The Big Read

Page 10
Photo by Brian McConkey. Art by Clark Miller.
The Big Read

The Haunting of Andy Dunn

By Annie Goldsmith · May 6, 2022 9:00am PDT · 7 comments
On Andy Dunn’s left ring finger, framing his thick silver wedding band, is a scar. It is the smallest of blemishes, hardly noticeable to anyone but Dunn himself. But for him it is a reminder of a terrifying secret and the darkest momentof his life. Dunn has other scars as well—invisible, internal ones, existing in different forms. Marks of... On Andy Dunn’s left ring finger, framing his thick silver wedding band, is a scar. It is the...
Art by Clark Miller.
The Big Read

Who Is Ironmouse, Queen of the VTubers?

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 29, 2022 12:00pm PDT
The world’s most popular virtual streamer has entered the chat. “Hello!” Ironmouse bellows in her high-pitched, impossible-to-believe-it’s-real cartoon voice. “Hello, everyone. How’s it going, bros?” Ironmouse—or rather, her pink-haired, devil-horned anime avatar—pauses for several beats, and then several more, as new messages rapidly pour into... The world’s most popular virtual streamer has entered the chat. “Hello!” Ironmouse bellows in her...
Art: Clark Miller. All photographs: Rosie Nguyen
The Big Read

“She Has Always Played Life on Hard Mode”: A Female Founder on Battling Poverty, Online Harassers and Tim Cook

By Margaux MacColl · Apr 22, 2022 3:13pm PDT · 1 comment
“This account is a safe space for horny women,” Rosie Nguyen announced to her 156,000 Twitter followers earlier this week. “You are loved and seen.” The sentiment was actually a bit tame for Nguyen, who’s gained a large and loyal social media following for her often racy tweets posted under the handle @Jasminericegirl. Nguyen broadcasts the... “This account is a safe space for horny women,” Rosie Nguyen announced to her 156,000 Twitter...
Art by Clark Miller
Can Peace Last Between Crypto’s Visionary Rivals?
By Margaux MacColl · Apr 15, 2022 1:15pm PDT · 5 comments
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Can Peace Last Between Crypto’s Visionary Rivals?

By Margaux MacColl · Apr 15, 2022 1:15pm PDT · 5 comments
Last October, an image appeared on Twitter of a crypto Mount Rushmore: a drawing of four men etched in stone, looking out onto a valley of trees. There was Dorian Nakamoto, rumored to be the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. There was the distinct, angular jawline of Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, the world’s second... Last October, an image appeared on Twitter of a crypto Mount Rushmore: a drawing of four men...
Art by Clark Miller.
The Big Read

The Cult of Company Culture Is Back. But Do Tech Workers Even Want Perks Anymore?

By Flora Tsapovsky · Apr 8, 2022 12:00pm PDT
Just a couple of years ago, Jesse Ditson, then a software engineering architect at Quip, a subsidiary of Salesforce, was living in San Francisco. Every day he came into the office, where he’d enjoy spontaneous interactions with his colleagues and, sometimes, their adorable pets. He used to attend holiday parties at Foreign Cinema and participate... Just a couple of years ago, Jesse Ditson, then a software engineering architect at Quip, a...
Art by Clark Miller.
The Big Read

Jack Dorsey, Marc Andreessen and the Makings of a Crypto Holy War

By Joel Stein · Apr 1, 2022 1:00pm PDT · 13 comments
People in Silicon Valley fight about money constantly. They squabble about startup valuations, executive compensation, pro rata rights and who does and does not have three commas in their bank account. But the bigger fight, the one Americans haven’t had since the battle over the gold standard, is about what money itself should be. Which is why... People in Silicon Valley fight about money constantly. They squabble about startup valuations,...
Art by Mike Sullivan.
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Paris Hilton, Bored Apes and the Making of a Hollywood Crypto Clique

By Margaux MacColl · Mar 18, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 2 comments
“Did you see our NFT stunt on Fallon that went viral this week?? Ha,” venture capitalist Carter Reum joked over email. Reum was referring, of course, to his wife, Paris Hilton, and her Jan. 24 appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Perhaps you saw it. The “stunt” opened with Hilton, glittering in a lime-green minidress,... “Did you see our NFT stunt on Fallon that went viral this week?? Ha,” venture capitalist Carter...
Photograph by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.
The Other Sunny Balwani
By Anita Raghavan · Mar 11, 2022 12:00pm PST · 5 comments
Photograph by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.
The Big Read

