The Information

Art by Clark Miller.

Scene and Heard

While One Crypto Party Was Ruined, Another Raged On in Amsterdam

By Kari McMahon · Nov 25, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

In the final week of October, over 3,000 crypto believers descended into woods on the outskirts of Amsterdam, arriving by shuttle bus to a gritty campus emblazoned in purple neon lights. Gaggles of hoodie-clad developers wandered the halls of industrial warehouses packed with lavish lounges, ball pits and barista stands where attendees could... In the final week of October, over 3,000 crypto believers descended into woods on the outskirts...

Midjourney art by Clark Miller

Scene and Heard

Inside Silicon Valley’s New Boys Club: The Testosterone-Testing ‘T Party’

By Zara Stone · Sep 1, 2023 9:00am PDT · 28 comments

Early one Saturday morning in August, a dozen men—a mix of startup founders, software engineers, designers and one professional Dungeons & Dragons dungeon master—gathered inside a small San Francisco condo to get their blood drawn. Testosterone levels had been in steep decline globally, the men had learned, and they wanted... Early one Saturday morning in August, a dozen men—a mix of startup founders, software...

Art by Clark Miller

Scene and Heard

The Cult of Notion: A Productivity App Becomes a Sensation for Creators

By Kalley Huang · Jul 22, 2023 6:00am PDT · 10 comments

In May, hundreds of people queued outside an auditorium in the San Isidro district of Lima, Perú. They had to wait another two hours before the event began, with the line nearly wrapping around the block and storm clouds looming in the late evening sky. As they killed time, the crowd buzzed in anticipation: “Notion! Notion!... In May, hundreds of people queued outside an auditorium in the San Isidro district of Lima,...

Emad Mostaque, Vitalik Buterin and Grimes in the waters of Montenegro. Photo-illustration by Clark Miller.

The Hullabaloo of Zuzalu: Inside the Secret Pop-up City of Vitalik Buterin’s Dreams

By Margaux MacColl · Jun 2, 2023 9:24am PDT · 6 comments

Emad Mostaque, Vitalik Buterin and Grimes in the waters of Montenegro. Photo-illustration by Clark Miller.

Scene and Heard

The Hullabaloo of Zuzalu: Inside the Secret Pop-up City of Vitalik Buterin’s Dreams

By Margaux MacColl · Jun 2, 2023 9:24am PDT · 6 comments

Until it reached its planned obsolescence last week, the mythical city of Zuzalu was an intellectual wonderland. Days at Zuzalu began shortly after dawn at the edge of the Adriatic Sea. In the pursuit of an infinite life, Zuzalans (as they self-identify) enjoyed submerging themselves in the frigid waters of Montenegro at 8 a.m.—and again... Until it reached its planned obsolescence last week, the mythical city of Zuzalu was an...

Art by Clark Miller.

Scene and Heard

While Hollywood Writers Fret About AI, Visual Effects Workers Welcome It

By Scott Alan Lucas · May 20, 2023 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Is there anybody here who is afraid of AI taking their job?” Visual effects veteran James Blevins, whose credits include “The Mandalorian,” “Icarus,” “Air Force One” and “Space Jam,” was speaking last Wednesday to a crowd of several hundred people at the Hollywood offices of FYI, the... Is there anybody here who is afraid of AI taking their job?” Visual effects veteran James...

Art by Clark Miller

Scene and Heard

‘Your Dreams Are No Longer Safe’: The Washington Crowd Gets an Alarming Crash Course in AI

By Nancy Scola · Mar 10, 2023 9:00am PST · 5 comments

Frank Luntz, the famed Republican pollster and communications guru, stood in awe listening to himself. “It sounds like I had a stroke,” Luntz called out from the back of a banquet room at the National Press Club on a blustery evening in downtown Washington. He and around 100 other attendees at the invitation-only gathering were... Frank Luntz, the famed Republican pollster and communications guru, stood in awe listening to...

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Art by Clark Miller

Scene and Heard

Andreessen Horowitz Takes Tinseltown

By Erin Woo · Aug 25, 2022 12:32pm PDT · 6 comments

Andrew Chen, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, was waiting outside The Bungalow, a bar in Santa Monica, Calif., before heading to an after-party when he noticed that his colleague Connie Chan had her head buried in her phone. “Stop sending emails,” he joked. “You’re not in SF anymore.” Chen, Chan and 15,000 of their fellow techies and... Andrew Chen, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, was waiting outside The Bungalow, a bar in...

Art by Clark Miller

‘The Last Great Party’: With Crypto Winter Coming, NFT Lovers Try to Stave Off Reality

By Margaux MacColl · Jun 24, 2022 2:30pm PDT · 9 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Scene and Heard

‘The Last Great Party’: With Crypto Winter Coming, NFT Lovers Try to Stave Off Reality

By Margaux MacColl · Jun 24, 2022 2:30pm PDT · 9 comments

Ten days before NFT.NYC began last Monday in New York, I interviewed the conference’s founder, Jodee Rich, about how the crypto market’s collapse would impact this year’s gathering. It seemed like an obvious topic of discussion: $400 billion in cryptocurrencies’ market value had just vanished in a matter of weeks; heavyweights like Coinbase had... Ten days before NFT.NYC began last Monday in New York, I interviewed the conference’s founder,...

