The internet has warped public life: Politicians behave like influencers, the economy resembles a casino, and people can no longer agree upon a consensus reality. New conspiracy theories, memes, and main characters seem to pop up every day. A constant war is on for your attention, and it’s easy to feel lost. Each week, Galaxy Brain and its host Charlie Warzel invite you into conversations to make sense of the online fire hose. Is AI destroying our ability to think? Do your grandparents have a screen-time problem? Galaxy Brain looks beyond the algorithm and anchors you to the real—however strange it may be.
Chart trend
Position in the Technology chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#63#124JunJulAugSep
#3
all-time peak
3
days in the top 3 since Dec 2024
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
Is AI Writing Inevitable?
AI-infused writing is suddenly everywhere: not just in automated email responses or meeting summaries, but in books and even the pages of mainstream newspapers. When an e
Sep 11 46 min
The Singularity Is Not What It Seems
Whatever the AI future is, we’re in it right now. What if the singularity is not some technological tipping point, brought about by human genius, but a human tipping poin
Sep 7 19 min
Why So Many Men Are Unraveling
Jon Ronson had never really thought about the term “masculinity” until a strange series of events led him down a rabbit hole involving castles, cage fights, and an actor
Sep 4 50 min
Welcome to the Scrolling Backlash
A lot of people are getting tired of their phone—sick of the algorithms and overwhelmed by what can feel like a loss of control. The Atlantic staff writer Julie Beck was
Aug 28 1 h 09 min
How Social Media Makes Our Lives Smaller
Most people spend more time than you think agonizing over their social-media posts. Kathryn Jezer-Morton wanted to understand their thinking—and when she dug deeper, she
Aug 7 51 min
The Former ‘Voice of Google’ Speaks Out
Tech companies like Google famously started with a culture and psychology centered on doing good and changing the world. But as Google expanded, it had to adapt to its gr
Jul 31 52 min
Why AI Is Making Things More Expensive
Electronics are getting more expensive—and the culprit has a lot to do with generative AI. Amid all the talk of AI taking over people’s jobs, automating people’s workflow
Jul 24 41 min
How the World Cup Finally Won Over America
Why does the World Cup endure in an age of fractured attention? Is FreddyLA7 a real person? Charlie Warzel speaks with Men in Blazers founder Roger Bennett to chart how t
Jul 17 33 min
The Hidden Cost of Optimizing Everything
Modern life is built to make things easier, faster, and more efficient. But what if, in smoothing away life’s everyday frictions, we’ve also lost something essential? Thi
Jul 10 45 min
What Do We Do About Elon Musk?
Elon Musk isn’t just the world’s richest man—he’s one of the most influential people alive. His companies have transformed industries, his wealth has shattered records, a
Jul 3 49 min
Why Reading Feels So Hard Now
Do you wish you could read more books? You’re not alone. These days, fewer people are reading for pleasure, and even those who do tend to struggle with distractions. Is t
Jun 26 46 min
How to Think About AI Before It’s Too Late
Cory Doctorow has a refrain: “The most important thing about a gadget isn’t what it does; it’s who it does it for and what it does it to.” In this episode of “Galaxy Brai
Jun 19 48 min
Jomboy on Robot Umpires and the Future of Baseball
“Baseball” has never been synonymous with “change.” But in recent years, Major League Baseball has transformed radically, and this season it has embraced technology via t
Jun 12 38 min
How to Win Elections in the Attention Economy
How do you build a winning campaign for the era of AI? In the aftermath of the 2024 race, Democrats have been struggling to adapt to the new logic of the attention econom
Jun 5 43 min
Why Everyone Hates AI Data Centers
Data centers are quickly becoming the most polarizing buildings in America. On this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel speaks with the reporter Jael Holzman about th
May 29 42 min
How Dropout Cracked Internet Comedy
How do you build a streaming service from scratch? On this week’s “Galaxy Brain,” Charlie Warzel speaks with Sam Reich, the CEO of Dropout, a comedy streaming platform th
May 22 42 min
Chris Hayes on Calibrating Your AI Anxiety
How should you feel about the AI boom? In this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel speaks with Chris Hayes about how to emotionally calibrate our response to this diz
May 15 47 min
Flipping Off Phones
On this week’s episode of “Galaxy Brain,” Charlie Warzel talks with his Atlantic colleague Kaitlyn Tiffany about what our phones are doing to us. Tiffany recently wrote a
May 8 52 min
Did a Human Write This?
What happens when the majority of content on the internet tips over into AI slop?
On this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel talks to Max Spero, the co-founder of P
May 1 51 min
How Short-Form Clips Took Over the Internet
In this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel talks with business writer Ed Elson about the rise of the “clip economy”—the idea that short video clips pulled from podca
Apr 24 43 min
Chart positions
Where Galaxy Brain ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 11, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
It’s an interesting and engaging podcast. I like how the host explains each episode’s topic and explores the pros and cons of a new technology. It’s never really one-sided, but he does come up with a conclusion in the end. I highly recommend to give this podcast a listen
Refd 3422 · Mar 2021
Well done show. The host is interesting to listen to, asks the questions one would be curious about. Thought provoking!
BrianLakelandFL · Nov 2019
Love the content chosen to cover. Love the variety of guests and different directions that are explored in each episode.
I enjoy listening to episodes even on topics that I know about going into. They do a great job and explaining the basics and some more nuanced ideas that I haven’t heard before.
Keep doing you my guy.
becs reads books · Aug 2019
I've found a new favorite podcast. Crazy/Genius is a very well produced researched and presented. Topics include relevant technological innovations that spur the philosophical, existential questions that relate to such innovations. C/G does a good job in covering all angles for a topic with reputable guests.
Catatonic Poet · Jul 2019
This podcast used to be pretty interesting. Now is choppy narration with a sound effect for every other thing they say. Extremely distracting, not good for working. If this is their new podcasting mode, you lost a subscriber!
You:know · Feb 2021
I’m not into politics. I personally hate it and over my life I have watched politicians from every party use issues in order to get people on board because if they really tell them what they want to do, they know the simple people would not vote for them. While this podcast is informative, and some of it is spot on, it’s very weighted politically. I would be willing to listen to anybody today who would post a podcast that had balance that said what political leaders have done right what they’re doing wrong from all parties. None of them get it right all the time and none of them get it all wrong. There is no us and them. There’s only us in the United States and when we put our brains together and start using the things we do well and be willing to share the good idea ideas we will actually become these United States again. The real problem and heart of the matter is division. There doesn’t seem to be any balance. Both or all political parties see the other as doing everything wrong and they do everything right and vice versa. When we as a people reunite on the things, we can agree on we can begin to rebuild unity and in this unity, we will go forward and do great things, but if we stay divided, it will only get worse.
NELLIESHINGLES · Jan 2026
We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.
More podcasts like Galaxy Brain
Popular shows in Technology, for your next listen.
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Galaxy Brain, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
