Better Offline

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Era of the Business Idiot, Part 2 Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

In part two of this week's three-part Better Offline, Ed Zitron walks you through how Business Idiots demanded we all return to the office to hide their own lack of utility - and how this directly led to their desperation to adopt generative AI.

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.

---

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Era of the Business Idiot, Part 1 Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

In part one of this week's three-part Better Offline, Ed Zitron walks you through how Business Idiots have captured our society, with middle management losers breeding out true meritocracy and value-creation in favor of symbolic growth and superficial intelligence.

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.

---

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monologue: The AI Job Loss Con Jun 06, 2025

Show notes

In this week’s monologue, Ed Zitron walks you through how the media is misleading you about AI job loss as a form of propaganda for OpenAI and Anthropic - and the Business Idiots behind it.

CNN - The ‘white-collar bloodbath’ is all part of the AI hype machine - https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/30/business/anthropic-amodei-ai-jobs-nightcap
Oxford Economics - Educated but unemployed, a rising reality for college grads - https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/US-Educated-but-unemployed-a-rising-reality-for-college-grads.pdf
Axios - AI is keeping recent college grads out of work - https://www.axios.com/2025/05/29/ai-college-grads-work-jobs

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.

---

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Truth About Software Development with Carl Brown Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by Carl Brown, a veteran software developer and host of The Internet of Bugs, to talk about the realities of software development, what coding LLMs can actually do, and how the media gets it wrong about software engineering at large.
https://www.youtube.com/@InternetOfBugs
New GitHub Copilot Research Finds 'Downward Pressure on Code Quality' - https://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2024/01/25/copilot-research.aspx
Report: AI coding assistants aren’t a panacea - https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/21/report-ai-coding-assistants-arent-a-panacea/
Internet of Bugs Videos to watch:
Debunking Devin: "First AI Software Engineer" Upwork lie exposed!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNmgmwEtoWE&t=3s
AI Has Us Between a Rock and a Hard Place
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJGNqnq-aCA
Software Engineers REAL problem with "AI" and Jobs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQmN6xSorus&list=PLv0sYKRNTN6QhoxJdyTZTV6NauoZlDp99
AGILE & Scrum Failures stuck us with "AI" hype like Devin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C1Rxa9DMfI&t=1s

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.

---

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monologue: Don't Buy A Switch 2, Get A Handheld Gaming PC May 30, 2025

Show notes

In this week’s monologue, Ed Zitron walks you through the awesome world of handheld gaming PCs - and why you should pick one up over a Nintendo Switch 2.
Rog Ally X: https://rog.asus.com/us/gaming-handhelds/rog-ally/rog-ally-x-2024/
Lenovo Legion Go S: https://amzn.to/4kgZCKD
MSI Claw: https://amzn.to/43PPNNG

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.

---

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Better Offline Mailbag May 28, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by producer Sophie Lichterman to answer questions about life, technology, and Better Offline itself.

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.

---

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monologue: Jony Ive and OpenAI's New BS Machine May 23, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Ed Zitron walks you through the ridiculousness of OpenAI acquiring Jony Ive’s pre-product hardware startup for $6.5bn in stock - and why it only proves how washed the company might be.
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.
WSJ: What Sam Altman Told OpenAI About the Secret Device He’s Making With Jony Ive
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/what-sam-altman-told-openai-about-the-secret-device-hes-making-with-jony-ive-f1384005

Bloomberg: OpenAI to Buy AI Device Startup From Apple Veteran Jony Ive in $6.5 Billion Deal
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-21/openai-to-buy-apple-veteran-jony-ive-s-ai-device-startup-in-6-5-billion-deal

---

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saving Games Journalism With Giant Bomb May 21, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by Dan Ryckert, Jeff Bakalar and Jeff Grubb, the new owners of gaming website Giant Bomb, to talk about the hopeful, independent future for games journalism - and media at large.
http://www.giantbomb.com/join
Dan Ryckert: https://bsky.app/profile/danryckert.com
Jeff Grubb: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bdacp2cmuuyawx553cv2spdy
Jeff Bakalar: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tyuqlcnoqijzqor53ka2a7o2

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.
You can also order a limited-edition Better Offline hat until 5/22/25! https://cottonbureau.com/p/CAGDW8/hat/better-offline-hat#/28510205/hat-unisex-dad-hat-black-100percent-cotton-adjustable

---

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monologue: How Better Offline Saved Me May 16, 2025

Show notes

In this week's monologue, Ed Zitron walks you through the story of how writing The Man That Destroyed Google Search saved his life.
The Man That Destroyed Google Search: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-man-that-destroyed-google-search/id1730587238?i=1000653621646

---

Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at

Ed's Socials: