With institutions losing their distribution edge, main-character energy now determines who captures attention. The Olivia Nuzzi spectacle to Michael Wolff’s improbable Epstein cameo show why legacy media suddenly needs characters again. We also cover the Gemini 3 narrative flip, Google’s structural advantages, John Malone’s tax-efficient empire building, Apple News’ strange success despite its bad UX, and the rise of chessboxing as peak Slavic content.

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Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:46 Welcome

* 01:30 Aura and Lore In The Information Space

* 16:17 Gemini 3

* 26:52 Financializing Aura

* 35:15 John Malone: Last of the cable cowboys

* 41:05 Good Product

* 51:15 Outro

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Main Character Energy

People vs Algorithms