Offline with Jon Favreau

Episoder

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  Andrew Yang Still Wants To Give You $1,000 25.07.2026 1t 6min

  Was Andrew Yang ahead of his time? When he ran for president in 2020 on a platform of universal basic income and the threat of AI job displacement, people didn’t take him seriously. Now, Andrew's got even more ideas on AI and UBI, how our political system should deal with it all, and whether it can be done with only two parties. He and Jon discuss how the Forward Party’s independent candidates could spoil elections for Republicans, his new book of essays “Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Buck?” and why he’s decided to join the cast of a new television game show: Nation’s Dumbest.For a transcript of this show, email transcripts@crooked.com
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  Posting My L's On Maine 18.07.2026 58min

  What lessons have Democrats learned from the Graham Platner debacle…and what are their chances of finally unseating Senator Susan Collins with a campaign timeline that’s evaporating faster than you can say Harris-Walz 2024? Alex Seitz-Wald, deputy editor of The Midcoast Villager in Maine, joins Offline to explain how Platner’s scandal-plagued campaign was perceived online vs. on the ground, and why Mainers are done with people who are “from away.”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, episode title, and episode date.
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  Billionaires vs. Journalists 11.07.2026 51min

  What exactly is happening inside CBS News, and how much is Bari Weiss to blame? How are journalists at CNN feeling about becoming the Ellisons' next target? And what has corporate consolidation done to the media? Oliver Darcy, founder and writer of Status and former senior media reporter for CNN, joins Offline to break it all down. He and Jon also discuss Comcast's announcement that it may spin off NBC, what's going on at Jeff Bezos's Washington Post, and why Oliver has taken his reporting independent.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, episode title, and episode date.
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  What Is A Human For? 27.06.2026 1t 4min

  AI is creating a crisis of agency where people are becoming paranoid that they’re being manipulated, suckered, and ultimately replaced. Charlie Warzel joins Offline to elaborate on his Atlantic essay, “The Feeling of Control Slipping Away,” which illustrates the myriad ways AI is driving people insane. He and Jon talk about whether human creativity is endangered, if AI is anything more than a corporate black-box, and what it means to be human when a robot can do everything better than you. They also discuss Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO, what its valuation means and Musk's efforts to rewrite DOGE's devastating legacy, as well as his own. Correction: The bot farm startup whose tagline is "never pay a human again" is misstated in this episode. The startup is Doublespeed, not Superhuman.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, episode title, and episode date.
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  Why You Should Love America 20.06.2026 1t 6min

  Progressives are highly critical of America, and for good reason. But we are losing more than problematic idols and ideals when we abandon patriotism. Jerusalem Demsas, founder and editor of “The Argument,” argues that if we’re going to save America, we’ll have to start loving it first.  She joins Offline to explain how liberals have ceded patriotism to the right, why No Kings is starting to fix this, and how to talk about our country’s issues without undermining hope that America still holds promise.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, episode title, and episode date.
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  Has The Left Finally Figured Out the Internet? 13.06.2026 55min

  Ever heard a popular TikToker wax poetic about who they’re voting for? They might be getting paid…and not disclosing by whom. Kyle Tharp, author of the Chaotic Era newsletter, joins Offline to discuss the emergence of pay-for-play political influencers and whether Democrats have made any progress in figuring out the internet. He and Jon talk about the decline of Ben Shapiro and the Daily Wire, the new success of legacy media on TikTok, and the intense grassroots anger around data centers.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, episode title, and episode date.
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  Is Masculinism Holding MAGA Together? 06.06.2026 1t 1min

  Who are the men who want women to be quiet? Author and Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis argues it’s nearly everyone on the right. She joins Offline to make the case that “masculinism” and its mission to reestablish the primacy of men is what unites conservatives more than anything else…except maybe Donald Trump. In reporting her most recent cover story, Helen spoke with so-called intellectuals and leaders of the masculinism movement, many of whom have direct ties to senior MAGA officials, even as they speak openly about repealing women’s rights: to vote, to run for office, and to make basic decisions about work and life. Jon and Helen discuss how influencers profit by preying on young men, how right wing grievances are bleeding into electoral contests across the country, and who can model better masculinity for boys.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, episode title, and episode date.
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  Chatbots, MDMA, and Finding Love in the Digital Era 30.05.2026 55min

  Sonja Lyubomirsky, happiness researcher and author of How to Feel Loved, joins Offline to explain the secret to living a contented life—and why the internet makes it so damn hard. If everyone we love and seek to impress is reachable at all times…why are Americans getting less happy, year after year? Sonja and Jon chat about how social media curation may be seeping offline, the ways our digital lives have affected our ability to form strong relationships, and whether AI could actually help bring under-socialized, under-romanced teens out of their shells.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, episode title, and episode date.
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  Breaking the Cycle of Political Violence 23.05.2026 57min

  Does political violence ever help a social cause? Zayd Ayers Dohrn, playwright and host of Crooked's "Mother Country Radicals," joins Offline to discuss the complicated legacy of radical activism in America. In his new book, Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young, Zayd dives even deeper into the morally ambiguous decisions made by his parents...two founding members of the notorious Weather Underground. He and Jon contemplate what activist actions lead to mass alienation vs. adoption of ideals, why a generation of Americans gravitated towards political violence in the 1970s...and why it's happening again today.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, episode title, and episode date.
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  This Candidacy Is a Test Case for AI Regulation 16.05.2026 53min

