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.

For a transcript of an episode of Offline, please email transcripts@crooked.com.

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.

New York Times journalist Noam Scheiber stops by the pod to talk to Jon about his new book Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class, in which he argues that stagnant wages and rising student debt have changed the economic promise once offered by a college degree. The two discuss how college-educated workers are responding to this new reality, both individually and collectively; how AI may supercharge the pains already felt by new college grads; and how it's all reshaping — and may even break — our political system.

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.

Why is Tim Walz, a 60-year-old dad from Minnesota, so internet savvy? And why is he so good at making right wingers look not just weird, but also extremely, chronically and dangerously online? Jon and Max discuss the meme appeal of Harris’ new VP pick, why Republicans are sinking deeper into weirdness with transphobic attacks on Olympians, and what X’s latest legal tantrum is really about.

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.

All of a sudden, nearly every Democrat in the country has started calling out Republicans for being really damn weird. And with JD Vance’s pronatalist views and Trump’s insistence that Kamala Harris isn’t actually Black, the GOP isn’t beating the allegations. When did Republican rhetoric go from fear-inducing, to groan-inducing? Jon is joined by Laura K. Field, a researcher and political theorist who recently published a piece in POLITICO on the topic, and who is writing a book about the evolution of the Republican party. She breaks down why GOP weirdness is tied to the emergence of the “New Right,” how JD Vance exemplifies this moment, and how to prevent the movement from capturing more power in American politics.

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.

Kamala Harris memes are bringing together leftists and wine moms, neolib shills and NeverTrumpers, political wonks and pop stars across every platform. Why is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president breaking the internet and right-wing brains? Jon and Max discuss the danger of the VP leaning into the memes, MAGA trolls' reaction to her candidacy, and how much of Silicon Valley is all in on Trump.

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 still don’t know why a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania opened fire on Trump last weekend. Lone shooters whose paths from normalcy to vigilantism seem esoteric, obscure, or perverse have become a familiar pattern—but there’s actually a lot we do understand about the origins of political violence. Max sits down with terrorism scholar J.M. Berger to understand the psychology of violent extremists and what role the internet plays in their decision to act. But first! Max is joined by the New Yorker’s Jessica Winter to talk about the online fandom around Vice President Kamala Harris and the true meaning of the coconut emoji.

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.

Elle Reeve, CNN commentator and author of the new book Black Pill, joins Offline to share her reporting on the darkest corners of the internet. For over a decade, Reeve has tracked the emergence of the alt-right, watched them radicalize on sites like 4chan and 8chan, and documented their migration off the web and into the streets of Charlottesville and halls of the Capitol. She and Jon talk about how this new brand of white nationalism feeds on male loneliness and white resentment, the schisms within the movement, and its implications for politics. But first! Jon and Max unpack the last few weeks of Dem Drama®. The guys critique the debate discourse, explain why social media forced this conversation to happen, and reveal why Jon is finally disabling some of his Twitter notifications.

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.

Chat GPT isn’t going to top the Billboard Hot 100 any time soon, but something is happening with AI and music—something’s BEEN happening. Unlike in entertainment and journalism, big music labels and even musicians like Drake and Grimes are cautiously embracing the latest in AI. And the results are not all bad! New Yorker writer John Seabrook sits down with Max to explain why the music industry has historically adopted new technologies, and how that Muddies the Waters around what is made by humans vs. what is made by machines. What does the future of songwriting look like with an AI Bob Dylan? Will a tide of lowbrow AI slop hurt artist payouts? And what’s really behind the record industry standing with artists?

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.

Has this pod saved America…from phone addiction?! We got Jon Lovett to take a rather extreme version of the Offline challenge in Fiji, AND America’s top doctor and friend of the pod Vivek Murthy is now calling for a Surgeon General’s warning label on social media platforms. Max and Jon bask in their success, then mourn the dismantling of the Stanford Internet Observatory, the nation’s leading mis- and disinformation research organization. Then, Max sits down with longtime tech journalist Brian Merchant to talk about whether AI development is slowing down, why workers should organize against the technology, and what good AI use cases and centaurs have in common.

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.

The kids are not alright, and the culprit is their phones. That’s the thesis of social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s new book, The Anxious Generation. He joins Offline to discuss why he thinks smartphones and social media are fueling a teen and adolescent mental health epidemic, the evidence behind his claims, and the criticism his anti-phone crusade has received. Then he and Jon dive into the four recommendations Haidt believes will lead us out of this crisis.

