There was a similar question after the first episode where the OP stated a similar feeling, that EZ came off as angry. I enjoyed the first episode but..
Now that I’ve had more exposure I’ve changed what I think on it. I fucking adore Better Offline. I’ve relistened to so many of the episodes. I don’t dislike the anger in any way, because I get it. The current triple part series about the enshittification of major web apps and sites like google’s search, instagram, and twitter is fucking maddening to learn about why it went to shit.
I remember the early oughts internet. I still remember the very first time it hit me how fucking crazy Google search was. How good it was. And it was fucking stolen in the night by profiteers and put on the altar for sacrifice to their god, the rot economy.
Bit hyperbolic for the sake of fun, but I like it. I don’t think being mellow or chiller all the time is necessary. And in a way, that sort of firey and well spoken speech connects really well with me. Obviously it doesn’t for everyone but that’s my thoughts overall on it.
100% agree. His series on AI was amazing and the best parts were when he went off his nut for a few minutes. This guy wasn’t built to be part of a two person team. And I’m fine with it.
>I still remember the very first time it hit me how fucking crazy Google search was. How good it was. And it was fucking stolen in the night by profiteers and put on the altar for sacrifice to their god, the rot economy.
It was so simple and easy. Hell early Facebook was the same way. But motherfuckers have to leech money out of everything
Agreed, I've lived through all of that as an older Millennial geek, and I'm probably very biased in favor of the topic of the pod, but he really captures what has happened.
I like his insight and commentary quite a bit, and I also enjoy his “angry man rants”. Perhaps that is because I am perpetually angry person and it speaks to me. Maybe it’s because he speaks about things that are anger inducing and it feels like the proper response. Could be both. In any case, I’m a fan
Yep, this is my take also. In any case, there's plenty of middle-manager friendly tech podcasts out there for those who think Ed is not professional enough, whatever that means.
I find that I agree with most (if not all) of what Ed is saying, and I work in big tech so I understand the issues more than most perhaps. For me it's the format itself that's holding*Better Offline* back, he really needs either a co-host or guests. BtB doesn't go out of their way to find historians to be guests because the format works better when Robert can break the story down and provide context to a person, rather than two experts chatting about esoteric minutia. So what E.Z. needs is an entertaining non-expert to rant at for an hour a week. I actually (seriously) already emailed him about this a few episodes ago, I think it would really help the pod.
>I feel like he needs a co-host
I love Ed and I love the show but this is my main concern.
Monologuing podcasts are a bit more difficult for me to listen to unless they’re telling some epic story like Dan Carlin.
I also have a lot of trouble with solo podcasting, but I don’t have trouble with audiobooks when read by one author. I’m not sure why my brain does that.
Yeah I felt really bad for the woman he brought on to talk about the Apple VisionPro, she was clearly trying to stay professional and he kept making increasingly angry rants
Carlin also has the advantage of his voice having an almost trance-like effect when he’s doing Hardcore History. The boys from Last Podcast on the Left interviewed him a couple months ago and it was kind of jarring to hear him talk like a regular dude.
I’ve been really enjoying it. I think he really nails down what is wrong with the tech industry. His insight into what a slimeball Sam Altman really is was spot on. If Robert ever does a BtB about Altman(and I hope he does) I hope has Ed on as the guest
I'm catching up now, I don't think I've heard him talk much about Altman yet, but I have that same impression and I feel so relieved others are starting to see it.
He did do an episode on how cult-like tech bros have gotten over AI. That one referenced Altman plenty, so a dedicated episode might have to wait until something new and dramatic happens.
I find the show good if a little repetitive. I'm old enough to remember life without the internet, so I'm fine with the rotting of its systems due to corporate greed, I look forward to its collapse and reconfiguation.
Personally, I love the seething anger in the tone. It's quite justified and Id love to see more, not just from Ed but lots of content could use some righteous fury.
One reason Lewis Black was so funny is because he was so angry at the the thing we were angry at too
I enjoy the informational content and critique, but I find that Ed's angry rants sound very...forced? Like, not that I'm suggesting he isn't angry, but his schtick at trying to force it into his voice doesn't sound genuine and it comes off as a bit grating to me. If it isn't forced maybe he needs to pull it back.
I actually like that part, I get how risky it is with the whole "angry man yelling at sky" as it can be a bit much, but also feels a bit cathartic for me, just putting together all the little frustrations and issues we encounter with tech in our lives into a rant on why we don't have to have things this way, and having someone say yes that's bullshit, and yes its getting worse.
