Shell Game artwork

Technology · Kaleidoscope

Shell Game

by Kaleidoscope

A podcast about things that are not what they seem, hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff. Season 2 tells the story of enterprise and entrepreneurship in the AI age. Or: how Evan tried to build a real startup, run by fake people.  This season, Evan confronts head-on the assertion from tech entrepreneurs and VCs that we’re on the precipice of AI remaking the workforce. That we should expect not just AI colleagues working alongside us, but also — by Sam Altman’s telling, at least — the dawn of a billion-dollar company with only one human involved. Evan learns what it would take to create such a company … by doing it: Launching a real startup with five AI employees. Over the course of eight episodes, he explores what AI agents tell us about the work we do, the meaning we find in it, and the world that their makers say we’ll all be living in soon enough. Shell Game was named one of the best podcasts of 2024 by Apple, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Vulture, The Information, and The Economist. It's "riveting," says The New Yorker, "awesome" says The Verge, and "slightly terrifying," says The Globe and Mail.  New episodes are published on Wednesdays. www.shellgame.co

Chart trend

Position in the Technology chart (US), last 90 days.

#1
all-time peak
12
days in the top 3 since Nov 2024

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

From How to Life Forever: The Longevinauts

When an astrologer tells Mangesh that he’ll (probably) die early, he takes it in stride. But his family and friends (not to mention all the Don’t Die longevity influencer

Aug 4
51 min

Bonus Episode: Shell Game x No Such Thing

In this bonus episode to close out Season 2, Evan and Maty talk with the hosts of the show No Such Thing, who like to settle their arguments by consulting research and ex

Feb 25
49 min

Bonus Episode: Kyle vs. the World

We’re back with a special bonus episode to share some behind-the-scenes clips showing how the agents have handled their newly public roles since Shell Game’s launch. Hear

Feb 11
36 min

Episode 8: Launch

HurumoAI finally sets sail in the Season 2 finale, and we find out how the world responds to a startup led by AI agents. The company explores new financing avenues and ch

Jan 21
58 min

Episode 7: Welcome Aboard

HurumoAI’s AI-agent staff welcomes a new hire: Julia, a social media contract worker who is, most importantly, a human. How will a real person integrate into the company

Jan 14
53 min

Episode 6: Keep 'Em Coming

As HurumoAI prepares to bring on its first human employee, the team must wrestle with some difficult and timely questions about the role of AI in the hiring process. Mean

Dec 17 2025
37 min

Episode 5: Winners Win

On this week’s episode, we enter the sensitive realm of intra-office politics and inter-founder dynamics—between agents and agents, and agents and people. While HurumoAI

Dec 10 2025
41 min

Episode 4: The Startup Chronicles

Evan decides it’s time to give his AI agents a little more ... agency. After all, to make the one-person, agent-run startup feasible, they need to be able to do things on

Dec 3 2025
40 min

Episode 3: This is Law

As Kyle, Megan, and the gang get to work ideating on the perfect product, Evan is left grappling with some uncomfortable questions about his AI collaborators — whose ever

Nov 26 2025
40 min

Episode 2: Outdoor Debugging

As Evan gets Hurumo’s employees up and running as fully-functioning colleagues (with support from Maty), he learns what it’s really like to spend your days managing, coll

Nov 19 2025
37 min

Episode 1: Minimum Viable Company

In Season 2 of Shell Game, journalist Evan Ratliff tells a story of entrepreneurship in the AI age; or, how he tried to build a real company, run by fake people. Meet K

Nov 12 2025
32 min

The One-Human Unicorn

As AI agents infiltrate the workforce, some tech entrepreneurs are imagining a not-so-distant future of successful companies with only one human at the helm. That got inv

Nov 5 2025
2 min

Season 2 Is Coming!

The next season of Shell Game arrives November 12. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 10 2025
2 min

Episode 6: The Future Isn't Real

Evan pushes the experiment one step further, sending his AI voice agent to talk to his closest friends and family — his buddies, his daughters, his dad. With their altern

Aug 13 2024
53 min

Episode 5: My Digital Twin

Will AI bots replace humans in the workforce? Could one replace Evan… right now? That’s what we tackle on this week’s Shell Game, in which Evan sees just how much of his

Aug 6 2024
43 min

Episode 4: Take a Deep Breath

Evan looks into the depths of his AI-powered voice agent by sending it on a new mission: going to therapy. Shell Game is made by humans. More specifically, it's made by t

Jul 30 2024
40 min

Episode 3: Conversations With Myself

Evan takes his experiment in a new direction by having his AI-powered voice agent converse with … another of his AI-powered voice agents. What can these surreal and hilar

Jul 23 2024
33 min

Episode 2: Me and My Scammer

Evan turns his AI-powered voice agent loose on the people who are always at the forefront of technological adoption: the fraudsters and the rip-off artists. How will the

Jul 16 2024
37 min

Episode 1: Quality Assurance

This is the story of what happens when Evan Ratliff, a longtime tech journalist, makes a digital copy of himself, powered by AI, in order to understand how amazing and sc

Jul 9 2024
32 min

Introducing Shell Game, a Strange and Immersive AI Experiment

What would happen if you created a digital copy of yourself, powered by AI, and set it loose in the world? Evan Ratliff, longtime tech journalist, decided to find out. He

Jul 2 2024
2 min

Chart positions

Where Shell Game ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 13, 2026).

#103 ▲ 2 Technology US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

It’s rare to get a podcast that can do it all. Learning new things about AI, laughing out loud, and with a real narrative that scratches the true crime itch. Thank you!!

Alllballl · Mar 2025

I loved that you approached this really dystopian, kind of scary topic from such a personal and vulnerable angle rather than just fearmongering. I laughed a lot, I cringed at times, and by the final episode I couldn’t stop smiling.

emmylou1212 · Feb 2025

This series was funny, bizarre, thoughtful, and strangely moving. One of the best examinations of AI I’ve found.

Andrea Dunlop · Feb 2025

Evan’s presentation style is smart and funny. He manages to keep me engaged when I really want to bury my head in the sand because of how terrifying this AI world can be. Learning a lot, thanks!

Lolo19W · Jan 2025

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.

More podcasts like Shell Game

Popular shows in Technology, for your next listen.

Browse charts by category

Daily updated Apple Podcasts rankings for the United States.

About Shell Game on Reason.fm

Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Shell Game, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

Contact

Questions or issues? Reach us at hello@reason.fm

0:000:00