Offline with Jon Favreau-logo

Offline with Jon Favreau

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Offline with Jon Favreau is a different kind of Sunday show – a chance to step away from our Twitter-fueled news cycles to hear smarter, lighter conversations about all the ways that our extremely online existence is shaping everything from politics and culture to the how we live, work, and interact with one another. After more than a dozen conversations with guests like Stephen Colbert, Monica Lewinsky, Jia Tolentino, and Roxane Gay, it’s clear that people want these conversations to continue – that they’re interested in figuring out how we can regain control over our chaotic, hyperconnected world. That’s why Offline is here to stay. In the coming months, Jon will dig deeper into the internet abyss and beyond, exploring new topics with new guests from the worlds of news, politics, entertainment, sports, business, and more. Join Jon each week as he asks us to put down our screens, grab our headphones, and figure out how to live happier, healthier lives, both on and offline.

Play Button

Location:

United States

Description:

Offline with Jon Favreau is a different kind of Sunday show – a chance to step away from our Twitter-fueled news cycles to hear smarter, lighter conversations about all the ways that our extremely online existence is shaping everything from politics and culture to the how we live, work, and interact with one another. After more than a dozen conversations with guests like Stephen Colbert, Monica Lewinsky, Jia Tolentino, and Roxane Gay, it’s clear that people want these conversations to continue – that they’re interested in figuring out how we can regain control over our chaotic, hyperconnected world. That’s why Offline is here to stay. In the coming months, Jon will dig deeper into the internet abyss and beyond, exploring new topics with new guests from the worlds of news, politics, entertainment, sports, business, and more. Join Jon each week as he asks us to put down our screens, grab our headphones, and figure out how to live happier, healthier lives, both on and offline.

Language:

English

Episodes

The Kids Are Not Alright. Is Social Media to Blame?

5/28/2023
Social media is ubiquitous among young people. But is it safe? Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, joins Offline to break down a new Surgeon General’s Advisory that warns social media may be harmful to children and offers Jon a doctor’s perspective on how to overcome his phone addiction.

Duration:01:20:08

Is Fox News Doomed?

5/21/2023
Kat Abu and Andrew Lawrence watch Fox News every night so you don’t have to. As researchers at Media Matters, a right-wing media watchdog, it’s their job to monitor the conspiracies and propaganda spreading on the network. Andrew is one of the nation’s leading Fox experts, having watched primetime Fox since the 2016 campaign and Kat has recently brought their work to new audiences, breaking down Fox News in weekly viral TikTok explainers. They join Jon to talk about this unusual moment at Fox News, whether the network is finally facing its comeuppance, and what watching these shows for a living does to a person. 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.

Duration:01:12:21

Did Clickbait Kill Buzzfeed and the Digital Media Era?

5/14/2023
Ben Smith, Semafor founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Buzzfeed News, joins Offline to discuss what the shuttering of newsrooms at Buzzfeed and Vice means for the future of journalism. Ben’s new book, Traffic, traces the rise and fall of the digital media era. He and Jon talk about the personalities and publications that caused this phenomenon, the value of clickbait, and how the race to go viral was doomed from the start. Then, Jon and Max Fisher reunite to recap their week without iPhones and introduce next week’s Unplug Challenge. 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.

Duration:01:19:32

Jon and Max Surrender Their iPhones

5/7/2023
Introducing Offline’s Unplug Challenge! Jon and Max reflect on how their screen addictions have worsened their focus, hijacked their social lives, and even broken some bones. Faced with damning screen time reports, the guys take a big first step towards overcoming their compulsive smartphone habits. Offline Unplugged is a multi-week series that will invite hosts and listeners alike to rediscover the world that’s beyond our fingertips. 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.

Duration:00:54:58

How is Collective Grief Rewiring our Brains | Hysteria Excerpt

5/3/2023
This week we're giving you a feed drop from Crooked’s very own Hysteria! In this excerpt, Erin Ryan and Alyssa Mastromonaco cover some lighter news — Don Lemon being an idiot, Jimmy Carter being a legend, governors supporting abortion, Wisconsin election wins — before Julissa Arce and Kara Klenk join to discuss how to deal with the world being terrible. Then, the crew dives into their moments of Sanity (featuring good television on Peacock) and Petty (trying to get answers about your own health can be so annoying sometimes). You can catch new episodes of Hysteria every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts and don’t forget to subscribe to Hysteria on YouTube too!

Duration:00:37:06

Hasan Piker Wants the Left to Persuade, Not Scold

4/30/2023
Hasan Piker, viral political streamer, joins Offline to talk about Tucker Carlson’s demise, the 2024 election, and what it is about wokeism that makes him twitch. Hasan has been one of Gen Z’s most influential commentators for years, and his 8-hour daily streams blend current events, leftist ideals and pop culture savvy. Hasan talks to Jon about his approach to political persuasion, how to appeal to the next generation, and what it’s like streaming your consciousness. 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.

Duration:01:10:29

How the Internet is Radicalizing Young Men

4/23/2023
Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and author of Men Who Hate Women and Fix the System, Not Women, joins Offline to shed light on one of the darkest corners of the internet: the manosphere. Made up of tens of thousands of incels, pick up artists, and white supremacists, the manosphere is an online hotbed of misogyny with violent real-world implications. Laura describes how she went undercover to infiltrate these platforms, and what she learned about protecting men and boys from radicalization. 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.

Duration:01:04:21

John Green Doesn’t Think the World is Ending (Yet)

4/16/2023
John Green, bestselling author and YouTube Vlogbrother, joins Offline to share lessons from his most recent book, The Anthropocene Reviewed. His collection of essays rates historical events, philosophical musings and personal anecdotes on a 5-star scale that, these days, feels both inescapable and indispensable. The Jo(h)ns talk through the faults in these stars, and the importance of finding ways to live meaningfully and hopefully in a world of mixed reviews. 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.