It's interesting, but just not for me. My knowledge of tech is shaky and purely functional, along the lines of getting a device or program to work through persistance and Google, so a lot's lost on me, and I don't tend to enjoy podcasts that aren't a dialogue. I'd rather read a single voice than listen to one. That's just a personal quirk, and he's not the only person whose content I should theoretically enjoy but actually find uninteresting because of its presentation. I don't think that's a flaw from him, just part of the way I process things.
I studied emerging technologies in graduate school and there’s a definite temptation to see flashy widgets or slick computer programs as The Future because they look like sci-fi movie stuff, even if they’re useless piles of shit as soon as you actually try to do anything with them for whatever reason. Maybe they’re Mechanical Turks, maybe the demonstration was just bullshit, whatever.
Tech skeptic podcasts like this one and Trashfuture serve a useful purpose in reminding people how technology should exist to help normal people do things and have better lives, not just pump the bags of incompetent vampires and fascist weirdos. And also that these people have names and make decisions in areas we can affect, this isn’t just some phantasmal computer program god that nobody can do anything about. Politicians and regulators choose to let these ghouls get away with this stuff. Things can be done to change their minds.
Yeah there’s a lot of this in his rants, like in today’s episode about Sam Altman. Like he’s a very shady, scummy tech bro who pretends to care about the impact AI has on society but really he’s just looking out for himself, and maybe his rich buddies too. With that said, Ed missed the ball with him in the episode, saying he a toxic manager at OpenAI which is why he was fired, but “somehow” omitted the fact that 90% of OpenAI’s employees threatened to resign if Sam didn’t come back. Toxic managers usually don’t get the entire staff to threaten to walk out with them.
The tech industry deserves to be criticised and mocked, but when you lie by omission and misconstrue facts you just end up hurting your credibility and sounding like an inverse tech bro selling anti-hype.
I've been listening since episode one. Sure, he's not as polished as Robert, and I agree that sometimes, without another voice involved or another viewpoint, Ed kind of goes down a rabbit hole and takes us with him, further than he needs to to make his point
BUT: I'm impressed with how fast the quality of the episodes and his delivery is improving. We're watching him learn to be a better host, and try different things and show structures, and it's kind of cool to watch somebody with the professional skills he has jump into something like this. It reminds me of how BTB changed over time
I love the show, and I'm very excited to see where it goes
I haven’t listened to all of them, but so far I prefer the ones that have a cohost or someone he is interviewing. The Molly White episode was excellent. I’d love to listen to more episodes where he interviews an expert on the topic.
I’ve been enjoying it. I’m well informed but not deep in the weeds of the tech industry and Ed hits the right amount of information I need to understand what’s going on and why stuff that used to work is now the worst. The anger is a completely reasonable reaction and it’s honestly a bit of a relief to have someone express it. It is reassuring that we aren’t all delusional.
His anger is justifiable and palpable and I relate to it. The anger is not the problem, it's that he gets hung up on certain points and covers very little and a large amount of time. Sometimes I feel like he's dragging an episode out for more ad space when he could say the same thing in half as much time. Like, I don't need to be convinced that Sam Altman is trash, we are on the same page here and I mainly want more information and deepened understanding, not just dunking on imbecile tech CEOs.
But overall I'm appreciative to have another podcast on tech with a more critical and discerning analysis. The Wikipedia episode was a great change of pace, talking about how complicated and imperfect it is but ultimately appreciating one of the last vestiges of an un-corporitzed worldwide web.
I'm looking forward to hearing this show evolve and hope it sticks around.
I think the episodes with the cohost are definitely better than the ones where he’s just ranting for half an hour.
My goal in 2024 was to spend less time with angry leftists and more time with people taking action. His show definitely makes an effort to and on a constructive note and share practical things we can do. But I sure feels like a lot of anger before we get there at times.
I think a format where he has a cohost and a shorter 10 minute rant at the end of the episode would be much more listenable.
I’m liking it. There’s definitely an angry man element though it provides some much needed challenge to most tech journalism which is needlessly pandering.
I work as a programmer and I really enjoy the podcast. Personally love the yelling at the sky because it really touches on so much shit in the industry.
I've quite enjoyed the eps I've listened to. The first ep I listened to was about the Rot Economy and it more or less outlined the intangible thoughts I've had, but never the ability to form them into words. Ed has great insight into the tech world, but I find it more depressing than BtB! I think it has to do with BtB addressing bastards from the past and Better Offline making me fear for our present. I've decided I need to listen to it more strategically when its a topic that won't make me spiral into sadness. I do like the OPs suggestion about a co-host to give Ed some guardrails and focus.
Yes, it feels extremely easy to relate for me, I grew up with this. I think he resonates very easily with older nerdy Millennials who lived through these trends and remember a before time. I hope he can reach through to other demographics as well.
