Turns Out, You Own Nothing
So, I think consumers rightly and reasonably have become more cynical and more skeptical of a lot of these sorts of offerings. And I think that’s...
Instagram Proves When You’ve Lost the Kardashians, You’re Screwed
Hello, friends. My name is Kate Knibbs, and I’m a senior writer at WIRED covering culture and media. I’ll be your substitute Plaintext guide this week,...
Google vs. Descendants of a Railroad Tycoon and Civil War General
An equine-assisted psychotherapist, a renowned organic farmer, and a Rockefeller are among 34 people named in a bizarre real estate case that could delay Google’s long-awaited...
The Supreme Court Accidentally Spurred a Data Privacy Push
Hi, folks. The winner of the week is Reed Hastings, who lost a million subscribers but saw Netflix’s stock skyrocket because he didn’t lose more. What...
Before Starbucks Baristas Had Unions, They Had Coworker Petitions
Her petition, titled “Let us have visible tattoos!!!,” racked up more than 25,000 signatures—including nearly 14,000 from Starbucks baristas—in more than 40 countries. In October of...
Shopify Goes Soul-Searching
Hey, folks. Ready for a wet, hot summer? Better keep the Paxlovid handy. The Plain View When I spoke to Shopify’s CEO and founder, Tobias Lütke,...
An Apple Store Votes to Unionize for the First Time
In a statement sent before the results were announced, Apple spokesperson Josh Lipton wrote, “We are fortunate to have incredible retail team members and we deeply...
Benjamin Franklin Meets the Blockchain
Hi, everyone. Another grim week. The plain truth is that we have got to stop selling weapons of war to random civilians. The Plain View In...
An Amazon Warehouse Worker Takes the Fight to Shareholders
Amazon’s organizing warehouse workers have been rattling the ecommerce giant, winning union elections, and staging walkouts to agitate for better working conditions. Now, one worker is...
The Private Equity Firm That Grounded Paul Allen’s Dream
Hey, everyone. Elon now doesn’t want to buy Twitter because it can’t count its bots. You’d think an AI guy like him would let the robots...