Casey NewtonEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

The unraveling web of deceipt continues in the Facebook Data Scandal. Our guests, Kevin Roose and Casey Newton unveil what Mark Zuckerberg had to say for himself in a one-on-one interview. And what were the ramifications in the wake of the 2016 presidential election? Find out in the thrilling conclusion of this week's SNAFU. Don't forget to subscribe to the SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPod Buy the SNAFU book: www.snafu-book.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when a CEO fires 4,000 people to become "intelligence native" — and the stock jumps 17%? Peter Hinssen sits down with tech journalist Casey Newton — founder of Platformer, co-host of Hard Fork, and one of Silicon Valley's sharpest observers — for an unfiltered conversation about the AI revolution from the front row, and what it really means for boardrooms, jobs, and society as the safety guardrails come off. They cover: 🔹 Why "intelligence native" is the only boardroom conversation that matters 🔹 Anthropic's two stands against the Pentagon — autonomous weapons and the Mythos model 🔹 Engels' Pause and whether AI will repeat the Industrial Revolution's wage trap 🔹 NIMBY-ism as the public's last lever against data centers 🔹 Why Casey calls himself "barely an optimist" — and still makes the case for hope If you lead a business, build with AI, or want to understand the next decade — this one's non-negotiable.

Kevin Roose and Casey Newton are High-Tech Savants. The co-hosts of the Hard Fork Podcast were on the front lines of the Facebook Data Scandal, and today they help Ed break down just how much of your data (yes, you dear listener!) was leaked and misused for political purposes. Find out what laws Cambridge Analytica broke in today's tech-heavy SNAFU. Don't forget to subscribe to the SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPod Buy the SNAFU book: www.snafu-book.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the Senate debates the SAVE America Act amid unfounded claims of voter fraud, Jon is joined by Georgetown Research Professor Renée DiResta and Platformer editor Casey Newton to examine what actually threatens our elections. Together, they investigate how algorithms are engineered to push users toward platform owners' preferred ideologies, explore the incentives driving Silicon Valley's rightward shift, and discuss how Republicans have weaponized disinformation to undermine electoral trust and rewrite voting rules in their favor. This episode is brought to you by: GROUND NEWS - Go to https://groundnews.com/stewart to see how any news story is being framed by news outlets around the world and across the political spectrum. Use this link to get 40% off unlimited access with the Vantage Subscription. MAGIC SPOON - Get $5 off your next order at https://magicspoon.com/tws Follow The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart on social media for more: > YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@weeklyshowpodcast > Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weeklyshowpodcast > TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@weeklyshowpodcast > X: https://x.com/weeklyshowpod > BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/theweeklyshowpodcast.com Host/Executive Producer – Jon Stewart Executive Producer – James Dixon Executive Producer – Chris McShane Executive Producer – Caity Gray Lead Producer – Lauren Walker Producer – Brittany Mehmedovic Producer – Gillian Spear Video Editor & Engineer – Rob Vitolo Audio Editor & Engineer – Nicole Boyce Music by Hansdle Hsu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by Casey Newton, founder and editor of Platformer and co-host of Hard Fork , a podcast that makes sense of the rapidly changing world of tech. Together, they discuss: After a deadly raid, an AI power struggle erupts at the Pentagon (Washington Post) Following: Anthropic vs. The Pentagon (Platformer) Anthropic Drops Flagship Safety Pledge (TIME) Hackers Expose Age-Verification Software Powering Surveillance Web (The Rage) Discord is delaying its global age verification rollout (The Verge) Reddit fined £14m by UK data watchdog over age verification checks (BBC News) How to evaluate Trust & Safety vendors (Everything in Moderation*) Regulate platforms, not children – Commissioner urges caution over social media bans (Commissioner for Human Rights) MPs reject total ban, want data housed locally (The Star) Exclusive: US plans online portal to bypass content bans in Europe and elsewhere (Reuters) Play along with Ctrl-Alt-Speech’s 2026 Bingo Card and get in touch if you win! Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick ( Techdirt ) and Ben Whitelaw ( Everything in Moderation ).