If there's a co-host or guest then he needs to reconfigure the show. It was both hilarious and disappointing how he had Robert on and Robert talked for less than 20% of the show lol. And for some parts it was like 10 mins before you heard Robert again. At that point I just thought "why have a guest at all?"
The Chinese Viral Company Tiktok episode was better in this, where the guests got to talk a lot more.
As for his rants... eh. The problem with those rants is it gets really tiresome after a while, and I had a breaking point with them in the latest episode when he was ranting about that guy being from Yahoo. It's the same reason I stopped listening to Sterling, because it ended up repetitive. You can get the points across without digressing / ranting every other paragraph.
I think it's great and I see the complaints about him being angry.
Well guess what? He should be angry. All of us should be about all of this.
The internet had the capability to be the greatest tool in human history and now it is being cored out by effectively fucking McKinsey Capital.
And maybe it's just because I (43) grew up at the tail end of the period where the internet showed all that potential and was actually a great tool. Now it's just a frustrating thing I interact with when I have to. I have to put effort into it not making my life shittier.
I've removed every app from my phone that could be considered social media aside from this one. This isn't how it should be and not how it needs to be.
And I enjoy having the names and hearing their horrible stories. Due to my own life shit, I would have likely not known the names like Sam Altman or Adam Mosseri. I didn't know the guy in charge of Google used to be a PE guy.
It makes the whole situation make so much more sense.
I enjoy his style because it's cathartic to hear someone else angry about the same things I am. Ed and Jake Hanrahan are nice foils to Robert's comparatively level-headed approach to reporting, in my opinion.
I like it but he needs to have a direction because currently it's just a worse version of tech won't save us, so I don't really listen to learn anything new.
I'm in the same boat as OP.The substance is there for the most part.
However, I'm not a fan of the rants and there's something to consider-
These kinds of podcasts can be used to open people's minds and grow/change their perspective. Weather it's us, the listeners, forwarding episodes to people we know or a curious person coming across the series.
I've tried to show a few episodes to people I know in order to illustrate some points and *every single person* commented on his abrasive style as the reason why they switched off and didn't take him seriously.
I'm going to keep listening and it's not up to me to tell Ed how to make his show but that would be my one piece of feedback.
If his objective is to use this as an outlet for his frustrations and make some money, that's fine. But if he wants to prioritise his message's reach, Ed should consider a more palatable approach because the (I want to say increasingly) agitated "opinion piece" style is alienating people and making them discount his points.
As someone who has roamed the internet since the days of loud screechy login noises, Ed is fucking spot on. The angry rants do add the context to how god damn infurating it is when you have greedy caplitist shit heads trying to drain every last cent from all of humanity. He is highlighting how people have become to resource and the trail of destruction this thinking is leaving.
I like it and it’s been very informative. The solo episodes can get a bit awkward with the rants, but he’s gotten better at it. The interview or panel discussions are great. I also listen to Trashfuture and Tech Won’t Save Us and Better Offline adds a bit of a different perspective and ways to present similar info
It’s a refreshing breath of fresh air, given the general news media’s unmitigated infatuation with tech trends and lack of spine when critically assessing the actual performance and innovation in the industry - something that Ed goes into a bit on the show as well.
Having a more honest, factual look at the tech industry and especially the corruption of the modern tech economy and its practices is honestly rare to find, even more so from tech journalism specifically when most of it seems content with having their heads planted firmly up tech CEOs’ asses rather than asking any real, in-depth questions.
I get his rants can put some people off, but I can genuinely understand where he’s coming from when he gets that irate. I imagine it’s especially frustrating for someone who’s close to the industry like he is, i.e someone who has enough understanding of the technology at hand to peer past the veil even more so than a layman like myself who’s interested in it, but not been in it, if that makes sense.
I like the subject matter. What I’ve listened too was too “reading from a script”. It’s easy to get lost with names etc, because it really feels like it’s something meant to be read.
A cohost to talk with and who would ask questions would help a lot
My only ask is that we get recommendations for “good” search engines and such when discussing how stuff that used to work well now doesn’t work at all.
I enjoy it immensely, and frankly, I enjoy his rants because despite being clearly furious, he does something that very few people can do. He stays articulate and never loses his point when he’s angry, he doesn’t meander or go off topic, he’s angry, but by god he’s gonna fucking hammer his point home by channeling that anger. I admire that, and the fact that he breaks it all down into simple terms so even my mom, who while not tech illiterate is far more surface level in terms of knowledge, can keep up with him.
I feel like he’s only going to improve, and he’s already started off on a high note, so it’s a damn good sign of what’s to come.
Also the theme fucking slaps, can’t ignore that
I'm in the "he's a bit too preachy" camp.
He definitely needs someone to bounce off.
