Why America is Suffering a 'Friendship Recession'
Americans have never spent so much time alone. And alone time is rising sharply for every demographic—young and old, male and female, white and non-white, metro and rural. But is aloneness the same as...
29 Nov 202259min
Thanksgiving Mega-Pod: Bob Iger’s Power Grab, SBF’s Scandal, and Elon Musk’s Omnishambles
Today’s episode is a Thanksgiving feast of corporate scandal and media gossip. Derek kicks things off with a big-picture theory for why everything in tech and media seems to be falling apart at the sa...
22 Nov 20221h 26min
If China Invades Taiwan, Is It World War III?
Today’s episode is about China’s turn toward authoritarianism—and why it might be one of the most important stories in the world. If you don’t know a lot about China—if you’ve been interested or aston...
18 Nov 202248min
A Crypto Catastrophe: The Stunning Fall of FTX—and What Comes Next
Derek shares his thoughts on the meltdown of crypto exchange FTX and the disgrace of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, before welcoming veteran finance journalist William D. Cohan to discuss the history...
15 Nov 202247min
Instant Reaction Pod: Midterm Election Winners, Losers, Surprises, and Takeaways
The polls were right; the vibes were wrong. Democrats seem to have blocked the Republican wave by riding “Dobbs and democracy.” Trump lost, and extremism lost. DeSantis won, and Florida is a red state...
9 Nov 202217min
Elon Musk's Reign of Chaos and Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse Madness
The Musk regime is off to a chaotic start at Twitter. In barely a week or two of ownership, Elon has already overseen a collapse in advertising revenue, announced a pivot to subscriptions, attempted t...
7 Nov 202248min
America in the Age of Conspiracy: Q-Anon, JFK, Aliens, and More
Americans are unusually conspiratorial as a nation. But in the last week, we have really outdone ourselves. The beating of Paul Pelosi—husband of the Speaker of the House—by a Q-Anon conspiracy theori...
4 Nov 20221h 2min
How the U.S. Housing Market Became Such a Dumpster Fire
Skyrocketing mortgage rates. Rent prices falling by their fastest pace in years (from their highest inflation rate in decades). Buyers and sellers are freaked out. What the hell is going on with Ameri...
1 Nov 202244min
