Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, led one of the first major content licensing deals with OpenAI in 2024. In this conversation, he joins Azeem to unpack how AI is transforming media – and what that means for every business navigating the shifting economics of attention, trust, and discovery.
We cover:
(01:49) Journalism’s four horsemen
(5:33) The collapse of search
(9:07) Cloudflare’s counterattack
(13:56) Is this the search-traffic fix?
(17:42) Rise of the sovereign creator
(22:57) Do great writers need editors?
(26:22) Why conservatives win new media
(27:17) How Substack drives discovery
(31:08) East Coast vs. West Coast ethics
(35:11) How Nick uses AI in writing
(42:13) Is AI friend or foe to journalism?
(45:32) The Atlantic’s survival plan
Nick's links:
The Atlantic: https://ift.tt/HQmDIip
LinkedIn: https://ift.tt/MxDvGHq
Twitter/X: https://ift.tt/MErldWz
Substack: https://ift.tt/AY0ZKnH
Azeem's links:
Substack: https://ift.tt/wO5RkNo
Website: https://ift.tt/BeRbwIA
LinkedIn: https://ift.tt/AUp5OwL
Twitter/X: https://x.com/azeem
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July 24, 2025