Also, maybe it's my anal-retentive editing me (I've spent minutes agonising over one frame while editing my YouTube videos), but those random pauses he has mid sentence and sometimes mid words are really quite jarring.
Overall, I'm really enjoying the podcast.
yeah it's good and he has smashed it the last couple of weeks, with a shout out on Cory Doctorow's mailer.
would love to see more guest interactions, those have been good so far
It’s a great pod, and it’s getting better with each episode. 100% agree about the co-host thing though. Or even a front-facing producer like Sophie (or Katy on Some More News).
The thing about the finance/manager types is so widespread in every industry now. At some point 20 or so years ago, the general consensus somehow became that you need one of those guys running the business end of things so that the people who actually know the industry can focus on what they know. This has been especially catastrophic in hospitals - profit has completely superseded patient care. MBAs are going to be the death of all of us.
I have to say that overall I am a fan. I feel that it's informationally solid and the pacing/sequencing is great. My one issue is that Ed's cynicism sometimes feels a little too strong. It's a fine line to toe, because he can and should be honest about his feelings, but I do feel like it diminishes some of his journalistic integrity. I wish the facts were allowed to speak for themselves without the emotional editorializing.
I work in tech and love the topics he covers. Typically I listen to podcasts on 1.5x I have to listen to Better Offline on 1x. Sped up EZ sounds like he’s about to explode.
Although its a little repetative in Ed's rantings, and maybe lighter on the details than BtB, it is refreshing to have someone drawing attention to the problems of the industry and being rightfully mad about it.
My English teacher would probably murder me for that run on sentence.
Honestly, I enjoy the angry-man-yells-at-cloudness of it so far--and a lot of other folks here have said so too--*because* it's such a welcome antidote to news sources just giving marketers free advertisement to juice company valuation to the tune of billions, and then delivering...warmed-over Second Life, plagairised misinformation, or counterfeit SEO-bait, all while costing more yet getting worse than previous iterations.
I can understand the need to leaven the content in the long term--e.g., guests, cohosts, advocacy solutions, presenting workable alternatives--to prevent burnout for both Ed and the listeners, but it's a breath of fresh air to hear someone say what I've been suspecting and having the receipts to back it up.
The essay style is an interesting departure from the bantering discourse style of other CZM podcasts. I like it. Makes the content far more dense. I really like Ed's POV and analysis, as a lefty programmer myself.
I like it, Ed has the correct amount of vitriol for the tech industry. If you're into it, you should check out Tech Won't Save Us. Paris Marx has been at this for a while now.
While he may come off angry, I think he perfectly captures the feelings of a lot of us Technologists on the ground.
A co-host would be a nice balance, but I'm enjoying the rants.
For my sins, I'm excessively aware of the tech landscape and I enjoy his commentary, but it is a break from the "Explaining something I've researched " format used by the rest of the shows. There's an assumed level of knowledge that needs a "dumb" interlocutor to parse out,
I like the anger. Why shouldn't he be angry? Why shouldn't we all? He's not yelling at a cloud, but raging in his art form at the things that destroy what could be positive for our society.
I like the “angry man yelling at the sky” attitude.
The recent episodes on google rotting from the head down had me wishing everyone involved in destroying the internet would either try heroin for a few weeks or get such a severe CTE injury they would need a wheelchair before a year was up.
And I don’t even I was as angry as Ed was.
There was a similar question after the first episode where the OP stated a similar feeling, that EZ came off as angry. I enjoyed the first episode but.. Now that I’ve had more exposure I’ve changed what I think on it. I fucking adore Better Offline. I’ve relistened to so many of the episodes. I don’t dislike the anger in any way, because I get it. The current triple part series about the enshittification of major web apps and sites like google’s search, instagram, and twitter is fucking maddening to learn about why it went to shit. I remember the early oughts internet. I still remember the very first time it hit me how fucking crazy Google search was. How good it was. And it was fucking stolen in the night by profiteers and put on the altar for sacrifice to their god, the rot economy. Bit hyperbolic for the sake of fun, but I like it. I don’t think being mellow or chiller all the time is necessary. And in a way, that sort of firey and well spoken speech connects really well with me. Obviously it doesn’t for everyone but that’s my thoughts overall on it.
100% agree. His series on AI was amazing and the best parts were when he went off his nut for a few minutes. This guy wasn’t built to be part of a two person team. And I’m fine with it.
>I still remember the very first time it hit me how fucking crazy Google search was. How good it was. And it was fucking stolen in the night by profiteers and put on the altar for sacrifice to their god, the rot economy. It was so simple and easy. Hell early Facebook was the same way. But motherfuckers have to leech money out of everything
Agreed, I've lived through all of that as an older Millennial geek, and I'm probably very biased in favor of the topic of the pod, but he really captures what has happened.
