Offline with Jon Favreau

Billionaires vs. Journalists

What exactly is happening inside CBS News, and how much is Bari Weiss to blame? How are journalists at CNN feeling about becoming the Ellisons' next target? And what has corporate consolidation done to the media? Oliver Darcy, founder and writer of Status and former senior media reporter for CNN, joins Offline to break it all down. He and Jon also discuss Comcast's announcement that it may spin off NBC, what's going on at Jeff Bezos's Washington Post, and why Oliver has taken his reporting independent.For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com. 

What Is A Human For?

AI is creating a crisis of agency where people are becoming paranoid that they’re being manipulated, suckered, and ultimately replaced. Charlie Warzel joins Offline to elaborate on his Atlantic essay, “The Feeling of Control Slipping Away,” which illustrates the myriad ways AI is driving people insane. He and Jon talk about whether human creativity is endangered, if AI is anything more than a corporate black-box, and what it means to be human when a robot can do everything better than you. They also discuss Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO, what its valuation means and Musk's efforts to rewrite DOGE's devastating legacy, as well as his own. Correction: The bot farm startup whose tagline is "never pay a human again" is misstated in this episode. The startup is Doublespeed, not Superhuman.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, episode title, and episode date.

Why You Should Love America

Progressives are highly critical of America, and for good reason. But we are losing more than problematic idols and ideals when we abandon patriotism. Jerusalem Demsas, founder and editor of “The Argument,” argues that if we’re going to save America, we’ll have to start loving it first.  She joins Offline to explain how liberals have ceded patriotism to the right, why No Kings is starting to fix this, and how to talk about our country’s issues without undermining hope that America still holds promise.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, episode title, and episode date.

Has The Left Finally Figured Out the Internet?

Ever heard a popular TikToker wax poetic about who they’re voting for? They might be getting paid…and not disclosing by whom. Kyle Tharp, author of the Chaotic Era newsletter, joins Offline to discuss the emergence of pay-for-play political influencers and whether Democrats have made any progress in figuring out the internet. He and Jon talk about the decline of Ben Shapiro and the Daily Wire, the new success of legacy media on TikTok, and the intense grassroots anger around data centers.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, episode title, and episode date.

Is Masculinism Holding MAGA Together?

Who are the men who want women to be quiet? Author and Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis argues it’s nearly everyone on the right. She joins Offline to make the case that “masculinism” and its mission to reestablish the primacy of men is what unites conservatives more than anything else…except maybe Donald Trump. In reporting her most recent cover story, Helen spoke with so-called intellectuals and leaders of the masculinism movement, many of whom have direct ties to senior MAGA officials, even as they speak openly about repealing women’s rights: to vote, to run for office, and to make basic decisions about work and life. Jon and Helen discuss how influencers profit by preying on young men, how right wing grievances are bleeding into electoral contests across the country, and who can model better masculinity for boys.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, episode title, and episode date.