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.

Why are Republicans apologists for misinformation? How should campaigns respond to online trolls? Are Democrats still using an Obama-era digital strategy? Journalist Sasha Issenberg joins Offline to talk about his new book, The Lie Detectives, and to break down how to defeat conservatives in a truth-agnostic world. He and Jon discuss how today’s political class is adapting to a tumultuous and Trumpy social media landscape, and why controlling today’s narrative is more elusive than ever before.

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.

Critic Emily St. James and Crooked’s Halle Kiefer join Max to talk about “WALL-E.” The 2008 Pixar film depicts a future in which humans are so addicted to their screens that it takes a robot mutiny led by a mobile trash compactor to get them to log off. Why did the filmmakers opt for a trashpocalypse? How problematic is the movie’s portrayal of fatness? Why wasn’t there cancel culture aboard the spaceship? Find out in our last installment of Offline Movie Club (for now!).

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.

New Yorker journalist Andrew Marantz joins Offline to break down his new investigation into Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Over the course of hundreds of interviews, including over a dozen with Altman himself, Andrew and his coauthor Ronan Farrow unveiled a leader who tells people exactly what they want to hear, whether or not it’s true. Just like the AI model he created! Jon and Andrew discuss the contradictory narratives coming out of OpenAI, whether they could build portals that summon aliens, and how Altman’s resolve to go “founder mode” means he may be headed down the same well-traveled path as many tech oligarchs before him.

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.

Birds Aren’t Real founder, Peter McIndoe, joins to talk about the impact of the satirical conspiracy that captured the imagination of Gen Z and what he learned about the appeal of false realities after spending years in character as one of the nation’s leading conspiracy theorists. But first: Is TikTok helping Trump win? Why is Google telling people to eat rocks? And what’s the story behind the “All Eyes on Rafah” image going viral across Instagram? Jon and Max break it down.

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.

Are we all living in The Matrix? Eh, probably not. But our tech obsessed, social media driven world is a lot closer to the reality The Matrix posed in 1999 than the Wachowskis probably ever dreamed of! New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie and host of Hysteria Erin Ryan, join Max to watch the beloved sci fi film and break down the ways The Matrix inspired a generation of tech bros and why so many people — from the online right to the LGBTQ+ community to recovering tech journalists — see themselves in its allegory.

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.

Do we treat political affiliation like a religion? Which parts of our identity are based off factual belief vs. imaginary belief? This week, Max talks to Professor Neil Van Leeuwen about the difference between thinking and believing, the power of groupish thought, and the similarities between religious creeds and political ideologies. But first! Jon and Max break down the drama between Scarlet Johansson and OpenAI, pick apart the TikTok blockout, and suspend their disbelief that a close friend of the pod is…on Survivor?! Will he love it or leave it?

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.

Ezra Klein joins Offline Movie Club to discuss “Her,” the movie that more or less incited this week’s Scarlett Johansson v. OpenAI drama. Back in 2013, when ChatGPT was just a twinkle in Sam Altman’s eye, no one thought a writer falling in love with his sentient virtual assistant was a near-term scenario. But here we are! Ezra, Max and Jon debate what AIs mean for relationships, how  “Her” introduced emotional stakes that are absent from AIs in real life, and why Altman definitely copies Johansson’s husky voice in the latest GPT-4o.

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.

ChatGPT has officially entered its “Her” era! Jon and Max talk about the flirty AI that debuted this week, whose husky voice and warm enthusiasm evokes Scarlett Johansson. But not all the tech titans are doing so hot; Facebook’s noxious combo of AI-generated content and the real people who are falling for it has been coined the “zombie internet.” The guys discuss Meta’s spam problem, then take a look at how mental health curricula in schools can actually make things worse for students.

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.

Leave it to Tom Hanks to make internet catfishing seem so darn charming! This week, Offline’s Movie Club is watching “You’ve Got Mail,” the cozy, capitalist, and kind of creepy 90s classic. Remember when being online was a choice? When online dating was stigmatized? When Meg Ryan flounced around with unparalleled charisma? Max is joined by Jon Lovett and Crooked Executive Producer Kendra James to soak up the nostalgia of AOL, a roaring economy, and a time before Amazon.