Art by Clark Miller.

Scene and Heard

Boomer Bankers Bow to Blockchain Billionaires on the Beach in the Bahamas

By Akash Pasricha · May 4, 2022 1:00pm PDT · 1 comment

“I wanna draw something for you, OK, just ’cause you’ll remember it. “This is LaGuardia airport. It was built in the 1920s,” said Anthony Scaramucci, doodling rectangles on a pad of paper in front of me. I was sitting with the SkyBridge Capital founder and one-time Trump White House communications director at the Grand Hyatt in the Bahamas,... “I wanna draw something for you, OK, just ’cause you’ll remember it. “This is LaGuardia airport....

Art by Clark Miller.

Scene and Heard

Dining With Apes: A Visit to the World’s First NFT-Themed Restaurant

By Brandon Reynolds · Apr 22, 2022 1:30pm PDT · 1 comment

In Southern California, it is requisite to compare any food item remotely resembling a hamburger to an In-N-Out burger. So when I visited Bored & Hungry, the world’s first NFT-branded hamburger joint, on Tuesday afternoon, I had In-N-Out on my mind. The new place, formerly a Louisiana Fried Chicken, is at a busy intersection of Long Beach,... In Southern California, it is requisite to compare any food item remotely resembling a hamburger...

Art by Clark Miller.

Scene and Heard

At the Shoptalk Conference in Las Vegas, E-Retailers Have a Lot of Problems, and the Metaverse Isn’t One of Them

By Malique Morris · Apr 1, 2022 12:00pm PDT

“The metaverse is a big fat distraction,” declared Julie Bornstein, CEO of mobile-first fashion marketplace The Yes. Sitting in a stuffy conference room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s convention center in Las Vegas, Bornstein is on the frontlines of how shoppers, especially younger ones, are buying goods online. And right now, she said... “The metaverse is a big fat distraction,” declared Julie Bornstein, CEO of mobile-first fashion...

Photographs, clockwise from top-left: Doodles, Kaya Yurieff, Chris Hershman/Blokhaus.

In Austin, a Coronation for Crypto, a Celebration of Doodles, and Confusion for Nicolas Cage

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 17, 2022 10:05am PDT · 1 comment

Photographs, clockwise from top-left: Doodles, Kaya Yurieff, Chris Hershman/Blokhaus.

Scene and Heard

In Austin, a Coronation for Crypto, a Celebration of Doodles, and Confusion for Nicolas Cage

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 17, 2022 10:05am PDT · 1 comment

South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin, Tex., kicked off this year against the backdrop of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, record inflation, skyrocketing gas prices and a two-year pandemic hangover. It also coincided with a sudden dip in the price of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens. But all the bad news didn’t... South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin, Tex., kicked off this year...

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin on stage at EthDenver.
Photo by Alexandra Masihy, EthDenver.

Scene and Heard

In Denver, an Ethereum Conference Overflows With Burning Man Vibes and Anti-VC Sentiment

By Kate Clark · Feb 24, 2022 10:00am PST · 4 comments

“You can’t help but walk around here and go, ‘What the fuck is this?’” John Paller is sitting in a small, white-walled meeting room somewhere inside the century-old Denver Sports Castle, a six-floor, 35,000-square-foot former Chrysler showroom that’s overdue for a renovation. The longtime Denver entrepreneur says that the venue is a “total pile... “You can’t help but walk around here and go, ‘What the fuck is this?’” John Paller is sitting in...

Photos courtesy Delian Asparouhov and Nadia Eghbal.

Scene and Heard

Meet the Couple Who Got Surprise-Married at Peter Thiel’s Hereticon Conference

By Margaux MacColl · Jan 22, 2022 7:00am PST · 8 comments

This year, Peter Thiel’s Hereticon conference changed lives. Some attendees left with fresh tattoos and piercings, others with a newfound belief in UFOs. But Delian Asparouhov and Nadia Eghbal arguably made the greatest leap of all: Between speeches about sex rings and sessions on hypnosis, the couple squeezed in a wedding. From the start,... This year, Peter Thiel’s Hereticon conference changed lives. Some attendees left with fresh ...

Photo: Jonas Goldstein

Scene and Heard

Minting Takes Manhattan: An NFT Gallery Sells Millions Even Before the Art Is Made

By Margaux MacColl · Dec 11, 2021 6:00am PST · 6 comments

The art was worth at least $7 million, and it hadn’t even been created yet. It was the opening night of non-fungible token artist Tyler Hobbs’ show “Incomplete Control” at the Bright Moments gallery in Soho. The gallery, lit by candles and LCD screens, hosted a crowd of about 100crypto influencers, venture capitalistsand traditional art... The art was worth at least $7 million, and it hadn’t even been created yet. It was the opening...