Interviews with people doing interesting things in media, plus frameworks, case studies, and whatever I'm obsessed with that week. If you make content, build brands, or think about media for a living, this is for you.
Here's a list of breakdowns and swipe files for all things content marketing. Updated weekly, completely free: robert.app/toolkit
Want to work together? samarth@robert.app
Free Content Toolkit - https://go.heysamarth.com/toolkit-algo-paper-sp (https://go.heysamarth.com/toolkit-algo-paper-sp)
Google published a research paper that explains how YouTube's recommendation algorithm is changing. I spent the last week reading it, and there's a lot here worth paying attention to.If you're a creator or business owner wondering why your feed is slowly starting to look different, or why smaller channels are showing up more, this explains what's actually happening.Paper - https://arxiv.org/pdf/2306.08121
25 Feb 2026
A Full Breakdown of Claude's (Anthropic) YouTube Strategy
Free Content Toolkit - https://go.heysamarth.com/toolkit-anthropic-sp
Anthropic grew to over 400K subscribers by breaking almost every rule in the AI marketing playbook. While other companies chase virality, Anthropic built something that looks more like a research magazine than a company channel and it's working. In this episode, I break down every video, format, and design choice to figure out why. If you're building a brand through content, this might be the playbook worth studying.
24 Feb 2026
How Y Combinator Runs YouTube Like a TV Network
Free Content Toolkit - https://go.heysamarth.com/toolkit-yc-sp
Y Combinator has been posting on YouTube for 12 years. But their strategy is completely different from what you'd expect.
They don't run one YouTube channel. They run what's basically a TV network, with separate shows for separate audiences. Lightcone Podcast for industry discussions. Founder Firesides for origin stories. Design Reviews for product breakdowns. Talking head explainers. Stage talks. Each one could be its own channel.
In this video, I'm going to break down how this system actually works. You'll learn how their formats evolved over the last decade, why each show targets a specific type of viewer, how their packaging makes the next click feel automatic, and the quiet reinforcement loop running underneath all of it.
23 Feb 2026
Why Every Platform Is Quietly Becoming YouTube
Free Content Toolkit - https://go.heysamarth.com/toolkit-everything-sp
Every social media platform is starting to look the same. Instagram now supports 60-minute videos and launched a TV app. Spotify went all-in on video podcasts. X built a video tab. Even Netflix is signing podcast deals.
I went through platform updates, CEO statements, and consumer research to figure out why this is all happening at once. This episode covers the economics behind long-form vs. short-form, how YouTube captured more TV viewing time than Netflix, what AI is doing to short-form content, and why it all points in the same direction.
21 Feb 2026
The Clever Way Apple Sells You Its Stuff
Apple didn't become a $3 trillion company by reading off spec sheets. Their 1984 Super Bowl ad didn't even show the product, and it basically invented Super Bowl ad culture.
I broke down how Apple gets their own customers to market for them, and why it's not an accident. You'll see how they sell feelings instead of features (from the iPod silhouettes to Shot on iPhone), why their employees spend months perfecting something as small as the friction of opening a box, and how their ecosystem makes switching feel like a real loss.
Even if you're not an Apple fan, the way they do this is worth paying attention to.
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