Iran Targets U.S. Tech; Polymarket’s Bar Flop; Trump's Plans for Midterms

The team is back this week to discuss how top U.S tech companies are increasingly finding themselves as targets in the ongoing war with Iran. We also get an inside view into how Polymarket’s pop-up bar in D.C went sideways. Plus, we go through the steps that the Trump administration is taking to control the upcoming midterm elections. Articles mentioned in this episode: Iran Threatens to Start Attacking Major US Tech Firms on April 1 | WIRED  Polymarket’s Coming-Out Party in Washington Was a Disaster | WIRED  This Is How Trump Is Already Threatening the Midterms | WIRED Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Luis von Ahn, Duolingo’s co-founder and CEO, joins Katie to discuss why we should still learn languages in the age of AI translation. He also talks about how Duolingo is dealing with falling share prices, and what’s next for the company.Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian’s newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For the first episode of our second season, Katie sits down with fellow journalist Chris Hayes, host of MS NOW’S All In, to talk about covering the news and capturing attention during an all-consuming news cycle. And the Trump administration's performance of imperialism as content. Hayes also talks about his book, The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource.Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, Brian and Zoë discuss the highlights from Nvidia’s annual developer conference, and why Tesla recently got in trouble with some of its most loyal fans online. Plus, Meta’s decision of shutting down Horizon Worlds VR officially marks the end of the metaverse dream.Articles mentioned in this episode: Nvidia Is Planning to Launch an Open-Source AI Agent Platform | WIRED  The Tesla Influencers Leaving the ‘Cult’ | WIRED  Meta Is Shutting Down Horizon Worlds on Meta Quest | WIRED Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week we are bringing you a podcast recommendation. A great tech focused weekly show called Kill Switch, hosted by Dexter Thomas. On this episode Dexter goes down a rabbit hole. When an editor at a local magazine in Toronto received a pitch from a promising new freelancer, he didn’t expect it to spiral into an obsessive investigation. What followed was a deep dive into a web of fake interviews, impossible bylines, and fake reporting. Dexter talks with Nicholas Hune-Brown to trace how he uncovered an AI journalist and what it reveals about journalism today. Subscribe to Kill Switch wherever you get your podcasts.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, the team discusses what’s at stake for Anthropic after the company sued the Department of Defense. They also take a look at the strategy behind the Trump administration sharing action-filled war memes on social media, and share a scoop about how a controversial company is making millions by organizing the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Plus — could AI come for the jobs of venture capitalists? Articles mentioned in this episode: Anthropic Claims Pentagon Feud Could Cost It Billions | WIRED  A Trumpworld Events Company Is Raking In Millions in Federal Contracts | WIRED  OpenAI and Google Workers File Amicus Brief in Support of Anthropic Against the US Government | WIRED  Can AI Kill the Venture Capitalist? | WIRED  Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, the team dives into why disinformation and the AI industry battles have quickly positioned themselves at the center of the ongoing conflict between the U.S and Iran. They also discuss how prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi are increasingly facing insider trading accusations and ethical questions. Also, how did Paramount beat Netflix in its bid for Warner Bros? Plus — Zoë, Brian, and Leah share their predictions for the future.Articles mentioned in this episode: X Is Drowning in Disinformation Following US and Israeli Attack on Iran  How Journalists Are Reporting From Iran With No Internet  Anthropic Hits Back After US Military Labels It a ‘Supply Chain Risk’  A Former Top Trump Official Is Going After Prediction Markets  Everything Larry and David Ellison Will Control If Paramount Buys Warner Bros. Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Steven Adler used to lead product safety at OpenAI. When Katie read his recent op-ed asking OpenAI to prove that they have and continue to address safety issues, she knew she wanted to talk to him. This week she sits down with Steven to talk about what AI users should know about their bots.Follow the UnCanny Valley feed for WIRED’s best and brightest as they provide an insider analysis of the overlap between tech and politics, from the influence of Silicon Valley on the Trump administration to how inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots fanned the fire on social protests.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, the team dives into the feud that has been brewing between Anthropic and the Pentagon — and what it says about how the government interacts with tech companies. Later, Zoë tells us why figuring out whether you are agentic or mimetic has become the new litmus test in Silicon Valley. Plus, we discuss the key takeaways from the State of the Union address and give a farewell to the TAT-8 undersea cables — the ones that made our modern internet possible. Articles mentioned in this episode: Are You ‘Agentic’ Enough for the AI Era? | WIRED  Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global Internet Possible  Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week’s episode of The Big Interview podcast, the philanthropist sits down with Katie to offer her insights on billionaire donors, kids on phones, and the importance of women’s healthcare.Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices