Better Offline – Monologue: The Questions I'm Asking

Host: Ed Zitron
Release Date: December 12, 2025
Podcast Network: Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

In this week’s monologue, host Ed Zitron opens the doors to his investigative process, directly recruiting listeners to help unravel the opaque economic realities at the heart of the AI and tech industry—especially around the costs, revenues, and inner dealings that big tech companies work hard to obscure. Ed discusses the challenges of tracing actual operational costs in AI development, points out contradictions in public narratives, and rattles off a list of data points and sources he’s seeking for future exposés. It’s a candid call to action—the community-powered reporting machine at work.

Key Discussion Points

1. Direct Community Engagement for Investigative Journalism

• Ed thanks listeners for their previous contributions and encourages further engagement via Signal, emphasizing that listener tips have already materially contributed to Better Offline’s reporting.
  • “So many of you are eager to help, and if you want to help, well, reach out to me with information and do so on Signal.” (00:39)

2. Skepticism About Big AI Announcements

• Ed delivers a dismissive assessment of headline tech news, notably the Disney-OpenAI deal and Time’s Person of the Year pick involving AI executives:
  • “Disney invested a billion dollars in OpenAI. That's about a month's worth of inference. The Sony delays the inevitable. No one cares. They're threatening Google with legal action. Google will settle and they'll do exactly the same crap with veo. Nothing will happen. A bunch of money will get lost.” (01:18)
  • “If you've heard about Time naming AI executives as its Person of the Year, remember that Marc Benioff of Salesforce, a huge AI booster, owns the publication, literally ran advertorial for Salesforce's agent Force Wank. It's nothing. Nothing's happening. It's just more money being passed around so it can all get blown on nothing.” (01:35)
• The commentary highlights Ed’s characteristic, irreverent skepticism and amplifies distrust toward PR-driven narratives from tech giants.

3. Open Requests for Source Material and Data

Ed lays out a set of very specific information requests, inviting insiders and whistleblowers to share details that would “materially change” the show’s reporting:

• Nvidia AI GPU Warehousing:
  • Express interest in documentation (photos, numbers, ownership) regarding Nvidia AI GPUs (especially the latest Blackwell line), making a humorous but firm distinction between AI and gaming GPUs:
    • “Please. God, if you reach out with this about gaming GPUs, I'll be genuinely pissed off at you.” (02:16)
• GPU Failure Rates and Operational Costs:
  • Wants details about “remarkable failure rates” or insight about the costs for running various Nvidia AI GPUs.
• AI Company Revenues and Cloud Expenditures:
  • Requests leaks or internal knowledge on revenues and cloud operation costs from major players: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure, CoreWeave, Lambda, and Nebious.
• Enterprise AI Startup Costs:
  • Asks insiders from startups that pay OpenAI or Anthropic for model/API usage to share their expense breakdowns.
• Data Center Costs & GPU Inventory:
  • Wants info on “total cost of ownership” for data center GPUs, the per-unit costs, and how many of various models (A100, H100, H200, B100, B200, B300, Blackwell) major cloud providers are currently running.
    • “I want to know how many GPUs hyperscalers have too. So if you work at Amazon, Microsoft or Google, and you know how many of the goddamn GPUs they've got, please reach out.” (03:29)
• Hourly GPU Operation Costs:
  • Specifically interested in “per GPU” hourly costs.

4. The “Holy Grail” Data

• The most valuable missing numbers are the underlying real costs of running large language models and services at scale:
  • “My grail data...would be the underlying cost of running large language models, which means understanding both how many GPUs are used to for inference and training and the actual costs of running said GPUs. The costs of running GPUs are at the center of the bubble and I believe that truth will be what bursts in…” (04:00)
• Stresses that the ongoing AI boom is propped up by opacity, and revealing the real economic underpinnings could reshape the industry.

5. Ethos and Listener Relationship

• Ed punctuates with both exasperation and affection for his growing, involved listenership:
  • “Look, together I believe we can make the world better by providing the public with the truth. And this era is one steeped in outright lies and societal selfishness that deprives good companies of funding and shoves dysfunctional software on millions of people that just wish it would go the fuck away.” (04:45)
• Expresses gratitude for the audience’s support and engagement, promising that contributors could become a “better offline legend of the week...maybe even the legend of the year” (03:03) for material assists.

6. Teaser for Next Week & Reflections on 2025

• Teases an upcoming three-part investigation into Nvidia, describing it as “the weirdest company in stock market history,” and jokes about refusing to rerecord his rambling delivery:
  • “We're just. We're just. I'm not fixing it. I'm not fixing that. You want the raw stuff. Anyway, Nvidia is the weirdest company in stock market history.” (05:36)
• Comments warmly on 2025’s chaos, the mix of good and bad in the year, and his enjoyment of listener exchanges.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “So many of you are eager to help, and if you want to help, well, reach out to me with information and do so on Signal.” (00:39)
• “Disney invested a billion dollars in OpenAI. That's about a month's worth of inference... Nothing will happen. A bunch of money will get lost.” (01:18)
• “[About Time mag’s Person of the Year:] It's nothing. Nothing's happening. It's just more money being passed around so it can all get blown on nothing.” (01:35)
• “Please. God, if you reach out with this about gaming GPUs, I'll be genuinely pissed off at you.” (02:16)
• “I want to know how many of the goddamn GPUs they've got, please reach out.” (03:29)
• “The costs of running GPUs are at the center of the bubble and I believe that truth will be what bursts in…” (04:19)
• “...this era is one steeped in outright lies and societal selfishness that deprives good companies of funding and shoves dysfunctional software on millions of people that just wish it would go the fuck away.” (04:45)
• (On upcoming Nvidia series) “Anyway, Nvidia is the weirdest company in stock market history. Oh God. I'm gonna hear from you all about that one. I really do love hearing from you though.” (05:44)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:37 – Host welcomes listeners & invites them behind the scenes; Signal contact info
• 01:18 – Commentary on Disney-OpenAI and Time Person of the Year news cycles
• 02:16 – Specific request for Nvidia AI GPU warehousing info; sporting tone and specificity
• 03:03 – Requests widen: revenue data, costs, datacenter numbers, cloud deals, startup expenses
• 04:00 – Outline of critical “grail data”: real costs of running LLMs and AI models
• 04:45 – Statement of purpose: truth vs tech PR; gratitude to the audience for “crazy” 2025
• 05:36 – Next week’s Nvidia series teased in unvarnished, self-aware delivery
• 05:44 – Reflections on the year and encouragement for ongoing audience interaction

Tone and Language

Ed Zitron’s monologue is direct, irreverent, and transparently collaborative—blending biting skepticism with humor and open-mindedness. He invites listeners to become insiders and partners, not just passive consumers. Cursing, dry sarcasm, and self-awareness keep the edge sharp but relatable.

Summary

This Better Offline monologue pulls back the curtain on the process of holding Big Tech accountable. Ed’s crowdsourced approach energizes listeners as critical stakeholders, not merely spectators, in the ongoing wrestle for tech transparency. Taking shots at vapid industry PR and making specific, aspiration-filled requests for hard data, Ed establishes himself as both watchdog and ringleader, teeing up a future exposé on Nvidia with characteristic wit—and a genuine appreciation for his passionate, information-wielding audience.