
A podcast about things that are not what they seem, hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff. Season 2 tells the story of enterprise and entrepreneurship in the AI age. Or: how Evan tried to build a real startup, run by fake people.
This season, Evan confronts head-on the assertion from tech entrepreneurs and VCs that we’re on the precipice of AI remaking the workforce. That we should expect not just A... more
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 19 | Founded | 2 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | Society & CultureTechnologyDocumentary | |||

In this bonus episode to close out Season 2, Evan and Maty talk with the hosts of the show No Such Thing, who like to settle their arguments by consulting research and experts. The subject of this argument: Will AI take our jobs? Maty weighs in as th... more
We’re back with a special bonus episode to share some behind-the-scenes clips showing how the agents have handled their newly public roles since Shell Game’s launch. Hear Kyle navigate fan mail, unsolicited marketing outreach, a webinar that he signe... more
HurumoAI finally sets sail in the Season 2 finale, and we find out how the world responds to a startup led by AI agents. The company explores new financing avenues and charts the next course for their increasingly merry AI pirate ship, and Kyle meets... more
HurumoAI’s AI-agent staff welcomes a new hire: Julia, a social media contract worker who is, most importantly, a human. How will a real person integrate into the company culture, such as it is? Evan watches from behind the scenes, fretting over when ... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





Simultaneously hilarious, heart wrenching and painful. As someone trying to reinvent a large engineering organization in the still early days of the AI era, this pod reflects all the challenges I have with humans, with technology, with leaders and with managing change. It’s insane how AI agents replicate the foibles of humans while failing in entirely new ways.
This podcast is so mind blowing and so well done. I love how open the host is to any interpretation of the events that happen. So many strong opinions out there on where AI will go in the future. Instead this show just tries to do something with it then lets you decide. Wow.
WOW!
Mind blown 🤯
At the beginning I was laughing about some of the ineptness of the agents, but at the end of season 2 I was shocked by their ability to work independently.
Probably the best podcast in any subject. Funny, insightful and builds the narrative arc. Second season is even better than first and that’s a big ask.
“Shell Games” feels like eavesdropping on the near future. The AI agents are weirdly convincing as they grow into their roles, and the whole thing doubles as a new entertainment format: a peek into an AI-built universe where AI is the talent. Fun, a little unsettling, and very “this is already happening.”
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #40 | |
Apple Podcasts | #24 | |
Apple Podcasts | #35 | |
Apple Podcasts | #24 | |
Apple Podcasts | #80 | |
Apple Podcasts | #177 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
The content explores the intersection of artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship, specifically how the two can combine to form a new type of startup where AI plays a central role in operations. The host, a journalist, shares his journey of establishing a company with only AI employees, addressing the complexities, challenges, and ethical implications of such a venture. Throughout the episodes, engaging discussions reveal insights into AI's potential to reshape the workforce, raising questions about the future of work and the meaning we derive from it. This unique narrative, blending humor and thought-provoking themes, draws listeners into a world where AI collaboration is not just theoretical but a practical reality, instilling curiosi... more
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Shell Game. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Shell Game and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Shell Game, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Shell Game, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers Shell Game has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with Shell Game:
1. Radiolab
2. Search Engine
3. This American Life
4. 99% Invisible
5. Freakonomics Radio
Shell Game launched 2 years ago and published 19 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Shell Game from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Shell Game. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on Shell Game include:
1. Matt Honan
2. Ed Milet
3. Ali Kazemi
4. Chris Giovinazzo
5. Keegan Walden
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.