People vs Algorithms

The real issue isn’t that AI killed media. It’s that the old distribution ecosystem has broken down. Plus: the end of Demand Media and Linda Yaccarino’s tenure as X CEO; the coming AI browser wars; why Gen Z skips to the comments; and the afterlife of dead flowers as potpourri. * Watch us on YouTube * Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter * Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter * Alex...

This week, we talk about the collapse of traditional advertising, the rise of memetic political communicators like Zohran Mamdani, why words might not matter much longer, and whether publishers fighting back against AI bots is folly. We also get into the cognitive toll of generative AI, the backlash to wealth spectacle, and how grilling large-format meats is at the heart of middle-aged American ma...

Plus: the AI disconnect in Cannes, Momdani’s media savvy and the case for European fruits and park’s supremacy. * Watch us on YouTube * Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter * Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter * Alex Schleifer's Human Computer * Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter Chapters: * 00:00 Open * 00:51 Welcome * 01:36 Smaller Media M&A * 06:59 Substack's Raising Money...

We take a mostly optimistic view of publishing in the AI era, even if Neil allows that search traffic will inexorably trend to zero. Plus: A path to publisher leverage against AI companies. * Watch us on YouTube * Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter * Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter * Alex Schleifer's Human Computer * Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter Chapters: * 00:00 Pv...

Alex reviews the “liquid” interface and wonders if anyone at Cupertino actually used the beta outdoors. Plus: a spirited defense of Zaslav as the media's embattled savior, fighting for the spoils of the operator class; the sad saga of the link economy and why publishers are stuck tolling bots for pennies. Also: the gloriousness of popcorn and Coke, Peter Kafka as Good Product , and renewed appreci...

As performance metrics grow murky and traditional advertising falters, proximity is becoming the new proxy for value. We talk through the bloated conference circuit, the rise of curated events, the logic behind Cannes as a marketplace, and why some publishers are pulling back while others double down. Along the way, we debate the wisdom of Newsweek buying an ad tech company, the challenge of turni...

It used its dominant position in search to be the arbiter for the web. As the web moves into an agentic AI era, we break down how Google is positioned and the impact its next evolution will have for the ecosystem it shaped and de facto ruled. Plus: why media’s unionization craze didn’t fix bad models, why nobody can remember any ad campaigns, and the charms of the Shelter Island dump as a communit...

In this episode, we dive into how the rise of AI agents and new protocols is replacing browsing with prompting, and pages with machine-readable interfaces. Google and Microsoft are rolling out AI-powered tools that make websites disappear into the background, forcing publishers, marketers, and product teams to rethink how value is surfaced and monetized. * Watch us on YouTube * Troy Young's People...

Plus: we learn that Alex is no David Zaslav because he doesn’t see the genius in a CNN weather app, an appraisal of Airbnb’s “everything” app, and a celebration of kookiness of Eurovision. * Watch us on YouTube * Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter * Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter * Alex Schleifer's Human Computer * Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter Chapters: * 00:00 Ope...

We unpack Google’s search reinvention, publishers acting like a deer in the highlights, Perplexity’s emergence as a heel, Apple’s AI misfires, and the risks of AI reinforcement loops. Plus: what happens when publishers still rely on traffic models that are quietly unraveling. * Watch us on YouTube * Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter * Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter * Alex Sc...

* 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 * 00:22 Intro * 00:45 Welcome * 01:20 Marketing Advertising Media Events * 07:01 The Shoes That Have Not Dropped * 20:43 Group Chats * 31:38 Zuck Derangement Syndrome * 54:54 Epic Beats A...

From TBPN to Turpentine, it’s not journalism—it just looks like it. They also explore the “Chaos Economy” through Foxconn’s EV pivot and unpack why analogies beat logic in shaping how we process tech shifts. Plus, Pete Buttigieg’s appearance on Flagrant shows that even politics is adapting to the influencer era. * Watch us on YouTube * Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter * Brian Morrissey...