(02:19) - The Death of the Tech Conference (23:27) - Dimon Launches Deregulation Blitz (27:49) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (01:16:29) - Casey Newton, an American technology journalist and founder of the Platformer newsletter, discusses his investigation into a viral Reddit post alleging unethical practices by food delivery companies, which was later revealed to be a hoax. He details his initial belief in the post's plausibility, his communication with the purported whistleblower, and the red flags that emerged during their interactions. Newton reflects on the challenges posed by AI-generated content in journalism and emphasizes the need for enhanced vigilance and fact-checking in the digital age. (01:33:44) - Alex Epstein is an author and energy commentator best known for The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, where he argues that affordable, reliable energy is essential to human flourishing. He is the founder of the Center for Industrial Progress and a frequent speaker on energy policy, climate, and economics. (02:09:09) - Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring, discusses his extensive experience at CES, highlighting his journey from personally constructing early booths to now showcasing professionally built exhibits. He reflects on his 2013 "Shark Tank" appearance, noting that despite initial rejection, Ring evolved into a leading home security company with over 100 million cameras deployed globally. Siminoff emphasizes the integration of AI in Ring's products to enhance user experience by reducing unnecessary alerts and improving the relevance of notifications. (02:31:04) - Jake Paul is an American professional boxer, influencer, and actor who began his career on Vine and YouTube before transitioning into boxing. In the conversation, Paul discusses his venture capital firm, Anti Fund, co-founded with Geoffrey Woo, emphasizing their founder-first approach and commitment to providing value beyond capital, such as expertise in distribution and marketing. He also highlights their investment in OpenAI's SORA project, where they contributed to the platform's functionality and launch strategy, leveraging their social media experience to enhance user engagement. (02:49:14) - Matt Pavelle, co-founder and CEO of Doctronic, has over 25 years of experience in building startups, including the e-commerce unicorn Moda Operandi. In the conversation, he discusses Doctronic's AI-powered healthcare platform, which has conducted over 20 million consultations for 2 million patients, offering free AI interactions and access to licensed doctors across all 50 states. He highlights the platform's ability to provide timely medical advice, noting that users engage with the system multiple times a month, and shares that in Utah, Doctronic's AI is legally authorized to renew prescriptions without doctor oversight. (03:06:29) - David Senra is the creator and host of the Founders podcast, where he distills lessons from biographies of history’s most successful entrepreneurs. He’s known for his intense focus on long-term thinking, obsession with craft, and the habits that drive exceptional founders. Lulu Cheng is a venture capitalist and writer known for sharp analysis on technology, startups, and ambition. She has worked in both investing and operating roles and is widely followed for her candid commentary on founder psychology, power, and the realities of building companies. TBPN.com is made possible by: Ramp - https://Ramp.com AppLovin - https://axon.ai Cognition - https://cognition.ai Console - https://console.com CrowdStrike - https://crowdstrike.com ElevenLabs - https://elevenlabs.io Figma - https://figma.com Fin - https://fin.ai Gemini - https://gemini.google.com Graphite - https://graphite.com Gusto - https://gusto.com/tbpn Labelbox - https://labelbox.com Lambda - https://lambda.ai</p

Trump's TikTok deal looks like classic crony capitalism as well as open theft. But China has bigger fish to fry with trade than its TikTok algorithm—which led Congress last year to ban the app in the U.S. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley thinks they're building a machine god with AI, but we really may be heading into catastrophe. Plus, the armed invasion of Chicago, Sam Altman seems disconnected from reality, and Tim Cook's pathetic bending over for backwards for Trump. Casey Newton joins Tim Miller. show notes Casey's Platformer newsletter Casey's "Hard Fork" podcast JVL's emergency 'Triad' on Chicago Tim's 'Bulwark Take' on DHS using Zach Bryan's music in a propaganda video Tucker's interview with Sam Altman Go to https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code BULWARK. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!

Myke talks to Casey Newton about his workflow for running Platformer, from idea capture to writing and publishing, and how he balances reporting with access to some of the most powerful people in tech. This episode of Cortex is sponsored by: Nexos.ai : All-in-one AI platform for enterprises. Get a 14 day free trial now. Squarespace : Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code CORTEX. Fitbod : Get stronger, faster with a fitness plan that fits you. Get 25% off your membership. Factor : Healthy, fully-prepared food delivered to your door. Use code cortex50off Guest Starring: Stephen Hackett and Casey Newton Links and Show Notes: Get Moretex – More Cortex, with no ads. Submit Feedback 🎗Relay for St. Jude – Donate Today Platformer What really happened at Basecamp - by Casey Newton Capacities What I learned about productivity this year – Platformer Google Docs Ghost Why Platformer is leaving Substack – Platformer Ghost Todoist My dinner with Altman – Platformer Casey Newton (@crumbler) – Threads Hard Fork Podcast Sam Altman upstages the critics – Platformer Notion Installer Newsletter | The Verge Casey's Homescreen Bear Balatro Notion Calendar Relay for St. Jude - Donate Today Relay for St. Jude Podcastathon 2025 - YouTube Streaming live from 12pm to 12am US Eastern time on September 19, 2025

