Monologue: It's The Beginning Of History - Better Offline

In this week's Better Offline monologue, Ed Zitron talks about the end of tech’s hypergrowth era, generative AI’s failure as a business model, and why we need to stop looking to the past to prove that the future will work out. Free newsletter tie-in: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-beginning-of-history/  Save $10 off a year of my premium newsletter: 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 and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron https://www.instagram.com/edzitron https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com https://www.threads.net/@edzitron Email Me: [email protected]

»Posting is an ART. There is no Bushido in generating images«

My favourite take-away quote from the brilliant "Hater Season" series by @Zitron (the one with @Quinnypig).

#genai #ai #betteroffline #aws

Have fun with Educational* Zitron and the host of Last Podcast on the Left, Henry Z.

"Better Offline", episode "Hater Season: Henry Zebrowski".

Here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.podbean.com/ea/dir-ns6xd-2bd8bd33

* Autocorrect changed Ed to Educational. Which would be a legit first name in the US because we punish kids for fun, but it is just cute here because the podcast is educational, 😃.

#Podcast #betteroffline #tech

Hater Season: Henry Zebrowski

Better Offline’s “Hater Season” - an ongoing roundtable with tech’s greatest haters - continues as Ed is joined by Henry Zebrowski of Last Podcast on the Left to talk about Business Idiots, the metaverse, and the beauty of the human mind.https://www.patreon.com/cw/lastpodcastontheleft youtube.com/@lpntv 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 YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron https://www.instagram.com/edzitron https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com https://www.threads.net/@edzitron Email Me: [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yeah hot damn listening to these guys is a great reminder that I'm not alone in this #BetterOffline #NoAI

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-better-offline-150284547/episode/hater-season-henry-zebrowski-326372271/

Hater Season: Henry Zebrowski - Better Offline | iHeart

<p>Better Offline’s “Hater Season” - an ongoing roundtable with tech’s greatest haters - continues as Ed is joined by Henry Zebrowski of Last Podcast on the Left to talk about Business Idiots, the metaverse, and the beauty of the human mind.<br><br><a href='https://www.patreon.com/cw/lastpodcastontheleft'>https://www.patreon.com/cw/lastpodcastontheleft</a> <br>youtube.com/@lpntv</p> <p>Please support me by subscribing to my premium newsletter - here’s $10 off your first year of annual <a href='https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/84rt762qen'>https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/84rt762qen</a></p> <p>YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to <a href='https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline'>https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline</a> and use code <strong>FREE99</strong> for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.</p> <p>---</p> <p>LINKS: <a href='https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks'>https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks</a></p> <p>Newsletter: <a href='https://www.wheresyoured.at/'>https://www.wheresyoured.at/</a></p> <p>Reddit: <a href='https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/'>https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/</a> </p> <p>Discord: <a href='https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv'>chat.wheresyoured.at</a></p> <p>Ed's Socials:</p> <p><a href='https://twitter.com/edzitron'>https://twitter.com/edzitron</a></p> <p><a href='https://www.instagram.com/edzitron'>https://www.instagram.com/edzitron</a></p> <p><a href='https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com'>https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com</a></p> <p><a href='https://www.threads.net/@edzitron'>https://www.threads.net/@edzitron</a></p> <p>Email Me: <a href='mailto:[email protected]'>[email protected]</a></p><p>See <a href='https://omnystudio.com/listener'>omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

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@mttaggart I think we'll find an optimal path. Web to find meetups, #betteroffline. RSS webrings. Trust circles. Comments off. Algo disabled. A generation of kids raised sick of it before their 20s.

There are natural consequences. Code has to work. If it works, craftsmanship didn't matter. If someone can change it, it was fine. If someone never has to change it, the design didn't matter.

There is still human connection. If someone put effort in, and aren't lying, I will appreciate their effort. If someone prompts and that's all they did, I'm not going to care. It's not art. Some stuff is boring *and* impressive and art and not business cat. 🐱 TempleOS, 64KB demoscene, the golden disc on the Voyager spacecraft.

I saw someone say there’s an episode of #BetterOffline at #CES2026 where Ed Zitron pushes back on Cory Doctorow a bit about AI/LLMs. Anyone know which one it was? I want to go look for it, but there are several CES eps with Cory so it could take a minute.

#podcasts #noAI #enshittification #EdZitron

Monologue: No, Something Big Isn't Coming | Better Offline

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Better Offline | iHeart

Better Offline is a weekly show exploring the tech industry’s influence and manipulation of society - and interrogating the growth-at-all-costs future that tech’s elite wants to build. Combining narrative-form storytelling, one-on-one interviews and panel-based discussions, Better Offline cuts through the buzzwords and obfuscation of the tech industry, investigating and evaluating the schemes and scams of everyone from cryptocurrency scumbags to the greediest of the venture capital elite. Tech industry veteran Ed Zitron and a dynamic coterie of guests will help listeners understand the who, how and why of how tech’s most powerful players are changing the world - for better or for worse.

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The theme song of the Better Offline podcast has no right to be this good.

What a banger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhZ7ZVWd3dE

#betterOffline #MattOsowski #Music #Podcast #themeSong

Better Offline Theme Song

YouTube

@nnedi
Congratulations! Your book deserves it.

Also, listening to the coverage of #CES2026 last week and the exoskeletons they tested on the #ItCouldHappenHere podcast and the #BetterOffline podcast reminded me of the exoskeleton use in Death of the Author. They're not to the level of your novel, but I had no idea they were so far along now.

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/episode/best-and-worst-non-ai-products-317064925/

Best and Worst (non AI) Products at CES - It Could Happen Here | iHeart

<p>From exoskeletons, rolling laptops, and VR therapy, Robert and Garrison discuss the some of the products at CES 2026 that aren't powered by AI and ChatGPT.</p><p>See <a href='https://omnystudio.com/listener'>omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

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