People vs Algorithms

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...

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...

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 Twitter Chapters: * 00:00 Open * 00:17 Welcome * 03:22 Vanity Fair Is Back * 05:56 Is Weiss good at medi...

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...

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...

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 ne...

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...

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...

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 Twitter Chapter...

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 Twitter Chapters: * 00:00 Open * 00:21 Welcom...

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 buyi...

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 Reb...

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 Pe...

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 Twi...

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 Twitter Chapters: * 00:00 Open * 00:42 Gaming in Japan * 0...

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 Twitter Chapters: * 00:00 Open * 00:31 Welcome * 01:10 Trump's Wa...

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,...

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...

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 Twitter Chapters: * 00:00 Open * 00:33 Welcome * 01:02 AI & Coffee * 19:39 Re-brands * 28:...

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,...

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 Twitter Chapters: * 00:00 Open * 00:31 Welcome * 01:41 Summer Stories * 02:30 Food 52 * 13:17 Newsette * 15:46 G...

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...

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...

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 A...

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 You...