Casey Newton is the co-host of The New York Times podcast ‘Hardfork’ and author of the tech newsletter 'Platformer,' and he's also Courtney's favorite new source! Casey joins Courtney for chats about how tech news touches everything, why we should all be nice to AI chat bots, and how a meme coin could help the LGBTQ+ community. Do you think AI can be a Drag Mom? Email Courtney at CourtneyRnR@gmail.com! RnR is brought to you by Factor! Get started at ⁠⁠⁠factormeals.com/courtney50off and use code COURTNEY50OFF to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box! Listen to RnR Left Ad-Free on MOM Plus https://linktr.ee/rnrwithcourtneyact FOLLOW COURTNEY FOLLOW MOM PODCASTS RnR is a Forever Dog and Moguls of Media (M.O.M) Podcast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Casey Newton is the co-host of The New York Times podcast ‘Hardfork’ and author of the tech newsletter 'Platformer,' and he's also Courtney's favorite new source! Casey joins Courtney for chats about how tech news touches everything, why we should all be nice to AI chat bots, and how a meme coin could help the LGBTQ+ community. Do you think AI can be a Drag Mom? Email Courtney at CourtneyRnR@gmail.com! RnR is brought to you by Factor! Get started at ⁠⁠⁠factormeals.com/courtney50off and use code COURTNEY50OFF to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box! Listen to RnR Left Ad-Free on MOM Plus https://linktr.ee/rnrwithcourtneyact FOLLOW COURTNEY FOLLOW MOM PODCASTS RnR is a Forever Dog and Moguls of Media (M.O.M) Podcast

Want to know more about what’s happening behind the scenes at Post Games? Curious where the show is heading in its first year? Post Games: Episode 0 serves as an audio FAQ. Structured like a traditional episode, this prequel features an interview with Platformer founder and Hard Fork co-host Casey Newton about independent journalism's history, function, and value. Find episode notes and more at www.post.games. Subscribe to the Patreon for early access to episodes, additional segments, and bonus materials at patreon.com/postgames. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

On the bad side, we have copyright infringement, exploitation, and misinformation; on the good side, we have its uses for brainstorming, editing work, and combating loneliness. On both sides, everyone is freaking out about AI — but are we freaking out about it for the right reasons? Casey Newton joins us to make the pitch that whatever you think, AI is not “crypto 2.0.” Everyone, in every generation, needs to take it seriously. Our guest Casey Newton is a tech journalist who founded and writes for the Platformer newsletter ( https://www.platformer.news/ ) and co-hosts the Hard Fork podcast ( https://www.nytimes.com/column/hard-fork/ ). Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for a membership at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld . Sponsors Audio Maverick , a new nine-part documentary about one of the most visionary figures in radio, Himan Brown. Out now wherever you listen to podcasts. Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here: ⁠ http://multitude.productions⁠. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Engineer: Rebecca Seidel - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Casey Newton is the author of Platformer and co-host of Hard Fork. He joins Big Technology Podcast for our annual predictions episode. Tune in to hear Newton analyze 2024's major developments in AI, debate whether AI agents will take off in 2025, and explore what might happen to companies like Apple, Google, and OpenAI in the coming year. We also cover quantum computing breakthroughs, self-driving car expansion, and what a potential Trump presidency could mean for tech antitrust. Hit play for an insightful look at where technology is headed in 2025. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901970121829801984/ Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack? Here’s 40% off for the first year: https://tinyurl.com/bigtechnology Questions? Feedback? Write to: bigtechnologypodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, I’m talking with Casey Newton, the founder and editor of the Platformer newsletter and co-host of the Hard Fork podcast. Casey is also a former editor here at The Verge and was my co-host at the Code Conference last year. Most importantly, Casey and I are also very close friends, so this episode is a little looser than usual. I wanted to talk to Casey for a few reasons. One, the media industry overall is falling apart, with huge layoffs at almost every media organization you can think of happening weekly, but small newsletters seem to be a bright spot. So I wanted to talk about how Platformer started, how Casey got it to where it is, and how much farther he thinks it can go. And then, I wanted to talk about Substack. It’s the newsletter platform Paltformer used to call its home, but content moderation problems — including its decision to allow Nazis to monetize on the platform — have pushed away a number of its customers, including Platformer. This episode goes deep, but it’s fun — Casey is just one of my favorite people, and he is not shy about saying what he thinks. Links: Can Substack CEO Chris Best build a new model for journalism? — The Verge Substack launches its Twitter-like Notes — The Verge Substack Has a Nazi Problem — The Atlantic Substack says it will remove Nazi publications from the platform --- Platformer Substack keeps the Nazis, loses Platformer — The Verge Why Platformer is leaving Substack — Platformer The Messenger to close after less than a year — The New York Times Do countries with better-funded public media also have healthier democracies? — Nieman Lab AI is killing the old web, and the new web struggles to be born — The Verge The Biden deepfake robocall Is only the beginning — WIRED </

