Julia and Dylan scrutinize CNN’s attempt to loosen the tie—turning Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper into something closer to podcast personalities in the mold of Pat McAfee and Joe Rogan. Naturally, the effort has invited ridicule—and raises a deeper question: does C.E.O. Mark Thompson’s vision align with what audiences actually want, and more importantly, what his audience needs?

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Tyler Denk, founder and C.E.O. of Beehiiv, joins Dylan to make the case for what makes his platform the best bet for independent creators—and why it’s not to be compared to Substack, as it so often is. He also weighs in on Substack’s $1.1 billion valuation, the realities of monetizing audiences, and the long game for the creator economy writ large. Plus, his thoughts on scaling the business and why that’s the thing that keeps him up at night.

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Julia and Dylan weigh into the increasingly uncanny world of generative A.I.—from the rise of A.I.-generated content flooding social media feeds to the technology’s influence on coverage of the war with Iran. They also discuss whether tech companies are sleepwalking toward a regulatory reckoning—and why the Oscars may soon look a lot like a sportsbook thanks to the rise of prediction markets.

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Julia and Dylan return to the scene of the Paramount–Warner Bros. car crash: what it means for streaming, who wins and loses in a CNN-CBS combination, whether Jeff Shell gets the axe, and how the whole enchilada comes together.

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Sam Feist, the C.E.O. of C-SPAN and former 33-year veteran of CNN, joins Dylan to discuss the long-whispered possibility (now reality) of a marriage between CNN and CBS—a concept that has quietly floated around the industry for more than 40 years. Feist explains why the broadcast reach of CBS and CNN’s global reporting capabilities could be uniquely complementary, what the union might look like under the Ellisons, and why trusted journalism matters more than ever in today's hyper-misinformation era. He also shares the new initiatives he’s implementing at C-SPAN, in an effort to foster bipartisan dialogue.

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Dylan and Julia consider the fate of CNN under Ellison rule: the looming $6 billion in “synergies” menacing the newsroom, how cost cutting could impact staff, the stark realities of operating a pricey 24/7 network, and the mounting speculation surrounding whether Bari Weiss will turn the whole thing into CBS+.

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Dylan welcomes Puck superfriends Matt Belloni and Bill Cohan to discuss every angle of the Paramount-WBD leveraged buyout: the Ellisons’ exorbitant $79 billion debt, Zaslav’s true legacy, and whether Netflix dodged a bullet. Then they dig into the industry reactions to the deal and its dire implications for Hollywood.

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Julia and Dylan dive into the new partnership between Polymarket and Substack, and debate whether live markets actually make journalism better. Then they turn to the latest turbulence at The Washington Post after its recent town hall, and address the existential question: Is there anything Jeff Bezos can realistically do to steady the ship?

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Reed Duchscher, C.E.O. of Night Media, joins Dylan and Julia to discuss his management firm’s recent $70 million raise—and what it signals about the next phase of his company and the creator economy writ large. A former manager of MrBeast, Duchscher explains why we’re unlikely to see another YouTube star of that scale, weighs the tension between volume and scarcity, and weighs into the rise of platforms like TikTok and Roblox, the future of independent political commentary, and more.

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Julia and Dylan assess the state of CBS—and the media industry writ large—in the Trump II era, from the fallout over Stephen Colbert’s interview with James Talarico to Anderson Cooper’s stunning exit from 60 Minutes. They also assess the early numbers from Peacock’s “Legendary February,” the steep implications of Paramount’s renewed pursuit of WBD, what a WBD-PSKY merger could mean for CNN, and much, much more.

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