Better Offline

Wikipedia, a non-profit encyclopedia that anybody can edit, remains one of the few trustworthy and reliable websites left online. Ed Zitron is joined by critic, researcher and 18-year veteran of the Wikipedia editing community Molly White to discuss how Wikipedia actually works, and why you should care about its future.

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The media industry has laid off over 30,000 people in the last three years as a result of an executive sect that doesn't read, write, or meaningfully contribute to society. Ed Zitron walks you through how the startup mindset destroyed Sports Illustrated, VICE and The Messenger - and how journalism can turn the tide and survive.

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Ever wonder why Silicon Valley stopped making anything new or interesting? It's because of the same growth-at-all-costs mindset that's destroyed the rest of the tech ecosystem. Ed Zitron is joined by Robert Evans to discuss how venture capital demolished tech's ability to innovate by forcing the smartest people in the world to work on the dumbest things ever invented.

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A New York Times investigation revealed this week that Musk's $7 billion "Musk Foundation" regularly fails to donate enough money to get its multi-billion dollar tax break. Ed brings on Pullitzer-prize winning reporter David Fahrenthold of the New York Times to walk through the extremely questionable world of Elon Musk's non-profit.

Link to the New York Times story: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/10/us/elon-musk-charity.html

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In 2021, Mark Zuckerberg renamed Facebook to Meta, claiming that it was now a "Metaverse company," throwing the entire tech industry into one of its most specious hype cycles. In this episode, Ed Zitron walks you through how the tech industry wasted nearly two years chasing a concept that nobody could define, burning billions of dollars on an idea that would cost thousands of people their jobs.

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Though the Winklevoss brothers are best known for their role in the early days of Facebook, you'll be surprised to learn that they recently lost customers at their cryptocurrency exchange over a billion dollars through a shady loan scheme. In this episode, Ed Zitron walks you through how the two identical riverboat giants went from being conned by Mark Zuckerberg to conning over a hundred thousand people into putting their cryptocurrency in the hands of the world's worst investor. 

Better Offline Theme Song Spotify Pre-Save Link - https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/mattosowski/better-offline-theme-song-2?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=Email+&utm_source=SendGrid 

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Ever wonder why Google results are getting worse, or why you aren't seeing your friends on Instagram? It's all because of the growth-at-all-costs economy that's swallowed the tech industry, where the user experience takes a back seat to monetizing every interaction with the platforms you used to love. Ed Zitron is joined by Cool Zone Media's Robert Evans to walk you through the economic theory that's destroying the tech industry from within.

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Apple's $3500 face computer is here, and after spending far too many hours inside it, Ed Zitron has found Apple's vision of the future to be equal parts exciting and frustrating - and a dark omen for the future of tech. He also sits down with the Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern to talk about her experience as one of the early reviewers of the Vision Pro.

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Better Offline is a weekly show exploring the tech industry’s growing influence over society, and how startups, venture capitalists and big tech firms are looking to change the future - for better or for worse.

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