Better Offline

when it comes to snake oil salesman tech, ed knows what’s what about the world

I am a big fan of the balance between the entertaining presentation of feelings about AI mixed with actual numbers on a variety of the big players that I don’t want to have to try and keep tabs on. And I know you will cover more than AI, but I believe that deserves the attention you have given it, and until something significantly changes I hope it stays the focus of this show. I would even consider starting another channel if necessary. Many thanks for all of your work Ed!

A head piece. Only for Ed. Beyond you balding Ed, All of his reporting, writing, and the podcast has become more and more infused with his ego. What he does needs an ego, but since mid-June ish.. every point he makes is always related back to how it’s somehow about him. Also everyone must always know he is always the angriest and he is the only person ever to work the hardest. I wish he’d let his work speak for itself, of course keep your personal touch as the emotion every episode is valid and can be necessary… but his whole brand has become why the ai bubble is about Ed. This last episode with his Anthropic aws spending exclusive was, I think, my final piece of content I can consume of his (been listening/reading since last year). Very cool that he got that exclusive but my goodness let it breathe and just report it, it’s not about you just for those 10-15 minutes of reporting.. and then get into your emotions all you want while providing the context and how it relates to the audience (and then of course inevitably yourself). The last line of that episode says it all: “Anyway this has been a big day for me.” Ok Ed.

I’m thrilled with this podcast. I asked for Pod recs from Bryan Merchant on his substack and this was one of a handful he recommended, and maybe the only one I will continue to listen to. I was looking for a less fawning alternative to Hard Fork, and this is definitely it. The rants are enjoyable, and the data is solid. I enjoy it. I’ve also subscribed to the written version to get into the real meaty bits of how AI is not all it’s hyped up to be. My one complaint is the audio levels. I usually listen on headphones and can mostly tolerate getting blasted by the intro music being far louder than the vocal levels However, I was on a road trip and quite excited to share this new podcast I was into with my partner…unfortunately the audio levels were so back & forth (it was one of the panel episodes) that we turned it off bc we couldn’t hear half the guests over the road noise. Nothing quite like the feeling of a podcast you are excited to share flopping for a friend lol. The content is great, I just hope with time the levels can improve. I know how hard it is to record with people calling in or with different tech, but it can really kill the experience when their levels are wonky.