The Other Sunny Balwani

By Anita Raghavan · Mar 11, 2022 12:00pm PST · 5 comments
It was a spring day in 2018 outside the Newark, Calif., campus of Theranos. Within months, the company’s founder, Elizabeth Holmes, and its president, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, would face felony charges of conspiracy and fraud and the doomed blood diagnostics company they built together would become a Silicon Valley morality tale. While taking a... It was a spring day in 2018 outside the Newark, Calif., campus of Theranos. Within months, the...
All photographs courtesy of the subjects.
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‘Defend the Country, Defend the Truth’: How 16 Ukrainian- and Russian-Born Tech Workers Are Responding to a Nightmare

By The Information Staff · Mar 4, 2022 11:00am PST · 2 comments
“My entire family is still there, in Kyiv,” says New York–based entrepreneur and investor Constantin Kogan. “When I’m communicating with them, I am feeling like this is the last time I’ll talk with them in my life.” For thousands of people in the tech industry, abject fear for their loved ones has dominated life over the past week. More than a... “My entire family is still there, in Kyiv,” says New York–based entrepreneur and investor...
Photography by Robert Ascroft /Showtime
The Big Read

Becoming Travis Kalanick: To Play the Pugnacious Ex-Uber Boss, a Star Taps Into His Animal Nature

By Josh Duboff · Feb 25, 2022 12:00pm PST
“Dude, it’s so fun.” Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on the phone from Los Angeles, describing what it was like to play against type as the notoriously volatile Uber founder Travis Kalanick in Showtime’s upcoming “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber.” Though channeling that kind of character was fun for Gordon-Levitt, it wasn’t always comfortable. “... “Dude, it’s so fun.” Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on the phone from Los Angeles, describing what...
Art by Mike Sullivan.
The Big Read

The Bunnies Have Left the Mansion: Inside Playboy’s Quest to Reinvent Itself as a Tech Company

By Annie Goldsmith · Feb 18, 2022 1:00pm PST · 4 comments
Mia Khalifa would be an obvious choice for a Playboy Playmate of the Month, if such a thing still existed. Instead, one of the biggest names in adult entertainment just signed up for its digital equivalent. Khalifa, a social media influencer and former porn star with 27 million Instagram followers, is set to join Playboy’s new subscription... Mia Khalifa would be an obvious choice for a Playboy Playmate of the Month, if such a thing still...
Art by Haejin Park.
Crypto’s Town Square Has Become “a Scammer’s Paradise.” Why Isn’t Discord Doing More to Clean It Up?
By Margaux MacColl · Feb 11, 2022 1:00pm PST · 3 comments
Art by Haejin Park.
The Big Read

Crypto’s Town Square Has Become “a Scammer’s Paradise.” Why Isn’t Discord Doing More to Clean It Up?

By Margaux MacColl · Feb 11, 2022 1:00pm PST · 3 comments
Kat Heart’s home was on fire. It was July 2021 and Heart, a part-time outdoor education instructor, was 3,000 miles away in White Plains, N.Y., teaching children how to forage for food and survive bear encounters. Meanwhile, an electrical flame crawled up the walls of her duplex in Arlington, Wash., collapsing the roof and destroying almost... Kat Heart’s home was on fire. It was July 2021 and Heart, a part-time outdoor education...
From top, Brit Morin, Tyra Banks, Jaime Schmidt and Mila Kunis. Art by Haejin Park. Photographs AP and courtesy BFF.
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‘The Boys Are Getting Loaded Rich.’ Now Women-Led Crypto Groups Demand Their Turn

By Kate Clark · Feb 4, 2022 12:30pm PST · 1 comment
For Mila Kunis, the actress known for her starring roles in “That ’70s Show,” “Bad Moms” and “Black Swan,” the journey down the crypto rabbit hole involved a lot of lost sleep and some new gray hairs. As she developed the adult animated series “Stoner Cats”, which launched last summer with a collection of non-fungible tokens that grossed $8... For Mila Kunis, the actress known for her starring roles in “That ’70s Show,” “Bad Moms” and “...
Art by Mike Sullivan. All photographs courtesy the Temple of Light.
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Prayers of the Tuluminati: Down in the Yucatan, a Temple and Its Tech Shaman Chase Enlightenment

