Monologue: The Year Ahead
January 16, 2026
7 min
Bonus
201 of 247
January 16, 2026
Monologue: The Year Ahead
0:00 / 7:42
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Better Offline Episodes Around January 16, 2026
Episode 201 of 247 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
7:42This episodeMonologue: The Year Ahead
Summary
<p>In this week's Better Offline monologue, Ed Zitron walks you through the seeming collapse of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines, and why the AI bubble can’t survive the death of OpenAI.</p> <p>Save $10 off a year of my premium newsletter: <a href="https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1">https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/gzqwkv54e1</a> - I’d be so grateful! </p> <p>Kylie Robison’s scoop about Thinking Machines: <a href="https://x.com/kyliebytes/status/2011572331798548899">https://x.com/kyliebytes/status/2011572331798548899</a></p> <p>Max Zeff of WIRED’s follow-on story: <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/thinking-machines-lab-cofounders-leave-for-openai/">https://www.wired.com/story/thinking-machines-lab-cofounders-leave-for-openai/</a></p> <p>YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to <a href="https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline">https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline</a> and use code <strong>FREE99</strong> for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.</p> <p>---</p> <p>LINKS: <a href="https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks">https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks</a></p> <p>Newsletter: <a href="https://www.wheresyoured.at/">https://www.wheresyoured.at/</a></p> <p>Reddit: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/">https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/</a> </p> <p>Discord: <a href="https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv">chat.wheresyoured.at</a></p> <p>Ed's Socials:</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/edzitron">https://twitter.com/edzitron</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/edzitron">https://www.instagram.com/edzitron</a></p> <p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com">https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.threads.net/@edzitron">https://www.threads.net/@edzitron</a></p> <p>Email Me: <a href="mailto:ez@betteroffline.com">ez@betteroffline.com</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>
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