{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Stewart Squared","title":"Episode #96: From Steve Jobs to AI: The Stories That Never Became Data","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2760,"description":"In this episode of Stewart Squared, Stewart Alsop III sits down with his father, Stewart Alsop II, for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from a heartfelt tribute to the late Brent Schlender — legendary tech journalist and author of Becoming Steve Jobs — through the history and philosophy of journalism, the concept of the fourth estate, and what it meant to cover Silicon Valley's biggest names up close. The two also dig into Cold War history, Russia's ambiguous relationship with the West, the Alsop family's own journalism legacy, and how AI is reshaping the way we think about memory, personal data, and the historical record. For more on Brent Schlender's work, check out his book Becoming Steve Jobs and Stewart Alsop II's Substack obituary for Brent, where he also shared the iconic Fortune magazine cover featuring Steve Jobs and Bill Gates together.\nTimestamps\n0:00 Brent’s memorial and the jet lag opening, then into who Brent was and his role in tech journalism\n5:00 Brent’s journalism background, friendship with major tech figures, and the idea of the three Steves in Steve Jobs’ story\n10:00 Why journalists usually stay objective, what the fourth estate means, and how the press acts as a check on power\n15:00 The press, patriotism, Cold War context, CIA tensions, and how journalists like Stuart and his uncle navigated American loyalty\n20:00 McCarthyism, fear, false accusations, and how brave reporting protected people and challenged demagoguery\n25:00 Russia as part West / East, Christianity, borders of identity, and the discussion shifting into Russian history\n30:00 Soviet-era travel, tech speeches, old-school publishing, and the problem of reconstructing the past without a digital trail\n35:00 History vs. journalism, archives, memory, and why preserving records matters for telling the story later\n40:00 Brent’s memorial memories, the Steve Jobs book, and how Brent’s work shaped the industry through insight and relationships\nKey InsightsBrent Schlender stood apart...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/QlC48R1fevmul8S_Y7L1P2WUMnEKqwNUR7TBsNqFHaE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS84NDMx/NWQ0MWQ1Y2NkNjhk/ZDI1NWE0MTUyN2Q5/Zjg0NS53ZWJw.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}