All posts tagged: big interview

Bernie Sanders Saw This Coming

Bernie Sanders Saw This Coming

Published by skeptic

What about if we wipe out manufacturing jobs in America? You think that’s a good idea? No, Bernie, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Should your kid get hooked up with an AI bot? No, Bernie, that’s dangerous. I’m scared about that. What about having your privacy completely invaded? Is that a good idea? No. I treasure my privacy. All right. How, in the face of AI, do we deal with all of those issues? If you say to people, “Guess what? You’re working 50 hours a week now, 40 hours a week. We’re gonna lower your work week to 20, 30 hours, and you’re gonna get the same pay. How’s that?” “Hey, I’m in for that.” I mean, I’m in for that. Yeah. Well, so is everybody else. I do really like working, but point taken. We’ll allow you to work longer hours. Thank you. But if AI is going to create wealth, should that wealth benefit you and everybody else, and my grandchildren? Or just Mr. Musk and his friends? You know, …

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez Will Fight for Press Freedom—Until Trump Fires Her

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez Will Fight for Press Freedom—Until Trump Fires Her

Published by skeptic

If you’ve given much thought to the Federal Communications Commission in recent years, it probably had something to do with Brendan Carr. The group’s chairman since 2025, Carr has been on an ongoing, public rampage against freedom of speech: he’s gone after late-night hosts like Jimmy Kimmel, threatened to revoke broadcast licenses over Iran war coverage, and targeted networks for their DEI policies. Disturbing as Carr’s rhetoric and actions have been, he does count at least one opponent within the agency: Commissioner Anna Gomez, currently the lone Democrat among three FCC commissioners, has been vocal about the damage she thinks the agency is doing to American press freedom—and has repeatedly urged the public and the press, namely major networks like ABC, CBS, and NBC, to fight back. In May, Commissioner Gomez penned a stunning public letter to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, wherein she warned that the company—which owns ABC—was being subjected to “a sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control, carried out through the weaponization of the FCC’s authority as a federal regulator and aimed …

Tim Heidecker Wants to Turn Infowars Into Adult Swim for the Internet

Tim Heidecker Wants to Turn Infowars Into Adult Swim for the Internet

Published by skeptic

Christmas morning. Was it really Christmas morning? Oh, metaphorically speaking. I’m Canadian, very gullible. Now you know. Good to know. It was a total joy, because I’ve been swimming in these QAnon, 4chan, right-wing waters for a long time. I think when it was quite new and scary in 2016, 2015, when you had Pepe the Frog and memes of people being put in gas chambers and stuff, I’d never experienced anything like that before. That was like, oh my god. Did you ever worry about your safety? Oh, sure. At that time, there were a few incidents that were like, “Ooh, maybe we should get something,” you know? Different. I’m not living behind a wall or anything, but you take some precautions. We have reporters who cover the waters that you swim in. And it can be very scary. I looked at the responses to Alex Jones’ post on X about you, and it was all people just being like, “Fuck you, Alex Jones.” Well, the funniest thing was I think even a lot …

Streamer IShowSpeed Is Gen Z’s ESPN

Streamer IShowSpeed Is Gen Z’s ESPN

Published by skeptic

In the days leading up to the 2026 World Cup, the streamer IShowSpeed—one of the most watched people on the planet, who occasionally moonlights as a rapper—released the music video “World Cup (Champions),” a song about flexing national pride where he mentions all 48 teams. As with everything the 21-year-old born Darren Watkins Jr. does, the video was instantly everywhere. The song racked up over 7 million views on YouTube in under 24 hours. The internet rushed to christen it as the anthem of the tournament, even though the World Cup already has one. FIFA, following a ridiculous outpouring from fans and perhaps realizing the massive instant exposure he could bring, added the song to its official album. That is the power of Speed—a one-man, always-on media network. Speed started posting on YouTube as a teenager in 2017. But it wasn’t until the Covid-19 lockdowns, in 2020, that the Cincinnati, Ohio, native committed to streaming full-time. His passion for soccer, particularly his admiration for his favorite player, Cristiano Ronaldo, shaped his earliest broadcasts, where he …

McLaren CEO Zak Brown Still Gets FOMO About Racing Cars

McLaren CEO Zak Brown Still Gets FOMO About Racing Cars

Published by skeptic

And you do what you do as a 13-year-old, you look immediately at what’s the most expensive thing you can buy. How much money are we talking about here? $3,050 I think it was, or $3,000. That’s not an insignificant sum of money. Went to the top of the list, which happened to be his and hers watches, which as it came out of my mouth was, what does a 13-year-old want with some very nice Cartier watches? Then I went back to the Long Beach Grand Prix in 1987 with my buddy in high school, met Mario Andretti, and I was very intimidated. Now I wanted to kinda get into racing, and I asked him, “How do you get started?” He said, “Karting.” By karting, you mean go-karting? Go-karting, yep. It’s the little league, if you’d like, even though it’s very serious. And I thought, “Ah, I know how I can pay for this. I got some watches in my drawer that I think I can take to a Van Nuys pawn shop.” Went …

The US Can Put People on the Moon. Why Can’t It Get Iranians Online?

