Offline with Jon Favreau

Jason Goldman, former Chief Digital Officer in the Obama White House, joins Offline to break down “the AI election.” He and Jon talk through their fears for AI in politics, the ways they wish they could have used AI during their stints in the White House, and Jon asks Jason, a former VP at Twitter, his thoughts on Elon Musk’s leadership at the the app he helped build. Plus: Max and Jon talk about...

Will Sommer, author of Trust the Plan, joins Offline to talk about what QAnon actually is, how people are drawn into the world of Q, and how the Republican party has become intertwined with these conspiracies. He and Jon peel back the layers of the movement to understand how it’s being monetized, why Michael Flynn is a QAnon hero, and where you can find adrenochrome in real life (hint: it’s not in...

Jon and Max answer your questions about AI, unions, writing and fallen titans — submersible and tech leader alike. Plus, America Dissected’s Dr. Abdul El-Sayed joins Offline to talk about how the internet age endangers public health, how to persuade people to get vaccinated, and why debates are the wrong setting to talk about science, especially when RFK Jr. is involved.   For a closed-captioned v...

Simone Giertz, YouTube’s favorite inventor and robotics enthusiast, joins Offline this week to discuss the joy of building useless things and why adults should be able to play like kids do. She and the guys talk about overcoming perfectionism, the joys of “forward facing” activities, and how branding pastimes as productive vs. meaningless undermines the creative process. Jon and Max train their si...

Catherine Price, science journalist and author of The Power of Fun and How to Break Up with Your Phone, joins the show to close out The Offline Challenge. After a dramatic sendoff from our Offline Chancellor, Catherine talks with Max and Jon about the effectiveness of the past month’s unplug challenges, from cold turkey to clown cases. Then she outlines how to stay broken up with your phone and ex...

Social media is ubiquitous among young people. But is it safe? Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, joins Offline to break down a new Surgeon General’s Advisory that warns social media may be harmful to children and offers Jon a doctor’s perspective on how to overcome his phone addiction.

Kat Abu and Andrew Lawrence watch Fox News every night so you don’t have to. As researchers at Media Matters, a right-wing media watchdog, it’s their job to monitor the conspiracies and propaganda spreading on the network. Andrew is one of the nation’s leading Fox experts, having watched primetime Fox since the 2016 campaign and Kat has recently brought their work to new audiences, breaking down F...

Ben Smith, Semafor founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Buzzfeed News, joins Offline to discuss what the shuttering of newsrooms at Buzzfeed and Vice means for the future of journalism. Ben’s new book, Traffic, traces the rise and fall of the digital media era. He and Jon talk about the personalities and publications that caused this phenomenon, the value of clickbait, and how the race to go vira...

Introducing Offline’s Unplug Challenge! Jon and Max reflect on how their screen addictions have worsened their focus, hijacked their social lives, and even broken some bones. Faced with damning screen time reports, the guys take a big first step towards overcoming their compulsive smartphone habits. Offline Unplugged is a multi-week series that will invite hosts and listeners alike to rediscover t...

This week we're giving you a feed drop from Crooked’s very own Hysteria! In this excerpt, Erin Ryan and Alyssa Mastromonaco cover some lighter news — Don Lemon being an idiot, Jimmy Carter being a legend, governors supporting abortion, Wisconsin election wins — before Julissa Arce and Kara Klenk join to discuss how to deal with the world being terrible. Then, the crew dives into their moments of S...

Hasan Piker, viral political streamer, joins Offline to talk about Tucker Carlson’s demise, the 2024 election, and what it is about wokeism that makes him twitch. Hasan has been one of Gen Z’s most influential commentators for years, and his 8-hour daily streams blend current events, leftist ideals and pop culture savvy. Hasan talks to Jon about his approach to political persuasion, how to appeal...

Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and author of Men Who Hate Women and Fix the System, Not Women , joins Offline to shed light on one of the darkest corners of the internet: the manosphere. Made up of tens of thousands of incels, pick up artists, and white supremacists, the manosphere is an online hotbed of misogyny with violent real-world implications. Laura describes how she we...

John Green, bestselling author and YouTube Vlogbrother , joins Offline to share lessons from his most recent book, The Anthropocene Reviewed. His collection of essays rates historical events, philosophical musings and personal anecdotes on a 5-star scale that, these days, feels both inescapable and indispensable. The Jo(h)ns talk through the faults in these stars, and the importance of finding way...