Duration:01:08:06

Should America Ban TikTok?

4/9/2023
This week we’re bringing you the TikTok debate we wish we had from Congress. Featuring perspectives from V Spehar, host of TikTok’s Under the Desk News; Senator Mark Warner, lead sponsor of the RESTRICT Act; and Graham Webster, Chinese technology expert. Over three interviews, Jon and Max offer a smarter debate for and against banning TikTok. 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.

Duration:01:34:59

The End of Big Tech as We Know It

3/26/2023
Jon welcomes Max Fisher, Crooked’s newest team member, to the Offline family! Max, former New York Times reporter and author of The Chaos Machine, joins the show as a recurring contributor, bringing fresh commentary, segments, and even interviews to Offline. This week he and Jon put their heads together to decode AI hysteria, the TikTok ban, and whether big tech has passed its prime. 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.

Duration:00:56:50

How to Beat Fox News

3/19/2023
Andy Kroll, author and ProPublica journalist, joins Offline to discuss the one thing Fox News fears: lawsuits. Kroll’s new book, A Death on W Street: The Murder of Seth Rich and the Age of Conspiracy, recounts how conspiracists co-opted a young man’s tragic death, the role of Fox News in perpetuating those lies, and how the Rich family fought back and won. He and Jon talk about what this means for the Dominion lawsuit, and whether Fox has finally met its match. 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.

Duration:00:55:35

Margaret Atwood on Good, Evil and Stupidity

3/12/2023
Margaret Atwood, famed author, poet and “dystopia prophet,” joins Offline to talk about fighting tyranny and finding hope. Much like her latest book, Old Babes in the Wood, Atwood’s conversation with Jon sandwiches her thoughts and fears on the present between poignant chapters of the past. They discuss censorship, religion, parenting and how to listen for what you can’t hear. 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.

Duration:00:50:27

What Do We Lose if We Lose Black Twitter?

3/5/2023
Jason Parham, senior writer at WIRED, walks Jon through the evolution and legacy of Black Twitter. Parham’s three-part series, “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” follows the online community from its early days of late night takes, through an era of platform dominance, and into an uncertain future. He joins Offline to discuss how Black Twitter has shaped the last ten years of discourse and activism, how the internet complicates cultural appropriation, and what will happen if Twitter fades 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.

Duration:00:41:26

What Happened To Your Ambition? | Work Appropriate

2/26/2023
Offline's crew is *offline* this week but we're excited to share one of our favorite recent episodes of Crooked's podcast Work Appropriate hosted by Anne Helen Petersen. In this episode Anne, along with guest Rainesford Stauffer, author of the forthcoming All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and the Ways We Strive, field listener-submitted questions about the real-life issues they're running into at work due to their ambition and discuss how ambition could be used as a positive force outside of work. You know, like in your actual life. Go figure. Like what you hear? Check out new episodes of Work Appropriate every week wherever you get your podcasts. 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.

Duration:00:51:15

Are We Amusing Ourselves to Death?

2/19/2023
Megan Garber, staff writer at the Atlantic, joins Offline to explain how we’re already living in the Metaverse––not with headsets and legless avatars, but via a continuous stream of immersive entertainment. Jon and Megan discuss how our internet jargon, scandal-to-miniseries pipeline, and former reality TV president all reflect a blurring of fact and fiction. And they ask: when everything becomes entertainment, what remains of our reality? 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.

Duration:00:50:28

What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from an 84 Year Study on Happiness

2/12/2023
Dr. Robert Waldinger, Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, joins Offline to talk about his new book “The Good Life: Lessons From the Longest Study on Happiness.” Bob and Jon discuss how close relationships are the secret to a fulfilling life, why technology can make us lonelier, and what 84 years of data teach us about coming together and growing apart. 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.

Duration:00:59:43

Who Can Own the Most Libs? Tim Miller on the ’24 GOP Primary

2/5/2023
Tim Miller, former Republican operative, current Never Trumper, and contributor at the Bulwark, joins Jon to kickoff the GOP’s very online, very weird 2024 presidential primary. The two discuss Donald Trump’s return to Facebook, Ron DeSantis’ culture wars, and the competition for MAGA media’s stars, trolls, and grifters. 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.

Duration:01:03:09

What’s With All the Tech Layoffs?

1/29/2023
Amazon, Google, Facebook and the entire tech sector just laid off tens of thousands of employees. How did America’s fastest growing industry become its most troubled? Annie Lowrey, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins Offline to break it down. She makes the case that while this moment may be particularly bad for tech, for the rest, better days are probably right around the corner. 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.

Duration:00:53:23

Do Dating Apps Make it Harder to Find Love?

1/22/2023
Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz and Lakshmi Rengarajan, hosts of the newest season of The Cut’s Land of the Giants, join Offline to talk about how apps like Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble have redefined romance. They’ve named the season “Dating Games” and ask whether the goals of dating app companies are aligned with our romantic aspirations. Jon talks to them about the ways internet dating has gamified romance, what the current dating app generation has lost, and whether there are alternatives for finding love in a world of swiping. 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.

Duration:00:37:18

Two Writers Wonder If They’ll Be Replaced By AI

1/15/2023
Evan Puschak, also known as The Nerdwriter, joins Offline to discuss ChatGPT, the revolutionary artificial intelligence chatbot from OpenAI. In his most recent video essay, “The Real Danger of ChatGPT,” Puschak explores how AI could erode our fundamental ability to understand ourselves and the world around us. He sits down with Jon to discuss that essay, evaluate the strengths and limitations of ChatGPT, and talk about the ways the internet is trying to replace our minds. 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.

Duration:00:53:18

See More