Simon Owens
@simonowens.bsky.social
đ¤ 2076
đĽ 587
đ 2852
Media industry journalist who runs a newsletter and podcast. You can reach me at
[email protected]
HOUSE OF DYNAMITE was actually quite good, though flawed in the way it was told.
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about 1 hour ago
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The guy who just received a $1 trillion pay package committed genocide.
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3 days ago
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So many sports media outlets have staked their entire future on converting their audiences into gambling addicts. It makes you wonder whether, a decade from now, weâll look back on ESPN the same way we look at cigarette companies or the Sackler family.
defector.com/espn-will-no...
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ESPN Will Not Let Failure Push It Out Of The Gambling Business | Defector
Disney is bouncing out of its gambling partnership with Penn Entertainment, the operator behind the crummy ESPN Bet sportsbook platform. The unholy partnership, forged in 2023 between the wheezing mul...
https://defector.com/espn-will-not-let-failure-push-it-out-of-the-gambling-business
3 days ago
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Zohran Mamdani's didn't just create incredibly good online content that allowed the candidate to communicate directly with voters; he also inspired a wide range of fan content made by people who had no formal relationship with the campaign. "This form of participatory online fan
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Zohran Mamdaniâs Campaign Figured Out How to Channel Fandom
Much of the content about Mamdani online hasnât come from his campaign or the dozens of political influencers invited to cover it. It has also come from fans.
https://www.wired.com/story/zohran-mamdani-campaign-fandom/
3 days ago
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A lot of people think his name is Igor, but in the book heâs called Frankensteinâs chief of staff
3 days ago
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Is Spotify still launching/acquiring/licensing podcasts? Iâm struggling to remember its last major podcasting deal it announced.
3 days ago
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It's kind of funny to think back to the music streaming landscape just five years ago. Back then, if you asked anyone who Spotify's biggest competitor was, they'd say Apple Music. Now, Spotify has pretty much left all the other major music streamers in the dust, and its sole comp
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Spotify now has half a million video podcasts, which nearly 400M users have watched | TechCrunch
Spotify says that users' time spent with video content on Spotify has more than doubled year-over-year, largely driven by video podcasts.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/04/spotify-now-has-half-a-million-video-podcasts-which-nearly-400m-users-have-watched/
3 days ago
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Elon Musk is currently raising money for xAI at a $200 billion valuation.
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3 days ago
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Now that Netflix is finally revving up its video podcast deal machine, it'll be interesting to see whether its contracts allow for the podcasters to continue posting their shows to YouTube. Other podcast companies, most notably Spotify, gave up on forcing platform exclusivity yea
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Netflix Starts Bigger Push Into Video Podcasts
The streamer has sent out dozens of requests to agents at WME, UTA and CAA for video podcast creators.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/netflix-video-podcasts-1236417771/
3 days ago
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I can't remember the last time I actually wanted to see a biopic.
3 days ago
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I think the biggest problem facing many major media companies today is that their leaders arenât focused on long-term growth â theyâre instead focused on positioning the company for a sale, whether to a private equity firm or a larger media conglomerate. Thereâs no reason MSNBC c
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MS Doom
The network formerly known as MSNBC is still shedding (mostly geriatric) viewers at a steady clip. Despite Rebecca Kutlerâs ambitions, is it just a matter of time before the realities of cableâs decli...
https://puck.news/spirits-are-high-at-the-post-spinoff-ms-now-for-now/
3 days ago
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The New York Times is continuing to add more subscribers in a single quarter than 99% of news publishers have in total.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
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The Timesâs Profit Jumps With 460,000 More Subscribers
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/business/media/new-york-times-earnings.html
3 days ago
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I love it how every time the Democrats lose the White House there are all these panicked stories about how their support is eroding with key demographics, and then the next election cycle happens and it turns out once again that Americans simply have the memories of goldfish.
4 days ago
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Second major plane crash during Trump's administration after over a decade of no such crashes.
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5 days ago
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An ESPN employee was laid off and had two years left on his contract where he couldnât work for anyone else. He basically used that time to level up his video production skills, and then once the contract was up he poured himself into creating sports video essays on YouTube. Seven months later, heâs
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đ´ Turning a layoff into a creator media business
For 22 months, ESPN paid Joon Lee not to work. He used that time to master YouTube and plan his next career.
https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/joon-lee
5 days ago
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lol. The entire business case for why AT&T acquired Warner Media in the first place was that it would be able to leverage the combined data of its telecom customers and media customers to drive all sorts of synergies. Can someone remind me how that worked out?