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.

Is it time for you to make an AI friend? Jon and Max weigh the pros and cons of robot affirmation, sink their teeth into a new study on smart phone bans in schools, and then turn their attention to something they’re both very qualified to talk about: the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that’s reanimating Twitter. Plus, a new East vs. West feud takes shape as the guys face off for Vote Save America’s “Organize…or else” campaign. Head to votesaveamerica.com/2024 to ally yourself with your favorite Offline host.

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.

Bo Burnham’s comedy has long captivated and caricatured the internet, but the era his songs skewer the best is the hyperactive, blood-thirsty, online world of peak-pandemic lockdown. Max, Jon and comedian Jamie Loftus discuss “Bo Burnham: Inside,” in which a child of the internet breaks it down and breaks down. Was 2021 the peak of performative virtue signaling? Which host impersonated a flamingo on stage with Bo himself? Is apathy a tragedy and boredom a crime? Find out on this week’s Offline Movie Club.

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 all have a caveman brain—at least when it comes to navigating the internet. Amanda Montell, author of the new book The Age of Magical Overthinking, joins Offline to explain how the “cognitive biases” that we developed to make snap decisions in prehistoric times aren’t well suited to handle the volume and pace of the information era. She and Jon talk about biases like the halo effect, zero-sum biases, and declinism, and identify how these biases have supercharged celebrity fandom, influenced our news media, and made Democrats nostalgic for the George W. Bush era.

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.

When did we collectively agree that a hoodie-clad coder could wreak havoc on our society? Probably not long after “The Social Network” came out. This week we’re kicking off a new bonus series: the Offline Movie Club! The hosts will dive into one of their favorite films about the internet and technology to discuss what the movie gets right and wrong, and how it shapes our understanding of the digital era. This week Max, Jon and Halle Kiefer, host of the "Ruined" podcast, break down David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin’s 2010 biographical drama. What did it get right and wrong about Offline’s second favorite disruptor, Mark Zuckerberg? What creative liberties did the filmmakers take in retelling the story of Facebook’s founding? And has Sorkin ever given a female character a last name?

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.

Mark Zuckerberg is finally being held accountable–not by government regulators, board members or shareholders, but by two lawsuits. Tech journalist Casey Newtown, editor of Platformer, joins Offline to explain how a young woman in California beat Meta and Google on the grounds that Instagram and YouTube had destroyed her mental health. Jon and Casey discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the case, whether losing end-to-end encryption could lead to a surveillance state, and what happens if social platforms’ defensive shield, Section 230, is overturned. Then Jon speaks to New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez about his successful lawsuit against Meta, how the social media company plans to appeal it, and whether the case he’s made could ultimately lead the Supreme Court to regulate this 21st century addiction.

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.

Can Biden outpost Trump in the run up to 2024? Why is the president on TikTok if he wants to ban it? Rob Flaherty, former White House Director of Digital Strategy and current Deputy Campaign Manager for Biden joins Offline to explain. Jon and Rob talk about the ways the media environment has changed since 2020, how the Biden campaign is cutting through the noise this time around, and the importance of acknowledging voters’ frustrations.

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 did it folks! Jurors for Trump’s hush money trial are getting to read their resistance tweets to his face as Meta’s crackdown on news is slowly asphyxiating conservative media. Jon and Max celebrate the good news, and then dive into the much more somber topic of dating in the Internet Age. It turns out Gen Z is abandoning dating apps in favor of social media and the “old school” approach of meeting people in person. Then, Max interviews blogger Jenny Livingston about what it’s like to learn you’re going to live 50 more years, thanks to a new drug that’s working miracles for her and many other people with cystic fibrosis.

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.

Is FOMO the only thing keeping you on social media? Have we already reached peak artificial intelligence? And are Max and Jon too old to enjoy Glorb, a Spongebob Squarepants AI that’s become the hottest rapper on the internet? The guys cheer on the nosedive of Trump’s media company stocks, break down the latest research in why your friends want you to quit social media, and answer mailbag questions like “will Jon ever stop getting in Twitter fights?”

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.

Are college educated Democrats going to cost Joe Biden the election? Eitan Hersh, a Political Science professor at Tufts, joins Offline to take a closer look at “political hobbyists,” aka people who think that getting involved in politics means following the news and forming political opinions. Eitan’s book, Politics is for Power, lays out a roadmap for folks who are tired of online takes and ready to get involved in politics at the community level—where engagement could make a real impact. He and Jon talk about what organizing looks like in every day life, and how the most important activism is the kind you probably won’t find on social media.

