Hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff, the hit series returns to explore the AI revolution at work

New episodes air on Wednesdays starting November 12

Listen to Trailer HERE; Download show art HERE

NEW YORK – November 5, 2025 – Kaleidoscope, the New York–based media company redefining science and technology storytelling, and iHeartPodcasts, the No. 1 podcast publisher according to Podtrac, today debuted the official trailer for Shell Game’s highly anticipated second season, premiering on Wednesday, November 12. The first six episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays through mid-January, with a brief holiday hiatus. Bonus episodes will follow later in the season.

Hosted by award-winning journalist Evan Ratliff, Shell Game’s first season made waves by cloning Evan’s voice and exploring the ethical, social, and emotional fallout of synthetic media. Now, season two pushes that experiment even further. This time, building an entire company staffed almost entirely by AI agents, and led by an AI agent as CEO.

“The AI industry is pushing AI agent employees as the future of work. I wanted to know how close we are to that reality, and what it would really look like,” said Evan Ratliff, Host of Shell Game. “One thing I've learned in my decades as a journalist is that sometimes the best way to answer those kinds of questions is to fully immerse yourself. So that's what you’ll hear me doing in Season 2.”

“There’s no question that AI is changing everything from how we work, to how we connect, to even how we define what’s real,” said Mangesh Hattikudur, Co-founder of Kaleidoscope. “At Kaleidoscope, we use the world’s most gripping stories as a prism for exploring the ways technology is reshaping society right now. I’m a huge fan of Evan’s, and it feels like such a win to have Shell Game and his charming adventures in AI entrepreneurialism, serialized on our network.”

“Season two is a mind-bending showcase of investigative journalism,” said Oz Woloshyn, Co-founder of Kaleidoscope. “It perfectly captures what Kaleidoscope strives to do: use storytelling to make sense of the biggest transformations in science and technology. Evan dives into what happens when humans and AI try to work side by side, and what it reveals about creativity, identity, and what makes us human.”

Across eight episodes, Shell Game explores what it takes to create, manage, and survive inside an AI-run company. The series examines how artificial intelligence is changing not just how we work, but who gets to call themselves “a worker.” Through interviews, experiments, and immersive storytelling, Ratliff will unpack the deeper moral and emotional questions behind the AI revolution, with the same humor, wonder, discomfort, and alarm that led to Shell Game being named one of the best podcasts of 2024 by Apple, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Vulture, The Information, and The Economist. 

Shell Game is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is available now on the iHeartRadio app and all major podcast platforms. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

About Shell Game 

A podcast about things that are not what they seem, hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff. Season 2, which kicks off on November 12, 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 AI colleagues working alongside us, but also — by Sam Altman’s telling, at least — the dawn of a billion-dollar company with only one human involved. Evan learns what it would take to create such a company … by doing it: Launching a real startup with five AI employees. Over the course of eight episodes, he explores what AI agents tell us about the work we do, the meaning we find in it, and the world that their makers say we’ll all be living in soon enough.

Shell Game was named one of the best podcasts of 2024 by Apple, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Vulture, The Information, and The Economist. It's "riveting," says The New Yorker, "awesome" says The Verge, and "slightly terrifying," says The Globe and Mail. 

New episodes are published on Wednesdays starting November 12. 

About Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is the leading science and technology podcast network, telling thrilling stories of consequence that unpack the new scientific renaissance. Founded by Oz Woloshyn and Mangesh Hattikudur in 2022, Kaleidoscope's network reaches millions of listeners and is home to hit shows including On Musk: with Walter Isaacson and The Last Soviet: with Lance Bass. Visit www.k-scope.com for more information.