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Fred Vogelstein

@fvogelstein.bsky.social
1.9K followers 3.4K following 110 posts

Biztech/biotech journo. Coedit CrazyStupidTech.com w/ @Om.co. ex @Wired, @NYTMag, @FortuneMagazine, @USNews, @WSJ. Author: "Dogfight:How Apple and Google went to war .....", Board: @thewritersgrotto.bsky.social, @columjournreview.bsky.social Epidiolex fan.

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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
How an argument with Om about Wired spawned this newsletter. RIP brother. crazystupidtech.com/2026/06/27/h...
crazystupidtech.com
How an argument with Om about Wired spawned this newsletter. RIP brother.
Om –  I hope this finds you well. Your post about Wired tickled just the right group of neurons to make me write something. It’s kind of a rant. But also something I’ve been …
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I met Om Malik 25 years ago when his office was next to mine at B2.0/Fortune. He was an inspiration, posting to GigaOM in the early am before coming to work. A true pioneer. Never thought I’d be lucky enough to work with him. I’ve rarely had more fun. RIP brother.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
The Jalen Brunson story reminds me of the Steph Curry story from 2015. Sons of players. Considered too short. Too fragile. Lead team to a championship for first time in two generations. Discuss.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
From down 29 a the half to 107-106 victory. KNICKS WIN!!
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
I didn't get Audioshake at first. Audio stems? Why does anyone want those? Turns out much of the music and entertainment industry does. Now the AI companies want in. "Behold, an AI startup with a real business" is the latest from Crazy Stupid Tech. crazystupidtech.com/2026/04/06/b...
crazystupidtech.com
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
“In the 1990s, Intel convinced the world that MHz was the universal measure of computing value. Jensen Huang at NVIDA is doing the same with tokens. Once tokens become the universal unit of AI value, NVIDIA, the token factory’s factory, wins by default.” crazystupidtech.com/2026/03/22/j...
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
This is incredible data esp for those of us who remember when YT started in early 2005 and when Goog bought it for $1.65b in fall 2006. Is there a link to the Moffettt research somewhere? www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...
hollywoodreporter.com
YouTube Lays Claim to Another Crown: The World’s Largest Media Company
The influential financial research firm MoffettNathanson suggests that the Google-owned video platform passed Disney's media business in 2025.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Cue the AOL-TimeWarner comparisons by week’s end www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/b...
nytimes.com
Abrupt Change for Warner Bros. Prompts Many Grim Faces
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
What’s future of drug development? Maybe it’s plants, thanks to AI and robots. It’s why I found Enveda so interesting. They say they are on track to develop FDA approved meds four times faster and a tenth the cost of big pharma. That’s latest from CrazyStupidTech crazystupidtech.com/2026/02/27/e...
crazystupidtech.com
Enveda's AI makes drugs from plants. It could revolutionize pharma.
Enveda, led by founder Viswa Colluru, thinks making drugs from plants using AI and robots will revolutionize pharma worldwide.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
What is it about Warner Bros. That has doomed it to be a big part of the worst mergers in American history? See Time+Warner, AOL+Time Warner. Now Paramount/WBD. Crazy.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
It figures that we had to take TikTok from the Chinese for its users to truly experience censorship. politi.co/4q14V2E
politi.co
Newsom to probe claims of Trump-critical censorship at TikTok
The review comes amid wider accusations that content criticizing ICE is being flagged for review or throttled, just days after the platform closed a Trump-backed deal to avoid facing a U.S. ban.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Seven ICE agents have a man on the ground.They’re on top of him. He’s struggling.They shoot him; he dies.ICE claims self defense. Cops or former cops: What would explain this fact pattern? substack.com/@mikaanderso...
substack.com
Mika Anderson (@mikaanderson)
ICE shot and killed a down citizen in broad daylight. We cannot continue this BULLSHIT!!
