Topic: John Cook

Apple is facing a leadership transition as Tim Cook prepares to step down, drawing parallels to the era when John Sculley took over from Steve Jobs. The host discusses the potential for Apple to lead in "local AI inference" due to its unified memory architecture in Mac and iPhone chips. This approach contrasts with competitors like Samsung, whose "Bixby" assistant is criticized as intrusive and "lame."

The "Spirit Cooking" controversy emerges from WikiLeaks emails showing Tony Podesta was invited to a dinner by performance artist Marina Abramovic. The hosts explore the occult origins of the practice, linking it to Aleister Crowley and the religion of Thelema. They describe the ritualistic use of bodily fluids in Abramovic's art and the public's reaction to the Podesta brothers' involvement.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers addressed the "97% consensus" on climate change, clarifying that the number only applies to a specific subset of climate scientists who authored papers on the subject. The original 2013 study by John Cook found that two-thirds of 12,000 studies took no position at all. The hosts argue the statistic is used to program the public through misleading analogies about rain and umbrellas.

Following Matt Taibbi's departure from First Look Media, editor-in-chief John Cook has also resigned to return to Gawker. The hosts suggest that the $250 million venture funded by Pierre Omidyar is struggling with internal management issues and "editorial independence" conflicts.

Pierre Omidyar issued a statement regarding Matt Taibbi's exit, citing differences in organizational culture. Meanwhile, Glenn Greenwald reported on John Cook's departure, framing it as a planned transition. The hosts speculate that the high-profile hires are fleeing a dysfunctional environment at The Intercept.

An analysis of the widely cited "97% consensus" on human-caused global warming reveals that the figure is derived from a subset of papers. The original study by John Cook examined 11,944 climate abstracts, finding that 66.4% expressed no position on AGW. The 97% figure only represents the portion of the remaining 32.6% of papers that endorsed the consensus, meaning only about 30% of the total papers explicitly supported the theory.

The Intercept, the news outlet founded by Glenn Greenwald, has faced criticism for its slow output and "rudderless" leadership under editor John Cook. The hosts discuss a controversy regarding the outlet's hiring practices and the perception that it was created to "shut up" prominent journalists by making them part of a slow-moving corporate structure.