A Thanksgiving Monologue

Summary

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Better Offline – "A Thanksgiving Monologue"

Host: Ed Zitron
Date: November 27, 2025
Podcast: Better Offline (Cool Zone Media, iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

In this special Thanksgiving monologue, host Ed Zitron sets aside the usual hard-hitting industry exposés to reflect on his personal journey, thank his community of listeners, and share candid thoughts on the tech landscape—particularly the AI industry's current state. This episode departs from typical analysis, embracing vulnerability, gratitude, and a call to arms for societal awareness around tech hype and financial misdirection.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Thankfulness for the Audience and Community

Timestamp: 01:22–03:00

• Ed opens with heartfelt gratitude, emphasizing the importance of humanity amid technological change:
  • “Our humanity is what makes us different from the machines, and that's what makes this show special. And I'm endlessly grateful for the hundreds of thousands of human beings who listen to or read my work every month.” (02:12)
• He reflects on how the podcast has become personally meaningful, providing space to wrestle with complex feelings about technology, the industry, and his own identity.

2. The AI Bubble and Industry Paranoia

Timestamp: 03:01–04:40

• Ed asserts we are living in an “AI bubble”—an environment of financial hype and questionable sustainability:
  • “The conclusion of the AI bubble, I think, is going to be a referendum on the status quo, a stress test of the tech industry's largest firms and collective intellect. And honestly, imagination.” (03:11)
• He feels validated by listeners who also see through industry PR, citing conversations from emails and online forums.
• Critiques how media and market consensus avoid confronting realities about leading companies like OpenAI:
  • “Everyone's still posting these headlines both about being in an AI bubble and also in the midst of the greatest technological revolution since...whatever half-arsed comparison people are even making these days, they're not even really fucking bothering, are they?” (04:01)

3. Calling Out OpenAI and Industry Hype

Timestamp: 04:41–05:45

• Ed describes OpenAI’s business strategy as reckless, comparing it to a dangerous tightrope act:
  • “Everybody is still trying to avoid looking at OpenAI, which is the financial equivalent of a man walking a tightrope across lava while begging a crowd of people to throw rocks at him.” (04:31)
• Openly questions OpenAI’s financials, referencing previous reporting: “OpenAI plans to burn escalating multiple billion dollar [amounts] for revenues that appear…a little questionable.” (05:08)
• Candid message to OpenAI’s CEO: “Sammy, you're still welcome to come on the show. By the way, your PR person, stop fucking responding to me. Very rude, very rude.” (04:51)

4. Validation From, and Responsibility To, Listeners

Timestamp: 05:46–07:00

• Ed credits listeners for their independent critical thinking and their role in demystifying tech industry narratives:
  • “So many of you are showing up on Bluesky and Reddit and email and you're picking up stuff very, very fast. There are members of the media who don't get things that some randos emailing me get.” (06:15)
• He sees power in collective skepticism: “What actually changes the world is regular people talking about stuff en masse. If there is just a gluttony of people who can look at this bullshit and see it for what it is, I think that changes the world.” (06:40)
• Ed emphasizes sharing information: “Tell everybody everything you know. Don't worry about giving me credit. I don't give a shit...What I give a shit about is you knowing more and making better decisions as a result.” (07:03)

5. Personal Reflections and Gratitude

Timestamp: 07:01–09:00

• Ed discusses his own growth, the support of friends, fans, and family:
  • “My world feels a lot warmer and larger than it did a year ago and I'm just very grateful for what I have.” (08:30)
• He previews future episodes featuring guests like Steve Burke (Gamers Nexus) and Nathan Grayson (Aftermath), promising lighter year-end content.
• Sincere expressions of thanks toward his production team, supporters, and partner are interwoven throughout this section.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you feel insane at the moment, it's because all of this is insane.” (Ed Zitron, 05:00)
• “It's probably going to be the most egregious I told you so in history, but I don't have to do that I told you so alone. I'm not doing it alone. You're coming with me.” (Ed Zitron, 05:30)
• “An early piece of feedback I got was never to tell you how to feel, and I won't. But I'll tell you what I know and why I feel that way. And I feel very lucky to have so many of you listening.” (Ed Zitron, 07:27)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:22 | Opening thanks and reflection on the podcast's meaning | | 03:11 | Thoughts on the AI bubble and coming industry reckoning | | 04:31 | OpenAI critique and industry skepticism | | 06:15 | Celebrating the listeners’ critical thinking and community dialogue | | 07:03 | Call to action: share information, empower others | | 08:30 | Personal gratitude and preview of upcoming episodes |

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Final Thoughts

Ed Zitron's Thanksgiving monologue is a blend of deep appreciation, sobering tech commentary, and a spirited push for audience agency. Instead of the usual investigative edge, Ed gives listeners the sense they are allies and partners in demystifying broken narratives in tech. The episode is a candid reminder of the humanity at the heart of Better Offline's mission.

Tone: Sincere, self-deprecating, grateful, lightly humorous, and, at moments, fiery in its critique.

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Have a great Thanksgiving. We'll be back to regular programming next week.
(Ed Zitron, 08:56)

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. So as summer dies down in New York City and I get a burger from Hamburger America or ice cream from Van Leeuwen, I'm always happy to see Square as their stuff just works. And that's why I like it. And I think you will too. Square keeps you up so you don't have to slow down, get everything you need to run and grow your business without any long term commitments. And why wait? Right now you can get up to $200 off square [e-mail]. go betteroffline. That's s q u a r e dot com. Go betteroffline. Run your business smarter with Square. Get started today. Call Zone Media. Hello and welcome to a very special Thanksgiving monologue. I'm your host, Ed Zetron, And, well, this one's about you, and it's about thanking you for the last year or two and saying that this show really does mean a lot to me, perhaps more than it should. And this journey has become oddly personal in that the show's allowed me to explore this kind of complex relationship I have with technology, the industry, the media, my peers, my own identity, which all sounds a bit much, I realize, but I mean it sincerely. And I think at this point you've kind of worked out. That's my whole bag. And I recognize I still sound congested. Sophie made it very clear this is all I'm doing this week. I've got to recover. And I will recover. A promise. But I wanted to say that our humanity is what makes us different from the machines, and that's what makes this show special. And I'm endlessly grateful for the hundreds of thousands of human beings who listen to or read my work every month. I love hearing from you. I'm so grateful for your generosity, your intellectual interest in my work, and in many cases, great empathy and capacity for good. And the conclusion of the AI bubble. I think it's going to be a referendum on the status quo, a stress test of the tech industry's largest firms and collective intellect. And honestly, imagination. Either I'm wrong and the growth train Suddenly sprouts from OpenAI or Microsoft or Anthropic, or I'm right and hundreds of billions of dollars got burned on unprofitable software and even less profitable hardware. While I've complained in the past about feeling alone in this, I never really have been. And you've all kind of made me realize that from the early days of my newsletter and better offline, many of you have been calling bullshit on AI too. In My comments in emails on the Reddit and a lot of you are honestly not far from where I am as far as my breadth of knowledge. I hope I'm helpful in educating you. But already so many of you see with clarity what the stakes are and how to pierce the thick layers of financial bullshit. And you all know at this point we're basically living in a paradox. Every day we look at the stock market, it's either red or slightly green. Everyone's kind of worried, everyone still posting these headlines both about being in an AI bubble and also in the midst of the greatest technological revolution since. Whatever half arsed comparison people are even making these days, they're not even really fucking bothering, are they? And everybody is still trying to avoid looking at OpenAI, which is the financial equivalent of a man walking a tightrope across lava while begging a crowd of people to throw rocks at him. Yeah, $1.4 trillion worth of compute deals in the space of five years should all be fine. Sammy, you're still welcome to come on the show. By the way, your PR person, Stop fucking responding to me. Very rude, very rude. But look you the listener, if you feel insane at the moment, it's because all of this is insane. OpenAI plans to burn escalating multiple billion dollar dollars for revenues that appear based on the episode I put out a few weeks ago. Well, they appear a little questionable. And whatever OpenAI actually makes at this point is up for debate, which I think is reasonable and should have happened earlier. And even now I still have people getting in touch with me saying, oh, perhaps the numbers are delayed, perhaps it's this, perhaps this. It's not so cruel. Accounting, I believe it's called. Those numbers were correct to the quarters I had them in. It's time to start accepting where we are. It's time to accept that things are not going well and that this bubble will burst. It's probably going to be the most egregious I told you so in history, but I don't have to do that I told you so alone. I'm not doing it alone. You're coming with me. And today I celebrate you, the listener, and I'm thankful for you for trusting me the many times I've asked you to when doing so was not really in line with the market consensus. Early on in this show, people, they said I was mad. Would a mad person laugh like this? Anyway, seriously though, so many of you stuck by me early on, even when the entirety of the media kind of did. And I'm not saying everyone was against me or anything. I'm not that kind of person, other than the fact I'm literally the single most punished person ever. But in all seriousness, you've all been there with me too. You've given me your time every week and you're generous with your time too, your energy and your focus too. So many of you are showing up on Blue sky and Reddit and email and you're picking up stuff very, very fast. There are members of the media who don't get things that some randos emailing me get you. Some of you are picking up some nuanced corporate accounting that took me a lot longer to get out there, so I could not be more proud of you. And I could not really see the show as any more powerful. Because look, what actually changes the world is regular people talking about stuff en masse. I can have whoever successful a podcast I want, I can have however many subscribers, but ultimately if there is just a gluttony of people who can look at this bullshit and see it for what it is, I think that changes the world. And you are part of that too. And the distance between my knowledge and your own is miniscule. You are the ones that will make the difference. So tell everybody everything you know. Don't worry about giving me credit. I don't give a shit. I really don't. What I give a shit about is you knowing more and making better decisions as a result. An early piece of feedback I got was never to tell you how to feel, and I won't. But I'll tell you what I know and why I feel that way. And I feel very lucky to have so many of you listening. And the end of the year is going to be a more chill thing. I think I'm going to come up with a nice two parter, maybe a three parter. I have something brewing. I'm still not sure what it is, but we're going to have some cool ones about Steam with Steve Berg from Gamers Nexus. He's been an amazing guy up on the show twice already this three cry. It's so cool. I get to talk to cool people I admire. And in that vein I also have Nathan Grayson from Aftermath coming on as well in the next few weeks. A lot to look forward to and thank you for the many emails I've got about me being sick. I really do appreciate you looking out for me. I'm taking care of myself. I have wonderful people close to me, a girlfriend who took care of me as well. And I mean it's been really nice. My world feels a lot warmer and larger than it did a year ago and I'm just very grateful for what I have. I don't know what happened next. Happened next. Jesus Christ. Not editing it, Matthew. Anyway, I don't know what happens next, but I do know that there are many, many, many more hundreds of thousands of people who are capable of actually understanding what's going to happen next. And I can't wait to tell you. I'm so lucky to do this show. I'm lucky to have an amazing producer in Matt Osowski and an editor in Matt Hughes to have Sophie and Robert supporting me on the Cool Zone media side. It's really cool doing this show. Have a great Thanksgiving. Have a great rest of the week. We'll be back to our regular bits next week. I'm Ed Zitron. Thank you for listening. Janice Torres here and I'm Austin Hankwitz. We host the podcast Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories, produced by Ruby Studio in partnership with Intuit QuickBooks. We're back for season four to talk to some incredible small business owners. The big thing about working at tech is that it's ever evolving, ever changing. Everyone's a rookie. That's how fast the industry is changing. So what I'm really excited about is to be part of that change. So listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[B]