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.

Dr. Laurie Santos, Yale University's “Happiness Professor,” joins Offline to lay out a scientific guide to finding happiness. On her podcast The Happiness Lab and in her course Psychology and the Good Life (the most popular in Yale’s 300 year history), Laurie educates people on the way our brains lie about what makes us happy and helps them reorient their priorities to find genuine happiness. She sits down with Jon to talk about the root causes of declining happiness among young people, why in-person interaction is a crucial part of being human, and why putting others before ourselves makes us happier than fulfilling what we think we want. But first! Jon and Max are surprised to learn they agree with Ron DeSantis and break down the ridiculous conspiracy theories that have taken over Twitter after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore.

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.

Eric Klinenberg, sociologist at New York University, joins Offline to discuss why our failure to process 2020 may lead to another disastrous Trump term. His newest book, 2020, breaks down the year that reshaped our politics, unveiled cracks in our society, and transformed the ways we live, work, and interact with each other. Eric and Jon unpack how Trump’s Covid-era leadership politicized public health and left Americans to fend for themselves. They discuss how to best address widespread resentment and institutional distrust, and consider how to grapple with the lasting effects of a year we’d rather forget.

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 Middleton sightings have dipped below UFO sightings, and the internet is having a heyday! It’s conspiracy theory week at Offline, with Max and Jon offering up their own takes on the missing Princess of Wales. Then, they break down the latest developments of the House’s proposed TikTok ban––including content creators’ ludicrous theories behind what’s really going on. To cap it off, Max sits down with Vox Senior Correspondent, Dylan Matthews, to talk through a new UFO report from the Pentagon. They tell the story of how UFOs were mainstreamed by an otherworldly alliance between the drummer of Blink-182, a former Senate Majority Leader, and the New York Times.

Tour dates & cities: crooked.com/events

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 Ronson, author of So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed and host of the BBC podcast “Things Fell Apart,” joins Offline to discuss culture wars—why do they originate in America? Are they going too far? Are we all becoming immune to the public-shaming superbug? But first! Max and Jon break down the latest bombardment of everyone’s favorite algorithm (TikTok ban) and everyone’s favorite politician (AOC being screamed at).

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.

Zeynep Tufekci, sociologist and New York Times opinion columnist, joins Offline to discuss why long covid has unleashed so much online vitriol, united the Senate, and exposed just how little Americans trust institutions. Jon also sits down with his producer, Emma, to talk about her firsthand experience with the disease, and how she navigates an information environment rife with suffering and confusion—but also solidarity and hope.

But first! Jon and Max weigh in on Google’s new “woke” AI, which has been cooking up images of Asian founding fathers, Black Vikings, and, unfortunately, racially diverse Nazis. Then, they break down Taylor Lorenz’s interview with the infamous founder of Libs of TikTok, and how the long-form, short-form, and print coverage of the conversation each land differently 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.

Tina Nguyen, national correspondent at Puck News, joins Offline to talk about her new memoir, “The MAGA Diaries.” The book sheds light on the conservative movement’s college recruitment pipeline, and how it’s propelled a new generation of alt-right leaders to the upper echelons of American politics, courts, and social movements. Tina chronicles how this shadowy network helped her start out in the world of right-wing journalism, what compelled her to eventually defect to the mainstream, and all the MAGA mad caps she met along the way.

But first! Jon and Max take a look at Sora, the new AI model that can turn text into video, Jon Stewart, who’s back to hosting the Daily Show after 9 years away from the desk, and Favs himself — when will Jon learn to stay out of Twitter fights?

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.

Why fight for a better future if we don't believe one is possible? Why organize, why vote? Dr. Deepika Chopra, the "Optimism Doctor," joins the show to talk about the dangers of cynicism, and to explain how optimism is a more rational and democracy-safeguarding response to this political moment. In her new book, The Power of Real Optimism, Dr. Chopra argues that the outlook is neither a trait nor mindset; it's a learnable set of skills that even the most pessimistic among us can incorporate. And it’s an essential safeguard against the paralyzing, numbing effect our media ecosystem has on our brains.

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.

