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Offline with Jon Favreau
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Offline with Jon Favreau is a different kind of Sunday show – a chance to step away from our Twitter-fueled news cycles to hear smarter, lighter conversations about all the ways that our extremely online existence is shaping everything from politics and culture to the how we live, work, and interact with one another. After more than a dozen conversations with guests like Stephen Colbert, Monica Lewinsky, Jia Tolentino, and Roxane Gay, it’s clear that people want these conversations to continue – that they’re interested in figuring out how we can regain control over our chaotic, hyperconnected world.
That’s why Offline is here to stay. In the coming months, Jon will dig deeper into the internet abyss and beyond, exploring new topics with new guests from the worlds of news, politics, entertainment, sports, business, and more. Join Jon each week as he asks us to put down our screens, grab our headphones, and figure out how to live happier, healthier lives, both on and offline.
That’s why Offline is here to stay. In the coming months, Jon will dig deeper into the internet abyss and beyond, exploring new topics with new guests from the worlds of news, politics, entertainment, sports, business, and more. Join Jon each week as he asks us to put down our screens, grab our headphones, and figure out how to live happier, healthier lives, both on and offline.
105 Episodes
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2Jeff Stein, White House economics reporter at the Washington Post, joins Offline to talk about the $16 McDonald’s meal that captivated the internet—and whether Bidenomics is to blame. Conservative media outlets sunk their teeth into the story a few weeks ago, so Jeff and Jon dig into the burger narrative to examine today’s economy: why, amid stagnating inflation and a hot job market, do voters still disapprove of President Biden’s handling of the economy? Is social media painting a bleaker picture than the statistics report? And is this economic disconnect the biggest challenge facing Biden’s re-election?
Happy holidays from the Offline team! Here’s a special sneak peek of our new subscriber exclusive series Inside 2024. In this preview Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor take you behind the scenes of election nights like Barack Obama’s 2008 winning campaign. It’s a show we’re really proud of and we hope you enjoy. If you want to hear the rest of the episode, or future ones, be sure to sign up for Friends of the Pod at crooked.com/friends.
Anna Holmes, the founder of jezebel.com, and Crooked’s own Erin Ryan—the site’s former managing editor—join Offline to discuss the origin and legacy of a publication that redefined feminism for millions of women. With Jezebel shuttering last week, Anna, Erin and Jon question whether the site was a victim of its own success, to what extent it shaped identity politics, and if it’s fair to blame Jezebel’s readers for the anger and infighting we see on the internet today. But first! Max and Jon take a closer look at Osama bin Laden apologists on TikTok, the new device that claims to reduce phone dependence, and Ron DeSantis’ fight to post anonymously online. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Jon and Max get into the numbers behind TikTok’s supposed pro-Palestinian tilt— is the bias real, what do “views” signify, and how many of these videos are spreading misinformation? With content creators surpassing legacy media as Americans’ primary source of news, the guys discuss the future of getting credible information on social media. And to round it out, Jon updates Max on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s higher power: a porn policing software called Covenant Eyes. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Naomi Klein, activist and bestselling author, joins Offline to talk about her new book, Doppelganger, and the woman who inspired it, anti-vax crusader Naomi Wolf. The two are often mistaken for each other, and in Doppelganger Klein wades into the confusion to tell a broader story about the morass of the internet today. She and Jon talk about what it means to build a personal brand in the attention economy, how the pandemic fractured our collective sense of reality, and whether the internet is a good place to build a populist movement. Plus, Max is back from the dead! He and Jon break down Biden’s new executive order on AI and exchange tips on how to have more productive conversations about the destruction in Gaza. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Johnny Harris, filmmaker and journalist, joins Offline to talk about Joe Rogan—how he became the world’s most famous podcaster, where he stands (or doesn’t) on censorship, and how he created a brand of anti-woke contrarianism. Johnny argues that people who are tired of polarization and tribalism see Rogan’s openness, curiosity, and resistance to mainstream labels as a breath of fresh air. But Rogan’s guests also regularly spread misinformation, and Johnny considers the machismo atmosphere of The Joe Rogan Experience to be a gateway podcast, one that leads listeners away from openness and curiosity and towards men’s rights activists like Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Jesse David Fox, senior editor at Vulture and author of the forthcoming “Comedy Book,” joins Offline to break down how the internet changed comedy and how comedy changed politics. Jesse and Jon trace how the erosion of broadcast journalism under Reagan created a trust vacuum in America that comedians inadvertently filled. Jesse explains why this trust is misplaced, and the implications for entertainment, political correctness, and authoritarian leaders like Donald Trump. Then the two discuss how the internet has made us pickier about humor, why Elon needed to buy Twitter to feel funny, and why a comic’s success is no longer measured in laughs. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
