Show Notes
Comedians Jacob Hawley and Jake Farrell, hosts of the hit podcast Screen Rot, join James Smith to dissect the madness of the modern internet - where everyone’s a brand, outrage is currency, and idiots become superstars overnight.
From online fame to fake authenticity, steroids to OnlyFans, they unpack the comedy and chaos of living in a world that never logs out.
Jacob and Jake, two of the UK’s freshest stand-up voices, bring their signature blend of humour and insight to questions that define our time: Is the algorithm killing culture? Why does everyone need a platform? And can you stay sane while being online for a living?
They discuss:
◼️ Why the internet rewards bad behaviour
◼️ How outrage, moral superiority, and “hot takes” became entertainment
◼️ The rise of online characters - from influencers to politicians
◼️ The dark side of the creator economy and performance-enhancing everything
◼️ What the future of comedy, fame, and humanity might look like
Welcome to "The Problem With" where each week we look into a problem to get a better understanding of it. This podcast has no sponsors, only my businesses and investments, please check out the links below.
I'm on a mission to help men check their levels of Testosterone, more info here: https://www.manual.co/smith
Please check out and try Neutonic here: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
For a free trial of my online personal training app go here: https://www.affordableonlinecoaching.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from The James Smith Show
Ollie Marchon joins James Smith for a business masterclass on what it really takes to build a fitness brand in the UK right now. A former professional rugby player turned coach, Ollie started out cold calling leisure centre members and training clients in a converted cattle shed. Ten years later he runs Marchon across four verticals: in-person gyms, an online training app, a sports nutrition range and a growing community of hybrid athletes.
Olly Staniland joins James Smith to break down what actually makes a YouTube video work. Olly works on James's YouTube channel and, like James, studied under Ed Lawrence. They go through real thumbnails and analytics from James's channel, why one video with 80,000 views made nothing while another with 60,000 made thousands, how Matt Armstrong and Carwow built huge channels by repeating one format, and the status games that drive what people click and buy.
Ross Edgley joins James Smith for a reunion years in the making. Ross is the ultramarathon sea swimmer who swam around Great Britain and then the whole coast of Iceland.
Alan Barratt on entrepreneurship, business ownership, and the reality of building a brand from the ground up.
Rebecca Oliver-Mooney joins James Smith for a conversation that starts with a left-handed can and ends up somewhere far more uncomfortable. Founder of the Raising The Glass network and a drinks industry buyer who has sat on the other side of the table from hundreds of challenger brands, Rebecca explains why most founders put half their message where the shelf will hide it, why GLP-1s are about to reshape what food and drink gets made, and why menopause is the category nobody has been willing to build for yet.