Better Offline

Cal Newport on Mythos and Anthropomorphization

In this week’s Better Offline, Ed is joined by computer science professor and writer Cal Newport to talk about the Claude Mythos marketing scam, the lies around AI job loss, and why LLMs shouldn’t talk like they’re people. Please support me by subscribing to my premium newsletter - here’s $10 off your first year of annual https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/84rt762qen [https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/84rt762qen]  Podcast & Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@CalNewportMedia/ [https://www.youtube.com/@CalNewportMedia/] Newsletter: https://calnewport.com [https://calnewport.com] New Yorker archive: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/cal-newport [https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/cal-newport] YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. Buy our new “FUCK DATA CENTERS” shirts today! --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Monologue: On Dangerous Rhetoric

In this week's Better Offline monologue, Ed Zitron discusses how AI labs’ dangerous rhetoric around AI capabilities and job loss are antagonizing and terrifying people that are already on edge, and that de-escalation starts with Altman and Amodei talking about LLMs as normal software. This week’s free newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/i-will-never-respect-a-website/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/i-will-never-respect-a-website/] Premium newsletter out later today - the Hater’s Guide to Private Credit - save $10 off a year of my premium newsletter: https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1 [https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1] YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. Buy our new “FUCK DATA CENTERS” shirts today! --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

More, Everything, Forever With Adam Becker

In this week’s Better Offline, Ed Zitron is joined by journalist and astrophysicist Adam Becker to talk about introspection-free venture capital, the Pee-Wee’s Playhouse effect of LLMs, and trying to find a better future to focus on. https://bsky.app/profile/adambecker.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/adambecker.bsky.social]  https://www.youtube.com/@DreamingAgainstTheMachine [https://www.youtube.com/@DreamingAgainstTheMachine]  https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/adam-becker/more-everything-forever/9781541619593/ [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/adam-becker/more-everything-forever/9781541619593/] Save $10 off a year of my premium newsletter: https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1 [https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1] - I’d be so grateful!  YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. Buy our new “FUCK DATA CENTERS” shirts today! --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Investigating Altman With Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz

In a special episode of Better Offline, Ed Zitron is joined by writers Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz of the New Yorker to talk about their massive investigation into Sam Altman, his ouster from OpenAI, and the consequences of trusting Silicon Valley with the future. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted]  Save $10 off a year of my premium newsletter: https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1 [https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1] - I’d be so grateful! YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. Buy our new “FUCK DATA CENTERS” shirts today! --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Reality of AI Economics With Paul Kedrosky

In this week’s Better Offline, Ed Zitron is joined by economist Paul Kedrosky to talk about the large amount of speculative data center land purchases, the brittle NVIDIA GPU economy, and the economic realities of AI. https://paulkedrosky.com/ [https://paulkedrosky.com/] The Nick, Dick and Paul Show: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFbDiETo29GTIjg6Lk4imig [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFbDiETo29GTIjg6Lk4imig] Save $10 off a year of my premium newsletter: https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1 [https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1] - I’d be so grateful! YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. Buy our new “FUCK DATA CENTERS” shirts today! --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.