Podcast Summary: Better Offline – "Monologue: Dealing With The Weight Of History"

Host: Ed Zitron
Released: October 31, 2025
Podcast Network: Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts

Main Theme & Purpose

In this passionate solo monologue, tech industry veteran Ed Zitron delivers a blistering critique of the current state and future promises of "Big Tech," with a special focus on AI hype and OpenAI’s financial realities. Zitron challenges the tech industry’s relentless pursuit of growth, the opacity surrounding AI revenues, and the lack of meaningful improvement in consumer tech, while also offering a note of solidarity to listeners overwhelmed by the manipulations of the tech elite.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Industry’s AI Hype and Lack of Transparency

• Zitron opens with frustration at how every major tech company boasts about AI and revenue growth in earnings calls, yet stubbornly refuses to disclose how much money is actually being made from AI products or GPU rentals (00:42–02:00).
• Only Microsoft briefly disclosed its AI revenues before stopping; the rest remain secretive, despite massive spending.

“Microsoft did it 2/4 running, then they stopped. Not a problem. ... Are they shy? Are they shy? ... Is the revenue too good? Oh, I couldn't possibly. I'm too shy.” (Ed Zitron, 01:07)

2. OpenAI’s Financial Realities and IPO Plans

• OpenAI, which transitioned to a for-profit entity with minimal oversight, is discussed as a key example of tech’s excesses. Zitron cites a report that OpenAI lost $11 billion in the last quarter, calling the upcoming IPO plans pure fantasy and inviting listeners to question the entire enterprise (02:05–03:35).

“Let them file a goddamn s1. Show me the innards of this company. I bet OpenAI's books are going to look like a dog's dinner coming out of its asshole on Thanksgiving.” (Ed Zitron, 02:47)

3. Insistence on Growth at All Costs

• Zitron observes that OpenAI and similar companies are “committed to burning billions,” sustaining a cycle of speculative growth with little regard for actual product utility or user benefit (03:36–06:00).
• He criticizes the financial media and industry analysts for going along with this “copium-fueled” delusion, likening the present moment to prior Silicon Valley excesses.

4. The Deterioration of Everyday Technology

• Despite the “glorious era” supposedly ushered in by AI, everyday products (social networks, email, apps) are demonstrably “dumber,” less effective, and filled with advertising or spam (05:20–06:43).

“Can we just get the things that we use every day to fucking work again? Or is that too much to ask in an era where everything must grow eternally?” (Ed Zitron, 05:57)

• Zitron argues that, contrary to hype, almost nothing has improved for regular users in the last three years of the AI boom.

5. Futility of Massive AI Investment

• He questions the rationale behind $80 billion in quarterly capital expenditure on “data centers full of GPUs” when core user experiences continue to degrade (06:46–07:30).

“Why not sink some of that capex into making your products better or your users happier? Why not make your products work properly?” (Ed Zitron, 07:10)

• Zitron posits that generative AI often only works “half” of the time, and its “innovation” is shallow, with companies more interested in appearing as whatever is most valuable to VCs at the moment.

6. The Psychology of AI Boosters

• There’s frustration with AI enthusiasts—“boosters”—who, in his view, are committed to defending mediocre technology and gaslighting themselves into believing in AI’s promise, because to admit otherwise would be to recognize these tools as inadequate (07:51–09:01).

“Because if you don't defend it, you have to admit that the software is training you, not the other way around.” (Ed Zitron, 08:38)

7. Call for Solidarity and Community

• Amid despair about tech’s direction, Zitron encourages listeners to seek solidarity and community, both online and offline, noting that those sidelined or frustrated by current trends are not alone (09:02–10:55).

“It may feel like the forces against us are all powerful, but they are not. They're committed to burning billions of dollars only because they know that the second that they stop, the bubble will pop and they will be revealed as the directionless sh[am] they've always been.” (Ed Zitron, 10:25)

• He plugs the Better Offline subreddit and his own email as spaces for connection.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tech’s Reluctance to Reveal AI Revenue:
  “Are they shy? Are they shy? ... Is the revenue too good? Oh, I couldn't possibly. I'm too shy. I couldn't share my AI revenue.” (01:15)
• Satirical Dismissal of OpenAI’s IPO Prospects:
  “Show me the innards of this company. I bet OpenAI's books are going to look like a dog's dinner coming out of its asshole on Thanksgiving.” (02:47)
• Encouragement for Listeners to Vocalize Their Frustration:
  “I want you to say this out loud ... Fuck these people. Doesn't that feel good? Fuck these people. Fuck them.” (04:23)
• Blunt Call-Out of Tech’s Failures:
  “Can we just get the things that we use every day to fucking work again? Or is that too much to ask in an era where everything must grow eternally?” (05:57)
• Analysis of the Problems with AI Booster Culture:
  “Because if you don't defend it, you have to admit that the software is training you, not the other way around.” (08:38)
• Point on Community and Resistance:
  “It may feel like the forces against us are all powerful, but they are not. ... I tell you that it isn’t, and that the only reason that pressure exists is because they fear and may even know that you are right.” (10:38)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 00:42 – 02:00: Industry evasiveness around AI revenues
• 02:05 – 03:35: OpenAI’s losses and IPO speculation
• 03:36 – 06:00: Relentless growth mindset and industry self-delusion
• 05:20 – 06:43: Everyday tech failures and user frustration
• 06:46 – 07:30: Critique of AI capital spending over product improvement
• 07:51 – 09:01: Culture of AI boosters and self-deception
• 09:02 – 10:55: Call to solidarity, community, and hope against tech’s status quo

Tone, Style, and Delivery

Zitron’s tone is acerbic, direct, and often profane, blending genuine outrage with gallows humor and urgency. He swerves from biting sarcasm to earnest appeals for listener connection and solidarity, maintaining a lively, conversational flow throughout.

Conclusion

Ed Zitron’s “Dealing With The Weight Of History” is a raw, incisive reflection on the colossal gap between the tech industry’s promises and the unhappy reality for consumers and society. The monologue is equal parts industry exposé, cathartic venting, and a rallying cry for critical engagement and community support among those skeptical of the tech status quo.