The Big Read

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The Big Read

Tech Goes Cold Turkey: Inside Silicon Valley’s New Temperance Society

By Annie Goldsmith · Nov 11, 2022 9:00am PST · 5 comments
The year was 2008, and at Justin Kan’s Y Combinator–funded livestreaming site, Justin.tv, the end of the week meant only one thing: Fine Alcohol Friday. The ritual began when someone—Kan doesn’t remember who—sent a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label to the company offices. “It wasn’t even that good, to be honest,” he recalled. Justin.tv was... The year was 2008, and at Justin Kan’s Y Combinator–funded livestreaming site, Justin.tv, the end...
Composite art by Clark Miller. Photos Ohanian, Creative Commons and Roberto Faccenda.
The Big Read

Ohanian in Paradise: Still Nursing Old Wounds From Reddit, the Former Founder Chases a New Legacy

By Abram Brown · Nov 4, 2022 9:00am PDT · 13 comments
A while back, Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist, and his wife Serena Williams, the tennis legend and angel investor, reached a compromise. They’d been working under the same roof during the pandemic, Ohanian running his venture shop, Seven Seven Six, and Williams overseeing her growing empire of endorsements,... A while back, Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist, and his wife Serena...
AI art generated by Clark Miller
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‘This Time Is Really, Really Different’: The Early Adopter’s Guide to the Ingenious, Uncanny, Slightly Scary World of Generative AI

By Margaux MacColl · Oct 28, 2022 9:27am PDT · 7 comments
Martin Erlic, who runs an olive oil business in Croatia, used AI text-generating startup Jasper to write his dream sci-fi novel. Architect Nuno Fontarra turns to AI image software Midjourney to dream up whimsical buildings that inspire his real-life designs. And in moments of emotional turmoil, Serena, a physicist in Texas, asksthe artificially... Martin Erlic, who runs an olive oil business in Croatia, used AI text-generating startup Jasper...
Art by Clark Miller
Jeff Lawson’s Great Leap: Can the Twilio CEO Fix His Company and His Country at the Same Time?
By Abram Brown · Oct 21, 2022 9:00am PDT · 11 comments
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Jeff Lawson’s Great Leap: Can the Twilio CEO Fix His Company and His Country at the Same Time?

By Abram Brown · Oct 21, 2022 9:00am PDT · 11 comments
One afternoon toward the end of September, Jeff Lawson’s household was turned upside down: Barack Obama was coming to visit. At their glassy, modernist home high above San Francisco’s Dolores Park, Lawson and his wife Erica shuffled around the furniture to make room for the former president and their three dozen other guests. Venture capitalist... One afternoon toward the end of September, Jeff Lawson’s household was turned upside down: Barack...
Art by Clark Miller
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‘You’re Not in Control of Your Thoughts’: Social Media Companies Know When Users Are Manic or Bipolar. So Why Don’t They Help Them?

By Margaux MacColl · Oct 14, 2022 9:05am PDT · 2 comments
Last month, before an audience of millions, Gabbie Hanna unraveled in her living room, convinced she was the second coming of Jesus Christ. Hanna, a popular influencer who made her name on Vine in the early 2010s, had ignited controversy before, usually for her public feuds with rival influencers or dismissive comments about mental health. But... Last month, before an audience of millions, Gabbie Hanna unraveled in her living room, convinced...
Art by Clark Miller
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Saint Frances of the Whistle: A Year After Frances Haugen’s Facebook Leak, Every Corporate Secret Is Now Up for Grabs

By Abram Brown · Sep 30, 2022 8:30am PDT · 1 comment
When Frances Haugen has sought refuge during the past year of personal attacks, speaking engagements, and congressional and parliamentary hearings, she has found it beside a placid blue lagoon in Puerto Rico. She shares a home in Miramar—“the Brooklyn of San Juan,” she said—with her new husband, Alex, whose last name and background she prefers,... When Frances Haugen has sought refuge during the past year of personal attacks, speaking...
Art by Clark Miller
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‘What Am I Going to Do Now?’: Fired Crypto Workers Weigh Life After the Boom

By Margaux MacColl · Sep 23, 2022 9:00am PDT · 1 comment
On July 14, James Hu was sitting in his “fabulously expensive” apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He had just returned from the Soho offices of OpenSea, the non-fungible token marketplace, where he had been laid off from his job and locked out of his work computer. The event was not exactly a huge shock to Hu, who had watched mass crypto... On July 14, James Hu was sitting in his “fabulously expensive” apartment in Williamsburg,...
Photo Erika Nardini. Composite by Clark Miller.
Erika Nardini Isn’t Here to Apologize
By Annie Goldsmith · Sep 16, 2022 10:30am PDT · 2 comments
Photo Erika Nardini. Composite by Clark Miller.
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Erika Nardini Isn’t Here to Apologize

