We're back for the second season of the Who Has Time For This? Podcast! In this episode, we unpack how American media became an attention economy built on clicks, conflict, and constant stimulation – and how that shift changed not just journalism, but us.

Why you’re being fed political content on social media even when you’re not looking for it.

Why outrage travels faster than context. Why livestreaming the Epstein files isn’t the same thing as investigative reporting the Epstein files.

And how the far left and far right can end up sounding eerily similar online: not because they agree, but because the algorithm rewards the same emotional extremes.

Our attention is the product. Our outrage is the fuel. And our politics are downstream of both.

If you’ve ever felt exhausted by the news but unable to look away, this episode helps explain why.

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SOURCES:

The Sirens’ Call by Chris Hayes

https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-sirens-call-how-attention-became-the-world-s-most-endangered-resource-chris-hayes/4df976eea7b35f6a8?ean=9780593653111&next=t

Charlie Kirk’s letter to Benjamin Netanyahu

https://x.com/RealSaavedra/status/1972763775377064136

Antisemitism/No-Win Dynamic

https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/p/the-no-win-dynamic-understanding

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/12/american-anti-semitism-youth/685261/

How young Americans get their news

https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2025/12/03/young-adults-and-the-future-of-news/

Wise words from Terry Moran

https://terrymoran.substack.com/p/reality-bites

Max Read’s Platform Temperance

https://substack.com/home/post/p-176764384

On Leftists Thread (@heyjohnnathan)

https://www.threads.com/@heyjohnnathan/post/DU0njCWkfQG?xmt=AQF0Zqc63JEoSWvdvmGj78KTTvZ4N53XsqPq6LSRkSCVXA

On Politicians vs Freedom Fighters Thread (@ahbeeolah)

https://www.threads.com/@ahbeeolah/post/DU8oGgrDWfI?xmt=AQF0Zqc63JEoSWvdvmGj78KTTvZ4N53XsqPq6LSRkSCVXA