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Re Greenland-The EU needs a maximalist response to Trump - to use its bazooka. It’s only way to get Trump to respect them. It will cause them pain and might end NATO. But it will cause a meltdown of support for Trump from the US biz community. Negotiations with Trump until they do that is pointless.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
It is my sworn duty to post this video on this day. South Park. Jesus vs Santa. 1992. vimeo.com/149917416?fl...
vimeo.com
South Park - The Spirit of Christmas (Jesus vs. Santa)
In 1992, Trey Parker and Matt Stone made The Spirit of Christmas (aka Jesus vs. Frosty) while they were students at the University of Colorado. After seeing the…
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Is it just me or has Google News become so filled with Trump Admin press releases that it is almost unusable? I just counted 12 out of 23 headlines.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Am I wrong to be worried scotus even agreed to hear this case? The easiest path would have been for them to simply not hear it and let lower court rulings stand. Does this case actually have a chance of success? www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/u...
nytimes.com
Supreme Court Agrees to Review Trump Order Restricting Birthright Citizenship
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Boom, bubble, bust, boom. We remember the internet bubble like it was yesterday. This mania is too similar for our comfort. Too much spending. Too much leverage. Too many crazy deals. China. That’s the latest from … crazystupidtech.com/2025/11/21/b...
crazystupidtech.com
We remember the internet bubble. This mania looks and feels the same.
The AI revolution is three years old Nov. 30. In just 36 months AI has gone from great-new-toy, to global phenomenon, to where we are today - debating whether we are in one of the biggest technology b...
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Everyone has an opinion about the govt shutdown, Obamacare subsidy cuts and Medicaid cuts on healthcare, esp ER care. Except, few pundits have ever worked in an ER. This writer has been an ER doc for three decades. Maybe we should listen to him stead of politicians. www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
latimes.com
Contributor: Cuts to Medicaid and to insurance subsidies will push ERs past the brink
The financial logic is delusional: Eliminating coverage for 33 million residents doesn't cure their ills. They can either be managed inexpensively in doctors’ offices and clinics — or at orders of mag...
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crazystupidtech.com @crazystupidtech.com · 29/09/2025
Are you in the mood for a 6000-word interview about AI, Robotics, and get a lowdown on the hype and reality of the two of the hottest tech trends? Well, we have you covered in this chat with @rodneyabrooks.bsky.social (Also, please sign up for our newsletter) crazystupidtech.com/2025/09/29/i...
crazystupidtech.com
iRobot Founder: Don’t Believe The (AI & Robotics) Hype!
Rodney Brooks, co-founder of three robotic companies and an AI guru has a pragmatic and honest opinions about the state of AI and Robotics. An interview!
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Means that $100 to someone worth $1 million is $50 million to Elon. Let that sink in. www.forbes.com/sites/mattdu...
forbes.com
Elon Musk Just Became The First Person Ever Worth $500 Billion
Musk is now half-way to becoming the first ever trillionaire.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Whether you know a lot or nothing about Silicon Valley, this is a must read piece by my friend and former Wired bud Steven levy @stevenjayl. He has seen the evolution of tech from its beginnings. He knows everyone. Few have as powerful a lens. It’s just seminal. www.wired.com/story/silico...
wired.com
I Thought I Knew Silicon Valley. I Was Wrong
Tech got what it wanted by electing Trump. A year later, it looks more like a suicide pact.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Can someone explain why a traditional network tv broadcast license - and therefore the opinion of the FCC - is remotely meaningful in a world where virtually zero content is consumed that way and where virtually zero eyeballs consume it that way? Is there truly no workaround to this 80 yr old tech?
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James Gleick @around.com · 17/09/2025
There was no “ideology,” leftist or otherwise. What if he was just a kid in love, who saw a man spreading hatred that endangered the person he loved. And he broke.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
If I’m NYT I actually countersue for harassment.Trump knows this is a ridiculous lawsuit.But he also knows that after the coverage sane washes it, he has an extra tool to hammer the NYT credibility, esp if courts don’t dismiss immediately.They must. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Why has Trump filed a $15bn lawsuit against the New York Times?
President has accused paper of trying to damage his ‘business, personal and political reputation’
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The Writers Grotto @thewritersgrotto.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
September's Reading & Meeting features Yeva Johnson, Brandy Collins, Audrey Ferber and Nate Olivarez-Giles reading from their works in progress. Emcee Christl Rikka-Perkins will lead a Q&A about their work and writing process.
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Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 12/09/2025
Techmeme turns 20 today. This is a @techmeme.com appreciation post. In a time of personalized feeds, fragmented audiences and endless noise, an old-school, hand-curated (with input from algorithms) landing page that collates the day's most noteworthy tech news is a godsend. www.techmeme.com
techmeme.com
Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
I get that Trump’s cuts killed the new decal program. Disagree w it. But why does that mean existing ev owners get hammered re car pool lanes? Doesn’t cost state a dime to let them continue and there are half a million of them. www.latimes.com/california/s...
latimes.com
California electric-vehicle drivers will lose carpool lane privileges
A program allowing motorists with a Clean Air Vehicle decal to drive solo in carpool lanes is ending after it was not extended by the federal government, according to the California Department of Moto...
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
I am @fvogelstein and I approve this message. Heh
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
I wasn’t the first Techmeme reader, but pretty close. I saw it for the first time sometime in late 2005 or early 2006. Been hooked ever since. Perhaps the lesson here is that “Change is good. But more often than not, less is more. “
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Techmeme @techmeme.com · 09/09/2025
A profile of Techmeme, which turns 20 this week yet oddly works and looks as it did in 2005, as its executive-heavy readership expands amid the AI boom (Fred Vogelstein/Crazy Stupid Tech) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
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Cynthia Brumfield @metacurity.com · 09/09/2025
Unbelievable that the @gaberivera.bsky.social has been doing @techmeme.com for 20 years. When I started Metacurity, I told Gabe I was going to model it on Techmeme, and he said Go for it. Great shout-out to Gabe from @fvogelstein.bsky.social crazystupidtech.com/2025/09/08/a...
crazystupidtech.com
Gabe Rivera's 20-year-old headline site, Techmeme, has never been hotter.
Journalism is getting battered now. But thanks to the AI boom, Gabe Rivera's 20-year-old headline site Techmeme has never been hotter. Media companies should take notes.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Should be called the “Whites only in America” case. I’m the kid of immigrants. This makes me sick to my stomach. If this stands after full argument, it’ll be up there w Korematsu and Dred Scott in the worst of all time for SCOTUS. Astonishing. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Live Updates: Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on Immigration Stops in L.A.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
If i’m OpeAI, i’m about to team up with Microsoft to offer publishers $$ to crawl their sites in exchange for blocking Google’s crawlers. These are two cos who have wanted to kick Google for years, and now, for a little $$, would get to hammer them. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/s...
theguardian.com
‘Existential crisis’: how Google’s shift to AI has upended the online news model
Media sites are taking action on several fronts as traffic referrals dry up and AI companies plunder their content
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
If you were a kid in high school right now paying attention the national affairs, starting to think about making your own way in the world as an adult, how could you avoid concluding that the only people who tell the truth are suckers. That’s just really scary. I really hope I’m wrong about that.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Spent 90mins w @eastdakota.com. He’s trying to force Google,then rest of AI oligarchs to pay publishers to crawl content.Would revolutionize the web.I bet he succeeds.Cloudflare has mucho leverage.Atrust cops have Google on the ropes.Latest from Crazy Stupid Tech. crazystupidtech.com/2025/08/30/c...
crazystupidtech.com
Cloudflare's Matthew Prince has a plan to get Google and the AI oliigarchs to pay for your content even though many are used to getting it for free. He might have enough leverage to make them.
AI chatbots are blowing up the 30-year economic relationship publishers have had with search engines. Many think this will kill the web if not addressed. Google needs to change first. It's resisting. ...
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Realized something depressing this am.I haven’t read a single story about the shootings in Minneapolis.My brain no longer registers mass shootings as news, but as something we Americans have decided is just part of everyday life. Every other approach I’ve taken to this issue has failed. Thoughts?
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Mike Semel wanted to be a journalist so he could cover sports - the Knicks, I think. He finally gets his wish. Few deserve it more. www.nytco.com/press/mike-s...
nytco.com
The Athletic’s New Editorial Director for Standards and Editorial Quality | The New York Times Company
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Crazy. Even if Harvard settles, what’s to stop Trump from later reneging or cutting research to all universities as new policy. Then Harvard has taken it up the ass for nothing. Only way this works is if money promised is in escrow somehow. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/u...
nytimes.com
Harvard and White House Move Toward Potential Landmark Settlement
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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
I am not a New Yorker. But have seen a lot of political aspirants over the decades. Mamdani has "it."
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Eric Alper @thatericalper.com · 18/07/2025
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
A five alarm fire is sweeping through digital publishing.Search engine referral traffic is imploding cuz of AI chatbots.Goog created this world 27 yrs ago. Now it and pubs are scrambling. A solution: Online tollbooths. Tollbit was first. It won’t be the last. crazystupidtech.com/2025/06/22/w... .
crazystupidtech.com
Why the AI revolution needs tollbooths
Eighteen months ago as the AI chatbot revolution was taking hold, Olivia Joslin and Toshit Panigrahi both realized something profound was happening to the way the internet worked.  AI web craw…
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George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
Much as I would not dare to predict the consequences of this war, I do think we can summarize it thusly so far: A smart and evil man manipulated a stupid and evil man into a war against a fanatical and evil regime.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Favorite sign of the day
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Now we know for sure that the AI revolution is as big as the internet revilution. Mary Meeker has weighed in. Missed these from her. www.bondcap.com/report/pdf/T...
bondcap.com
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Interesting take re NYT: Goog should break itself up cuz it’s a conglomerate. But we all know where this is going: Settlement a la Msft 23 yrs ago. To preserve competition in AI, it needs to happen sooner than later. crazystupidtech.com/2025/05/11/d... www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/t...
crazystupidtech.com
Dear DOJ and state AGs: Settle the Google antitrust cases
The lawsuits aren't about protecting competition in search and online display ads but about keeping Google from leveraging its monopoly in AI.
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
We’re at an inflection point in tech same as when the iPhone launched 18 years ago.And now we have our first full expression of that shift.I don't know if the $6.5 billion partnership between Jony Ive and Sam Altman will work.But it won't be boring. From @om.co at CrazyStupidTech. bit.ly/3SOuTrX
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OM @om.co · 14/05/2025
First @airbnb announces a strategy I laid out for them exactly 5 years ago. And then Facebook attorney calls me a "Failed Blogger." And Max is now HBOMax! Definitely qualifies for a weird Wednesday hashtag. Right?
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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 13/05/2025
One of the reasons Meta will always undermine Om, despite the fact that Om is a legend in tech journalism, is because he simply told the truth about Andreessen’s endorsement of colonialism in India being a reprehensible thing for a Facebook board member to do. And Meta enabled genocide.
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Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Boy, is Meta desperate or what? Om Malik is a pioneer in tech media entrepreneurship and I wrote some freelance pieces for Vanity Fair a decade ago. You’d think their high priced lawyers were smarter. www.theverge.com/politics/666...
theverge.com
Meta’s beef with the press flares at its antitrust trial
One prominent tech journalist called Mark Zuckerberg a “small little creature with a shriveled soul.”
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Fred Vogelstein @fvogelstein.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Google's an unrepentant and illegal monopolist. So courts should show no mercy and break it up. Right? Not to me. I think DOJ et al should settle the lawsuits ASAP. crazystupidtech.com/2025/05/11/d...
crazystupidtech.com
Dear DOJ and state AGs: Settle the Google antitrust cases
The lawsuits aren't about protecting competition in search and online display ads but about keeping Google from leveraging its monopoly in AI.
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