Best Of: How To Change Alt Right Minds, with ContraPoints

The Supreme Court is the latest branch of government to kicktok TikTok to the curb—at least under its present Chinese ownership. Max and Jon break down what may happen to the app over the next few days and explain how a newly inaugurated President Trump could change its fate. Until then, Americans are fleeing the presumed CCP-controlled platform for an explicitly CCP-controlled platform: RedNote. The guys wade through the online takes and discuss whether the TikTok ban is actually a violation of First Amendment rights, why Mark Zuckerberg’s MAGAfication might be related to TikTok’s demise and how Joe Biden incorporated Offline talking points into his farewell address. 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.

19 Jan 1h 23min

Offline’s favorite foe of Big Tech, FTC Chair Lina Khan, joins the show to talk to Jon about standing up to Meta and Amazon, how the internet has changed the way monopolies operate, and why her work has made her an unlikely folk hero. Plus: Max and Jon sit down to talk about the misinformation spreading about the Los Angeles fires, Meta’s decision to abandon fact checking, and the last ditch efforts to save TikTok before the US ban takes effect next week. 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.

12 Jan 1h 6min

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy joins Offline to share his final prescription for the nation He and Jon talk about why his parting message is all about community, the online reaction to the United Healthcare assassination, and how young people are struggling to find depth and meaning in a culture that glorifies fame and wealth. Then, Max and Jon answer listener-submitted questions, Jon recommits himself to posting on social media, and Jeremiah Johnson returns to the pod to discuss the worst tweets of 2024. 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.

22 Dec 20241h 27min

The more we learn about the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the more his digital footprint falls into the Offline wheelhouse. Luigi Mangione has posted about Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price; on Twitter he follows everyone from AOC to Ezra Klein to Joe Rogan. And don’t get us started on his Goodreads profile! Jon and Max talk through the internet's embrace of a suspected murderer, and whether the edgelords really believe what they’re posting. But first! The DC Circuit Court of Appeals rejected TikTok’s attempt to overturn an impending ban, which is scheduled to take effect next month—unless Trump or SCOTUS intervene. Plus, Max rants about the American Society of Anesthesiologists and Jon talks about what drove him to write an article for The Atlantic.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.

15 Dec 202456min

How often do you talk to someone you disagree with—not in a Twitter pile on, but face to face?  With Donald Trump’s inauguration fast approaching (plus holidays full of opinionated relatives), Jon sits down with Dave Isay, the founder of StoryCorps, to talk about the healing power of conversation. StoryCorps is a segment on NPR’s Morning Edition, a podcast and the largest single archive of personal narratives in the world. Since 2016, it’s also facilitated conversations between Republicans and Democrats as part of its One Small Step Initiative, and the results are surprisingly heartwarming. Jon and Dave talk about strategies to overcome political polarization, what we learn when we talk to strangers, and how to have productive conversations with people who disagree with you. 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.

8 Dec 202443min

While Offline is on a break this week, enjoy some of the best moments from the Crooked subscription exclusive show Terminally Online. Listen to learn more than you ever needed to know about the nuanced art of Balkan breakfast, RFK’s horny TikTok history, the ghosts in Tucker Carlson’s bedroom, and the complex backstory of the Costco Guys.If you want more, head to Crooked.com/Friends and subscribe! You'll get Terminally Online and other subscriber shows, and it's the best way to support Crooked Media as we build an independent, progressive media company.

1 Dec 202434min

Jon got piled on last week for tweeting that activist groups have pushed the Democratic Party out of supermajority territory. Waleed Shahid, a progressive strategist who’s worked for Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Justice Democrats, joins the show for an offline version of his and Jon’s online debate. Waleed explains why he thinks the blame is misplaced, and Jon weighs in on who—or what—is behind Democratic leaders losing touch with their base. But first! Trump’s new head of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, is a Project 2025 author. What does this mean for social media, free speech, and Elon Musk’s ventures? Plus, new exit polling shows late-deciding, swing voters had wildly inaccurate beliefs about Kamala Harris’s policy positions. Is hyper-targeted misinformation a permanent part of our electoral process 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.

24 Nov 20241h 18min

Somehow the interminable “who is the liberal Joe Rogan” debate is still raging a week after the election. Jeremiah Johnson, co-director of the Center for New Liberalism and author of the substack “Infinite Scroll” joins Offline to explain what the Rogan question gets wrong, how Democrats should expand their tent, and why we all need to stop scrolling and start making things. But first! BlueAnon is at it again. Jon and Max break down election conspiracy theories—this time from liberals—and walk through how Trump will approach AI, crypto, and TikTok as president. Then, Offline producers Austin Fisher and Emma Illick-Frank sit down with the guys to compare draft picks for the left’s Joe Rogan, and to youthsplain the internet’s best and brightest. 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.

17 Nov 20241h 32min