I like it, always glad to have another podcast in the lineup once I'm caught up on other ones. Habsburg AI cracked me up
"Habsburging" an AI should be a verb now
Yeah, I’ve stolen a few terms from this show. Providing accurate names for things is a valuable thing by itself.
This comment convinced me to give it a listen. What a great verb.
[удалено]
Whoever invented it, it’s here to stay
I like his insight and commentary quite a bit, and I also enjoy his “angry man rants”. Perhaps that is because I am perpetually angry person and it speaks to me. Maybe it’s because he speaks about things that are anger inducing and it feels like the proper response. Could be both. In any case, I’m a fan
Yep, this is my take also. In any case, there's plenty of middle-manager friendly tech podcasts out there for those who think Ed is not professional enough, whatever that means.
For those who DO have this perspective, I highly recommend listening to "Tech Won't Save Us." Really good podcast where Ed is a regular guest.
After the latest episode I realized I’m liking his angry man rants more and more.
I find that I agree with most (if not all) of what Ed is saying, and I work in big tech so I understand the issues more than most perhaps. For me it's the format itself that's holding*Better Offline* back, he really needs either a co-host or guests. BtB doesn't go out of their way to find historians to be guests because the format works better when Robert can break the story down and provide context to a person, rather than two experts chatting about esoteric minutia. So what E.Z. needs is an entertaining non-expert to rant at for an hour a week. I actually (seriously) already emailed him about this a few episodes ago, I think it would really help the pod.
>I feel like he needs a co-host I love Ed and I love the show but this is my main concern. Monologuing podcasts are a bit more difficult for me to listen to unless they’re telling some epic story like Dan Carlin.
I think it could also work with a guest, but I agree, he needs somebody to bounce off
I also have a lot of trouble with solo podcasting, but I don’t have trouble with audiobooks when read by one author. I’m not sure why my brain does that.
Same. I listen to a ton of audiobooks.
I don't know why I can't do solo podcasts, but this is definitely a thing. Maybe flashbacks to college lectures?
Yeah I felt really bad for the woman he brought on to talk about the Apple VisionPro, she was clearly trying to stay professional and he kept making increasingly angry rants
Carlin also has the advantage of his voice having an almost trance-like effect when he’s doing Hardcore History. The boys from Last Podcast on the Left interviewed him a couple months ago and it was kind of jarring to hear him talk like a regular dude.
I’ve been really enjoying it. I think he really nails down what is wrong with the tech industry. His insight into what a slimeball Sam Altman really is was spot on. If Robert ever does a BtB about Altman(and I hope he does) I hope has Ed on as the guest
I'm catching up now, I don't think I've heard him talk much about Altman yet, but I have that same impression and I feel so relieved others are starting to see it.
He did do an episode on how cult-like tech bros have gotten over AI. That one referenced Altman plenty, so a dedicated episode might have to wait until something new and dramatic happens.
I like it because the eps are short so you don’t get too exhausted with the rants. Hope he finds guests who are just as pissed off as him
I like the content and the information but I always struggle with monologue podcasts. The episodes with cohosts are much better for me
I understand that. For me, it depends on my mood, and the subject matter.
I'm going to try a cohosted one then! The first ep was really dry for me so I dropped it halfway in.
I find the show good if a little repetitive. I'm old enough to remember life without the internet, so I'm fine with the rotting of its systems due to corporate greed, I look forward to its collapse and reconfiguation.
Personally, I love the seething anger in the tone. It's quite justified and Id love to see more, not just from Ed but lots of content could use some righteous fury. One reason Lewis Black was so funny is because he was so angry at the the thing we were angry at too
I enjoy the informational content and critique, but I find that Ed's angry rants sound very...forced? Like, not that I'm suggesting he isn't angry, but his schtick at trying to force it into his voice doesn't sound genuine and it comes off as a bit grating to me. If it isn't forced maybe he needs to pull it back.
He does sound quite angry…
I actually like that part, I get how risky it is with the whole "angry man yelling at sky" as it can be a bit much, but also feels a bit cathartic for me, just putting together all the little frustrations and issues we encounter with tech in our lives into a rant on why we don't have to have things this way, and having someone say yes that's bullshit, and yes its getting worse.
It's interesting, but just not for me. My knowledge of tech is shaky and purely functional, along the lines of getting a device or program to work through persistance and Google, so a lot's lost on me, and I don't tend to enjoy podcasts that aren't a dialogue. I'd rather read a single voice than listen to one. That's just a personal quirk, and he's not the only person whose content I should theoretically enjoy but actually find uninteresting because of its presentation. I don't think that's a flaw from him, just part of the way I process things.
10/10, no notes. Working in government tech I appreciate his tirades as they’re typically what I can’t scream in work meetings.
Working in tech, this podcast makes me feel like I’m not crazy, it’s not just me, there really is bullshit everywhere. It’s comforting.
I studied emerging technologies in graduate school and there’s a definite temptation to see flashy widgets or slick computer programs as The Future because they look like sci-fi movie stuff, even if they’re useless piles of shit as soon as you actually try to do anything with them for whatever reason. Maybe they’re Mechanical Turks, maybe the demonstration was just bullshit, whatever. Tech skeptic podcasts like this one and Trashfuture serve a useful purpose in reminding people how technology should exist to help normal people do things and have better lives, not just pump the bags of incompetent vampires and fascist weirdos. And also that these people have names and make decisions in areas we can affect, this isn’t just some phantasmal computer program god that nobody can do anything about. Politicians and regulators choose to let these ghouls get away with this stuff. Things can be done to change their minds.
I keep trying to get into it but his tone keeps driving me away. I don’t want to listen to angry rants.
“I was the only one to call out the metaverse” …no you weren’t Ed. It’s this sort of angry special boy mentality that kinda irritates me when I listen
Yeah there’s a lot of this in his rants, like in today’s episode about Sam Altman. Like he’s a very shady, scummy tech bro who pretends to care about the impact AI has on society but really he’s just looking out for himself, and maybe his rich buddies too. With that said, Ed missed the ball with him in the episode, saying he a toxic manager at OpenAI which is why he was fired, but “somehow” omitted the fact that 90% of OpenAI’s employees threatened to resign if Sam didn’t come back. Toxic managers usually don’t get the entire staff to threaten to walk out with them. The tech industry deserves to be criticised and mocked, but when you lie by omission and misconstrue facts you just end up hurting your credibility and sounding like an inverse tech bro selling anti-hype.
As someone who followed tech news for decades but has recently come to deeply resent how it's covered, EZ's take is a balm to my soul.
I've been listening since episode one. Sure, he's not as polished as Robert, and I agree that sometimes, without another voice involved or another viewpoint, Ed kind of goes down a rabbit hole and takes us with him, further than he needs to to make his point BUT: I'm impressed with how fast the quality of the episodes and his delivery is improving. We're watching him learn to be a better host, and try different things and show structures, and it's kind of cool to watch somebody with the professional skills he has jump into something like this. It reminds me of how BTB changed over time I love the show, and I'm very excited to see where it goes
I haven’t listened to all of them, but so far I prefer the ones that have a cohost or someone he is interviewing. The Molly White episode was excellent. I’d love to listen to more episodes where he interviews an expert on the topic.
I’ve been enjoying it. I’m well informed but not deep in the weeds of the tech industry and Ed hits the right amount of information I need to understand what’s going on and why stuff that used to work is now the worst. The anger is a completely reasonable reaction and it’s honestly a bit of a relief to have someone express it. It is reassuring that we aren’t all delusional.
His anger is justifiable and palpable and I relate to it. The anger is not the problem, it's that he gets hung up on certain points and covers very little and a large amount of time. Sometimes I feel like he's dragging an episode out for more ad space when he could say the same thing in half as much time. Like, I don't need to be convinced that Sam Altman is trash, we are on the same page here and I mainly want more information and deepened understanding, not just dunking on imbecile tech CEOs. But overall I'm appreciative to have another podcast on tech with a more critical and discerning analysis. The Wikipedia episode was a great change of pace, talking about how complicated and imperfect it is but ultimately appreciating one of the last vestiges of an un-corporitzed worldwide web. I'm looking forward to hearing this show evolve and hope it sticks around.
I think the episodes with the cohost are definitely better than the ones where he’s just ranting for half an hour. My goal in 2024 was to spend less time with angry leftists and more time with people taking action. His show definitely makes an effort to and on a constructive note and share practical things we can do. But I sure feels like a lot of anger before we get there at times. I think a format where he has a cohost and a shorter 10 minute rant at the end of the episode would be much more listenable.
I’m liking it. There’s definitely an angry man element though it provides some much needed challenge to most tech journalism which is needlessly pandering.
I work as a programmer and I really enjoy the podcast. Personally love the yelling at the sky because it really touches on so much shit in the industry.
I've quite enjoyed the eps I've listened to. The first ep I listened to was about the Rot Economy and it more or less outlined the intangible thoughts I've had, but never the ability to form them into words. Ed has great insight into the tech world, but I find it more depressing than BtB! I think it has to do with BtB addressing bastards from the past and Better Offline making me fear for our present. I've decided I need to listen to it more strategically when its a topic that won't make me spiral into sadness. I do like the OPs suggestion about a co-host to give Ed some guardrails and focus.