This week we’re bringing you the TikTok debate we wish we had from Congress. Featuring perspectives from V Spehar, host of TikTok’s Under the Desk News; Senator Mark Warner, lead sponsor of the RESTRICT Act; and Graham Webster, Chinese technology expert. Over three interviews, Jon and Max offer a smarter debate for and against banning TikTok.   For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click...

Jon welcomes Max Fisher, Crooked’s newest team member, to the Offline family! Max, former New York Times reporter and author of The Chaos Machine, joins the show as a recurring contributor, bringing fresh commentary, segments, and even interviews to Offline. This week he and Jon put their heads together to decode AI hysteria, the TikTok ban, and whether big tech has passed its prime.   For a close...

Andy Kroll, author and ProPublica journalist, joins Offline to discuss the one thing Fox News fears: lawsuits. Kroll’s new book, A Death on W Street: The Murder of Seth Rich and the Age of Conspiracy, recounts how conspiracists co-opted a young man’s tragic death, the role of Fox News in perpetuating those lies, and how the Rich family fought back and won. He and Jon talk about what this means for...

Margaret Atwood, famed author, poet and “dystopia prophet,” joins Offline to talk about fighting tyranny and finding hope. Much like her latest book, Old Babes in the Wood, Atwood’s conversation with Jon sandwiches her thoughts and fears on the present between poignant chapters of the past. They discuss censorship, religion, parenting and how to listen for what you can’t hear.   For a closed-capti...

Jason Parham, senior writer at WIRED, walks Jon through the evolution and legacy of Black Twitter. Parham’s three-part series, “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” follows the online community from its early days of late night takes, through an era of platform dominance, and into an uncertain future. He joins Offline to discuss how Black Twitter has shaped the last ten years of discourse and act...

Offline's crew is *offline* this week but we're excited to share one of our favorite recent episodes of Crooked's podcast Work Appropriate hosted by Anne Helen Petersen. In this episode Anne, along with guest Rainesford Stauffer, author of the forthcoming All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and the Ways We Strive, field listener-submitted questions about the real-life issues they're running i...

Megan Garber, staff writer at the Atlantic, joins Offline to explain how we’re already living in the Metaverse––not with headsets and legless avatars, but via a continuous stream of immersive entertainment. Jon and Megan discuss how our internet jargon, scandal-to-miniseries pipeline, and former reality TV president all reflect a blurring of fact and fiction. And they ask: when everything becomes...

Dr. Robert Waldinger, Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, joins Offline to talk about his new book “The Good Life: Lessons From the Longest Study on Happiness.” Bob and Jon discuss how close relationships are the secret to a fulfilling life, why technology can make us lonelier, and what 84 years of data teach us about coming together and growing apart.   For a closed-captioned vers...

Tim Miller, former Republican operative, current Never Trumper, and contributor at the Bulwark, joins Jon to kickoff the GOP’s very online, very weird 2024 presidential primary. The two discuss Donald Trump’s return to Facebook, Ron DeSantis’ culture wars, and the competition for MAGA media’s stars, trolls, and grifters.   For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click  here . For a transcr...

Amazon, Google, Facebook and the entire tech sector just laid off tens of thousands of employees. How did America’s fastest growing industry become its most troubled? Annie Lowrey, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins Offline to break it down. She makes the case that while this moment may be particularly bad for tech, for the rest, better days are probably right around the corner.   For a closed-ca...

Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz and Lakshmi Rengarajan, hosts of the newest season of The Cut’s Land of the Giants, join Offline to talk about how apps like Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble have redefined romance. They’ve named the season “Dating Games” and ask whether the goals of dating app companies are aligned with our romantic aspirations. Jon talks to them about the ways internet dating has gamified romance,...

Evan Puschak, also known as The Nerdwriter, joins Offline to discuss ChatGPT, the revolutionary artificial intelligence chatbot from OpenAI. In his most recent video essay, “The Real Danger of ChatGPT,” Puschak explores how AI could erode our fundamental ability to understand ourselves and the world around us. He sits down with Jon to discuss that essay, evaluate the strengths and limitations of C...