5 days ago
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I feel like every three months for the past 10 years there's been a story about some new bubble Michael Burry has identified, and then there's no follow-up on whether his bet was correct. Don't get me wrong, I do think we're in an AI bubble, but I don't put much stock in Burry's predictions.
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5 days ago
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I just fundamentally don't believe a media company can consolidate its way to success. There's just not enough user lock-in, not when the Creator Economy is pumping out millions of hours of free content every day. The only truly differentiated media conte
variety.com/2025/film/fe...
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Inside David Ellisonâs Dramatic First 100 Days at Paramount: Courting Tom Cruise Blockbusters, Forging Ties With Trump and Daring Anyone Else to Buy Warner Bros. Discovery
David Ellison is the ultimate Hollywood disruptor. This week's Variety cover story goes deep on the Paramount-Skydance boss' industry takeover.
https://variety.com/2025/film/features/david-ellison-hollywood-takeover-paramount-warner-bros-1236569136/
5 days ago
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I've always thought Famous Birthdays was super smart in how it identified an information vacuum and then did an excellent job filling it. Basically, there are tons of social media influencers who are fairly famous -- in that they have millions of followers -- but don't meet the notability requireme
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âIMDb for Creatorsâ: How Famous Birthdays Took Over Gen Z â and Became Agentsâ Scouting Tool
SCOOP: Founder Evan Britton talks about his new feature to help brands reach its network and how he built his must-refresh site
https://likeandsubscribenews.substack.com/p/imdb-for-creators-how-famous-birthdays
5 days ago
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Media executives have seemed oddly obsessed recently with spinning out media outlets into separate companies -- both WBD and NBCU are spinning out their cable channels, for instance -- and I just don't get it. Wouldn't the distribution of Vox Media's publishing arm help Vox Media's podcasts grow th
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Scoop: Vox Media board has discussed spinning out podcast network
Vox Media has received active interest in its podcast network from strategic and financial sponsors.
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/04/vox-media-explores-sale-podcast-publishing
5 days ago
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I could never be a fitness influencer because Iâd be too embarrassed to set up a tripod at the gym.
5 days ago
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Tesla has racked up nothing but Ls for the past year, and yet its stock price is still up over that time period. Perfect poster child for how dumb the stock market is.
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5 days ago
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Microdramas are already an $11 billion industry, and while much of that revenue comes from China, these vertical video series will generate over $800 million in other countries this year. The companies behind microdramas are now spending big on social media advertising, running clips and trailers on
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In Graphic Detail: The rise of micro dramas that are attracting big ad dollars
Micro dramas are attracting attention, so Digiday has charted the format's revenue forecasts and viewership, to understand how we got here.
https://digiday.com/marketing/in-graphic-detail-the-rise-of-micro-dramas-that-are-attracting-big-ad-dollars/
5 days ago
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Taylor Sheridan doesn't just produce some of Paramount+'s most popular shows, he's one of the platform's main customer acquisition drivers, with data showing his shows collectively drive millions of paid subscription signups. He's locked into his contract until January 1, 2029, and David Ellison has
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Taylor Sheridan Burning Questions and Smoking Guns
My recent reveal of the âYellowstoneâ creatorâs jump from Paramount to NBCUniversal unleashed a torrent of questions, most of which can be answered here.
https://puck.news/taylor-sheridan-burning-questions-and-smoking-guns/
5 days ago
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As an elder millennial, one thing Iâll never understand the appeal of is livestreaming. Every time I read a profile of a huge Twitch streamer Iâll go over to watch a few minutes of their stream and Iâm just instantly bored, especially if all they do is play video games.
5 days ago
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Caught the first episode of DAY OF THE JACKAL on Peacock. I like shows that depict extremely competent people behaving competently at their jobs. So far, itâs enjoyable despite its well-tread plot of MI6-agent-pursues-high-paid-assassin-who-operates-in-the-shadows.
