How Streaming Became Cable, But Worse

20/11/2025 29 min
How Streaming Became Cable, But Worse

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Episode Synopsis

Hosts Ed Bennett and Chris Boyer face the modern entertainment apocalypse: streaming content. What started as freedom from cable has devolved into a fragmented, confusing, overpriced mess where your favorite show is always on the one service you canceled last month. 

They unpack the chaos behind subscription juggling, studio feuds (yes, YouTube TV vs. ESPN/Disney, we see you), and why your monthly bill now looks suspiciously like 2008 Comcast.

This week’s recommendation is for Cory Doctorow’s new book “Enshitification” - a takedown of how platforms rot from the inside. The hosts then kick-off the official “Surprise - It’s Not a Toaster” Book Club - asking readers to follow along from home. 

In the AI Stump, they use various GenAI tools to create a new word describing the fear of leaving something behind. Tune in to find out which tool - ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity - created the best term.

SNAT50: Streaming is broken, AI is weird, books are angry, and now we have a new neurosis.

Mentions from the Show: 



Enshitification book




Chris Boyer on LinkedIn




Ed Bennett on LinkedIn




Chris Boyer website




Ed Bennett of BlueSky




Chris Boyer on BlueSky