Taylor Lorenz and Brian Chau: Hope for the Future of Journalism

<p>On this very special double episode of <em>The Hope Axis</em>, Anna Gát is joined by author, technology journalist, and User Mag founder Taylor Lorenz, and engineer, writer, and founder of Effort, a new media outlet, Brian Chau. </p><p><br></p><p>Anna, Taylor and Brian, explore what comes next for journalism, from new independent publications to AI-powered approaches to reporting, and what being “extremely online” has taught us about the internet we’re building. Hope you enjoy!</p><p><br></p><p><strong>For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:</strong></p><p>https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LlCxe_mUEAQriLy-eqwMitq-JS0df90m/view?usp=sharing</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Important Links for Taylor:</strong></p><p>X (Twitter) – https://x.com/TaylorLorenz </p><p>Instagram– https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz/?hl=en </p><p>Website– https://www.taylorlorenz.com/ </p><p>Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorlorenz/</p><p><br></p><p> <strong>Important Links for Brian:</strong></p><p>X (Twitter) – https://x.com/brianchau57</p><p>Substack–https://substack.com/@cactus </p><p>Website– https://www.brianchau.ai/</p><p>Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/imaxblue/ </p><p><strong>Show Notes:</strong></p><p>(0:00:00) Guest Introduction<br>(0:04:13) Self Publishing &amp; Working at the NYT<br>(0:07:18) What Legacy Media Gets Wrong About the Internet<br>(0:11:29) Effort News, Reporting on Past Events &amp; Early Internet<br>(0:17:40) Positive and Negative Stories about the Future<br>(0:24:51) Zoomer Personal Experience and Optimism<br>(0:27:37) Outlooks for the Future, Cultural Christianity, and Abundance<br>(0:40:29) How Grant Money Shapes Coverage<br>(0:45:31) Journalism in the Uncertain Environment, America as an Esoteric Regime<br>(0:50:06) Follow the Funding<br>(0:59:13) Presenting Facts vs Assigning Motives<br>(1:03:45) Hope for Journalism</p><p><strong>Books, Essays &amp; References Mentioned:</strong></p><p>Taylor Lorenz — Extremely Online </p><p>Ezra Klein &amp; Derek Thompson — Abundance </p><p>Alexis de Tocqueville — Democracy in America </p><p>Jonathan Haidt — The Anxious Generation </p><p>Marshall McLuhan — “The medium is the message” </p><p>Leo Strauss — Political philosophy </p><p>Harry Jaffa — American political philosophy </p><p>H. P. Lovecraft — Dagon </p><p>Richard Dawkins — Cultural Christianity </p><p>Peter Thiel — Antichrist and “peace and safety” </p><p>The Odyssey — Homer </p><p>Helen of Troy — Greek mythology </p><p>Arrival