5 days ago
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It seems notable that one of the most popular podcasts has switched its ad representation from a company primarily associated with audio to one that's primarily associated with video. Pretty soon we're going to start thinking of podcasts as TV shows that also just happen to have audio-only versions
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Ashley Flowersâ âCrime Junkieâ Podcast Company Inks $150 Million Multiyear Pact With Fox Corp.âs Tubi Media Group in Exit From SiriusXM
Fox Corp.'s Tubi struck a multiyear deal with Audiochuck, founded by Ashley Flowers, for exclusive distribution and ad sales rights to its top shows including "Crime Junkie."
https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/ashley-flowers-crime-junkie-podcast-tubi-deal-audiochuck-1236565575/
5 days ago
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Traditionally, how much a streamer pays to license a movie is determined by its box office performance, but some of the best-performing movies on streaming in recent years were box office duds. Some studios like Sony are contemplating changing up the way they negotiate streaming rights, with a new e
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Box-Office Duds Are Becoming Streaming Hits
Movie studios are rethinking how to get the most value out of their films in the streaming age
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-11-03/box-office-duds-are-becoming-streaming-hits
5 days ago
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reposted by
Simon Owens
emptywheel
6 days ago
As we're remembering that Dick Cheney killed a million Iraqis, remember that the death toll from cutting USAID funding will be still larger than that.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
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Study: 14 million lives could be lost due to Trump aid cuts
A new study looks at lives saved by USAID in the past and what the future without the agency will look like.
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/07/01/nx-s1-5452513/trump-usaid-foreign-aid-deaths
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Nielsen has had a 70-year monopoly on measuring TV ratings, but networks have long complained of its inconsistent data, especially when it comes to measuring niche audiences. Now, a bunch of competitors are trying to convince advertisers to switch over to their own proprietary platforms, the largest
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Why VideoAmp Thinks It Can Bust Nielsenâs TV Ratings Monopoly
With viewership data underpinning $60 billion in television advertising, an industry behemoth is suddenly facing questions about whether it is âbringing an abacus to an AI fight.â
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2025/10/30/why-videoamp-thinks-it-can-bust-nielsens-tv-ratings-monopoly/
6 days ago
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Kamala Harris has an opportunity to do the funniest thing
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6 days ago
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This is how bad the Democratic text spam has gotten: Iâm now getting random texts from candidates running for something called a âcounty boardâ and they donât even tell me which county. Never donating to a candidate again.
6 days ago
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Why does this keep happening to me? This article that was supposed to top out at 5,000 words is showing no signs of slowing down.
6 days ago
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40 ACRES streaming on Hulu ⌠very solid film.
7 days ago
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That feeling when you start reading a reply to your newsletter and it seems like theyâre about to say something mean but they say something nice instead.
9 days ago
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Kind of amazing how casually it's mentioned now in news articles that a company's acquisition is likely or unlikely to get approved based entirely on whether the US President personally likes it. This is why the Republicans have succeeded in moving the Overton Window by so much over the past decade.
10 days ago
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I know private company valuations are kind of meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but I still think it's notable that what started out as a video podcast is now valued above $400 million. From the press release, it seems like Steven Bartlett is positioning his podcast as merely a launching pa
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Steven Bartlett's company steven.com hits $425mn valuation after investment round
Steven.com closes a major eight-figure investment round to accelerate its mission to build a world-class creator media & venture ecosystem
https://podnews.net/press-release/steven-dot-com-valuation
10 days ago
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"Very few publishers are willing to take on distribution themselvesâitâs tedious, complex, and a bigger investment. Almost everyone chooses to contract with an existing distributor. And if youâre unfortunate enough to sign on with a weak or failing one, it can be fatal."
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The least glamorous, crucially important, and increasingly troubled part of book publishing
This is the 302nd edition of SHuSH, the newsletter of The Sutherland House Inc.
https://shush.substack.com/p/the-least-glamorous-crucially-important
10 days ago
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A former Navy SEAL has grown a massive fanbase for his novels, which are known for describing modern warfare in excruciatingly minute detail. A substantial portion of his readers are veterans themselves, and multiple books have been adapted into a TV series starring Chris Pratt.
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Jack Carr Knows His Way Around a Battlefield, and a Military Thriller
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/books/review/jack-carr-terminal-list-cry-havoc.html
10 days ago
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A new kind of AI slop is proliferating on YouTube. Creators are noticing some of their most popular videos have been recreated on a shot-by-shot basis, with their faces and voices swapped out with AI avatars. It's clear the people behind these channels believe they're avoiding copyright infringement
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Whoâs making these AI copies of my work?
