Timcast IRL · May 6, 2023 · 2h 0m
Timcast IRL #773 Democrats DOUBLE DOWN Defending VIOLENT Subway Attacker w/Lauren Southern & Jon Du Toit
Episode Recap
In this Timcast IRL episode, Tim Pool and his co-hosts engage in a wide-ranging discussion touching on media industry turmoil, political figures, and cultural shifts. The conversation opens with casual banter about expensive scotch and a corkscrew, before diving into a historical analysis of Ronald Reagan's political evolution. The hosts examine Reagan's tenure and his later support for gun control measures, including the 1994 assault weapons ban, which challenges his mythologized status as a far-right conservative. The discussion then pivots to a major news development: Vice Media's bankruptcy proceedings and near-sale for $400 million to Fortress Investment and George Soros Fund Management, representing a dramatic fall from its previous $5.7 billion valuation. Tim and co-hosts analyze what went wrong at Vice, tracing its journey from groundbreaking adventure journalism to clickbait content, and explore whether the company's pivot to progressive politics was driven by external pressure following sexual harassment accusations. The conversation also touches on Fusion TV's parallel trajectory and the broader collapse of digital media ventures.
TL;DR
- →Tim Pool and co-hosts analyze Reagan's political legacy, noting his support for the 1994 assault weapons ban despite being perceived as a far-right conservative
- →Vice Media's reported $400 million sale is discussed as a symbol of digital media's collapse, down from a $5.7 billion valuation
- →George Soros Fund Management's involvement in the Vice deal is scrutinized, with speculation about Soros already holding significant debt in the company
- →The hosts trace Vice's decline from authentic adventure journalism to clickbait content like '10 Reasons SpongeBob's Homophobic'
- →Tim suggests Vice's pivot to progressive politics was a strategic move to survive sexual harassment scandals and protect investor interests
- →The conversation notes similar failures at Fusion TV and questions whether ideological content choices contributed to media company collapses
Key Moments
- 00:28:26Corked WhiskeyOpening banter about expensive scotch and corkscrew design
- 00:29:18Reagan AnalysisDiscussion of Reagan's political evolution and gun control positions
- 00:30:45Vice Media SaleBreaking news about Vice's $400 million sale from bankruptcy
- 00:31:30Soros InvestmentAnalysis of George Soros Fund Management's role in the Vice deal
- 00:33:50Vice HistoryDeep dive into what caused Vice's decline from authentic journalism to clickbait
Notable Quotes
“I hate it, but really didn't like George Bush Sr. At all. I think they ran against each other. Oh, in the primaries, probably, right? And then what, the deep state went to him and was like, you're going to have him as your VP.”
— Tim Pool · Reagan and political machinations
“Reagan said, I am considered conservative just for holding to the liberal principles that I had 20 years ago, something along those lines. Reagan was not the far right conservative that the left made him out to be.”
— Tim Pool · Reagan's actual political positions
“Vice got big because they were like, we're going to go down and we're going to hunt down scopolamine in Colombia. We're going to find the magic shaman who's gonna do crazy like ayahuasca and then it turned into ten reasons spongebob's homophobic.”
— Tim Pool · Vice's original mission versus later content
“They got accused of sexual harassment and assault. The company that way you can get past the negative press. The concern was it's like we're not going to go down and see our hundreds of millions of dollars in investment lost so just come out start doing feminist stuff and you'll be safe from these attacks.”
— Tim Pool · Analysis of Vice's pivot to progressive content
“If they went the route that we are going here, I don't believe any of what you guys are saying. You think I'm a liar?”
— Ian Crossland · Co-host skepticism about Tim's analysis