  Why is Palantir, the former employer of congressional candidate Alex Bores, currently running attack ads against him...for working at Palantir? New York Assemblymember Alex Bores joins Offline to explain why his stance on AI has made him a target for the biggest dark money super PAC in the country. Then, he and Jon discuss what AI regulation could actually look like if we had a competent government, how to guarantee the dignity of work in an age of full automation, and weather the wealth AI creates could be effectively redistributed back to the people it replaces.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, episode title, and episode date.
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  Healing Our Broken Brains 09.05.2026 52min

  Cal Newport, computer scientist and author of Deep Work, joins Offline to explain why we need a revolution in cognitive fitness, and how AI is going to get in the way. Cal and Jon explore how smartphones and AI are destroying our ability to concentrate, how our attention spans are a third of what they were just twenty years ago, and how we can practice “deep work” in our constantly interrupted digital environment.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, episode title, and episode date.
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  How Screens Have Warped Morality 02.05.2026 55min

  Megan Garber, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the new book Screen People, joins Offline to explain how we’re no longer just an audience for the media we consume; we’re also actors and producers in an endless show of our own creation. She and Jon discuss the corrosive nature of an internet filled with “main characters,” whether it’s possible to overcome screen person syndrome, and why our survival as a country depends on it.
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  God In The Machine 25.04.2026 1t 4min

  With Pope Leo XIV stepping up his criticisms of the Trump administration this month, the president is out for blood...and not the transubstantiated kind. Christopher Hale, author of the Letters from Leo newsletter, joins Offline to explain the real threat this woke offline pope poses to MAGA. He and Jon discuss why the head of the Catholic Church is so obsessed with AI, how the Democratic Party should make space for more religious people, and the wisdom of Leo’s boomerisms like “an algorithm will never replace a hug.”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.
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  The Revolt of the College Grads 18.04.2026 53min

  New York Times journalist Noam Scheiber stops by the pod to talk to Jon about his new book Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class, in which he argues that stagnant wages and rising student debt have changed the economic promise once offered by a college degree. The two discuss how college-educated workers are responding to this new reality, both individually and collectively; how AI may supercharge the pains already felt by new college grads; and how it's all reshaping — and may even break — our political system.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.
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  Sam Altman's Big Little Lies 11.04.2026 55min

  New Yorker journalist Andrew Marantz joins Offline to break down his new investigation into Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Over the course of hundreds of interviews, including over a dozen with Altman himself, Andrew and his coauthor Ronan Farrow unveiled a leader who tells people exactly what they want to hear, whether or not it’s true. Just like the AI model he created! Jon and Andrew discuss the contradictory narratives coming out of OpenAI, whether they could build portals that summon aliens, and how Altman’s resolve to go “founder mode” means he may be headed down the same well-traveled path as many tech oligarchs before him.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.
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  Big Tech's Big Tobacco Moment 04.04.2026 58min

  Mark Zuckerberg is finally being held accountable–not by government regulators, board members or shareholders, but by two lawsuits.
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  Optimism In Our Age of Anxiety 28.03.2026 54min

  Why fight for a better future if we don't believe one is possible? Why organize, why vote? Dr. Deepika Chopra, the "Optimism Doctor," joins the show to talk about the dangers of cynicism, and to explain how optimism is a more rational and democracy-safeguarding response to this political moment. In her new book, The Power of Real Optimism, Dr. Chopra argues that the outlook is neither a trait nor mindset; it's a learnable set of skills that even the most pessimistic among us can incorporate. And it’s an essential safeguard against the paralyzing, numbing effect our media ecosystem has on our brains.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.
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  What We Lose When We Bet on War 23.03.2026 43min

  Life or death decisions are being gamified for profit on online prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. But these platforms may also have the potential to create a modernized—if morally questionable—method of opinion polling. Politico Magazine contributing writer Nancy Scola joins Offline to explain the rise of these markets, the argument for them, and the people in D.C. who stand to gain the most. But first! Senator Chris Murphy stops by the show to break down the brand new BETS OFF Act, which bans wagering on government actions, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where an individual knows or controls the outcome. He and Jon discuss the bill's prospects for passing, and discuss what happens to us spiritually when every moral question becomes a market.
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  Trump's Memeification of War 14.03.2026 1t 3min

  Journalist and historian Anne Applebaum joins Offline to discuss America’s slide towards autocracy, as illustrated through Trump's war of choice in Iran. Anne is a staff writer at The Atlantic, an authoritarianism expert, and the host of the "Autocracy in America" podcast. She and Jon discuss how Trump and the White House are using propaganda to minimize the seriousness of this war, what our president has learned from other autocrats, and why Anne is still hopeful that American democracy can still prevail.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.
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  Endless Slop, Cancer Cures, or Robot Apocalypse? Derek Thompson on Our AI Future 07.03.2026 1t 10min

  Derek Thompson, journalist and co-author of Abundance, joins Offline to hash out some hard truths about AI: who it will actually replace, why we haven’t seen more labor market disruption, and why the Department of War’s battle with Anthropic spells the end of private property rights in America. Then Derek lays out his Postmanesque "Everything Is Television" theory of media for Jon, where politics becomes theater and news becomes performance. The guys wrap it up by discussing how becoming fathers changed their views on parenting—and on living.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.