This week we dig into the spread of hyperpunditry and why the Information Space rewards those who confidently switch lanes with abandon. Plus: AI’s bottoms-up adoption curve, Anonymous Banker on golf media’s strength and the crazy life of sea turtles. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow ...

The tariff wars kicked off and confirmed that we are in a post-expertise era where your bona fides matter less than your confidence. Plus: celebrating GDPR’s impending demise. what to do with Vanity Fair, and Shopify’s AI manifesto. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow  Alex ,  Brian  and ...

Gawker Media founder Nick Denton joins the show to discuss how narratives and memes run the world, and why it’s better to trade on them than run the old media playbook of the attention economy. Watch us on 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 This is a public epis...

We dig into the idea of taste—how it’s formed, how it signals identity, and where it fits in media and business today. We also unpack how taste once defined media gatekeepers, how it’s now being democratized (or commodified), and why developing taste is less about money and more about intentionality. We are then joined by sociologist and brand strategist Ana Andjelic to debate the merits of Europe...

The media industry, like politics, has been stuck in a scarcity mindset—managing decline instead of building for the future. In this episode, we dig into The Abundance Agenda, the new book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, and explore what a pro-growth strategy could look like for media. Plus, TheSkimm exits to Ziff Davis, the rise of AI-driven advertising, and Anonymous Banker joins to explain wh...

AI is giving rise to vibe coding while old conventions fall away. Thinking on your feet is now more important than rehearsed, polished presentation, which soon can be done with the push of a button. It’s time to find your inner Rick Rubin. Plus: How to build an enterprise brand. Show Notes: PvA Weekend Fan Mail Vibe Coding Creative AI Superpowers You're Not Using Yet A love letter to LA ----------...

Online education company Chegg is suing Google for AI Overviews and might become the first major company felled by AI. We go over the hitlist of others at risk of getting Chegged, including SEO-dependent publishers, SaaS companies and even the email newsletter industrial complex. Plus: Why Lenny Rachitsky has succeeded, the case against all-inclusive resorts and a debate on whether reading is dyin...

Troy’s at “advanced” tennis camp, so Brian and Alex discuss the shifting dynamics of the newsletter and video game markets. Newsletters are entering into bubble territory, while parts of the video game market are losing ground after a long run of robust growth. Plus: an urban redevelopment good product. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebootin...

Media has never been neat, but it’s getting messier. This week, Brian and Troy explore how AI is reshaping the creative process, how different personality-driven brands thrive on particular platforms, and the developing messy aesthetic of modern media that’s spreading to earnings calls and product launches. Troy shares how OpenAI’s Projects feature changed his workflow, turning AI into a true rese...

This week, we examine the great realignment as tech and government unite to assert US tech dominance over ideas of digital sovereignty. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed plans its own social platform, despite toothpaste rarely going back into the tube. Plus: assessing OpenAI’s grandiose Super Bowl ad. SOLSTICE - 5: Forgotten archives Garys Economics Merlin Bird ID Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algo...

This week, on the heels of OpenAI releasing Deep Research, we assess whether AI has caught on with regular people beyond kicking the tires on ChatGPT. Maybe the AI Super Bowl ads will make it more appealing. Plus: the memeification and financialization of everything, volatility as the norm, X shows signs of a financial turnaround and alarm clocks with apps and a subscription program. Watch us on Y...

The nature of work and careers is undergoing profound changes that are often obscured by debates over return-to-work mandates. This week we consider the rise of decentralized work that’s networked and elevates autonomy over outdated command and control approaches developed in a different century. Plus: a celebration of Data Privacy Day and Deepseek’s cannonball into the Big Tech AI pool party. Wat...

Our tech overlords reported for duty to Washington while Troy perused the powder at Davos. This week, we go beyond first principles to consider the second-order impact of a politicized tech elite. Plus: The Washington Post gets a BHAG and CNN plots a post-TV future. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Co...