Stanford’s Evelyn Douek and Alex Stamos are joined by Casey Newton of Platformer and Hard Fork to talk about his decision to move his newsletter off of Substack. Casey explains his decision here: Why Platformer is leaving Substack And talks about it on his podcast here: Why Casey Left Substack Moderated Content is produced in partnership by Stanford Law School and the Cyber Policy Center. Special thanks to John Perrino for research and editorial assistance. Like what you heard? Don’t forget to subscribe and share the podcast with friends!

Casey Newton is the editor of Platformer and co-host of Hard Fork. He joins Big Technology Podcast for our annual look back and forward at the year that was and the year to come. In this episode, we both go through our standout moment from 2023, then make predictions on Gemini, GPT-5, the future of Google Search, Apple’s Vision Pro, X vs. Threads, Falling in love with bots, autonomous driving, and plenty more. Tune in for a fun lively discussion to close out 2023. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901970121829801984/ Questions? Feedback? Write to: bigtechnologypodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Casey Newton writes the Platformer newsletter. Kevin Roose is a technology columnist for The New York Times . Together they co-host the podcast Hard Fork . CN: “People actually like to be a little bit confused. They like listening to things where people are talking about things they don’t quite understand, which was very counterintuitive to me. I think a lot of editor-types would scoff at, but I’ve come around.” KR: “We can revisit subjects and we do. We can change our minds. Print pieces feel so permanent, they feel so definitive. Podcasts, we can just sort of say, ‘I don't know what to make of this, ask me again in a month.’” Show notes: @CaseyNewton @kevinroose cnewton.org kevinroose.com Newton on Longform Roose on Longform Longorm Podcast #337: Casey Newton Longform Podcast #81: Kevin Roose Newton and Roose’s Hard Fork archive Newton’s Platformer archive Roose’s New York Times archive 3:00 Newton’s Verge archive 7:00 “Elon’s X Machina, Crypto Orbs, and a Visit to Google’s Robot Lab” (Newton and Roose • New York Times • July 2023) 12:00 Huberman Lab (Andrew Huberman • Huberman Lab • 2023) 14:00 Rabbit Hole (Roose • New York Times • 2020) 25:00 Futureproof (Roose • Random House • 2022) 29:00 “ChatGPT Transforms a Classroom and Is ‘M3GAN’ Real?” (Newton and Roose • New York Times • Jan 2023) 29:00 “Dario Amodei, C.E.O. of Anthropic, on the Paradoxes of A.I. Safety and Netflix’s ‘Deep Fake Love Story’” (Newton and Roose • New York Times • July 2023) 31:00 “Google C.E.O. Sundar Pichai on Bard, A.I. ‘Whiplash’ and Competing with ChatGPT” (Newton and Roose • New York Times • March 2023) 31:00 “Mr. Altman Goes to Washington and Casey Goes on This American Life” (Newton and Roose • New York Times • May 2023) 44:00 “Aided by A.I. Language Models, Google’s Robots Are Getting Smart” (Roose • New York Times • July 2023) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The wonderful and spectacular and always charming Casey Newton once again joins Josh on a journey through the exciting twists and turns of Elon Musk's absolutely terrible business chops and the incredible rise of Meta's Threads (also known as Instagram For Words). On this episode, the two explore how Mr. Musk has had his butt cheeks royally handed to him by a one Mark Zuckerberg, previously know as The Worst Man Online. Now Mark is cool, Elon's a ghoul, and Twitter is down for the count. Discussed: Elective surgery, Jeff Bezos' hangover cure, betches. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington Post columnist George Conway talks about Trump's next moves after his indictment. Platformer's Casey Newton talks to us about the increasingly bleak outlook for Twitter's financial future. Then we'll talk to Lashrecse Aird about her run against an anti-choice state senator in the Virginia State House. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maddy, Jason, and Kirk bring on special guest Casey Newton (Platformer, The Verge, Hard Fork) to talk about the generative AI craze that's sweeping the land. Artificial intelligence: what even is it? How did it become such a popular trend? And what does it all mean for video games? One More Thing: Kirk: Nope (2022) Maddy: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Jason: Talk to Me: How to Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers, and Interview Anyone Like a Pro by Dean Nelson Links: Casey Newton’s newsletter, Platformer , and his podcast, Hard Fork Kevin Roose’s unsettling encounter with Bing/Sydney: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/technology/bing-chatbot-microsoft-chatgpt.html Triple Click LIVE IN BROOKLYN, May 18th: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/triple-click-live-tickets-513213584647 Support Triple Click: http://maximumfun.org/join Buy Triple Click Merch: https://maxfunstore.com/search?q=triple+click&options%5Bprefix%5D=last Join the Triple Click Discord: http://discord.gg/tripleclickpod Triple Click Ethics Policy: https://maximumfun.org/triple-click-ethics-policy/ Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/jointripleclick 🚀 SUPPORT TRIPLE CLICK: Join Maximum Fun | Buy TC Merch 💬 JOIN THE TRIPLE CLICK DISCORD 🎮 Triple Click Ethics Policy 📱 SOCIALS | @tripleclickpod Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Twitch