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[C]

So usually on okay Storytime, our audience will send in their relationship problems. And the okay Storytime squad gives some good advice goofily. But today we're not giving out our usual advice. Our producer Riley says we're giving something else. So what are we doing today, Riley? Today we're playing a little game, says the man. I bought special gifts for you guys from ebay. Each one picked with one of you in mind. Yeah, Dakota, if you want to guess all right, There is a gift at my feet.

[A]

Feet.

[C]

Open that thing. And now it is in my hands. I feel like it's got to be our resident gamer kiosk. This is the rectangle of childhood.

[A]

It's a portable game console. I used to have this as a kid. This game console I used to play all the time. And you know when your mom came into the room when you were a kid and like, you're pretending to sleep. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, Riley, what a thoughtful gift.

[C]

Yeah, right? Thank you so much. You're crushing it.

[A]

But we have one more gift.

[C]

Yeah, let's open it.

[A]

Boom.

[C]

Oh, camera. Yeah, an old timey camera.

[A]

That's right.

[C]

Classic. This is awesome. Yeah, because you know how I love to take pictures of my travels. Yeah, you're always somewhere, whether it's in Kyrgyzstan with some nomads or just New York, you know, with a nice little piece of trash or a rat taking.

[A]

Pictures with the birds.

[C]

So, Riley, you got all of this from eBay, dude, eBay. It was really fun finding it with you guys. Like, I had very specific things for each one of you.

[A]

Yeah, it was all there.

[C]

Thanks, Riley. And thank you, eBay. And guys shop ebay for millions of finds, each with a story. EBay. Things people love.

[D]

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[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.