As fighting intensifies between Israel and Hamas, Jon and Max break down the ways social media is terribly equipped for delivering news about the war, helping us process it, and recognizing people’s humanity. What’s more, the platforms have basically given up on content moderation and fact checking. The guys explore how the combination of these factors made last week the single worst breaking news experience on social media ever, and why everyone feels compelled to issue a PR statement. Are the algorithms forcing this outrage upon us or is this just the result of the unique circumstances of this conflict? Get your virtual tickets to Pod Save America live from DC now at MOMENT.CO/PSA For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Heather Cox Richardson, historian and author of the Substack’s most-read newsletter “Letters from an American,” joins Offline to explain why she’s still hopeful about the future of American democracy. Heather’s new book, "Democracy Awakening," pushes past the clamoring 24-hour news cycles and delves deep into US history: how does Trump’s rise compare to those of other authoritarian leaders? Can Americans use fascists’ theory of change against them? Is widespread disinformation anything new? But first, Max and Jon discuss why referral traffic from social media sites has plummeted and what that means for journalism. Then, they marvel at Congressman Matt Gaetz’s Trumpian political strategy, and why it’s stymied the Old Guard of the GOP. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Brian Stelter, longtime media journalist and author of the forthcoming Fox News exposé Network of Lies, joins Offline to unpack what Rupert Murdoch’s retirement means for broadcast media, American democracy, and his four kids. Will Fox News look any different with Lachlan at the helm? Could his liberal siblings force a sale to an antagonistic, Swedish CEO? But first, Jon and Max put their heads together to break down how a new agreement on AI helped end the writer’s strike, why the FTC has its knives out for Amazon, and what on earth X CEO Linda Yaccarino was talking about at the Code Conference. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Simon Rich, writer and creator of TBS’s Miracle Workers, joins Offline to explain how he got his hands on an AI that makes Chat GPT look like a kindergartner. Simon and two friends used the indefatigable (and often unhinged) code-davinci-002 to generate poems on birth, art, love and death. The resulting collection, I Am Code, is the first book “written” by an AI. Simon and Jon talk through the alarming questions the book raises: what is the future of creativity, does it matter why robots may want to kill us, and is the world of AI secretly far more advanced than we know? But first! Max and Jon break down Senator John Fetterman’s internet-savvy strategy to combat conspiracy theorists, and Joe Biden’s slightly less savvy fight against misinformation. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Kaitlyn Tiffany, Atlantic reporter and author of Everything I Need I Get from You, joins Offline to break down internet trolls. She and Jon unpack who these people are, and examine why the online trend of celebrating the misfortunes of strangers – including their deaths – is still very much alive. They talk about how trolls from across the political spectrum see their victims not as nuanced individuals with feelings, but as representatives of an enemy ideology, and thus fair game for online bullying and evening doxing. Then, it’s time for a tech roundup with Max on Walter Isaacson’s new Elon Musk biography, Congress’s AI hearings, and why President Biden’s DOJ is suing the internet’s largest search engine. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Jon and Max are back and ready to answer your mailbag questions! But first, a post mortem on the Offline Challenge: best practices that remain, where their screen time stands now, and why on earth Jon logged 17 hours in one day. The two discuss parenting the Internet Generation, their tech predictions for 2033, and how to stay sane in the run up to the 2024 election. Then they dive into their favorite media scandals, the best career advice they received, and whether Kim Jong Un listens to Joe Rogan. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
We're off for Labor Day! Please enjoy this exclusive episode of Terminally Online, our new Subscription show and loosest pod here at Crooked Media. Every week Pod Save America hosts are joined by your favorite Crooked producers and staffers to commiserate about being way too online as they make their shows. Get episodes of Terminally Online, ads free Pod Save America and so much more by signing up for Friends of the Pod at crooked.com/friends.
