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Latest Posts by Derek Thompson

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Is China the Winner of the Iran War? Podcast Episode · Plain English with Derek Thompson · April 3 · 52m

This @dkthomp.bsky.social interviewing @alexbhturnbull.bsky.social piece is thought provoking 👍

Strangely, some of the crisis management techniques like FWH were tested and refined during COVID shutdown. So the arc of history is indeed long

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

5 days ago 12 4 0 0

It is, thank you

5 days ago 13 2 2 1
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Anthropic Thinks AI Might Destroy the Economy. It's Building It Anyway. Spotify video

Some questions for Anthropic cofounder Jack Clark:

- Can you really blame Americans for hating AI if you go around promising your product will destroy 10 million jobs?
- If you compare AI to nukes, why shouldn't the govt just nationalize your firm? Private co's aren't allowed to build nukes!

1 week ago 30 7 4 2
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Plain History: How Norman Borlaug Stopped the Apocalypse Podcast Episode · Plain English with Derek Thompson · May 16, 2025 · 1h 9m

It's Norman Borlaug's birthday! If you don't know who he was, you should--regardless of what you think about modern ag and the global food system--as NB was, for better and worse, a major part of creating them. Last year, I had a fun talk with Derek Thompson (@dkthomp.bsky.social) about the guy.

1 week ago 25 11 2 1
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The Casino-ification of America Spotify video

- Rising sports gambling bankruptcies.
- Anonymous insiders profiting from eerily specific war predictions on Polymarket
- Reporters threatened by gamblers for writing articles that would result in lost bets

You don't have to be against all gambling to see things are headed to a dark place fast

2 weeks ago 43 9 3 2
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The Economic Crisis of the Iran War Could Get Very Bad, Very Fast If Donald Trump doesn't end the war by April, "oil prices could get into Scary Land," one expert told me.

“If the Strait of Hormuz is functionally closed [for] two weeks, I think we’re going to get $100-plus oil. If we go beyond that, then oil prices could start to get into Scary Land.”

www.derekthompson.org/p/the-econom...

1 month ago 49 10 4 0
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We need candidates who fall firmly into “looks like a cinnamon roll, could actually kill you” overlap.

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Why AI Is 'Not Particularly Good' at Curing Disease (Plus: The Next GLP-1 Boom and Why America Hates Big Pharma) A wide-ranging interview with Dave Ricks, the CEO of Eli Lilly, which makes the GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound and recently became the first trillion-dollar pharma company in history

Great piece by @dkthomp.bsky.social on GLPs, AI, and how we make progress in biomedicine. First thing to notice: without early studies on the biology of anglerfish and gila monsters, this trillion-dollar breakthrough likely wouldn't exist.

open.substack.com/pub/derektho...

1 month ago 21 7 2 1
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Why AI Is 'Not Particularly Good' at Curing Disease (Plus: The Next GLP-1 Boom and Why America Hates Big Pharma) A wide-ranging interview with Dave Ricks, the CEO of Eli Lilly, which makes the GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound and recently became the first trillion-dollar pharma company in history

Striking @dkthomp.bsky.social interview w/ Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks covering the widespread effects of GLP-1 drugs, AI as a bad cancer-cure finder, why people hate Big Pharma, and more.

Gotta say, I often wonder if these drugs will end up having way more long-term impact on our lives than AI.

1 month ago 24 5 1 0
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Why AI Is 'Not Particularly Good' at Curing Disease (Plus: The Next GLP-1 Boom and Why America Hates Big Pharma) A wide-ranging interview with Dave Ricks, the CEO of Eli Lilly, which makes the GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound and recently became the first trillion-dollar pharma company in history

Very interesting piece - @dkthomp.bsky.social talks to Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks about GLP-1s.

These drugs will be up there with vaccines and antibiotics in their impact on public health. Remarkable seeing it unfold in real time.

HT @charlescmann.bsky.social
www.derekthompson.org/p/why-ai-is-...

1 month ago 17 2 0 0
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How Metrics Make Us Miserable Podcast Episode · Plain English with Derek Thompson · February 27 · 1h 4m

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...
@dkthomp.bsky.social and @add-hawk.bsky.social clearly I am a total dork, that what a fun conversation about philosophy, games, the world and teaching!

1 month ago 6 1 0 0

FWIW @dkthomp.bsky.social says he’s not a new contributor at CBS and has been on contract with the network for the past seven years.

2 months ago 50 8 10 2
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The 26 Most Important Ideas For 2026 Modern trends and history lessons—across culture, politics, AI, economics, science, and the long story of progress. But first: an announcement!