The US Can Put People on the Moon. Why Can’t It Get Iranians Online?

Published by skeptic

What could they do that they’re not doing? I mean, look, I think the silly idea is to activate and drop a lot of Starlink terminals on Iran. Well, that’d be fun. I would support a contract, you know, a US government contract to do that, because it would cost less than a couple of these missiles. And we own the airspace at this point. You know, they don’t have air defenses. I think every cell phone, every smartphone produced after 2020 or 2021 has the ability to connect to satellite internet. It requires flipping switches. To do that, we require an act of Congress or an executive order, and probably some guarantees to cellular providers that if you provide cellular access to Iran, we’re not gonna sanction you. We’re not gonna enforce this. Do you have any educated guess or informed hypothesis about why these very simple switches are not being flipped? I just don’t think it’s on people’s radar screens … That you should connect a country of how many people? Ninety-three million …

Tom Steyer Wants to Save California From Billionaires. But Also Doesn’t Want Them to Leave

Tom Steyer Wants to Save California From Billionaires. But Also Doesn’t Want Them to Leave

Published by skeptic

For those concerned about the influence of Big Tech and billionaires on California’s future, Tom Steyer looks like an obvious choice. A billionaire who amassed his fortune after founding Farallon Capital Management, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds, Steyer quit the firm in 2012 and turned to philanthropy, political advocacy, and climate activism, among other pursuits. Now, he’s jostling for position among a handful of Democratic and GOP candidates looking to advance from a June primary and then win the California governorship this November. Ahead of the midterms, I’m talking to candidates relevant to WIRED’s interests: A few weeks ago I spoke with Alex Bores, a candidate for New York’s 12th Congressional District, whose history as a Palantir employee and stance on AI regulation has attracted the ire of Silicon Valley–backed super PACs. Steyer felt like the next obvious choice for a conversation: He’s running to lead a state where issues like AI, immigration enforcement, and climate change, among other core WIRED subjects, are paramount. Steyer’s posture in the race is also unique. He’s …

The Creators of ‘Hacks’ Really, Really, Really Hate AI

The Creators of ‘Hacks’ Really, Really, Really Hate AI

Published by skeptic

If you’re a WIRED reader who uses AI in any creative context, I’d suggest staying far, far away from anyone involved in the TV show Hacks. In an interview earlier this year, actor Hannah Einbinder (who plays young comedy writer Ava Daniels on the show) described AI creators as “losers,” “not artists,” and “not special.” The show’s cocreators couldn’t agree more. In a wide-ranging conversation for The Big Interview ahead of the Hacks series finale on HBO Max, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello were resolute about the value of human creativity—and what can be lost when AI enters the picture. If their work on Hacks is any indication, Downs and Aniello (along with their third cocreator, Jen Statsky) would be wise to stick with the tough, tiring, absolutely-no-shortcuts approach they take to making entertainment. Across five excellent seasons—if you haven’t seen the show, I really do recommend it—Hacks has been praised for its sharp writing and wit, and its thoughtful portrayal of Deborah Vance and Ava’s complex, constantly evolving relationship. The show has also …

The Secret to Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Online Superstardom? Control

The Secret to Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Online Superstardom? Control

Published by skeptic

I’m developing a TV series with the BBC, which has been an ongoing project for many years that I’m so excited about. Then I have a movie in development as well with Amazon MGM and Ryan Pictures. That’s kind of like my own romcom. You play the lead, right? Yeah. I’m going to be playing myself. It’s like the Chicken Shop Date movie. Do you find love at the end? Well, you have to watch and find out. I hope so. I hope so, too. I mean, it’s a rom-com, so… It’d be a terrible rom-com if you didn’t. I mean, if it’s not happening in real life, you better make it happen in the movie. Then, I directed a music video earlier this year and I loved that experience. It was for an amazing artist called Maisie Peters. I obviously direct Chicken Shop Date and I always have, but it’s very different when you are really turning your hand to directing something with a narrative. I just love the experience of being part of …