The Big Read

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Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Can Tech Get Nuclear Power to Move at AI Speeds?

By Nick Wingfield · Feb 14, 2025 9:00am PST · 2 comments
Over the past two years, the explosive growth of artificial intelligence has created a dilemma for tech behemoths: How can their data centers meet AI’s mind-boggling need for electricity without befouling the planet in the process? Amazon, for one, may have found an answer to that question 200 miles southeast of its headquarters, on a patch of... Over the past two years, the explosive growth of artificial intelligence has created a dilemma...
Photos of Elon Musk (from left), Jim O’Neill and Peter Thiel via YouTube screenshots. Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

As DOGE Shakeup Looms, a Thiel Protégé Looks to Disrupt U.S. Health Department

By Julia Black · Feb 7, 2025 9:00am PST · 3 comments
In November, virologist Beata Halassy announced to the world that she had cured her own breast cancer using a treatment developed in a laboratory she runs. Many in the medical community celebrated her breakthrough, which she says has allowed her to live cancer-free for over four years. But some bioethicists worried that overpublicizing the... In November, virologist Beata Halassy announced to the world that she had cured her own breast...
Art by Clark Miller
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With Google and Microsoft Moving In, a Battle Over Hallowed Ground Erupts

By Theo Wayt · Jan 31, 2025 9:14am PST
In 1862, from a hill in northern Virginia, troops under Confederate General Stonewall Jackson rained artillery fire upon a column of Union soldiers on a dirt road about a thousand feet away, in the opening shots of the Second Battle of Manassas. When I visited a farmhouse on the site on a frigid day earlier this month, I saw the signs of a... In 1862, from a hill in northern Virginia, troops under Confederate General Stonewall Jackson...
Art by Clark Miller. Ellsworths image via Getty.
How Poppi Hopes to Win the Battle of the Bubbles
By Ann Gehan · Jan 24, 2025 9:01am PST
Art by Clark Miller. Ellsworths image via Getty.
The Big Read

How Poppi Hopes to Win the Battle of the Bubbles

By Ann Gehan · Jan 24, 2025 9:01am PST
On the ground floor of a nondescript condo building in east Austin last month, the wife-and-husband co-founders of Poppi made good on a promise they made to me: that they would offer me a taste test of their beverage company’s in-the-works flavors. It wasn’t quite like getting access to the secret Coca-Cola recipe, but it was as... On the ground floor of a nondescript condo building in east Austin last month, the...
Art by Clark Miller
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Sports League Startups Face Long-Shot Odds. Could Selfies, Simulators and Makeup Salons Help?

By Sara Germano · Jan 17, 2025 9:06am PST · 1 comment
When Unrivaled, a new professional women’s basketball league, tips off tonight on TNT, fans will be introduced to a version of the sport that Alex Bazzell, one of the league’s founders, described to me as “a Broadway show on steroids.” That spectacle will feature three-player teams rather than traditional five-on-five... When Unrivaled, a new professional women’s basketball league, tips off tonight on TNT, fans...
Art by Clark Miller.
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How a Casual Sex Website Left the Door Open to Teens

By Paris Martineau and Cory Weinberg · Jan 10, 2025 9:14am PST · 3 comments
Kelly Weld didn’t know what to expect when she finally managed to unlock her son’s iPhone in February 2023. Still, she had hoped to find an answer as to why the then-16-year-old had recently started failing classes, skipping school and acting out at their home in central Florida. She found a disturbing explanation in his web-browsing... Kelly Weld didn’t know what to expect when she finally managed to unlock her son’s...
Art by Clark Miller
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It’s AI! It’s Crypto—It’s Crypto Meets AI!

By Burt Helm · Dec 21, 2024 6:00am PST · 7 comments
Before Marc Andreessen slid into Andy Ayrey’s life, Ayrey’s artificial intelligence experiments were a quirky passion project. Ayrey, an artist and web designer who lives in rural New Zealand, likes to tinker with large language models and see what he can build with them. His favorite creation is a mischievous troll of an AI bot,... Before Marc Andreessen slid into Andy Ayrey’s life, Ayrey’s artificial intelligence...
Art by Clark Miller
The Antichrist and the New Apostles
By Julia Black · Dec 13, 2024 9:03am PST · 19 comments
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

The Antichrist and the New Apostles

By Julia Black · Dec 13, 2024 9:03am PST · 19 comments
Worship at Epic Church in downtown San Francisco last Sunday began in a darkened room, on the second floor of a former factory building. The shades were drawn across the tall windows, while colored lights cast a theatrical glow on a band that sounded a bit like Arcade Fire—if Arcade Fire made worship music. A mostly millennial congregation... Worship at Epic Church in downtown San Francisco last Sunday began in a darkened room, on the...
Art by Clark Miller
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Another Crypto Revolution Is Here—and It’s Unlike Any From the Past

By Yueqi Yang · Dec 6, 2024 9:07am PST · 2 comments
In 2022, Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of stablecoin startup Bridge, was staring into the abyss. The price of TerraUSD—one of the largest of the stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to the U.S. dollar—collapsed, casting a pall on everyone working with stablecoins. Then, a few months later, Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX imploded.... In 2022, Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of stablecoin startup Bridge, was staring into the...
Art by Clark Miller
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A Complex New Age of Face Tech

By Paris Martineau · Nov 22, 2024 9:03am PST · 3 comments
In September, Instagram unveiled a splashy new feature called Teen Accounts, an effort by Meta Platforms, the app’s owner, to show it’s better protecting young people with stricter privacy and safety settings. Suddenly, everyone on the app who had registered their age as 17 years or younger found themselves with an Instagram teen... In September, Instagram unveiled a splashy new feature called Teen Accounts, an effort by Meta...
Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images)
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Making a Beautiful, Tesla-Beating Electric Car Is a Frustrating Business