YIR: The most thought-provoking analysis of the major economic, cultural, ideas that are affecting the U.S. in profound ways. @dkthomp.bsky.social certainly has his ear to the rails, together with a human touch to explain it all. Certainly one of the best reads this season. #longreads

3 months ago 12 1 1 0
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Wow. Tracking Americans using alcohol vs cannabis:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
(via @dkthomp.bsky.social )

3 months ago 16 3 3 1
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The 26 Most Important Ideas For 2026 Modern trends and history lessons—across culture, politics, AI, economics, science, and the long story of progress. But first: an announcement!

New post by @dkthomp.bsky.social is excellent, although I wish he had raised the saliency of good news in the world. GLP-1 drugs are miracles. AVs are saving lives. Solar + Batteries are simply winning. mRNA, cultured meat, EVs, robotics....the future is here. www.derekthompson.org/p/the-26-mos...

3 months ago 15 3 1 1
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52 things I learned in 2025 This year I stopped being a consultant, started a tiny company, sold hundreds of little modular synths, hosted two incredible events, and…

Hi Derek, here's 2025 medium.com/@tomwhitwell...

4 months ago 12 4 1 0
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DKTHOMP: “.. Last week, we were discussing how one could capture the entire AI-bubble debate in about 12 statistics .. we thought: What the hell, let’s just publish the whole playbook!”

@dkthomp.bsky.social
www.derekthompson.org/p/how-to-sou...

4 months ago 189 43 7 0
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How to Sound Like an Expert in Any AI Bubble Debate There are 12 statistics, factoids, and studies that dominate every discussion about whether artificial intelligence is a bubble. Here's a deep-dive into all 12 arguments

Every AI-bubble debate is the same 12 facts, studies, and arguments quoted back and forth, over and over.

So Tim Lee at @understandingai.skystack.xyz and I teamed up to publish a 4,000 word deep-dive analysis of all 12.

www.derekthompson.org/p/how-to-sou...

4 months ago 49 12 4 1

This will be the most useful thing you will read this month

There are 12 statistics, factoids, and studies that dominate every discussion about whether artificial intelligence is a bubble. Here's a deep-dive into all 12 arguments.
via @dkthomp.bsky.social

www.derekthompson.org/p/how-to-sou...

4 months ago 35 11 4 0
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The American Math Crisis

I was glad to be on the latest episode of @dkthomp.bsky.social's Plain English podcast, discussing how to turn around declining US math skills.

We know at least some of the solutions but in many cases have been doing just the opposite.

Listen here:

open.spotify.com/episode/06Ve...

4 months ago 25 7 4 0
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Everybody Thinks AI Is a Bubble. What If They’re Wrong? Podcast Episode · Plain English with Derek Thompson · 10/17/2025 · 52m

New pod: I think AI is a bubble. But, suddenly, so does everybody else.

I don't like it when conventional wisdoms get too conventional.

So I asked @azeem.bsky.social: What is the single strongest case that AI is NOT a bubble?

This episode is his answer.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

5 months ago 24 3 4 1
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The Future of Entertainment, Part 1: Is Hollywood's Business Model Broken?

I loved chatting with the always-sharp @dkthomp.bsky.social about the catastrophic recent loss of work for Hollywood's middle-class and why AI may lead to a creative renaissance for the entertainment industry akin to 1970s cinema. open.spotify.com/episode/2P3w...

5 months ago 10 2 0 0
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Everything Is Television A theory of culture and attention

1. Social media is now 5% following friends and 95% watching videos made by strangers.
2. Every podcast is turning into a YouTube show.
3. AI companies can't stop building TikTok clones.

Everything is becoming television.

I wrote about why that matters.

www.derekthompson.org/p/why-everyt...

5 months ago 151 47 13 23
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> @dkthomp.bsky.social

6 months ago 2066 578 118 33
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This Is How the AI Bubble Will Pop The artificial intelligence boom is the most important economic story in the world. But the numbers just don't add up.

"Total AI capex is projected to exceed $500 billion in 2026 and 2027—roughly the annual GDP of Singapore. Meanwhile, American consumers spend only $12 billion a year on AI services—roughly the GDP of Somalia."

www.derekthompson.org/p/this-is-ho...

6 months ago 53 14 4 7

“The demise of writing matters because writing is not a second thing that happens after thinking. The act of writing is an act of thinking.”

@dkthomp.bsky.social captures the high stakes of academic declines: we need to be training our brains to compete w AI.
www.theargumentmag.com/p/you-have-1...

6 months ago 45 10 3 0
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This Is How the AI Bubble Could Burst Podcast Episode · Plain English with Derek Thompson · 09/23/2025 · 59m

Another great discussion from @dkthomp.bsky.social

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

6 months ago 11 2 1 0

Well whatever we want to call it it’s bad!

6 months ago 22 0 4 0
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America in the Age of Diagnosis

Loved this episode of Plain English with @dkthomp.bsky.social. Suzanne O’Sullivan is such a sane, compassionate and helpful voice in the field of medicine and mental health.

pca.st/episode/5972...

6 months ago 7 3 2 0