AI is giving rise to vibe coding while old conventions fall away. Thinking on your feet is now more important than rehearsed, polished presentation, which soon can be done with the push of a button. It’s time to find your inner Rick Rubin. Plus: How to build an enterprise brand. Show Notes: PvA Weekend Fan Mail Vibe Coding Creative AI Superpowers You're Not Using Yet A love letter to LA ---------------------------------------- Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's PvA Weekend newsletter Brian Morriss...
Mar 14, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 125
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 reading is dying or just in a format transition. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter B...
Mar 07, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 124
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 YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , Brian and Troy &n...
Feb 28, 2025•44 min•Season 3Ep. 123
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, turning AI into a true research assistant. Anonymous Banker joins to break down AI’s irrational valuations and why X’s debt sel...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Season 3Ep. 122
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 archives Garys Economics Merlin Bird ID Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow&...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 121
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 program. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex ...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 120
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 Tech AI pool party. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsle...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 119
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 YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 118
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 obsession. We can measure more than ever, so we gravitate to squeezing out incremental gains and sometimes lose sight...
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 117
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 YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , ...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 116
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 newsletter Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter...
Jan 03, 2025•56 min•Season 3Ep. 115
Podcasting challenges late nite, lying in media, shopping as content, super consumers and Alex rediscovers America at Disney. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 114
Tech has swallowed media, and is increasingly swallowing other industries and accruing power along the way. Plus: why adding a chatbot won’t save the article page, the real message of the big ad holding company merger, and an introduction to the new PvA companion product. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 113
Prediction market + news; media’s bifurcating star system; media’s management-labor divide; AI + browsers; car talk; LinkedIn cringe Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 112
This week: The internet comes to life as spectacle, Elon proclaims you are the media, why publishers need to get to the transactional level, and an assessment of a new MAGA cultural aesthetic. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 111
This week on People vs. Algorithms, we unpacked London’s charm, the shifting dynamics of media and search, and why Google’s dominance feels both indispensable and fragile. Troy and I contrasted American and British publishing cultures—bigger isn’t always better, as UK publishers adapt to constraints with scrappy innovation. Search’s transformation, fueled by AI and shifts in Google’s strategy, dominated our discussion. While it offers consumers better tools, publishers are left scrambling, quest...
Nov 22, 2024•51 min•Season 3Ep. 110
The election in many ways confirmed what many had suspected: the information space has superceded and subsumed the traditional media world. Traditional media is now just one node, and perhaps more alarmingly its influence – and ability to persuade – has drastically declined. We talk in this episode about the implications of this shift, particularly with the spotlight now on what’s being called the manosphere, a chaotic loose confederation of podcasters and YouTubers who have seemingly broken thr...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 109
We run through the implications of the return of Donald Trump to the presidency after an election that saw the mainstream news media making way for new power brokers in unusual guises. The podcast election proved to be real – and a harbinger of changes to come as the Information Space subsumes the Fourth Estate. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , Brian and ...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 108
Complex is a digital media survivor. It has lived many lives, including as a magazine, a dot-com, an ad network, Go90 (RIP) provider, YouTube showrunner, events organizer, hot sauce merchant, neglected BuzzFeed brand, and now in its latest iteration as a commerce engine. Complex President Moksha Fitzgibbons joins the show to discuss his return to Complex, where he was an integral part of the founding team going back to its Marc Ecko days, and how the youth culture brand is betting on combining i...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Season 3Ep. 107
There’s a new consensus about the media business that is emerging. The past is not coming back, that much is for certain. The challenges are well known, and the bright spots — and they exist — tend to be smaller and harder to scale. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Human Computer Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter...
Oct 25, 2024•54 min•Season 3Ep. 106
Mass media’s extinction event has come first for text content. Text is increasingly being "pushed down the stack" and commoditized due to AI's ability to generate, manipulate, and reformat text content. This shift is forcing media companies that primarily deal in text to adapt or risk becoming obsolete. While text isn't disappearing entirely, its role is changing. It's becoming more of an input for other forms of media rather than the primary output. Meanwhile, other parts of media are gaining i...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 105
This week, we take a look at making bets that go wrong, and how it’s often difficult to tell if a bet is a bad one in the short term. Was Meta’s bet on VR a bad bet? Maybe in the short term, but perhaps not in the long term. Media companies have made their fair share of bad bets over the years, although there weren’t many options available. Will the parade of AI deals join the pile of bad bets? Plus… Good Product with a VERY special guest Steve Katelman. Donald Trump says he’s ‘basically a truth...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 104
This week, we discuss a new framework for the media industry that separates content into two distinct categories: "above the line" and "below the line" media. The line in question represents the threshold of human uniqueness in content creation. Above it lies the territory where human creativity, insight, and expertise still reign supreme. Below it, we find the realm increasingly dominated by AI-driven processes and automation. Plus: Taylor Lorenz and the question of whether packaged media can r...
Oct 04, 2024•51 min•Season 3Ep. 103
The heart of organizations is tension, which when productive can lead to great outcomes. If it goes to extremes, disaster. This week, we discuss tension at OpenAI between its non-profit mission and massive ambitions, the tensions of hacking attention to sell products, the Trump tension between the truth and making a valid a point, and the tension between tech changing consumer expectations and media business models. Episode links: NotebookLM from Google. Seb Young's music project, Chronically Of...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 102
We discuss the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google as a classic case of fighting the last war. And even if Google’s monopoly is dismantled, history shows to be careful of what you wish for because what comes next could be worse. Plus: Airmail’s weird business, the struggles at Food52 and why chicken parm is a great American product. Watch us on YouTube Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities Fol...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 101
This week we’re joined by Emily Sundberg and celebrate our 100th episode, talking about classic topics like X vs Threads and is Silence the best product. Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 100
Founders can force change that managers (call them operators) can’t, at least as efficiently. Plus: AI land grab update, Gannett’s commerce play goes away, and the Sicilian tonnara and summer books. Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 99
This is shaping up to be a TikTok election where relatability is at a premium. The successful rollout of the Harris-Walz ticket is moving authenticity from loudly telling the truths others dare not to something softer and more familiar. Plus: the recalibration of remote work, AI backlash and the difficulty of deciding level of spending on content as the weight of many publisher models shifts to indirect monetization paths. Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Reboot...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 98
This week, we discuss conversations vs interviews, why social networking has been replaced by algorithmic content, YouTube’s pivotal role in the emerging media space, and why the Olympics were a great media product. Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twitter Skip to topic: 00:59 Introduction 04:22 Diving into the Elon Musk and Donald Trump Convers...
Aug 15, 2024•43 min•Season 2Ep. 97
A federal judge has ruled Google a monopoly for locking up distribution with Apple. We discuss the percent and likely impact. Also, memes as the media format of the moment, as they become how big events like the Olympics and presidential election become participatory. Meanwhile, YouTube is becoming modern TV. Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities Follow Alex , Brian and Troy on Twi...
Aug 08, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 96
