People vs Algorithms

People vs Algorithms

Troy Young, Brian Morrissey, Alex Schleifer

Episodes 189
Avg. Duration 1h
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.5 (56)
Since Aug 2022
Latest Episode Jun 2026

Outreach Signals

Features Guests

Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
100%
Hosting
api.substack.com

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

Uncovering patterns of change in media, culture, and technology, each week media veterans Brian Morrissey, Alex Schleifer and Troy Young break down stuff that matters. Get our newsletters: https://www.peoplevsalgorithms.com/ https://www.therebooting.com/

www.peoplevsalgorithms.com

Social Media

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

S4E188 The Abundance Economy

Jun 12, 2026 1h 22m

Seen one way, AI has democratized the creative process. Seen another, we are swimming in a sea of mediocrity that inevitably crowds out attention to human-led creativity. Plus: Handicapping Hot AI…

S4E187 The AI Pushback

Jun 05, 2026 1h 17m

ChatGPT is advertising it as a souped-up Clippy to help with date-night recipes and sibling road trips. What happened to superintelligence and curing cancer? Disruptive forces always invite pushback,…

S4E186 Homines Contra Algorithmos

May 29, 2026 1h 18m

We debate the commodification of the human experience, why the upside-down token economics is a more pressing near-term concern, the religious zeal behind SpaceX's valuation, and why HR is the new…

S4E185 Steroid Olympics

May 22, 2026 58m

This week, we discuss the chaotic transition to an AI-augmented era, the roiling backlash trying to slow it down, and how we’ll come to terms with a weird new world. Plus: The dénouement of the scale…

S4E184 Clauditis

May 15, 2026 1h 10m

Meanwhile, Anthropic is on a $50 billion run rate and raising at a $900b valuation. We look back to the dawn of the assembly line, when workers suffered from “Forditis," a condition of despair caused…

S4E183 Monkey Business

May 08, 2026 1h 2m

While some of this is cover for overhiring during the ZIRP era, there's clearly a move to cut the "coordination tax" that exists within companies. And what starts in tech always moves downstream.…

S4E182 The Clipping Economy

May 01, 2026 1h 5m

This week we dig into how the clip has become the unit of cultural currency and whether it's creating a mass delusion about what people actually want and what is popular. Also: a Waymo hostage…

S4E181 Spooning the Gravy

Apr 24, 2026 1h 15m

Troy’s vibe coding project has moved into high gear, as institutional and personal memory becomes the point of leverage with media’s ultimate goal shifting to how to get the right people in the…

S4E180 Humans in the Loop

Apr 17, 2026 1h 6m

Troy unveils his vibe-coded media system that produces a daily briefing based on his entire media diet, underpinned with a memory layer that acts as a second brain of PvA thinking. This would turn…

S4E179 The Great Media Reorientation

Apr 10, 2026 1h 13m

B2B is a refuge; see the Acquired ad rates. The Boston Globe's TikTok star Emily Sweeney proves a Dorchester accent is leverage when the internet has flattened everything. The next newsroom brawl…

S4E178 New Media Energy

Apr 03, 2026 1h 18m

Troy and Brian react to OpenAI buying TBPN: It pays to have viewpoints and approaches that are preferred by the powerful. FeedMe's Emily Sundberg joins as a guest this week. We discuss why new media…

S4E177 The War on Slop

Mar 27, 2026 1h 6m

OpenAI is pivoting to the enterprise, Kentucky farmers are modern folk heroes by not selling their land for a datacenter, and Meta and YouTube get the Big Tobacco treatment. Plus: Troy gives a…

S4E176 First Principles Meet the Real World

Mar 20, 2026 1h 23m

But physiotherapists still use accountants, dentists are in great shape and our own vibe coding experiments run into snags. Plus: The return of Travis Kalanick and the Mount Rushmore of tech titans,…

S4E175 Systems Are King

Mar 13, 2026 1h 9m

YouTube became a $550 billion juggernaut by building the infrastructure: the algorithm, the ad stack, the creator revenue share, the living room app. It spent more on content than almost anyone else…

S4E174 Hating the Player and the Game

Mar 06, 2026 59m

Block’s 40% employee purge says more about Jack Dorsey’s CEO skills than AI. David Zaslav gets only a PE golf clap for making Warner Bros shareholders money. McDonald’s CEO becomes a symbol of…

S4E173 The AI Reckoning

Feb 27, 2026 1h 7m

Data shows widespread trepidation over the AI, whether it’s datacenter construction or possible job displacement, yet little public discussion has taken place. We discuss how that’s changing as AI…

S4E172 Best/Worst of Times

Feb 20, 2026 1h 4m

They unpack the "orality thesis" and what the shift from written to spoken culture means for how we think, communicate, and vote. On the media side, they map out what's actually working right now:…

S4E171 AI Anxiety

Feb 13, 2026 1h

The age of AI is off to a shambolic start. Anthropic and OpenAI ran Super Bowl ads that fell flat. The gap is widening between the AI-pilled true believers and the Normals, as AI becomes yet another…

S4E170 Reputation Matters

Feb 06, 2026 1h 2m

Meanwhile, brands are facing reputational crises from their ties to the government as Scott Galloway calls for a boycott of companies who sell their products to ICE. Jeff Bezos’ well-earned…

S4E169 Mind Control

Jan 30, 2026 1h 12m

Today’s mind control comes in the form of black-box algorithmic recommendation systems, autonomous robotics and agentic AI systems. The trust gap has arrived for algorithms, as seen by the backlash…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does People vs Algorithms have?

People vs Algorithms has published 189 episodes since August 2022, covering topics in Business News, News.

Is People vs Algorithms still active?

People vs Algorithms is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 1h.

How do I contact People vs Algorithms for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for People vs Algorithms, including email and social media links.

Similar Podcasts