Hasan Piker dedicates seven to eight hours daily, every single day, to live-streaming on Twitch. The progressive political commentator began his career in 2013 as an intern (and occasional host) for the Young Turks. Over ten years on, he has become a major newsfluencer, leading Twitch’s Politics and Commentary category with the top channel. More than 3 million followers tune in for his analysis and wit regarding the decline of American power, international relations, and why Bernie Sanders would have been victorious. Some also find him quite attractive. Piker hits the gym every morning he can and eats a pound of chicken with rice at 6 pm. His remaining downtime goes toward research, stream prep, and arguing with people using AI-generated profile pictures.
Phone model: iPhone 16 Pro Max
For the longest time, I kept using an iPhone until it was practically dead on arrival—mostly out of principle. I despise planned obsolescence, and I’m incredibly stubborn. I’d cling to the oldest iPhone I could manage for as long as physically possible, until the thing had to be permanently plugged into a wall just to function.
These days, I’m forced to upgrade to the latest model for cybersecurity purposes. That’s the advice from the civil rights attorneys I consult with. We’re all doing everything we can to protect our privacy and guard against government surveillance without warrants. But they insist, “You need the newest phone, and you need to keep it constantly updated.” It’s been incredibly annoying for me because I can’t stand the new iOS, Liquid Glass. It’s hideous. It’s so counterintuitive. I can’t believe it. It’s maddening.
Computer model: Intel PC, gifted by Starforge
It’s a desktop PC, a prebuilt system sent to me by friends. My previous one was custom-built by Linus [Sebastian, creator of Linus Tech Tips]. We nicknamed it “Big Red.” I still have it at home and use it as my backup machine. It’s an absolute monster featuring the Soviet Union crest and Jeff Bezos’ face on a dinner plate. It’s gorgeous. There’s a YouTube video of him building it and presenting it to me. He removed one of the legs so it permanently tilts to the left.
I also own an iPad. I’m officially a “screenager” now. When I used to travel, I’d rely solely on my phone, but then I realized I’m stuck on planes for 15 hours at a stretch. Why was I doing that to myself?
Daily average screen time across Apple devices (not including PC): 7 hours and 8 minutes
Good grief. That’s excessive. Last week I logged 22 hours and 14 minutes on Twitter. And my daily average is three hours and 42 minutes on Twitter by itself. But in my defense, I read articles through Twitter, so I’m not sure if that time is being factored in too.
It’s ironic because I used to delete Twitter from my phone regularly. It made me angrier, especially after Elon Musk took over. I noticed I’d just end up in arguments or having a genuinely terrible experience. I’d sit on my couch, open Twitter, and be confronted with some of the most ignorant people on earth—the most bigoted, toxic individuals around. I realized it was eroding my faith in humanity, so I’d delete it and only reinstall it when I was traveling somewhere.
Now I’m back on because it feels like progressive politics are making a comeback, and as the self-proclaimed Ayatollah of Woke, I need to be on the front lines. I’m waging the fight from the trenches, deep in enemy territory.
Music app: Apple Podcasts
I don’t listen to music at all. I only listen to podcasts. I definitely consumed a lot more music in the past—I had a Walkman, then a Discman. Growing up in Turkey, I’d burn CDs and all that. And then I came to own an iPod. Since 2014, my audio diet has been almost exclusively podcasts because I simply don’t have the time. I listen to Chapo Trap House, Trueanon, The Daily, Up First, NPR Politics, NPR News, Democracy Now, and occasionally Consider This.
Number of unacknowledged …
Emails: 1,049
Texts: 225
Missed calls: 352
Discord notifications: 6,353
Signal notifications: 3
WhatsApp messages: 7
My unread emails used to stress me out, but not anymore, because I never actually check my email. I’m fortunate enough to have people handling my communications now. I mainly communicate through text.
I don’t even notice these notifications anymore. After a while, they just blend into the background. It is what is. I’ve stopped caring. I honestly don’t know.
Last person you FaceTimed: A group of friends
I’m primarily a texter, but I’ll occasionally do a FaceTime call. I don’t mind it, particularly if it’s a friend I haven’t seen in a while. My family is always eager to FaceTime. We basically have a FaceTime call every single morning.
Last thing you Googled: Belly of the Whale
I was attempting to search for “Belly of the Beast,” which is a Cuban news outlet that primarily produces English-language coverage. The reason I was looking it up is that I wanted to pull some visuals from them, since I’m interviewing one of their people today. But instead, I accidentally searched for “Belly of the Whale song.” I have absolutely no idea what that is.
Last video you took: A clip of himself doing incline bench presses at 205 pounds for multiple reps
Last screenshot: ?
I’d rather not say. It was from a communications person for a high-profile politician.
Last thing you asked AI: N/A
I don’t use AI. I believe there’s a genuine issue with cognitive offloading. There’s a real problem with AI hallucinations. I think AI is making humanity less intelligent overall. Whenever I post a tweet and the replies are like, “@Grok explain what he means,” I think to yourself, “You literally don’t realize you’re having a robot attempt to educate you. You’ve diminished yourself as a human being. You’re a lesser person because of this.” That’s my perspective on it. I’m deeply frustrated.
I know that eventually people will look back at what I’m saying right now and read it—assuming they still have the ability to read—and say, “Oh, you were so arrogant and so elitist.” And I think it’s catastrophic. Not in the way that Sam Altman and all these other AI figures dramatically exaggerate how powerful and frightening their latest tool is in order to raise another $500 billion for their projects, scaring people into believing AI is far more intelligent than it actually is or whatever—but it’s genuinely catastrophic for a number of reasons. Cognitive offloading, its potential as a vehicle for unlimited misinformation, which we’ve already witnessed. And finally, though arguably most importantly, its role in displacing workers.
