Offline with Jon Favreau

Jon Ronson, author of So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed and host of the BBC podcast “Things Fell Apart,” joins Offline to discuss culture wars—why do they originate in America? Are they going too far? Are we all becoming immune to the public-shaming superbug? But first! Max and Jon break down the latest bombardment of everyone’s favorite algorithm (TikTok ban) and everyone’s favorite politician (AOC being screamed at).

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Zeynep Tufekci, sociologist and New York Times opinion columnist, joins Offline to discuss why long covid has unleashed so much online vitriol, united the Senate, and exposed just how little Americans trust institutions. Jon also sits down with his producer, Emma, to talk about her firsthand experience with the disease, and how she navigates an information environment rife with suffering and confusion—but also solidarity and hope.

But first! Jon and Max weigh in on Google’s new “woke” AI, which has been cooking up images of Asian founding fathers, Black Vikings, and, unfortunately, racially diverse Nazis. Then, they break down Taylor Lorenz’s interview with the infamous founder of Libs of TikTok, and how the long-form, short-form, and print coverage of the conversation each land differently online.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Tina Nguyen, national correspondent at Puck News, joins Offline to talk about her new memoir, “The MAGA Diaries.” The book sheds light on the conservative movement’s college recruitment pipeline, and how it’s propelled a new generation of alt-right leaders to the upper echelons of American politics, courts, and social movements. Tina chronicles how this shadowy network helped her start out in the world of right-wing journalism, what compelled her to eventually defect to the mainstream, and all the MAGA mad caps she met along the way.

But first! Jon and Max take a look at Sora, the new AI model that can turn text into video, Jon Stewart, who’s back to hosting the Daily Show after 9 years away from the desk, and Favs himself — when will Jon learn to stay out of Twitter fights?

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Cass Sunstein, Harvard professor and coauthor of the forthcoming book, Look Again, joins Offline to discuss the dangers of habituation. When things become so commonplace that they blend into the background of our everyday lives, we stop appreciating the good and identifying the bad. Jon and Cass examine how authoritarian regimes are normalized, whether you can pay people to quit their social media addictions, and why repeating lies makes them more believable. But first! Max and Jon dive into Meta’s decision to stop recommending political content on their platforms, President Biden’s foray onto TikTok, and what a recent Selena Gomez deepfake means for the future of scamming.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Kara Swisher, longtime tech reporter and author of the forthcoming memoir Burn Book, joins Offline to talk about the tech tycoons who think they’re qualified to run our country. She and Jon break down Silicon Valley’s ever growing self importance, whether its leaders are more or less fascist than we think, and how big tech ate the media industry alive. But first! Max and Jon explain why Apple’s Vision Pro headset is the company’s most impressive—and depressing—gadget to date, and how Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are saving  American monoculture.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Peter Hamby, host of Snapchat’s Good Luck America and a founding partner at Puck News, returns to Offline to discuss whether journalism is headed towards extinction. With the latest round of media layoffs hollowing out the industry more than ever before, how will people stay informed—and do they even want to? Has the news lost its primacy in the American mind? But first! Max and Jon break down Zuckerberg & co.‘s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, why children’s online safety is the social media moguls’ achilles heel, and whether Universal Music pulling their catalogue from TikTok is actually a big deal.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Kyle Chayka, New Yorker staff writer and author of “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture,” joins Offline to expose how online feeds push us into the mainstream and away from each other. He and Jon examine how machine-guided curation changes not only what we consume, but the quality of what gets made in the first place. But first! Max and Jon talk about how introverts have taken over the economy, the moment solo scrolling surpassed socializing, and how algorithm-driven streamers are recreating a worse version of cable.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

R. F. Kuang, bestselling author of Yellowface, joins Offline to discuss cultural appropriation, the flatness of social media friendships and feedback, and the tortured relationship between literature and technology. Kuang recounts how pandemic doomscrolling destroyed her attention span, the book she wrote as a result, and how she’s reclaimed her focus and social life since. But first! Jon is FINALLY back from his two weeks of paternity leave — he and Max break down how Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy ran their campaigns like a 2016 meme war. Then, they compare the unsettling voice of AI Dean Phillips to the unsettling voice of human Dean Phillips, and unpack why no one is happy with Substack these days.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Katy Milkman, Wharton professor and author of How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, joins Offline to discuss the limits of willpower. Katy and Max dig into the science behind habit formation, the psychology of temptation bundling, and all the strategies for sticking to New Year’s resolutions that are more effective—and more fun—than sheer will. But first! Crooked staffers Gabby, David and Ben join Max for a quick and snappy panel on their own resolutions for 2024, and what they’ve learned about changing their behavior in years past.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Maybe, your friend announced they’re not drinking anymore, or your sister’s now “California Sober,” or maybe your entire office is participating in Dry January. It’s not just you, going sober is the hot new thing, with 41% of Americans aged 18 to 35 saying they don’t drink at all. Today, we explore the changes in drinking culture, in how we think about wellness and health, in how we socialize and spend our free time, and yes, changes in technology, that are converging to make America sober. Max interviews three Crooked Media producers about their relationship with alcohol and then talks to Dr. Edward Slingerland, an expert on humanity’s relationship with alcohol, about why humans drink and what changed about alcohol and our world to make more people choose sobriety.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

