Jun 9, 2021 · 44m · big-technology
Andrew Callaghan of All Gas No Brakes Goes Independent
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Journalist Andrew Callaghan joins the Big Technology podcast to detail his transition from All Gas No Brakes to launching Channel 5, offering trenchant critiques of media polarization, platform censorship, and creator exploitation.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Alex holds 38.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Alex as informed peer 4.0 Guest teaching 3.9 Guest disagreement 2.9 Alex pushing back 2.1
speaking balance: gold is Alex, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:47 Andrew bluntly dismisses gentrifiers' performative gestures
Andrew aggressively dismisses performative urban activists, bluntly stating that wealthy transplants placing protest signs in their windows should move their complex asses back to Palo Alto.
Hardest push from Alex ▶ 24:15 Alex challenges the external media-blame narrative with personal responsibilityAlex challenges Andrew's recurring premise that social platforms and news outlets are solely to blame for societal division, pressing him on whether individuals bear personal responsibility for buying into hate.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 14:58 Andrew breaks down the dark realities inside the CHAZ autonomous zoneAndrew educates Alex on what autonomous zones really look like on the ground, detailing the rapid transition from utopian organizing to drug markets and teenage shootouts that he witnessed directly.
Alex holds their own ▶ 10:34 Alex explains social platform product architecture and user moderation flawsAlex demonstrates his domain expertise as a tech journalist, explaining that social media companies fail by focusing punitive actions on users rather than fixing algorithmic product mechanics that reward extremism.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Alex as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Alex pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Origins and Vision of All Gas No Brakes | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Alex warmly welcomes Andrew and asks him to outline the origin story of All Gas No Brakes. Andrew explains his early hitchhiking background, the pitch to Doing Things Media, and the format's premise. | |
| Pivoting to Political Coverage and Street Journalism | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Andrew describes pivoting to political reporting during lockdown protests and George Floyd demonstrations, criticizing mainstream news punditry as divisive and corporate. Alex agrees while contrasting Callaghan's immersive on-the-ground style with traditional broadcast detachment. | |
| Media Echo Chambers, Certainty, and Polarization | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Alex analyzes how modern algorithms reward certainty and create polarization, while Andrew shares his observations of Trump supporters feeling systematically deplatformed. Alex pushes back slightly on the idea of an intentional anti-conservative conspiracy while agreeing on algorithmic filter bubbles. | |
| Urban Inequality, Gentrification, and Performative Activism | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | The conversation shifts to San Francisco gentrification and performative activism, with Andrew strongly criticizing wealthy tech residents putting BLM signs on multi-million dollar homes. Alex offers a more tempered take that wealth shouldn't disqualify participation, though Andrew firmly rejects this optics-driven dynamic. | |
| Inside the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | Andrew recounts firsthand experiences inside the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ/CHOP), describing its rapid devolution from community organizing into violence and substance abuse. Alex asks probing questions about local dynamics and the tactical purpose of property destruction. | |
| Contradictions, Empathy, and the State of the Nation | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | Alex asks Andrew about the contradictions he sees in the public and whether individual personal responsibility plays a larger role than media manipulation. Andrew reflects on fear of social ostracization and concludes that most individuals believe they are acting for the common good despite pervasive misinformation. | |
| Contract Disputes and Departure from All Gas No Brakes | 3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | Andrew details the breakdown of his business relationship with Doing Things Media, explaining how low revenue splits, film commitments, and the firing of his crew led to his exit. Alex listens sympathetically and validates Callaghan's irreplacability to the brand. | |
| Relaunching Independently with Channel 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Andrew describes launching Channel 5 completely independently with his original team and expanding beyond chaotic interview reels into more journalistic news formats. Alex commends their rapid subscriber rebound and asks about production logistics. | |
| Demonetization, Censorship, and Algorithmic Dynamics | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | Andrew explains that Channel 5 relies almost entirely on Patreon because YouTube consistently demonetizes their street reporting for sensitive topics. Alex contributes industry perspective on content moderation pipelines and the radicalization spirals that occur when users migrate to uncensored forums. | |
| Concluding Thoughts and Supporting Channel 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | A brief wrap-up where Alex thanks Andrew for joining and Andrew gives a plug for his Channel 5 YouTube channel and Patreon community before closing. |
Statements from this episode (18)
Callaghan: Doing Things Media paid $45k salary and RV for All Gas No Brakes
“So this company gave me a 45,000 dollar salary and they bought me the RV and I signed some paperwork and I had a great couple of years.”
