Robert Wright's Nonzero 20 Years Ago, Bloggingheads Was a Trailblazer (Aryeh Cohen-Wade & Robert Wright)
Nov 27, 2025
Aryeh Cohen-Wade, host of Culturally Determined and a former contributor at BloggingHeads.tv, teams up with Robert Wright to explore the legacy of their groundbreaking platform. They discuss how BloggingHeads anticipated modern media trends and ponder Twitter's relevance for journalists today. Aryeh and Robert dive into the intricacies of Substack's subscription dynamics, the evolving landscape of podcasting and video production, and the importance of civil dialogue against the backdrop of viral content. Their insights chart a fascinating roadmap of online discourse.
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Early Local Recording Hack
- Robert Wright recounts inventing a workaround to poor upstream bandwidth by recording video and audio locally while using the phone for conversation.
- Greg Dingle then created a tool to sync uploads, an early version of what modern platforms like Riverside and Zencastr automate.
Video Enables Podcast Virality
- Wright observes podcasters later added video because YouTube makes clips go viral more easily than audio alone.
- He notes having a video presence became crucial for episodic discovery and audience growth.
Platform Mechanics Drive Reach
- Wright explains embedding YouTube correctly feeds their algorithm and could have dramatically increased BloggingHeads' reach.
- He emphasizes platform mechanics matter as much as content when seeking scale.