People vs Algorithms

Mar 07 2025 125 ep. 57 mins 37
People vs Algorithms Podcast artwork

Uncovering patterns of change in media, culture, and technology, each week media veterans Brian Morrissey, Alex Schleifer and Troy Young break down stuff that matters. Get our newsletters: https://www.peoplevsalgorithms.com/ https://www.therebooting.com/

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Getting Chegged

Mar 07 2025 71 mins  
Online education company Chegg is suing Google for AI Overviews and might become the first major company felled by AI. We go over the hitlist of others at risk of getting Chegged, including SEO-dependent publishers, SaaS companies and even the email newsletter industrial complex. Plus: Why Lenny Rachitsky has succeeded, the case against all-inclusive resorts and a debate on whether

Arbitrage Media

Feb 28 2025 44 mins  
Troy’s at “advanced” tennis camp, so Brian and Alex discuss the shifting dynamics of the newsletter and video game markets. Newsletters are entering into bubble territory, while parts of the video game market are losing ground after a long run of robust growth. Plus: an urban redevelopment good product.Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morri

Messy Media

Feb 21 2025 84 mins  
Media has never been neat, but it’s getting messier. This week, Brian and Troy explore how AI is reshaping the creative process, how different personality-driven brands thrive on particular platforms, and the developing messy aesthetic of modern media that’s spreading to earnings calls and product launches. Troy shares how OpenAI’s Projects feature changed his workflow, turni

The Great Realignment

Feb 14 2025 65 mins  
This week, we examine the great realignment as tech and government unite to assert US tech dominance over ideas of digital sovereignty. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed plans its own social platform, despite toothpaste rarely going back into the tube. Plus: assessing OpenAI’s grandiose Super Bowl ad.SOLSTICE - 5: Forgotten archivesGarys EconomicsMerlin Bird IDWatch us on YouTubeTroy Young's P

Does AI need an iPhone moment?

Feb 07 2025 68 mins  
This week, on the heels of OpenAI releasing Deep Research, we assess whether AI has caught on with regular people beyond kicking the tires on ChatGPT. Maybe the AI Super Bowl ads will make it more appealing. Plus: the memeification and financialization of everything, volatility as the norm, X shows signs of a financial turnaround and alarm clocks with apps and a subscription progra

Decentralized Work

Jan 31 2025 72 mins  
The nature of work and careers is undergoing profound changes that are often obscured by debates over return-to-work mandates. This week we consider the rise of decentralized work that’s networked and elevates autonomy over outdated command and control approaches developed in a different century. Plus: a celebration of Data Privacy Day and Deepseek’s cannonball into the Big Tec

Tech Oligarchy

Jan 24 2025 63 mins  
Our tech overlords reported for duty to Washington while Troy perused the powder at Davos. This week, we go beyond first principles to consider the second-order impact of a politicized tech elite. Plus: The Washington Post gets a BHAG and CNN plots a post-TV future. Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleif

The Gospel of Productivity

Jan 17 2025 67 mins  
Economic growth requires labor productivity. We all aspire, in our own ways, to be productive, if only because our productivity is directly tied to our rewards. Yet American labor productivity has stagnated since the first decade of the internet coming to business. AI is now held out as the latest savior to productivity.Modern productivity culture is an outgrowth of optimization ob

Zuckerberg’s Capitulation, Rabbit Holes and the War on Attention

Jan 10 2025 63 mins  
This week, we discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s craven capitulation on content moderation, even if it was an inevitable decision; the upside of algorithmic rabbit holes vs the downside of the commodification of attention; and how creator culture is reshaping trust in media institutions. Plus: why the Ninja Creami and IVs are good products.Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorit

The Information Space in 2025

Jan 03 2025 55 mins  
This week, we discuss the outlook in 2025 for legacy media (not great), alternative media (much better), chat as a new media mode, X emerging as a critical power center, and culture wars morphing into class wars.The Information Space in 2025 newsletterWatch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human Comp