By Zoe Bernard · Jan 28, 2022 6:00am PST · 5 comments
Ben Way—serial entrepreneur, investor, and seeker of higher truths—stands over the stovetop in his airy hacienda in Tulum, Mexico, stirring an enormous vat of pea soup. Because he is in the midst of an annual detox, which began on January 1, the soup will be Way’s first meal in five days. Despite this lack of sustenance, Way exudes tremendous... Ben Way—serial entrepreneur, investor, and seeker of higher truths—stands over the stovetop in...
Art by Haejin Park. Photo courtesy Caroline Spiegel.
The Big Read

Caroline Spiegel’s Porn Revolution

By Annie Goldsmith · Jan 21, 2022 12:00pm PST · 8 comments
Birds chirp and wind rustles through leaves—the sounds of early fall. “Man, it’s beautiful out here,” remarks a deep, crackly male voice. “All the trees, the green. The leaves are just starting to turn colors. “What are you looking at me like that for?” he continues, chuckling. “No, I know that look. You are up to something naughty. “Whoa, whoa,... Birds chirp and wind rustles through leaves—the sounds of early fall. “Man, it’s beautiful out...
Art by Haejin Park. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Beltway’s ‘Bitcoin Lady’: How Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis Became Crypto’s Most Powerful Champion
By Nancy Scola · Jan 14, 2022 11:04am PST · 2 comments
Art by Haejin Park. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Big Read

The Beltway’s ‘Bitcoin Lady’: How Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis Became Crypto’s Most Powerful Champion

By Nancy Scola · Jan 14, 2022 11:04am PST · 2 comments
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, has a nickname for her favorite cryptocurrency: “It’s freedom money,” she says of Bitcoin, which she holds to the tune of about a quarter million dollars. “It’s freedom money if you’re a libertarian; if you’re a progressive; a person on the far left; a run-of-the-mill Republican.” I’m sitting in... Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, has a nickname for her favorite cryptocurrency: “...
Clockwise from top left: Sneha Biswas, Anshul Rathi, Angad Daryani, Aryan Chauhan, Sameer and Pragya Goyal.
The Big Read

The Great Immigrant Resignation: Fed Up Indian Tech Workers Ditch the American Dream

By Anita Raghavan · Jan 7, 2022 9:00am PST · 12 comments
For four years, Sameer and Pragya Goyal lived the Indian American Dream. Newly immigrated from India to the U.S., the Goyals both worked for Amazon, notching six-figure salaries in their 20s. They lived in an apartment in downtown Seattle with floor-to-ceiling windows that afforded a precious glimpse of an inlet that flowed out to the Pacific... For four years, Sameer and Pragya Goyal lived the Indian American Dream. Newly immigrated from...
The Big Read

‘The Only Way to Find Out If You’re a Pariah Is to Stick Around’: Sophia Amoruso Looks to the Future

By Josh Duboff · Dec 23, 2021 12:00pm PST · 3 comments
Sophia Amoruso has complicated feelings about the word “girlboss.” “That poor word, I feel so bad for that word,” she says over the phone from her home in Los Angeles. “It must be so exhausted. It is exhausted. It does need to be put to rest. I have no attachment to it. I kind of cringe when people are like, ‘You’re a girlboss,’ or whatever. I... Sophia Amoruso has complicated feelings about the word “girlboss.” “That poor word, I feel so bad...
The Big Read

Tech’s Most Powerful Stories Are Being Written by Women

By E.B. Boyd · Dec 17, 2021 10:10am PST · 3 comments
So there she was. Julie Zhuo. Just two years out of Stanford. At 25, a newly promoted manager at Facebook, wandering around the business sections of Bay Area bookstores, desperately looking for something that would tell her how to lead the team she’d just been battlefield-promoted to run. And finding nothing. It was 2008, early days at Facebook.... So there she was. Julie Zhuo. Just two years out of Stanford. At 25, a newly promoted manager at...
Art by Haejin Park.
Scott Galloway Wants to Be “the Most Influential Thought Leader in the History of Business”
By Josh Duboff · Dec 10, 2021 9:00am PST · 27 comments
Art by Haejin Park.
The Big Read

Scott Galloway Wants to Be “the Most Influential Thought Leader in the History of Business”

By Josh Duboff · Dec 10, 2021 9:00am PST · 27 comments
Scott Galloway begins our phone call with an admission. “To be honest, I’m very uncomfortable with the idea of a profile,” he says before I’ve asked him any questions. “I suffer from imposter syndrome. I’m waiting for the profile that reveals me for the less talented, lower-character person I am.” He pauses. “Anyways, here I am.” Radical honesty... Scott Galloway begins our phone call with an admission. “To be honest, I’m very uncomfortable...