About this episode

Eric Newcomer interviews Aron Ping D’Souza about his role in the Gawker lawsuit and the future of media amidst growing trust issues and AI advancements.

The man who helped bring down Gawker is back, and this time he’s coming for the media industry. Eric sits down with Aron Ping D’Souza, the Oxford law student who first pitched Peter Thiel on the idea that would eventually bankrupt Gawker. Today, Aron is building the Enhanced Games, a PED-legal sporting competition, and Objection AI, a Peter Thiel-backed platform designed to investigate news articles line by line using former CIA and FBI agents. They revisit the Gawker lawsuit and the Hulk Hogan case, then dive into the growing crisis of trust in media, from anonymous sourcing to AI-generated journalism. Aron also explains why Ronan Farrow’s Sam Altman profile concerns him and why he believes AI is about to fundamentally reshape how information is created, investigated, and trusted online. Subscribe for weekly conversations with the founders, investors, and executives shaping technology and culture.

People in this episode

Host: Eric Newcomer

Guest: Aron Ping D’Souza

Topics covered

• media industry
• Gawker lawsuit
• trust in media
• AI-generated journalism
• PED-legal sporting competition
• investigative journalism

Keywords

• Gawker
• Aron Ping D’Souza
• media trust
• AI journalism
• Peter Thiel
• Enhanced Games
• Objection AI
• investigative journalism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Gawker, Enhanced Games, Objection AI, CIA, FBI

More episodes of Newcomer Pod

• How Tech's San Francisco Values Gave Way to the Right · May 29, 2026 · 1h 7m
• WIRED's Editor on Elon, Trump & Silicon Valley's War on the Press · May 22, 2026 · 54 min
• Vinod Khosla on the End of Jobs and the Future of Capitalism · May 12, 2026 · 1h 5m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Newcomer Pod podcast page.