By Steve LeVine · Nov 15, 2024 9:00am PST · 28 comments
The other evening, a stranger told Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson that if he ever came across an electric vehicle that would go 500 miles on a charge, he’d buy it. “And I said, ‘That’s Lucid Air!’” Rawlinson recalls, referring to his company’s sleek sedan. “He said, ‘What? How long has that... The other evening, a stranger told Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson that if he ever came across...
Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images)
Tech Has Bought Itself a More Moderate San Francisco
By Josh Koehn · Nov 9, 2024 5:00am PST · 4 comments
Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images)
The Big Read

Tech Has Bought Itself a More Moderate San Francisco

By Josh Koehn · Nov 9, 2024 5:00am PST · 4 comments
The moderate political wave that crested over San Francisco this election is the culmination of several years of anger, frustration and tech-funded organizing. It was propelled by millions of dollars in campaign money, hundreds of thousands of fed-up voters, several upstart political organizations, two recall elections and one sad San Francisco... The moderate political wave that crested over San Francisco this election is the culmination of...
Art by Clark Miller; Harris, Musk, Trump images via Getty.
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Elon Musk Will Win, No Matter Who Wins the White House

By Nick Wingfield and Steve LeVine · Nov 1, 2024 6:00am PDT · 17 comments
For weeks, Elon Musk has warned voters, as he campaigns for Donald Trump, about the dire consequences of a Kamala Harris administration—for America, civilization and him personally. “If he loses, I’m fucked,” Musk joked in an interview last month with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host. “How long do you think... For weeks, Elon Musk has warned voters, as he campaigns for Donald Trump, about the dire...
Art by Clark Miller
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Legal Threats, Google Competition Loom Over Perplexity’s ‘Newbie CEO’

By Kevin Mclaughlin · Oct 25, 2024 9:00am PDT · 2 comments
Aravind Srinivas didn’t set out to earn a reputation as one of the media’s biggest tech villains. It just kind of happened. Over the summer, Forbes and Wired angrily accused Srinivas’ AI search startup, Perplexity, of plagiarizing their paywalled content. In one case, Perplexity had lifted portions of a Forbes story and used it... Aravind Srinivas didn’t set out to earn a reputation as one of the media’s biggest...
Art by Clark Miller
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The Tech Underdogs Trying to Elect Harris and Outfox Musk

By Josh Koehn · Oct 18, 2024 9:00am PDT · 5 comments
First thing each weekday, Jessica Alter hits the road and runs three miles through the Marina District near her San Francisco home. On Saturdays, she swaps Golden Gate Bridge views for countryside scenes with longer trail runs close to her second home in Sonoma County. In both instances, the exercise inspires some of Alter’s best ideas as... First thing each weekday, Jessica Alter hits the road and runs three miles through the Marina...
Art by Clark Miller
The Ben Horowitz Paradox
By Julia Black · Oct 11, 2024 9:00am PDT · 3 comments
Art by Clark Miller
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The Ben Horowitz Paradox

By Julia Black · Oct 11, 2024 9:00am PDT · 3 comments
On the night of Sept. 21, a group of Black entrepreneurs, investors and Congressional Black Caucus members navigated a labyrinth of gated security to reach a megamansion with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Their hosts: venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, his wife Felicia and Rep. Steven Horsford, chair of the Democratic congressional group. As... On the night of Sept. 21, a group of Black entrepreneurs, investors and Congressional Black...
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Why Women in Tech Are Sounding an Alarm

By Julia Black · Oct 4, 2024 9:00am PDT · 24 comments
There wasn’t any one thing that led to the slow death of Girls in Tech, a standard-bearer nonprofit that provided Silicon Valley women with the kind of mentorship and training opportunities that men took for granted. First, the pandemic struck, and donors shifted their attention to health and science causes. Then the Black Lives Matter... There wasn’t any one thing that led to the slow death of Girls in Tech, a standard-bearer...
Mark Rober. Art by Clark Miller. Rober image via Getty
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How a YouTuber Got Inside the Heads of Silicon Valley’s Families

By Annie Goldsmith · Sep 27, 2024 9:16am PDT · 3 comments
Last fall, Satyajeet Salgar, the director of product management and user experience at Google AI, was huddled outside his kids’ Palo Alto, Calif., elementary school with a group of parents who were there for a class performance. The parents began talking about their kids’ favorite shows, and the conversation landed on the topic of... Last fall, Satyajeet Salgar, the director of product management and user experience at Google AI,...
Art by Clark Miller
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Bling It On: An AI Startup Turns Shoppers Into Jewelry Designers

By Ann Gehan · Sep 20, 2024 6:00am PDT · 7 comments
When I met Mariam Naficy last week, she couldn’t wait to show me her new jewelry. She had designed the earrings she was wearing herself. And her bracelet. And her ring for good measure. Technically, Naficy—whose keen eye for e-commerce trends led her to found the early online makeup retailer Eve.com and Minted, which makes custom... When I met Mariam Naficy last week, she couldn’t wait to show me her new jewelry. She had...
Art by Clark Miller
The Firebrand Investor Who Can Explain Trump’s Rise in Tech
By Abram Brown · Sep 13, 2024 9:11am PDT · 16 comments
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

The Firebrand Investor Who Can Explain Trump’s Rise in Tech

By Abram Brown · Sep 13, 2024 9:11am PDT · 16 comments
“You’ve been here before?” asked the guard at the gate, a pistol fastened to his belt. I shook my head no. “If you go past the red Tesla,” the guard said, waving my Uber through, “you’ve gone too far.” After a few minutes of Texas shrubland, we arrived at Joe Lonsdale’s back door, where... “You’ve been here before?” asked the guard at the gate, a pistol fastened to...