YouTube video by Christophe
https://youtu.be/CFJIVBJYY9M?si=Mmy3FCynoK2IaicK
10 days ago
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Ed Zitron is one of the tech industryâs most outspoken critics, known for his popular newsletter that frequently takes aim at AI companies and their founders. At the same time, he runs a PR agency whose clients are mostly tech firms. From the outside, itâs difficult to see how he reconciles those t
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Ed Zitron Gets Paid to Love AI. He Also Gets Paid to Hate AI
Heâs one of the loudest voices of the AI hatersâeven as he does PR for AI companies. Either way, Ed Zitron has your attention.
https://www.wired.com/story/ai-pr-ed-zitron-profile/
10 days ago
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The New Yorker journalist Isaac Chotiner specializes in lengthy Q&As and has become known for his contentious interviews where he confronts his subjects with their own inconsistencies and logical fallacies. Other journalists wonder why famous people agree to sit down with him given the high likelih
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The Interview Assassin: Why Isaac Chotiner doesnât mind the âgotchaâ label.
Why Isaac Chotiner doesnât mind the âgotchaâ label.
https://www.cjr.org/the-interview/the-interview-assassin.php
11 days ago
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I think this is a bit of a straw man argument. While I agree that subscription-funded newsletters won't single handedly "save" the media industry, I do think they're helping to cushion the blow as legacy media contracts. And while most creators won't be able to generate full-time incomes from their
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Patron-Supported Journalism Canât Be the Future of News
Writing about the failure of patron-supported journalism is itself a kind of...
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/patron-supported-journalism-cant-be-the-future-of-news
11 days ago
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It seems like Vogue has given up on being a mass market media brand and instead is doubling down on bespoke, invite-only events that showcase its cultural influence. The hope here is that upscale brands will continue to want to tap into that influence, even while the magazine's overall reach is shri
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Brave New Vogue World
Even after Vogue Worldâs Hollywood turn, many industry observers remain uncertain about the purpose of the traveling pop-up magazine. Naturally, much of the head-scratching ties back to the fact that ...
https://puck.news/why-vogue-world-exists-at-all/
12 days ago
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It seems pretty clear that David Ellison's main strategy is spending tens of billions of dollars of his dad's money to gobble up every available media company and just hope that this mountain of IP will make the combined Skyedance-Paramount-WBD behemoth more competitive against the Netflixes and You
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David Ellison Is Moving Fast and Spending Big to Remake Hollywood
The industry is rooting for him to revive Paramount. His pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has some worried.
https://www.wsj.com/business/media/david-ellison-paramount-warner-a688b371
12 days ago
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The biggest YouTubers are devoting significant budgets toward paying social media "clippers" who are responsible for chopping up longform videos into viral-ready clips made for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. Rather than charging a flat fee, these clippers are often paid based on their view c
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Paid Armies of 'Clippers' Boost Internet Stars Like MrBeast
Anthony Fujiwara, 23, created Clipping to turn online starsâ content into viral videos
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-28/paid-armies-of-clippers-boost-internet-stars-like-mrbeast
12 days ago
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Taylor Sheridan not only churned out hit after hit for Paramount, he also became one of the few showrunners whose name alone could drive buzz around a new series. Despite this success, industry analysts are divided over whether it's a huge loss for Paramount that he defected to NBCU given that the f
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Did Paramount Blow It By Losing Taylor Sheridan?
With one of TV's biggest creators ditching Paramount for NBCUniversal, two Hollywood Reporter writers debate the latest drama at David Ellison's corral.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/paramount-taylor-sheridan-nbcuniversal-1236411363/
12 days ago
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A leftist podcast that originally launched to cover the Epstein case now generates over $182,000 a month on Patreon. They're known by their fans for going deep on issues, releasing multi-part series on topics ranging from Tesla to obscure cults.
www.gq.com/story/truean...
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TrueAnon Saw How Twisted Politics Were About to Get. Hereâs What They Say Is Coming Next
âEverything weâve covered is coming to a head with the Trump administration in a very weird way,â says Liz Franczak, one third of the cult podcast.
https://www.gq.com/story/trueanon-podcast-profile
12 days ago
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Nicholas Thompson, the CEO of the Atlantic, is one of the fastest ultra-marathoners in the world. He wrote a wonderful essay about how running has served as a stabilizing force in both his career and family life by teaching him the benefits of slow and steady progress.
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Why I Run
I took up the sport to be like my father. I kept going because he stopped.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/12/the-running-ground-memoir/684633/
13 days ago
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In the 2010s, rightwing media pundits like Ben Shapiro and Charlie Kirk realized they could create viral video clips by selectively editing debates with liberal opponents -- many of whom were college students and other unknown figures. Now, some liberal pundits are embracing similar strategies, stag
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Debate Shows Are Having a Moment. Here Come the Democrats.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/business/media/online-debates-democrats.html
13 days ago
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