ICE Killings and the Death of Shared Reality
Offline with Jon Favreau
Crooked Media
4.7 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 10 January 2026
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Does misinformation even matter if no one can agree on a shared reality? The New Yorker’s Jay Caspian Kang joins Offline to explain how the ICE shooting in Minnesota exposes Americans’ algorithm silos. Then, he and Jon explore the rise of a 23-year-old YouTuber who ignited the right’s fascination with fraud in Minnesota, and break down five media trends that will reshape the industry in 2026 and beyond.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The only time that there seemed to be a consensus on a video like this that came out was during George Floyd, right? |
| 0:06.1 | Where you had mass consensus about it and then you had what amounted to a very short-lived, like, I don't know, I don't even know what the right term is, but like at least cultural revolution for at least a couple months, right? |
| 0:16.1 | Where you had like every bank putting out like, we're going to do social justice now or the NBA putting jerseys out that's saying like we're going to do social justice now, or the NBA putting |
| 0:22.3 | jerseys out that's saying, like, we're going to do social justice. And that was the only |
| 0:26.2 | time that people really agreed upon a video and everything else has been totally polarized |
| 0:30.3 | in terms of the interpretation of it. And this one, I think, because of differing angles and |
| 0:36.7 | whatever you want to say, |
| 0:38.0 | like any shred of doubt that can be cast on this, right? |
| 0:41.4 | Any interpretation that can be done, |
| 0:44.0 | it functions in the same way that like an NFL touchdown, |
| 0:47.9 | whether it's a catch or not does, right, based on the fan base. |
| 0:50.8 | Like if you get the one angle that shows your interpretation, then you're going to do it. |
| 1:01.4 | I'm John Favro, and you just heard from today's guest, author of the New Yorker's faultline column, |
| 1:06.4 | Jay Kassby and Kang. I always catch Jay's writing at The New Yorker. He writes a lot about the things we cover on this |
| 1:11.7 | podcast, media, politics, and how the internet has collided with both in ways that fracture our society |
| 1:18.0 | and our sense of reality. Jace had a series of great pieces recently that I wanted to talk to him about, |
| 1:23.5 | including a story about Nick Shirley, the YouTuber who ignited the rights fascination with a fraud scandal in Minnesota. |
| 1:29.9 | I also wanted to talk to him about a piece he wrote on the five big media trends of 2025 that will reshape the industry in 2026 and beyond. |
| 1:38.9 | It seemed like a great discussion for us to kick off the year with, and it was. |
| 1:43.5 | Of course, we also start the conversation |
| 1:45.3 | by talking about the horrific ice shooting in Minnesota and how people's perceptions of what |
| 1:50.8 | happened there have been mediated by algorithms and the way we consume information now. Really |
... |
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