Media Literacy, and The Courage to Zag When the Rest Zig
A new show, starting with an interview with Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie
In the 1997 movie Wag The Dog it took Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman 11 days to make a series of fake videos to convince the public that the US was at war with Albania.
This was all cute and fun in a ‘90s movie, but it’s not that funny anymore in 2026 when an intern could create 1,000 fake videos about a fake war in an hour.
I don’t need to tell you that we live in a world that is changing quickly. But I do want to ask: Will we do anything differently?
Technology is the main culprit for the massive changes in society today. But the most important ripple effect is what this speed is doing to media and information.
Because of technology, fake and misleading information can be created faster than ever.
Because of technology, trends rise up faster than ever (and flame out faster than ever).
Because of technology, best practices now spread faster than ever (and become outdated faster than ever).
Because of all this, we need media literacy skills more than ever.
This is why the first episodes of my new podcast with Joe Lazer, The Art Of The Zag, are about thinking critically about media.
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In The Art Of The Zag, we’re examining people and companies who choose to do things differently amidst massive pressure to conform.
The sweet spot we’re looking for is the courage to go against the expected way of thinking, tempered by the wisdom to know when going a different direction ain’t right.
Because we believe that trust in media is one of the most fundamentally important topics for humanity right now, our first few episodes focus on people who are thinking differently about that.
For Episode 1 (out now!) we picked Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie to talk about what his company is doing to help people build trust and thinking skills amidst a sea of manipulative media—alongside insights that anyone listening can use to build innovative ideas and products in competitive industries outside of media, too.
Here’s a tease of what this interview teaches us about zagging that is worth paying attention to:
”An electric car looks the same as an internal combustion engine car, but its powertrain is completely different. And the results—not only in the performance of the vehicle, but its externalities—are different.”
-Hamish McKenzie, on how differences beneath the surface can matter more
In Substack’s case, Instead of aiming to create innovative technology or new formats, the company aimed to create an innovative business model with existing technology. Substack is playing a different game than other media-tech companies play.
“I’d much rather be a platform that is predicated on trust relationships than one that is predicated on an endless content feed where the relationships don’t matter.”
-Hamish McKenzie, on what media consumers need from technology
Instead of following the usual media playbook that rewards grabbing attention, getting you to spend as much time as possible through dopamine hits and design tricks, Substack has so far aligned its profit incentives with trust and sustainable relationships.
“[Kids today] need systems that are going to be tilted in favor of their best selves. And I am 100% optimistic that we’re going to get there, and partly because of the painful lessons of this era that we’ve had to grow up through, which is a transition era from pre-internet media to post-internet media.”
-Hamish McKenzie, on why he’s not giving up on the state of media.
As a father of a young child, I’m particularly encouraged by this mentality.
Since Hamish’s interview is the first episode, there’s about 8 minutes of Joe and my introduction to the show and 3 minutes of bad dad jokes. You can skip to 11:30 to get straight into Hamish’s interview.
And! Episode 2 is already out. In it, Joe and I break down my recent analysis of 3 Ways To Tell If You’re Being Manipulated By A Story, and we talk about how to think differently about the stories you’re consuming.
Have a listen to The Art Of The Zag, and let me know what you think!
Coming up on The Art Of The Zag:
An AI company that’s zagging in the face of Big Tech’s manipulative narratives and political pressure
Management consultants that are challenging decades of Big Consulting tactics and creating opportunities for diverse voices to be heard and used
A renowned psychologist who defined—and then redefined—how we think about trust in relationships and at work (and whose advice on things like location sharing will break your brain)
And more!
Feel free to subscribe directly to the podcast, or keep an eye out for The Snow Report where I’ll mention new episodes alongside my usual newsletter.
Make a great day!
-Shane