From the high speed train wreck that is Twitter 2.0, to the extradition of a fallen crypto kingpin and AI that can rewrite your dating profile, there’s a lot happening in tech right now. Nayeema Raza moderates a conversation with Kara Swisher and Casey Newton, the founder and editor of Platformer. They break down the biggest stories of 2022 and look at what lies ahead in 2023. Will there be less billionaire grift? Is this the year that AI takes your job? And, "OK Google," could this be the year that Bing gets its revenge? This conversation was taped in front of a live audience at Manny’s in San Francisco. You can find Kara and Nayeema on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Casey Newton is the editor of Platformer and co-host of Hard Fork. He joins Big Technology Podcast to keep up an annual tradition of looking back on the year that was, and looking ahead to the year that will be. In this episode, we review the wild developments at Twitter, the decline of Web3, and Amazon and Meta's progress in 2022. Then, we predict what will take place with ChatGPT, state bans on content moderation, Substack's ad business, and Apple's App Store. Tune in for one of our most fun shows of the year. If you like Big Technology Podcast, please rate it five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. (Big thank you to all who rated in the past few weeks!!). For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901970121829801984/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Casey Newton is one of the best reporters in the world when it comes to getting an inside look at the triumphs and tragedies of the Silicon Valley elite. Lately he’s been something of a scoop machine about all things Twitter. From mistaken firings to panicked midnight emails, Casey has been tracking all the nasty details of Twitter’s flop era — so who better to clue Josh in to what the future may hold for the social network you love to hate. Discussed: Christianity, Excited CEOs, the Cuomo brothers, Diet Coke. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MSNBC’s Lawrence O'Donnell, joins us to talk about how midterm elections should be covered. Then, Tom Bonier CEO of Target Smart, tells us about how he was able to accurately predict the midterms. Finally, we’re joined by Hard Fork podcast host Casey Newton to talk Elon Musk’s Twitter and FTK’s bankruptcy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Casey Newton, a former writer at The Verge, started Platformer to cover the societal impact of the most powerful tech platforms. He’s used a subscription model, charging $100 a year. With 75,000 free subscribers and what he’ll only call “thousands” of paid subscribers – Platformer is the No. 2 most popular paid newsletter in tech on Substack – Casey has built a successful solo business that’s he’s expanding by bringing on Zoe Schiffer as Platformer’s managing editor. (He’s also got a new podcast coming out in partnership with The New York Times.) Going direct. “The one thing I've learned from covering these social networks is you've got to stop yourself from having a middleman in between you and the audience. I’ve got to go get that direct connection. And there is no more direct connection than having your own business and selling a product for money.” Subscriptions make the solo path easier . “It's ridiculously plug and play. It’s amazing to think that just by adding a subscription component to a blogging platform, you can enable hundreds, maybe thousands, of people to start their own successful businesses.” Newsletters are more nimble : “The thing I love about new newsletters, in particular, is that they can evolve so quickly. If you go back to the five years that I've been writing a daily newsletter, now there are whole sections that used to be there that just aren't there anymore. And it's totally fine. Whereas like you work for a website, if you want to redesign it, give yourself two years. My newsletter can just evolve.” The indie path is niche . “My hope was that two years on so many more people were going to do this. I spent that first year that I was independent talking to so many boldface name reporters at The New York times, The Atlantic, you name it, because they were all thinking about doing the exact same thing. I was trying to encourage them to do it because I was having so much fun with it and it was succeeding, but so very few people pulled that trigger. I think individually, they all had good reasons. But I have been shocked at how few people, relatively speaking, have followed. Most people have really wanted the comfort, the stability of that standard media job.”

