What is the future of the media? Are we doomed to inhabit our own social-media news bubbles, tailored by algorithms to keep us “engaged”? Will readers return to old-school news outlets? Or is there a third way? That’s Substack’s bet. The platform is transforming the media landscape by enabling journalists and creators to speak directly to users. Just as Josh was embarking on Substack’s first-ever around-the-world livestream marathon, the company announced a new round of funding, vaulting it past a billion-dollar valuation and making it one of Silicon Valley’s “unicorns”. Substack’s co-founders are Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie, who were kind enough to sit down with Josh to discuss the conflict between free speech and hate speech, the decline of legacy media, the role of video, the challenges of living in a social-media world… and the future of their little company that’s becoming very, very big.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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