Maia Wyman, or Broey Deschanel as she’s known on Youtube, joins Offline to talk about her generation of movie critics and influencers—spoiler alert, they’re not the same! Her nuanced video essays break down films, analyzing everything from the political themes of Parasite to why Barbie had to spoon-feed feminism to its audience. But for every voice like Maia’s, there are many others who don’t leverage the social web so much as indulge it. Guest host Max Fisher talks with Maia about how the internet is changing movies for better or worse, what it means for our culture, and how we see it playing out in this summer’s big releases. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Kate Lindsay, author of internet culture newsletter Embedded, joins Offline to talk about whether the hottest take is to have no take at all. Kate’s most recent Atlantic piece is titled “Is It Time to Embrace “Opinion Fatigue?” which argues that the internet is getting sick of discourse. She and Jon discuss how we arrived at this take apocalypse, how Gen Z cares less about their digital footprints, and how older generations are thinking harder about the virtual caches they pass on to loved ones after they die. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
According to a series of new studies published in Nature and Science, the way Facebook influences its users isn’t as straight forward as it seems. Does that mean Facebook is off the hook for polarizing America? Joshua Tucker, NYU professor and lead researcher on the 2020 Facebook Election Research Project, joins Offline to talk about what his team found, what lessons we learned about Facebook’s role in our world, and what its like to collaborate on a project with Mark Zuckerberg’s company. Plus: Max and Jon talk New York City's Twitch-fueled riot, AI learning to write (good) jokes, and the Zuck v. Musk cage match. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard, hosts of The Ringer’s “Every Single Album” podcast join Offline to talk about queen of pop — and queen of the internet — Taylor Swift. They break down how the one-time anti-hero has navigated the Internet Age to build one of the most successful music careers of all time and a fanbase that follows her on- and off-line. The three weigh streaming vs. touring as business models for musicians, question whether Taylor’s obsessive internet lurking is an asset, and share predictions for the last leg of the Eras tour. Then, Max returns to Offline’s tech roundup to unpack Elon’s ill-advised Twitter rebrand and Ron DeSantis’ cruel summer.Special thanks to Margaret for providing Jon and Max with their new Forget Me Knits. Learn more at forgetmeknit.com For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Comedian and Writer’s Guild negotiator, Adam Conover joins Offline to talk about how the ethos of Silicon Valley has affected the livelihoods of writers, actors and everyone in the entertainment industry. He gives Jon a behind the scenes look at why Hollywood’s workers and bosses have been so far apart in these negotiations. And they talk about the way streaming era jobs differ from cable era jobs, why, after a decade of streaming, studios look like they’re starting to rebuild a version of the old cable model, and why he’s not afraid of being replaced by artificial intelligence anytime soon. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Madeline Ashby, futurist and WIRED contributor joins Offline to talk about her recent piece “Hollywood’s Future Belongs to People — Not Machines." She and Jon discuss how the entertainment industry is “unbundling,” the role of art in creating social cohesion, and the hubris of TV execs who think AI will deliver content that is fast, good AND cheap. Then, Jon and Max discuss the decline of streaming and subscription models, how AI could be used by reporters, and the problem with community leaders being replaced by sh*tposters. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
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I did grayscale this week and have to say it's something I'll definitely keep doing! I cheated when I wanted to see a video about how cloud seeding works (thanks for sparking my curiosity NPR). I tested out Instagram with and without color. I easily lost more time when the color was on. I liked it so much that I added a shortcut to the grayscale settings page on my quick settings so I can easily bounce between gray and color as needed.
I fully support changing the vote after hearing the cheat time *ahem* screen time for the week. Nicely done Team Peppa Pig! I wasn't sure you could pull it off as well as you did.
This was a deeply uncomfortable and informative conversation. They made such a great point about not having to have a formal sit-down with our sons about this kind of stuff. Children are constantly learning and even the seemingly most mundane thing or innocuous comment can really stick with them. Take every opportunity to foster a loving and respectful relationship of others, as well as themselves.
10:20 Thank you for bringing this up. I've been wondering the same thing and haven't understood why they still keep coming back to antisemitism.
Linda Sarsour? JF is holding that antisémite on a pedestal of progressive values???
The comment on outsourcing moments in time to our phones instead of memory is one of the biggest reasons I try to avoid taking tons of pictures. Remembering something is way more interesting than scrolling mindlessly through tons and tons of pictures to find the moment you're looking for.
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I love where Kara said she used to think people were lying to her when she was a reporter, to now recognizing the interviewee is actually lying to themselves. Really interesting!
Great episode.