John Johnston
The John Johnston Lounge
Welcome to The John Johnston Lounge, where tech, business, politics, and culture collide. Join host John Johnston (JJ) for a daily breakdown of some of the most powerful tech companies and people. JJ goes beyond the headlines to critique the unusual psychology, strategies, and politics of tech billionaires Elon Musk (Tesla and SpaceX), Sam Altman (OpenAI), Peter Thiel (Palantir), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), and others. Whether it's an inflating AI bubble, a Silicon Valley coup, or the politics of the "Rogansphere," we cover it with critical depth, zero sycophancy, and a healthy dose of humor!
Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: podcasters.spotify.com
Author
John Johnston
Category
Podcast website
Latest episode
Oct 15, 2026
Where to listen?
Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soonPodcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts
Episodes
Weekly Lounge: Palantir Lonsdale Outrage, Tesla Optimus Fails & Musk’s Robotaxi Delusions 14.12.2025 1:41:36
Join John Johnston (JJ) for the Weekly Lounge, a compilation of the week's 5 episodes of The John Johnston Lounge. Below are the individual episode titles and links, and recent Weekly Lounge links too, if you want to catch up on them: Elon Musk’s €120M MELTDOWN: Wants EU “Abolished” https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bAlLvop4uEXymfBGrrY3n Tesla Optimus Hilariously Collapses! Is Elon Faking Aut...
Gamified: Big Tech’s Bet on Gambling & Scams 12.12.2025 26:52
John Johnston (JJ) reacts to and expands on a recent voidzilla video on the topic “Big tech is betting on gambling and scams”. We look at some of the companies and venture capital, and people behind the funding and investments of financial gamification in this “real money gaming” category, including a16z and Y Combinator. Related episodes: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Triggers ‘CODE RED’ as Gemini Gains...
Elon Musk's Delusional Tesla Robotaxi Claims vs Waymo's Reality (20 mill Trips) 11.12.2025 20:50
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the Tesla and Waymo news that Elon Musk has claimed that robotaxi rival Waymo “never had a chance” against Tesla, despite Tesla not yet having deployed even one fully autonomous, paid robotaxi ride without an in-car safety monitor, while Waymo is about to pass the twenty million milestone. Elon is now saying the Tesla will deploy fully driverless robotaxis in Austin...
Palantir Co-Founder Joe Lonsdale’s Call For “Public Hangings” Sparks Outrage 10.12.2025 17:46
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down a controversy surrounding Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. On Elon Musk’s X platform, the tech billionaire Lonsdale sparked outrage by explicitly calling for the return of "public hangings" in the United States. He talks about his desire for this kind of radical “masculine leadership” in relation to dealing with criminals. Disclaimer: This video is for edu...
Tesla Optimus Hilariously Collapses! Is Elon Faking Autonomy? 09.12.2025 21:46
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how and why a new video going viral, from a Tesla “Autonomy Visualized” event, shows the Tesla Optimus humanoid robot taking a nasty collapse backwards. The demo strongly suggests the Optimus robot was mimicking a remote operator suddenly removing a VR headset, rather than the robot being autonomous. Related episodes: Elon Musk’s WILDEST Tesla Optimus Robot Claims h...
Elon Musk Wants EU ABOLISHED After X Fined €120m 08.12.2025 11:33
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news and reactions to the news that EU regulators have hit Elon Musk’s X platform with a 120 million euro fine for breaching its social media law. Elon has retaliated by saying on X that the EU should be ‘abolished”. Related episodes: Tesla Europe Sales Crash Deepens & Bricked Batteries Nightmare https://open.spotify.com/episode/7hLXZlUklCzGGwf19rrcdw Tech Fa...
Weekly Lounge: Rogan’s "AI Jesus” Rant, TSLA Overvalued (Burry), Tesla EU Sales Crash 07.12.2025 1:40:32
Join John Johnston (JJ) for the Weekly Lounge, a compilation of the week's 5 episodes of The John Johnston Lounge. These are the individual episode titles: Elon Musk’s WILDEST Tesla Optimus Robot Claims https://open.spotify.com/episode/4QbgkOLIopzzgyHV89DnhL ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry Slams Tesla Stock: "Ridiculously Overvalued" https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ifpJOikaer1ipPqyGQ0DJ...
Joe Rogan’s “Jesus as AI” Rant: Has He Lost It? (American Alchemy Reaction) 05.12.2025 17:24
John Johnston (JJ) reacts to Joe Rogan speaking on the American Alchemy podcast with Jesse Michels. Rogan thinks that it’s not far-fetched to think that Jesus could return as AI. JJ asks, where could Joe Rogan have got this “God in a box” idea from? Could it be from the likes of tech billionaire Peter Thiel, who has talked about similar concepts, mingling Christianity and AI. Related episodes: Thi...
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Triggers ‘CODE RED’ as Google’s Gemini Gains | Prof G Markets Reaction 04.12.2025 20:58
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has apparently declared a “code red”, because Google’s Gemini AI has gained a lot of ground on OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and has gained around 200 million new users in just three months. JJ also reacts to a segment of The Prof G Pod, in which co-host Ed Elson discusses this latest AI development with Alex Kantrowitz. Related episodes: Is...
Tesla Europe Sales Crash Deepens & Bricked Batteries Nightmare 03.12.2025 16:05
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the Tesla news that European registrations for November, a proxy for sales, have continued to plummet, except for some minor bright spots, and now Elon Musk’s Tesla is facing a class action lawsuit over a Powerwall recall, that has left people with bricked Powerwall batteries for months. Related episodes: ‘Big Short’ Burry Slams Tesla: "Ridiculously Overvalued&q...
‘Big Short’ Michael Burry Slams Tesla Stock: "Ridiculously Overvalued" 02.12.2025 22:27
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how famous investor Michael Burry just released a brutal critique of Elon Musk’s Tesla on his new ‘Casandra Unchained’ blog. This episode is why the ‘Big Short’ investing legend think TSLA stock is “ridiculously overvalued”. Related episodes: AI Bubble: Sam Altman Crashes Out, ‘Big Short’ Burry Bets on Bust https://open.spotify.com/episode/1O91IczRNH180RpGAetiZl Elo...
Elon Musk’s Wildest Tesla Optimus Robot Claims 01.12.2025 23:41
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down a list of many of Elon Musk’s claims about the future of Tesla’s Optimus robots, including no less than ushering in an unprecedented ear of world peace and prosperity for all. Should we believe Elon’s claims, or is it really “extreme optimism” and extreme “corporate puffery”. Related episodes: Tesla's Rough Month: Sales Drops, Robotaxi Cuts, Model Y Defects http...
Weekly Lounge: Sam Harris vs Rogan, Thiel’s “Antichrist”, Musk DOGE Crash, Gemini Crushes ChatGPT 30.11.2025 1:35:26
This is a compilation of this past week’s five The John Johnston Lounge episodes, in order. Individual episodes: Is It Over? Google Gemini Crushes ChatGPT | All-In Pod Reaction https://open.spotify.com/episode/3tx19gCwXN709i9vHybnBt IT’S OVER: Elon’s DOGE Collapses & Criminal Charges Loom https://open.spotify.com/episode/3husqbwJVGAqerH4IxIiKD Thiel Calls POPE ‘The Antichrist’: JD Vance’s Pala...
Tesla's Rough Month: Sales Drops, Robotaxi Cuts, Model Y Defects 28.11.2025 18:57
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the latest Tesla and Elon Musk news, including that Tesla’s European sales tumbled nearly 50% in October, Telsa sales have so far been pitiful in India, Elon Musk has now slashed Tesla’s Robtaxi fleet goal in Austin, Tesla’s Model Y has been labeled the most defective car this year in Germany. Finally we listen to what could be the best comedy impression of Elon so f...
Sam Harris: Joe Rogan’s Podcast is a “Bug Light” for Maniac Guests 27.11.2025 19:02
John Johnston (JJ) reacts to a recent TRIGGERnometry podcast, in which Sam Harris explains whey he thinks podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan now detracts from the national political conversation, rather than being a positive influence on it. Related episodes: Joe Rogan GLAZES Peter Thiel & Palantir, Theo Von COOKS https://open.spotify.com/episode/1kNKj2d1vOXqlTKosqBhTY Brainiac Joe Rogan Terrif...
Peter Thiel Calls Pope ‘The Antichrist’: JD Vance’s Palantir Problem 26.11.2025 21:17
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news that Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance’s top political donor, has provocatively suggested that Pope Leo XIV could be the Antichrist . In a leaked lecture, Peter Thiel says he has urged Vance to ignore the Pope on moral questions, and embrace unfettered tech and AI progress, implying its a kind of ultimate spiritual endeavour. Related episodes: Joe Rogan GLAZES Peter...
Elon Musk’s DOGE Collapses & Criminal Charges Loom 25.11.2025 13:13
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) seems to be no more, with officials saying it has been wrapped up eight months early. Futhermore, some DOGE staffers are fearing future criminal charges for what they did under Elon Musk’s direction. Related episodes: DOGE Whistleblower: Govt Fraud ‘RELATIVELY NONEXISTENT’ https://open.spotify.com/...
Is It Over? Google Gemini Crushes ChatGPT | All-In Podcast Reaction 24.11.2025 22:09
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how Goggle’s Gemini 3 AI is outperforming OpenAI’s ChapGPT, and also gaining market share month by month. JJ reacts to a clip from a recent All-In Podcast, in which they discuss the AI race between the AI company players, and their current AI chatbot models. Related episodes: AI Bubble Watch: Elon Ally Thiel Cuts TSLA Stock, Dumps NVDA https://open.spotify.com/episo...
Weekly Lounge: Rogan vs Theo Von, Thiel Dumps NVDA, Musk vs Bezos in Space 23.11.2025 1:38:41
This week: Could the AI Bubble soon burst? Peter Thiel seems to think so, if we go by his recent stock sales. This week, we connect the dots between Peter Thiel dumping his Nvidia (NVDA) stock, the race between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to build data centers in space, and the strange cultural moment where Joe Rogan praised Peter Thiel and Palantir while Theo Von asked the questions everyone else wa...
Joe Rogan Glazes Peter Thiel & Palantir, Theo Von Cooks 21.11.2025 25:08
John Johnston (JJ) reacts to how massively popular podcasters Joe Rogan and Theo Von recently discussed their respective views on the current US government, Peter Thiel and his AI-related company Palantir, growing digital surveillance, and more. Related episodes: Elon to Joe Rogan: Capitalist AI Will Bring Socialist Utopia https://open.spotify.com/episode/2N4kl85FtFISzul06CmGgy Why Rogansphere Com...
Is Elon Delusional? Claims Money Will Be Irrelevant & Work Optional 20.11.2025 14:54
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down some of Elon Musk’s latest grand predictions, including that “in the future”, money will become irrelevant, everyone will be wealthy on a High Universal Income, and working will be optional. Will Elon be correct, way too optimistic, is he delusional, or are the very grand predictions part of a long con? Related episodes: Elon's BS to Joe Rogan: Vaporware Roadster...
AI Bubble Watch: Elon Musk Ally Peter Thiel Cuts Tesla Stock, Dumps Nvidia 19.11.2025 22:05
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how Elon Musk’s fellow tech billionaire ally Peter Thiel has cut one of his investment fund’s big stakes in Tesla stock (TSLA), and completely sold out of AI infrastructure company Nvidia (NVDA). We also look at three possible scenarios for how an AI bubble could deflate. Related episodes: AI Bubble: Elon & Bezos Want Giant Data Centers in Space https://open.spo...
Tech Fascism: Borsook's Early Prediction Was Correct 18.11.2025 19:23
John Johnston (JJ) reacts to part of a recent video by Gil Duran from The Nerd Reich, in which he interviews author and journalist Paulina Borsook. Over 20 years ago, she published a book predicting the negative influence on politics of Silicon Valley tech billionaires. They refer to the likes of Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Jeff Bezos, who I’ve been discussing in these terms in my own videos. Rela...
AI Bubble Watch: Elon & Bezos Want to Build Giant Data Centers in Space 17.11.2025 19:34
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the latest AI bubble-related news headlines, including that tech billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos want to build AI data centres in outer space, which would use solar power. Also in the news, investor Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway has purchased stock in Google’s parent company Alphabet, and tech billionaire Peter Thiel has sold a stake in mega AI in...
Tim Dillon & Andrew Schulz GO OFF on Zohran Mamdani Win 14.11.2025 24:39
John Johnston (JJ) reacts to what popular Rogansphere and Manosphere comedians and podcasters Tim Dillon and Andrew Schulz are saying about Zohran Mamdani’s win as the Mayor of New York. Schulz had Mamdani on his podcast just before the election but is not a supporter. Tim Dillon does not seem to like that he won, saying he’ll leave if he doesn’t like how Zoran’s policies play out in New York. Rel...
Similar podcasts
Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.