Pope Trump, Zuckerberg’s AI Friends, and the Shocking Truth of How Teens Live Online | Crooked Media
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May 08, 2025
Offline with Jon Favreau
Pope Trump, Zuckerberg’s AI Friends, and the Shocking Truth of How Teens Live Online

In This Episode

Lauren Greenfield, director of the acclaimed FX docuseries “Social Studies,” sits down with Jon to talk about the year she spent shadowing a group of LA teens as they navigated their very online lives. The kids gave Lauren permission to screen record their phones for the duration of filming, and the result is an intimate, frenetic and often horrifying account of what it’s like to be underage on the internet. But first! Mark Zuckerberg is crushing the podcast circuit with relatable anecdotes about his underground bunker and replacing human friends with AI companions. Meanwhile, his frenemy Elon Musk is making a not-so-triumphant departure from DOGE. Jon and Max discuss whether the Department’s next step is a full-scale American panopticon, then say a little prayer for AI Pope Trump.

“Social Studies” curriculum and resources: https://www.learner.org/socialstudies/

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