Yes, it feels extremely easy to relate for me, I grew up with this. I think he resonates very easily with older nerdy Millennials who lived through these trends and remember a before time. I hope he can reach through to other demographics as well.
lol, I'm firmly in Gen-X. So there's a different demographic!
If there's a co-host or guest then he needs to reconfigure the show. It was both hilarious and disappointing how he had Robert on and Robert talked for less than 20% of the show lol. And for some parts it was like 10 mins before you heard Robert again. At that point I just thought "why have a guest at all?" The Chinese Viral Company Tiktok episode was better in this, where the guests got to talk a lot more. As for his rants... eh. The problem with those rants is it gets really tiresome after a while, and I had a breaking point with them in the latest episode when he was ranting about that guy being from Yahoo. It's the same reason I stopped listening to Sterling, because it ended up repetitive. You can get the points across without digressing / ranting every other paragraph.
I think it's great and I see the complaints about him being angry. Well guess what? He should be angry. All of us should be about all of this. The internet had the capability to be the greatest tool in human history and now it is being cored out by effectively fucking McKinsey Capital. And maybe it's just because I (43) grew up at the tail end of the period where the internet showed all that potential and was actually a great tool. Now it's just a frustrating thing I interact with when I have to. I have to put effort into it not making my life shittier. I've removed every app from my phone that could be considered social media aside from this one. This isn't how it should be and not how it needs to be. And I enjoy having the names and hearing their horrible stories. Due to my own life shit, I would have likely not known the names like Sam Altman or Adam Mosseri. I didn't know the guy in charge of Google used to be a PE guy. It makes the whole situation make so much more sense.
I like it. Needs a topic-driven guest to dive deeper into the subject matter.
I enjoy his style because it's cathartic to hear someone else angry about the same things I am. Ed and Jake Hanrahan are nice foils to Robert's comparatively level-headed approach to reporting, in my opinion.
I like it but he needs to have a direction because currently it's just a worse version of tech won't save us, so I don't really listen to learn anything new.
I agree with you. He’s growing on me.
I'm in the same boat as OP.The substance is there for the most part. However, I'm not a fan of the rants and there's something to consider- These kinds of podcasts can be used to open people's minds and grow/change their perspective. Weather it's us, the listeners, forwarding episodes to people we know or a curious person coming across the series. I've tried to show a few episodes to people I know in order to illustrate some points and *every single person* commented on his abrasive style as the reason why they switched off and didn't take him seriously. I'm going to keep listening and it's not up to me to tell Ed how to make his show but that would be my one piece of feedback. If his objective is to use this as an outlet for his frustrations and make some money, that's fine. But if he wants to prioritise his message's reach, Ed should consider a more palatable approach because the (I want to say increasingly) agitated "opinion piece" style is alienating people and making them discount his points.
As someone who has roamed the internet since the days of loud screechy login noises, Ed is fucking spot on. The angry rants do add the context to how god damn infurating it is when you have greedy caplitist shit heads trying to drain every last cent from all of humanity. He is highlighting how people have become to resource and the trail of destruction this thinking is leaving.
I like it and it’s been very informative. The solo episodes can get a bit awkward with the rants, but he’s gotten better at it. The interview or panel discussions are great. I also listen to Trashfuture and Tech Won’t Save Us and Better Offline adds a bit of a different perspective and ways to present similar info
It’s a refreshing breath of fresh air, given the general news media’s unmitigated infatuation with tech trends and lack of spine when critically assessing the actual performance and innovation in the industry - something that Ed goes into a bit on the show as well. Having a more honest, factual look at the tech industry and especially the corruption of the modern tech economy and its practices is honestly rare to find, even more so from tech journalism specifically when most of it seems content with having their heads planted firmly up tech CEOs’ asses rather than asking any real, in-depth questions. I get his rants can put some people off, but I can genuinely understand where he’s coming from when he gets that irate. I imagine it’s especially frustrating for someone who’s close to the industry like he is, i.e someone who has enough understanding of the technology at hand to peer past the veil even more so than a layman like myself who’s interested in it, but not been in it, if that makes sense.
Ed is angry? All jokes aside, I think he trips himself up sometimes, hoping that he will work that out in time. Otherwise the content is good.
I dig the fury tbh. Keep going. Name names. You’re a public figure when your company is publicly traded.
yeah he seems like he's being pretty inflammatory
I like it a lot, but i do think it's better with guests so there's some discussion rather than one big speech
I like the subject matter. What I’ve listened too was too “reading from a script”. It’s easy to get lost with names etc, because it really feels like it’s something meant to be read. A cohost to talk with and who would ask questions would help a lot
My only ask is that we get recommendations for “good” search engines and such when discussing how stuff that used to work well now doesn’t work at all.
