People vs Algorithms

This week, like old Italian men with their hands clasped behind their backs at construction sites, we are monitoring various situations: Snowmageddon 2026, OpenAI’s inevitable embrace of advertising, Claude Code’s escape from the nerdery, why publishers are embracing prediction markets, the Davos divide between the Mark Carney and Donald Trump styles of communication, and the latest reminder that nothing ever really dies in media, it just mutates.

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* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:46 Welcome

* 05:30 OpenAI Getting Into Ads

* 26:29 Claude Code’s Escape From The Nerdery

* 40:16 Prediction Markets

* 50:29 Quick Hits

* 01:15:40 Good Product

* 01:17:14 Outro

After two decades of scale chasing, feed optimization, and platform dependence, the industry is rediscovering older mechanics that actually work: events, newsletters, sponsorships, classifieds, and direct audience relationships. Plus: The difficulty of changing legacy media organizations; micro-dramas as modern media format; and field notes from CES, the Affiliate Summit and an Ojai turtle sanctuary.

* Watch us on YouTube

* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:34 Welcome

* 03:44 CES 2026

* 10:40 Semaphore and Media Business Models

* 15:18 CBS News and Media Transformation

* 29:48 Creating New Products from Great Talent

* 32:48 Retro Media

* 42:35 Affiliate Summit

* 52:54 Good Product

* 59:17 Outro

Troy and Brian talk about agentic advertising and why it’s being sold as salvation, the quiet consolidation happening across media and tech, and the shift from institutional power to systems, platforms, and legible individuals. We discuss sovereignty in an automated world, and why “finding leverage” has become the defining challenge for media, marketing, and anyone trying to stay relevant.

* Watch us on YouTube

* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:28 Welcome

* 07:06 Agentic Advertising and AI

* 11:23 Semafor’s $30 Million Raise

* 18:54 The Future of Yahoo

* 24:12 The Rise of YouTube and Influencers

* 31:08 The Future of Digital Publishers

* 34:23 Media Personalities and the Creator Economy

* 37:47 The Ethics of Content and Prediction Markets

* 47:14 The Future of Major Cities and Job Market Predictions

* 50:21 The Role of AI and Robotics in Society

* 55:14 The Battle for Sovereignty and Media Independence

* 01:01:42 Good Product

* 01:06:10 Outro

This week, we wrap up the year with our picks for the biggest narratives, deal guys, hustlers and tech oligarchs.

* Watch us on YouTube

* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:17 Welcome

* 03:22 Vanity Fair Is Back

* 05:56 Is Weiss good at media?

* 13:51 Oscars On YouTube

* 18:03 PvA 2025 Awards

* 18:28 Personality of the Year

* 25:31 Media Brand of the Year

* 30:10 Innovation of the Year

* 37:29 Overlord of the Year

* 40:38 Hustler of the Year

* 43:47 Deal Guy of the Year

* 45:45 Word of the Year

* 48:34 Narrative of the Year

* 54:25 Good Product

Underneath the narrative, the main plotline is the end of Hollywood’s already ailing business model built around scarcity and cable economics. That’s why the big winner of this deal, no matter who ends up owning the asset, is David Zaslav, the consummate Deal Guy. Netflix owning Warner Bros would be a fitting end, as streaming upended the reliable bulwark of Hollywood’s business model and firmly put tech in control.

Plus: The social stigma of AI-generated content, Kalshi’s uninspiring mission to financialize everything, Marco Rubio’s war on woke fonts, Shopify’s agentic commerce play, a new Scorsese documentary, and sad SaaS-vertising invading the NYC subway.

* Watch us on YouTube

* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:36 Welcome

* 04:18 Warner Bros Deal

* 17:07 Deal Guys

* 37:59 Font Wars

* 47:09 Australia Banning Social Media For Teens

* 54:16 Shopify & AI

* 01:00:13 Good Product

This week, Sam Altman shutters side quests to chase speed, reliability, and personalization, and we ask whether he’s a deals guy or a wartime leader in a world where Gemini 3 and Anthropic are catching up. From there we get into the Olivia Nuzzi saga, the New York Times vs David Sachs accountability drama, and another round of Silicon Valley vs East Coast media grievance airing. We close on Bending Spoons’ island of misfit apps, DealBook’s new CEO archetypes in a media world running out of leverage, and Good Product featuring Waymos and Japanese toilets as the most dependable robots in everyday life.

* Watch us on YouTube

* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:39 Welcome

* 07:54 OpenAI Code Red

* 22:56 Sachs vs NYT

* 30:02 Olivia Nuzzi Saga

* 35:07 DealBook Summit

* 45:16 Bending Spoons

* 50:24 The Distribution Trap

* 01:03:33 Good Product

We get into why America attracts them, how the term was coopted and branded, why competitive instinct sits at the center of real hustle, and how the changing nature of the economy will put a premium on hustling, for better or worse. Plus: Troy’s ‘eggsellent’ adventure at a Holiday Inn Express.

* Watch us on YouTube

* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:41 Welcome

* 02:19 Google Ascended

* 14:24 AI Slop

* 25:34 Hustlers

* 44:10 Deal Talk: Warner Bros Discovery

* 53:02 Good Product

* 01:01:58 Outro

With institutions losing their distribution edge, main-character energy now determines who captures attention. The Olivia Nuzzi spectacle to Michael Wolff’s improbable Epstein cameo show why legacy media suddenly needs characters again. We also cover the Gemini 3 narrative flip, Google’s structural advantages, John Malone’s tax-efficient empire building, Apple News’ strange success despite its bad UX, and the rise of chessboxing as peak Slavic content.

* Watch us on YouTube

* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:46 Welcome

* 01:30 Aura and Lore In The Information Space

* 16:17 Gemini 3

* 26:52 Financializing Aura

* 35:15 John Malone: Last of the cable cowboys

* 41:05 Good Product

* 51:15 Outro

We argue that true media people are troublemakers with taste. They’re people who understand narrative, tension, and how to make others feel something. Michael Wolff and Olivia Nuzzi are Media People. Scott Galloway and Silicon Valley People are not Media People. The media industry has been downsized in the Information Space, with media personalities rewarded more than Media People. Media People will endure.

* Watch us on YouTube

* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:44 Welcome

* 06:42 Job Displacement Tsunami

* 16:10 The Problem With Men

* 27:57 Media People

* 56:14 Netflix Immersive Experience

* 01:00:49 Justin Bieber A Twitch Streamer

* 01:03:13 Good Product

* 01:08:27 Outro

Meanwhile, the New York Times has proven to the exception to the rule in publishing, as most publishers are dealing with “toxic” pageview assets. Plus: The Great Compression has arrived for ad agencies.

* Watch us on YouTube

* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

* Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:29 Welcome

* 01:47 New York Mayoral Election

* 11:51 AI Bubble Check

* 22:53 Job Shifts

* 26:13 The Great Compression in Ad Agencies

* 35:37 New York Times: Exception to the rule

* 44:06 Vox

* 52:49 Puck-Air Mail Deal

* 55:36 Good Product

* 57:14 Outro