With 2024 fast approaching, Jon and Max sit down to answer listener-submitted questions. Does the show have a millennial bias? What’s the guys’ screen time 6 months after the Offline Challenge? Will Max stage a coup when Jon goes on paternity leave? Plus favorite social media trends, favorite films and favorite co-hosts of 2023.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

YouTuber Natalie Wynn, better known as ContraPoints, may be the internet’s most persuasive political commentator. Known for her carefully produced, elaborate video essays, Natalie has an uncanny ability to attract and de-radicalize viewers with reactionary, right wing politics. She sits down with Jon to talk about the importance of style in political persuasion, explain how the internet became fascist in 2017, and teach what it takes to actually change minds online. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Jeff Stein, White House economics reporter at the Washington Post, joins Offline to talk about the $16 McDonald’s meal that captivated the internet—and whether Bidenomics is to blame. Conservative media outlets sunk their teeth into the story a few weeks ago, so Jeff and Jon dig into the burger narrative to examine today’s economy: why, amid stagnating inflation and a hot job market, do voters still disapprove of President Biden’s handling of the economy? Is social media painting a bleaker picture than the statistics report? And is this economic disconnect the biggest challenge facing Biden’s re-election?

Happy holidays from the Offline team! Here’s a special sneak peek of our new subscriber exclusive series Inside 2024. In this preview Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor take you behind the scenes of election nights like Barack Obama’s 2008 winning campaign. It’s a show we’re really proud of and we hope you enjoy. Producer Caroline Reston moderates. If you want to hear the rest of the episode, or future ones, be sure to sign up for Friends of the Pod at crooked.com/friends.

Anna Holmes, the founder of jezebel.com, and Crooked’s own Erin Ryan—the site’s former managing editor—join Offline to discuss the origin and legacy of a publication that redefined feminism for millions of women. With Jezebel shuttering last week, Anna, Erin and Jon question whether the site was a victim of its own success, to what extent it shaped identity politics, and if it’s fair to blame Jezebel’s readers for the anger and infighting we see on the internet today. But first! Max and Jon take a closer look at Osama bin Laden apologists on TikTok, the new device that claims to reduce phone dependence, and Ron DeSantis’ fight to post anonymously online.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Jon and Max get into the numbers behind TikTok’s supposed pro-Palestinian tilt— is the bias real, what do “views” signify, and how many of these videos are spreading misinformation? With content creators surpassing legacy media as Americans’ primary source of news, the guys discuss the future of getting credible information on social media. And to round it out, Jon updates Max on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s higher power: a porn policing software called Covenant Eyes.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Naomi Klein, activist and bestselling author, joins Offline to talk about her new book, Doppelganger, and the woman who inspired it, anti-vax crusader Naomi Wolf. The two are often mistaken for each other, and in Doppelganger Klein wades into the confusion to tell a broader story about the morass of the internet today. She and Jon talk about what it means to build a personal brand in the attention economy, how the pandemic fractured our collective sense of reality, and whether the internet is a good place to build a populist movement. Plus, Max is back from the dead! He and Jon break down Biden’s new executive order on AI and exchange tips on how to have more productive conversations about the destruction in Gaza.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Johnny Harris, filmmaker and journalist, joins Offline to talk about Joe Rogan—how he became the world’s most famous podcaster, where he stands (or doesn’t) on censorship, and how he created a brand of anti-woke contrarianism. Johnny argues that people who are tired of polarization and tribalism see Rogan’s openness, curiosity, and resistance to mainstream labels as a breath of fresh air. But Rogan’s guests also regularly spread misinformation, and Johnny considers the machismo atmosphere of The Joe Rogan Experience to be a gateway podcast, one that leads listeners away from openness and curiosity and towards men’s rights activists like Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Jesse David Fox, senior editor at Vulture and author of the forthcoming “Comedy Book,” joins Offline to break down how the internet changed comedy and how comedy changed politics. Jesse and Jon trace how the erosion of broadcast journalism under Reagan created a trust vacuum in America that comedians inadvertently filled. Jesse explains why this trust is misplaced, and the implications for entertainment, political correctness, and authoritarian leaders like Donald Trump. Then the two discuss how the internet has made us pickier about humor, why Elon needed to buy Twitter to feel funny, and why a comic’s success is no longer measured in laughs.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

As fighting intensifies between Israel and Hamas, Jon and Max break down the ways social media is terribly equipped for delivering news about the war, helping us process it, and recognizing people’s humanity. What’s more, the platforms have basically given up on content moderation and fact checking. The guys explore how the combination of these factors made last week the single worst breaking news experience on social media ever, and why everyone feels compelled to issue a PR statement. Are the algorithms forcing this outrage upon us or is this just the result of the unique circumstances of this conflict?

Get your virtual tickets to Pod Save America live from DC now at MOMENT.CO/PSA

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.