Cass Sunstein, Harvard professor and coauthor of the forthcoming book, Look Again, joins Offline to discuss the dangers of habituation. When things become so commonplace that they blend into the background of our everyday lives, we stop appreciating the good and identifying the bad. Jon and Cass examine how authoritarian regimes are normalized, whether you can pay people to quit their social media addictions, and why repeating lies makes them more believable. But first! Max and Jon dive into Meta’s decision to stop recommending political content on their platforms, President Biden’s foray onto TikTok, and what a recent Selena Gomez deepfake means for the future of scamming.

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.

Kara Swisher, longtime tech reporter and author of the forthcoming memoir Burn Book, joins Offline to talk about the tech tycoons who think they’re qualified to run our country. She and Jon break down Silicon Valley’s ever growing self importance, whether its leaders are more or less fascist than we think, and how big tech ate the media industry alive. But first! Max and Jon explain why Apple’s Vision Pro headset is the company’s most impressive—and depressing—gadget to date, and how Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are saving  American monoculture.

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.

Peter Hamby, host of Snapchat’s Good Luck America and a founding partner at Puck News, returns to Offline to discuss whether journalism is headed towards extinction. With the latest round of media layoffs hollowing out the industry more than ever before, how will people stay informed—and do they even want to? Has the news lost its primacy in the American mind? But first! Max and Jon break down Zuckerberg & co.‘s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, why children’s online safety is the social media moguls’ achilles heel, and whether Universal Music pulling their catalogue from TikTok is actually a big deal.

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.

Kyle Chayka, New Yorker staff writer and author of “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture,” joins Offline to expose how online feeds push us into the mainstream and away from each other. He and Jon examine how machine-guided curation changes not only what we consume, but the quality of what gets made in the first place. But first! Max and Jon talk about how introverts have taken over the economy, the moment solo scrolling surpassed socializing, and how algorithm-driven streamers are recreating a worse version of cable.

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.

R. F. Kuang, bestselling author of Yellowface, joins Offline to discuss cultural appropriation, the flatness of social media friendships and feedback, and the tortured relationship between literature and technology. Kuang recounts how pandemic doomscrolling destroyed her attention span, the book she wrote as a result, and how she’s reclaimed her focus and social life since. But first! Jon is FINALLY back from his two weeks of paternity leave — he and Max break down how Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy ran their campaigns like a 2016 meme war. Then, they compare the unsettling voice of AI Dean Phillips to the unsettling voice of human Dean Phillips, and unpack why no one is happy with Substack these days.

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.

Katy Milkman, Wharton professor and author of How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, joins Offline to discuss the limits of willpower. Katy and Max dig into the science behind habit formation, the psychology of temptation bundling, and all the strategies for sticking to New Year’s resolutions that are more effective—and more fun—than sheer will. But first! Crooked staffers Gabby, David and Ben join Max for a quick and snappy panel on their own resolutions for 2024, and what they’ve learned about changing their behavior in years past.

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.

Maybe, your friend announced they’re not drinking anymore, or your sister’s now “California Sober,” or maybe your entire office is participating in Dry January. It’s not just you, going sober is the hot new thing, with 41% of Americans aged 18 to 35 saying they don’t drink at all. Today, we explore the changes in drinking culture, in how we think about wellness and health, in how we socialize and spend our free time, and yes, changes in technology, that are converging to make America sober. Max interviews three Crooked Media producers about their relationship with alcohol and then talks to Dr. Edward Slingerland, an expert on humanity’s relationship with alcohol, about why humans drink and what changed about alcohol and our world to make more people choose sobriety.

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.

With 2024 fast approaching, Jon and Max sit down to answer listener-submitted questions. Does the show have a millennial bias? What’s the guys’ screen time 6 months after the Offline Challenge? Will Max stage a coup when Jon goes on paternity leave? Plus favorite social media trends, favorite films and favorite co-hosts of 2023.

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.

YouTuber Natalie Wynn, better known as ContraPoints, may be the internet’s most persuasive political commentator. Known for her carefully produced, elaborate video essays, Natalie has an uncanny ability to attract and de-radicalize viewers with reactionary, right wing politics. She sits down with Jon to talk about the importance of style in political persuasion, explain how the internet became fascist in 2017, and teach what it takes to actually change minds 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.

Jeff 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. Producer Caroline Reston moderates. 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.