0:36:35.680 --> 0:36:38.080
<v Speaker 2>and he shouldn't have air conditioning or heat depending on

0:36:38.160 --> 0:36:41.279
<v Speaker 2>how the weather is. And I know that I'm kind

0:36:41.280 --> 0:36:46.160
<v Speaker 2>of errant, and again, tons of tangents, but look, the

0:36:46.200 --> 0:36:48.680
<v Speaker 2>reason I'm like this is because I really care. And

0:36:48.719 --> 0:36:51.479
<v Speaker 2>I think caring, I think being angry at the things

0:36:51.480 --> 0:36:55.880
<v Speaker 2>that actually matter and giving context as a result. I

0:36:55.880 --> 0:36:59.080
<v Speaker 2>think that's deeply valuable. And I realize I do fla

0:36:59.280 --> 0:37:01.799
<v Speaker 2>to handle a lot, but it really is because I care,

0:37:02.360 --> 0:37:04.640
<v Speaker 2>I care about you, I care about the subject matter.

0:37:05.840 --> 0:37:08.680
<v Speaker 2>I'm so grateful and so honored that you spend your

0:37:08.680 --> 0:37:10.279
<v Speaker 2>time listening to me every week, and I hope you'll

0:37:10.320 --> 0:37:20.879
<v Speaker 2>continue to do so. So I'm not going anywhere. Thank

0:37:20.920 --> 0:37:23.640
<v Speaker 2>you for listening to Better Offline. The editor and composer

0:37:23.680 --> 0:37:26.480
<v Speaker 2>of the Better Offline theme song is Metasowski. You can

0:37:26.560 --> 0:37:28.920
<v Speaker 2>check out more of his music and audio projects at

0:37:28.920 --> 0:37:32.360
<v Speaker 2>Matasowski dot com, M A T T O S O

0:37:33.080 --> 0:37:36.560
<v Speaker 2>W s ki dot com. You can email me at

0:37:36.560 --> 0:37:39.400
<v Speaker 2>easy at Better Offline dot com, or visit Better Offline

0:37:39.440 --> 0:37:41.520
<v Speaker 2>dot com to find more podcast links and of course,

0:37:41.520 --> 0:37:44.680
<v Speaker 2>my newsletter. I also really recommend you go to chat

0:37:44.680 --> 0:37:47.319
<v Speaker 2>dot Where's youreaed dot at to visit the discord, and

0:37:47.360 --> 0:37:50.080
<v Speaker 2>go to our slash Better Offline to check out our reddit.

0:37:50.840 --> 0:37:54.120
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much for listening. Better Offline is a

0:37:54.120 --> 0:37:57.200
<v Speaker 2>production of cool Zone Media. For more from cool Zone Media,

0:37:57.360 --> 0:38:00.520
<v Speaker 2>visit our website cool Zonemedia dot com to check us

0:38:00.520 --> 0:38:03.480
<v Speaker 2>out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

0:38:03.560 --> 0:38:04.440
<v Speaker 2>get your podcasts.