By Annie Goldsmith · Sep 16, 2022 10:30am PDT · 2 comments
The Barstool Sports offices are heard before they are seen. Raucous cheers and hollering permeate the elevator bank inside its Manhattan headquarters—the sound of an ever-rowdy 400-employee media company revving up for the day. Located on the second floor of a nondescript building a few blocks from Penn Station, the offices are not as glossy as... The Barstool Sports offices are heard before they are seen. Raucous cheers and hollering permeate...
A selfie of the author Zara Stone, overlaid with results from Perfect Corp.’s AI Personality Finder demo. Art by Clark Miller
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The Secret Life of Selfies: How a Beauty Tech Startup Is Using AI to Match Faces With Products

By Zara Stone · Sep 9, 2022 12:00pm PDT
For years, Hannah Williams’ go-to selfie app has been YouCam Makeup. Before posting a self-portrait to Instagram, the 25-year-old cashier from Morgantown, W. Va., will run the shot through YouCam’s augmented reality filters to whiten her teeth, remove stray pimples and smooth her complexion. In recent months, she’s played around with the app’s... For years, Hannah Williams’ go-to selfie app has been YouCam Makeup. Before posting a...
Art by Clark Miller
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A Visionary Afloat: Snap CEO Evan Spiegel Helped Create the Social Web as We Know It. Now He’s Sinking Under It.

By Ryan Broderick · Sep 2, 2022 9:00am PDT · 25 comments
Evan Spiegel published his first blog post about Snapchat in 2012. Ten years later, itis still the most coherent description of an app that has proudly confused the tech world ever since. “Snapchat isn’t about capturing the traditional Kodak moment,” the 22-year-old future Snap CEO wrote. “We’re building a photo app that doesn’t conform to... Evan Spiegel published his first blog post about Snapchat in 2012. Ten years later, itis still...
Art by Clark Miller
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‘It’s Just Bad News All the Time’: With the Tech Economy Buckling, Silicon Valley Therapists Are in High Demand

By Zara Stone · Aug 12, 2022 9:00am PDT
Over the last couple of months, David Mahabali has become highly skilled at lugging pillows, floor pads and blankets around the San Francisco Bay Area. He layers an assortment of them on the plush floors of McMansions in Woodside, spreads them across deep pile rugs in posh San Jose condos, and arranges them tidily in the living rooms of... Over the last couple of months, David Mahabali has become highly skilled at lugging pillows,...
Art by Clark Miller
‘He’s Making Up a World He Wants to Attack’: How Vivek Ramaswamy Became a Right-Wing Culture Warrior
By Michelle Celarier · Aug 5, 2022 9:00am PDT · 24 comments
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

‘He’s Making Up a World He Wants to Attack’: How Vivek Ramaswamy Became a Right-Wing Culture Warrior

By Michelle Celarier · Aug 5, 2022 9:00am PDT · 24 comments
Riley Moore had never met the man seated next to him. The state treasurer of West Virginia, Moore had come to a conservative retreat in the state’s storied Greenbrier resort in May 2021 to talk about a letter he and 14 other Republican state treasurers had just written to the Biden administration’s climate envoy, John Kerry. In it, the officials... Riley Moore had never met the man seated next to him. The state treasurer of West Virginia, Moore...
Magic Eden’s co-founders Jack Lu (CEO), Sidney Zhang (CTO), Zhuojie Zhou (Chief Engineer) and Zhuoxun Yin (COO). Art by Clark Miller.
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The Magic Eden Miracle: How an NFT Marketplace Soared in the Midst of a Crypto Crash

By Margaux MacColl · Jul 29, 2022 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment
On May 11, investor Shan Shan of Lightspeed Venture Partners spent two hours walking around San Francisco with Jack Lu and Zhuoxun Yin, the Australian-born co-founders of Magic Eden. It was a clear night on the Embarcadero, with the Bay Bridge twinkling in the distance. The crypto boom was still roaring and their stroll should’ve been a victory... On May 11, investor Shan Shan of Lightspeed Venture Partners spent two hours walking around San...
Art by Clark Miller.
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The Million-Follower Factory: TikTok Is Making Everyone Famous—But Few Creators Are Cashing In