Callaghan: Mainstream news is locked in a divisive, profitable punditry cycle
“The mainstream American news cycle is locked in this just like horrible divisive cycle of punditry, where they're like right wing talking head, left wing talking head. It's the same people who are going to propagate the exact same narratives and sell ads and m…”
Callaghan: Identifies as socially center-left but opposes the Biden administration
“I guess I'm center left socially.
But I'm definitely not in support of the Biden administration.”
Callaghan: Social platforms are removing almost a majority of Trump conservatives
“No, they're removing almost a majority of Trump conservatives off of social media platforms, pushing them further into deep internet holes where they only see each other and they only talk to each other.”
Callaghan: Deplatforming users validates conspiracy beliefs and increases militancy
“Cause I mean, if you get pushed off of mainstream social media platforms, I feel like that validates what you already think as far as the big conspiracy and it might even harden your beliefs and make you more militant.”
Callaghan: San Francisco is dystopian due to extreme wealth inequality
“San Francisco is dystopian. I mean, look at the inequality that's propagated with the city failing to combat gentrification and provide for their homeless people. I mean, I can't think of a place where you can have the richest people that close to just like th…”
Callaghan: Autonomous protest zones require central leadership to survive
“I think that autonomous zones need some sort of central leadership to exist for more than their Genesis provides. Cause you know, you gotta have someone being like, yo, we gotta figure this out.”
Callaghan: Seattle police intentionally surrendered their precinct to CHAZ protesters
“The cops really gave the precinct to the protesters in Seattle. They gave it on purpose. They wanted the people to do that. I mean, that was the most fortified, strongest police station in the city that they gave it to them.”
Callaghan: Gentrifiers post radical social media content out of neighborhood guilt
“That's why all these like gentrifier, like white people are so, so scared of like not, not appearing like as radical as possible. Like, you know what I mean? Like in San Francisco and Seattle... Cause the deep down they know, like in places like Bushwick and t…”
Kantrowitz: Democratic coalition uniting warehouse workers and affluent consumers feels unsustainable
“The Democrat coalition right now is, you know, in some ways the people working in Amazon fulfillment centers, you know, who are judged by automated systems and fired, you know, if they have too much time off task, they're voting in blocks together with the peo…”
Callaghan: 80% to 90% of political activists believe they act for common good
“Most Trump supporters think that they're saving America. Most people in the streets, like rioting and destroying shit, believe that they are ultimately creating a sort of space for conversations that will better the country. I think there is, I just don't thin…”
Callaghan: All Gas No Brakes made $100K/month on Patreon, $250K/day on merch
“I was only making 20%, but I was happy with that, because we were making a 100,000 dollars a month on Patreon, and the merch drops would make a couple, 250,000 in a day on a merch drop.”
Callaghan: Developing an unannounced movie with Tim and Eric's production company
“We started working on a movie and this movie hasn't been announced yet, but it's with absolutely, which is Tim and Eric's production company, plus a couple other partners.”
Callaghan: Owns 100% of the rights and masters for Channel 5
“So now like we're fully, like I own a hundred percent of the rights and the masters to everything that we make and everything goes back.”
Callaghan: Digital platforms lack labor checks, leading to creator exploitation
“There's no checks and balances when it comes to the ownership and management of all these new digital platforms. Like you see all these TikTok kids get exploited way, way worse than I did. I mean, it's not like the movie industry where you have overtime sheets…”
Callaghan: Spent $10,000 at B&H Photo to launch Channel 5
“I probably had like, 15,000 dollars left over by the time All Gas No Brakes ended. So we just went to B&H Photo in New York, which is a really awesome store I want you to check out. It's in Midtown. It's amazing. And we just spent 10,000 dollars. We got camera…”
Callaghan: Channel 5 is demonetized on YouTube and relies solely on Patreon
“All of our stuff's demonetized. We only make money through Patreon.”
Callaghan: YouTube removed Channel 5's Miami Spring Break video for a week
“That first video, Miami Beach Spring Break, was taken down from medical misinformation for an entire week because someone said, fuck COVID. Yeah, and said they didn't want to get vaccinated. They got taken down for a whole week.”