Power User explores how technology and the internet are upending our lives and the world around us. Each week, tech journalist Taylor Lorenz explores everything...
A moral panic about kids' social media and smartphone use in schools has been sweeping the country. But are cell phones really the problem? And is removing them entirely the best approach?
Taylor chats with educator Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, president of education media company Mrs. Wordsmith, about how smartphones can be used in the classroom, and how a ban would impact marginalized students the most.
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34:35
Could the 4B movement ever happen in America?
Are women abstaining from sex to protest Donald Trump’s re-election? That’s the impression you’d get if you spent time reading the media over the past few weeks. Since the election, the “4B Movement” has been gaining traction online. But where did it come from, how does it work, and could something like this really take off in America? The Cut’s EJ Dickson joins Taylor to discuss.
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16:01
Why Democrats won't create a left-wing Joe Rogan
Since the election, Democrats and the media have been in panic mode, trying to figure out “the manosphere.” It’s a vast network of influencers, podcasters and streamers who speak to young men in a way traditional media has failed to. Many of its personalities are Trump supporters, including Joe Rogan. The left has been asking itself how it can win back young men without radicalizing them further. Is there a left-wing Joe Rogan?
To help crack the manosphere, Taylor talks to Josh Citarella, host of the podcast “Doomscroll.” He’s been studying the radicalization of young men online for a decade.
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26:50
AI’s destroying seasonal content
This year, pumpkin spice lattes are being served with a side of AI slop. Autumn vistas generated by artificial intelligence tools are clogging up Pinterest and Instagram. Taylor talks to Vox’s senior correspondent Rebecca Jennings about how AI is warping our perspective of what nature actually looks like. They also discuss Rebecca's recent reporting on “The cultural power of the anti-woke tech bro" and “The Carrie Bradshaws of TikTok."
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27:30
The mastermind behind the Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest
Anthony Po is a creative genius who has a knack for organizing viral events in New York. This past weekend, he was responsible for a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest attended by the actor himself. In April, he went viral after he assembled a crowd to watch him eat an entire jug of cheeseballs in the disguise as “Cheese Ball Man.” He's infiltrated a cult, hosted a dating show, faked an alien invasion and more. Taylor talks to Anthony about making things that matter in culture and bringing back 2014 internet.
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Power User explores how technology and the internet are upending our lives and the world around us. Each week, tech journalist Taylor Lorenz explores everything from online fame to emerging platforms, viral phenomena to the creator economy, and much more. Tune in on Thursdays for the most influential stories that Silicon Valley often ignores.
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