The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

Why America Feels So Unhappy — with Derek Thompson

February 5, 2026

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  • The host launched the "Resist and Unsubscribe" campaign as a form of non-participation against perceived political descent into fascism, arguing that market impact is the only way to force the administration to reverse policies. 
  • The perceived unhappiness in America stems from media algorithms incentivizing negativity and outrage, combined with social comparison driven by screen-based life, despite objective improvements in longevity and safety metrics. 
  • Artificial intelligence is predicted to exacerbate inequality across macroeconomic, corporate equity, and individual labor force levels by strongly favoring those proficient in using the new tools. 
  • Artificial Intelligence is acting as a machine for generating inequality across macroeconomic, stock market, and labor force levels, potentially creating a K-shaped economy where AI-aligned sectors thrive while others decline. 
  • The modern media career flywheel for journalists like Derek Thompson involves leveraging traditional platforms for brand halo and excellence while utilizing direct-to-consumer models like Substack to capture significantly more economic value. 
  • Books possess a unique, enduring immortality in the media landscape, commanding a level of respect and long-term engagement that ephemeral digital content like articles or podcasts rarely achieve. 

Segments

Galloway’s Political Anxiety
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(00:01:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Galloway is launching a ‘Resist and Unsubscribe’ campaign due to witnessing a slow descent into fascism.
  • Summary: Galloway introduces the episode and announces his ‘Resist and Unsubscribe’ campaign, citing frustration with online discourse and political developments, drawing parallels to historical corporate enablement of fascism.
Non-Participation as Radical Act
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(00:04:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Non-participation in consumer capitalism is presented as the most radical form of resistance.
  • Summary: Galloway explains that his campaign involves non-participation, such as canceling subscriptions (Amazon, streaming services, Uber), as a way to impact the administration through market signals.
Derek Thompson’s Paternity Leave
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(00:10:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Thompson is returning to work after two months of paternity leave for his second daughter.
  • Summary: Thompson joins the podcast from D.C. and discusses being back after paternity leave, joking about his rusty professional skills compared to his new skills in childcare.
One-Way Love of Fatherhood
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(00:12:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Early fatherhood is characterized as a relationship of pure, one-way giving before the child can reciprocate.
  • Summary: Thompson and Galloway discuss the unique nature of loving a newborn, where the father’s necessity is secondary to the mother’s biological role, and the love given is largely unreturned initially.
AI and Trump as Key Trends
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(00:21:59)
  • Key Takeaway: AI and Donald Trump are identified as the two most significant forces shaping American life currently.
  • Summary: Thompson updates his trend analysis, focusing on AI’s impact, comparing it to Excel’s transformation of white-collar work, making proficiency in AI essential for future careers.
Golden Age of Living vs. Politics
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(00:24:51)
  • Key Takeaway: Despite a ‘dark age of politics,’ the US is experiencing a ‘golden age of living’ due to declining homicide, traffic deaths, and obesity.
  • Summary: Thompson highlights that while politics is terrible, metrics related to longevity and safety (homicide, drug overdoses, GLP-1s) are improving simultaneously for the first time.
Drivers of Unhappiness
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(00:26:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Unhappiness stems from algorithmic rage-baiting and constant social comparison to idealized online lives.
  • Summary: Galloway posits that algorithms push negative content, and people compare themselves to the curated ‘Instagram version’ of others’ lives, leading to dissatisfaction.
GLP-1s as Transformative Technology
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(00:36:44)
  • Key Takeaway: GLP-1 drugs are profoundly game-changing, offering health benefits beyond weight loss, potentially impacting cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.
  • Summary: Thompson details the wide-ranging anti-inflammatory effects of GLP-1s, noting that cardiovascular benefits occur even before weight loss, suggesting multiple independent pathways of improvement.
Deficit Reduction via GLP-1s
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(00:42:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Reducing healthcare costs via widespread GLP-1 use could significantly impact the national deficit, but end-of-life care remains an economic challenge.
  • Summary: Galloway proposes a massive government RFP for GLP-1s to combat obesity and lower healthcare spending, but acknowledges the difficulty of making expensive end-of-life care more efficient.
Substance Use and Social Fitness
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(00:49:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Social connection is vital for health, and young people should prioritize hanging out, even if it involves moderate alcohol consumption.
  • Summary: Thompson shares his moderate drinking habits (martinis) and edibles use. Both hosts agree that the benefits of increased sociality outweigh the risks of moderate alcohol use for combating isolation.
AI Creating Inequality
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(01:01:50)
  • Key Takeaway: AI is generating inequality at the macroeconomic, company, and labor force levels by strengthening AI-adjacent sectors while weakening others.
  • Summary: Thompson explains that the AI economy is booming while the non-AI economy is weak, creating a gap between workers proficient with AI tools and those who are not.
AI Driving Economic Inequality
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(01:02:02)
  • Key Takeaway: AI is creating a K-shaped economy where AI-related sectors boom while the non-AI economy weakens.
  • Summary: Discussion on how the U.S. economy is bifurcated: AI is strong (data centers, tech stocks), while manufacturing and hiring slow down. This inequality extends to the labor force between workers who utilize AI and those who do not.
Future of Media: ‘It’s And’
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(01:03:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Modern media careers thrive by combining traditional platforms (for brand halo) with direct-to-consumer models (for economic capture).
  • Summary: Scott Galloway praises Derek Thompson’s career structure, noting that traditional media provides brand value, but platforms like Substack allow creators to capture 70-90% of the economic value generated, unlike traditional media where creators capture much less.
Thompson’s Four-Pillar Career
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(01:05:43)
  • Key Takeaway: Thompson structures his work around four pillars: writing, podcasting, books, and speaking, viewing them as an evolutionary process.
  • Summary: Thompson details his content flywheel: podcasts act as ‘rehearsals’ for learning, leading to Substack essays (thesis development), which can culminate in a book project.
Timelessness of the Book Medium
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(01:09:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Books possess an enduring, timeless quality that digital content lacks, driving significant long-term impact and associated speaking economies.
  • Summary: The hosts discuss why books, despite small direct sales compared to movies or viral articles, create a lasting cultural footprint and open doors for speaking engagements. Thompson shares his tactic of leaving signed books behind to solicit feedback.
Substack: Value and Pricing
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(01:11:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Substack is excellent for prolific writers, offering high reach potential and strong financial returns via subscription models.
  • Summary: Thompson explains Substack as a newsletter platform. He notes that his reach on Substack quickly matched or exceeded his Atlantic readership due to free content offerings. His subscription price is $8/month, and he uses a ‘cliffhanger strategy’ to convert free readers to paid subscribers.