One of the many joys of going independent and writing on Substack is that I work at the eye of a trend piece. There’s a storm circling around me with fights about Substack’s politics and its promise as a media disruptor. But at the center of that vortex, I’m far more focused on my own business than the broader maelstrom around me. I’m very fortunate to say that my paid subscriber count has now grown beyond 1,500 and more than 22,000 people now receive my free emails. I’ve been enjoying a steeper growth curve lately. This week on the Dead Cat podcast, Katie Benner , Tom Dotan , and I talk to technology Substack writer Casey Newton . On the podcast, I reminisce about how I phoned Newton during the depths of the pandemic to tell him that I was going to leave Bloomberg to start a Substack only to learn he was about to launch one as well. Newton founded Platformer , a go-to destination for news and analysis about what’s happening in the technology industry — especially at social media companies. Newton and I are part of a group of writers that formed the Discord community Sidechannel together. (Paying Newcomer subscribers get access to the community, though I’ll confess that my channels are fairly dormant.) Our discussion was sparked by a news story about what’s not happening. Substack apparently isn’t raising a new round of financing, according to the New York Times . Unlike fellow Andreessen Horowitz portfolio company Clubhouse, which raised at a $4 billion valuation in April 2021, Substack hasn’t earned a unicorn valuation. Substack reportedly generated about $9 million in revenue in 2021. Given the turbulent financial markets, Substack abandoned its fundraising effort, according to the report. Newton celebrated Substack’s failure to fundraise in his newsletter: One, it reduces the pressure on Substack to financialize every facet of its newsletter, podcast and app ecosystem. In March, when the company introduced an app, I noted here that Substack shut off emails from your subscribed publications by default — a worrying step, I thought, toward building a centralized platform that the company could monetize more aggressively. To its credit, Substack changed the default to preserve email subscriptions within 24 hours. But giving up more equity to VCs will bring more “suggestions” from the company’s board to move in this direction. The more Substack can rely on its own cash flow, the more easily it can chart its own future. Two, having less cash on hand can enforce a useful kind of discipline on a company. Having giant piles of cash on hand can be great for making splashy acquisitions or experimenting with new products. But Substack is still figuring out just how many people can sustainably enter this line of work — solo creators, operating mostly without a safety net, selling media for a monthly fee. (On the podcast, we also talk about Elon Musk’s Twitter bid and Snap’s tumbling stock price.) Give it a listen. Read the <a target="_blank" href="htt

(Recorded April 2021) This week, Alexis gets non-technical with Casey Newton, Founder and Editor of Platformer. They talk about retired theatre kid energy, cooking-show-induced communism, "DFMO," GOSSIP!, and the only two things Twitter should be used for. You can find Casey on Twitter at twitter.com/CaseyNewton and Alexis at twitter.com/yayalexisgay and instagram.com/yayalexisgay or twitter.com/NonTechnicalPod.

Platformer's Casey Newton speaks with Parler CEO George Farmer and GETTR CEO Jason Miller about the conservative social media business model, free speech, and content moderation. Recorded live at Pivot MIA on February 16, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of Lawfare 's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Casey Newton, veteran Silicon Valley editor for The Verge who recently went independent to start a newsletter on Substack called Platformer. Few people have followed the stories of platforms and content moderation in recent years as closely and carefully as Casey, so Evelyn and Quinta asked him about what’s changed in the last four years—especially in the lead-up to the election. They also spoke about the challenges of reporting on the tech industry and whether the increased willingness of platforms to moderate content means that the name of this podcast series will have to change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Casey Newton is the editor of Platformer, a CNBC Contributor, and a friend of Big Technology Podcast. He joins us for our final show of the year, where we look back on the biggest stories of 2021 and predict what's coming in 2022. Join us for a conversation about Big Tech's year of transition, the upcoming Web3 wars, and whether the cult of the founder is falling apart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices