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Better Offline — Technology
Better Offline

Better Offline is a weekly show exploring the tech industry’s influence and manipulation of society – and interrogating the growth-at-all-costs future that tech’s elite wants to build.

Combining narrative-form storytelling, one-on-one interviews and panel-based discussions, Better Offline cuts through the buzzwords and obfuscation of the tech industry, investigating and evaluating the schemes and scams of everyone from cryptocurrency scumbags to the greediest of the venture capital elite. Tech industry veteran Ed Zitron and a dynamic coterie of guests will help listeners understand the who, how and why of how tech’s most powerful players are changing the world – for better or for worse.

Copyright: 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia

Latest Episodes:

Monologue: The Agony Of GPT-5 Aug 15, 2025

Show notes

In this week’s monologue, Ed Zitron walks through the rough launch of GPT-5, and how ChatGPT’s fandom-like following has become a huge problem for OpenAI.

The Enshittification of Generative AI: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-enshittification-of-generative-ai/

The Wall Street Journal - The Next Great Leap in AI Is Behind Schedule and Crazy Expensive:
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-gpt5-orion-delays-639e7693?ref=wheresyoured.at

Live service game post: https://bsky.app/profile/catharsis23.bsky.social/post/3lw5jvotgfk2

Better Offline listener deal: Get $15 Off Where's Your Ed At Premium! Deal goes until the end of August.
https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/better-offline-discount

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

BUY A LIMITED EDITION BETTER OFFLINE CHALLENGE COIN! https://cottonbureau.com/p/XSH74N/challenge-coin/better-offline-challenge-coin#/29269226/gold-metal-1.75in

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LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CZM Rewind: The Academics That Think ChatGPT Is BS Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

In a paper released earlier this year, three academics from the University of Glasgow classified ChatGPT's outputs not as "lies," but as "BS" - as defined by philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt in "on BS" (and yes I'm censoring that) - and created one of the most enjoyable and prescient papers ever written. In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by academics Michael Townsen Hicks, James Humphries and Joe Slater in a free-wheeling conversation about ChatGPT's mediocrity - and how it's not built to represent the world at all.

Paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5
Michael Townsen Hicks: https://www.townsenhicks.com/
Joe Slater: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/staff/joeslater/

Original Air Date: 7.18.24

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

BUY A LIMITED EDITION BETTER OFFLINE CHALLENGE COIN! https://cottonbureau.com/p/XSH74N/challenge-coin/better-offline-challenge-coin#/29269226/gold-metal-1.75in

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LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monologue: The Anker Nebula X1 Is The Best Projector I've Ever Used Aug 08, 2025

Show notes

In this week’s Better Offline monologue, Ed talks about Anker’s Nebula X1, an expensive, excellent-looking and adaptable projector that can work just about anywhere.

Better Offline listener deal: Get $15 Off Where's Your Ed At Premium! Deal goes until the end of August.
https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/better-offline-discount
Nebula X1 Projector: https://amzn.to/45645dR
Nebula Wireless Satellite Speakers: https://amzn.to/45E2EmZ
Nebula gimbal stand for projectors: https://amzn.to/47qi8wa
Epson Duet 80” Projector Screen: https://amzn.to/45o5Odr

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

BUY A LIMITED EDITION BETTER OFFLINE CHALLENGE COIN! https://cottonbureau.com/p/XSH74N/challenge-coin/better-offline-challenge-coin#/29269226/gold-metal-1.75in

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LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Building A Newspaper Out of the Internet with Molly White Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Ed is joined by writer and critic Molly White to talk about how RSS can purify your news experience, the challenge of the newsletter economy, and what gives her optimism for the future.

Citation Needed Newsletter: https://www.citationneeded.news
Molly on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/molly.wiki

Better Offline listener deal: Get $15 Off Where's Your Ed At Premium! Deal goes until the end of August.
https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/better-offline-discount

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

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LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monologue: Annualized Revenues Are BS Aug 01, 2025

Show notes

In this week’s monologue, Ed Zitron walks you through how and why OpenAI and Anthropic use “annualized revenues” to hide that they’re nowhere near their yearly revenue projections.

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/anthropic-revenue-hits-4-billion-annual-pace-competition-cursor-intensifies?rc=kz8jh3
www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-hits-12-billion-annualized-revenue-breaks-700-million-chatgpt-weekly-active-users?rc=kz8jh3

Episode note: I say “$5.5 billion” for OpenAI’s potential revenue in 2025. Calculations I’ve run since suggest it could be lower - around $5.25 billion. Both of these numbers are reasonable.

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

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LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Radio Better Offline: Mia Sato & Dave Lee Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Radio Better Offline, a tech talk radio show recorded out of iHeartRadio's studio in New York City.
Ed Zitron is joined in studio by Mia Sato of The Verge and Dave Lee of Bloomberg to talk how companies like TikTok and Google change the web with their incentives, the nihilism of Pop Mart's viral Labubus, and why people are more game to pay independent writers.
Mia Sato, The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/authors/mia-sato
https://bsky.app/profile/miasato.bsky.social
https://www.instagram.com/miasato.2/
Story around “dupes”
https://www.theverge.com/cs/features/709635/knock-it-off
Story around “Labubus”
https://www.theverge.com/analysis/710047/labubu-pop-mart-blind-boxes-scarcity-marketing
Dave Lee, Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AWQ3soOJK0Y/dave-lee
https://x.com/DaveLeeBBG
https://bsky.app/profile/davelee.me
Story around Google and AI
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-07-28/google-is-reaping-the-rewards-of-its-unfair-ai-advantage?srnd=undefined
Google “Web Guide”
https://blog.google/products/search/web-guide-labs/

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

---

LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hater's Guide To The AI Bubble, Pt. 3 Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

In part three of this week's three-part Better Offline, Ed Zitron walks you through how AI agents don’t really exist, how deceitful AI marketing has become, and why everything is brittle as a result.

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

---

LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hater's Guide To The AI Bubble, Pt, 2 Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

In part two of this week's three-part Better Offline, Ed Zitron walks you through how little money there is in generative AI, how Anthropic and OpenAI are killing their own customers, and why there may never be a profitable LLM company.

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

---

LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com

https://www.threads.net/@edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hater's Guide To The AI Bubble, Pt. 1 Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

In part one of this week's three-part Better Offline, Ed Zitron walks you through how the US stock market rests on the back of GPU sales, and how a lack of any real business returns spells doom for the AI bubble long-term.

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

---

LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com

https://www.threads.net/@edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monologue: The Updated Pale Horses of the AIpocalypse Jul 18, 2025

Show notes

In this week’s monologue, Ed Zitron walks you through the pale horses of the AIpocalypse - and how the AI bubble’s deepest weakness is that it’s almost entirely based on vibes.

Anthropic’s new data center in Indiana: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/technology/amazon-ai-data-centers.html

YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.

---

LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks

Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

https://twitter.com/edzitron

https://www.instagram.com/edzitron

https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com

https://www.threads.net/@edzitron

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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