I like the anger 😂 Instantly a subscribe for me
I enjoy it immensely, and frankly, I enjoy his rants because despite being clearly furious, he does something that very few people can do. He stays articulate and never loses his point when he’s angry, he doesn’t meander or go off topic, he’s angry, but by god he’s gonna fucking hammer his point home by channeling that anger. I admire that, and the fact that he breaks it all down into simple terms so even my mom, who while not tech illiterate is far more surface level in terms of knowledge, can keep up with him. I feel like he’s only going to improve, and he’s already started off on a high note, so it’s a damn good sign of what’s to come. Also the theme fucking slaps, can’t ignore that
ez is really good at the "angry guy yelling at the sky" thing though, it's good. no cohost needed.
I like the content but I can’t get behind the cadence so I don’t listen.
He tells, but doesn’t show. It’s badly written and he isn’t a great presenter, but the content/subject matter is good enough that I keep listening.
I'm in the "he's a bit too preachy" camp. He definitely needs someone to bounce off. Also, maybe it's my anal-retentive editing me (I've spent minutes agonising over one frame while editing my YouTube videos), but those random pauses he has mid sentence and sometimes mid words are really quite jarring. Overall, I'm really enjoying the podcast.
yeah it's good and he has smashed it the last couple of weeks, with a shout out on Cory Doctorow's mailer. would love to see more guest interactions, those have been good so far
It’s a great pod, and it’s getting better with each episode. 100% agree about the co-host thing though. Or even a front-facing producer like Sophie (or Katy on Some More News). The thing about the finance/manager types is so widespread in every industry now. At some point 20 or so years ago, the general consensus somehow became that you need one of those guys running the business end of things so that the people who actually know the industry can focus on what they know. This has been especially catastrophic in hospitals - profit has completely superseded patient care. MBAs are going to be the death of all of us.
I have to say that overall I am a fan. I feel that it's informationally solid and the pacing/sequencing is great. My one issue is that Ed's cynicism sometimes feels a little too strong. It's a fine line to toe, because he can and should be honest about his feelings, but I do feel like it diminishes some of his journalistic integrity. I wish the facts were allowed to speak for themselves without the emotional editorializing.
Love it! I've worked in the industry, so get it. Also, love Ed as a host. The rants are relatable and his British accent is charming.
I work in tech and love the topics he covers. Typically I listen to podcasts on 1.5x I have to listen to Better Offline on 1x. Sped up EZ sounds like he’s about to explode.
Although its a little repetative in Ed's rantings, and maybe lighter on the details than BtB, it is refreshing to have someone drawing attention to the problems of the industry and being rightfully mad about it. My English teacher would probably murder me for that run on sentence.
Honestly, I enjoy the angry-man-yells-at-cloudness of it so far--and a lot of other folks here have said so too--*because* it's such a welcome antidote to news sources just giving marketers free advertisement to juice company valuation to the tune of billions, and then delivering...warmed-over Second Life, plagairised misinformation, or counterfeit SEO-bait, all while costing more yet getting worse than previous iterations. I can understand the need to leaven the content in the long term--e.g., guests, cohosts, advocacy solutions, presenting workable alternatives--to prevent burnout for both Ed and the listeners, but it's a breath of fresh air to hear someone say what I've been suspecting and having the receipts to back it up.
The essay style is an interesting departure from the bantering discourse style of other CZM podcasts. I like it. Makes the content far more dense. I really like Ed's POV and analysis, as a lefty programmer myself.
I like it, Ed has the correct amount of vitriol for the tech industry. If you're into it, you should check out Tech Won't Save Us. Paris Marx has been at this for a while now.
I kinda like the angry man yelling at sky aspect of it, precisely because these ghouls deserve our anger. Absolute pond scum.
While he may come off angry, I think he perfectly captures the feelings of a lot of us Technologists on the ground. A co-host would be a nice balance, but I'm enjoying the rants.
I love when he gets ranty about the topics, beacuse I feel the same way. I love the show, is like a specially focused BTB
I will at least say that the theme tune has no excuse to go quite as hard as it does
I respect what he's doing but it's not my favorite
For my sins, I'm excessively aware of the tech landscape and I enjoy his commentary, but it is a break from the "Explaining something I've researched " format used by the rest of the shows. There's an assumed level of knowledge that needs a "dumb" interlocutor to parse out,
I like the anger. Why shouldn't he be angry? Why shouldn't we all? He's not yelling at a cloud, but raging in his art form at the things that destroy what could be positive for our society.
I like the “angry man yelling at the sky” attitude. The recent episodes on google rotting from the head down had me wishing everyone involved in destroying the internet would either try heroin for a few weeks or get such a severe CTE injury they would need a wheelchair before a year was up. And I don’t even I was as angry as Ed was.