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 22, 2022 9:05am PDT · 7 comments
Three years ago, Owen Holt was finishing up his junior year of high school in Orlando, Fla., when his older sister encouraged him to try his hand at TikTok. He posted a video of himself in the bathroom, lip-syncing to an a cappella cover of Justin Bieber’s 2009 hit “Love Me,” and then he went to bed. The next morning he woke up to 10 million... Three years ago, Owen Holt was finishing up his junior year of high school in Orlando, Fla., when...
Art by Clark Miller
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‘If I Miss a Deal, It’s—Whatever’: Venture Investors Throw in the Beach Towel

By Erin Woo · Jul 15, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 8 comments
Jordan Levy joins the Zoom with black sunglasses on his head and a pool umbrella in the background. The 66-year-old Softbank Capital NY managing partner once founded an incubator focused on Buffalo, N.Y.’s startup ecosystem. This summer, though, he’s hanging out with his grandchildren in a different part of the Empire State: Sagaponack, a... Jordan Levy joins the Zoom with black sunglasses on his head and a pool umbrella in the...
Photo Sara Jacobs. Art by Clark Miller.
‘My Body, My Data’: The Tech Heir Congresswoman Bringing a New Privacy Fight to the Capitol
By Nancy Scola · Jul 8, 2022 1:00pm PDT
Photo Sara Jacobs. Art by Clark Miller.
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‘My Body, My Data’: The Tech Heir Congresswoman Bringing a New Privacy Fight to the Capitol

By Nancy Scola · Jul 8, 2022 1:00pm PDT
“Mr. Speaker,” said California congresswoman Sara Jacobs, standing in the well of the House of Representatives one Thursday morning this past June. “As a young woman, reproductive health care is my health care, and like tens of millions of Americans, I’ve used apps to track my period.” Jacobs went on, “It is unconscionable that our personal... “Mr. Speaker,” said California congresswoman Sara Jacobs, standing in the well of the House of...
Photos Brianne Kimmel. Art by Clark Miller.
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Once Upon a Time in Brianne Kimmel’s Hollywood

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 1, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 2 comments
It was a sunny June day in Los Angeles, and “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon Chu was setting up a shot. The aerialswimming pool arrangement was reminiscent of Chu’s work on “In the Heights,” directing the “96,000” sequence—a musical number so complex it called for 500 to 700 people on set, according to Vulture. This art direction, however, was... It was a sunny June day in Los Angeles, and “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon Chu was setting up a...
Art by Clark Miller
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Will Your Cheatin’ Heart Tell on You? As Americans Lose Trust in Each Other, They’re Turning to Tech to Detect Lies

By Zara Stone · Jun 24, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 1 comment
A few months ago, inside a soundproof room attached to his office, Dennis Cates, a retired police officer and founder of Mid Valley Polygraph in Porterville, Calif., cleared his throat and directed his client to answer an awkward question. “Have you ever had sex with your husband’s brother?” “No,” the client answered, clicking false on the... A few months ago, inside a soundproof room attached to his office, Dennis Cates, a retired police...
Art by Clark Miller.
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San Francisco Is Back. Sort of. Maybe.

By Kate Clark · Jun 17, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 16 comments
Earlier this month, hundreds of Bay Area techies swarmed 5A5 Steak Lounge, a private dining venue blocks from San Francisco’s Ferry Building where patrons feast on Wagyu beef and sip $16 Japanese whisky cocktails. They were there for a spring party put on by Modernist, a members-only club in San Francisco tailored to the tech elite. There was an... Earlier this month, hundreds of Bay Area techies swarmed 5A5 Steak Lounge, a private dining venue...
Art by Clark Miller
Tokens for We but Not for Thee: How a DAO Turned Against One of Its Earliest Investors
By Margaux MacColl · Jun 10, 2022 2:00pm PDT · 3 comments
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Tokens for We but Not for Thee: How a DAO Turned Against One of Its Earliest Investors

By Margaux MacColl · Jun 10, 2022 2:00pm PDT · 3 comments
On May 20, Honey Barrel, whose online bio describes them only as a “vanquisher of non-frens,” woke up and chose chaos. They’re a member of Merit Circle DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization worth over $370 million that loans non-fungible tokens to people who play crypto games but can’t afford the buy-in, according to crypto research... On May 20, Honey Barrel, whose online bio describes them only as a “vanquisher of non-frens,”...