Michael Calore: OK.
Lauren Goode: It’s all right. Not at all. Last fall, I attended an event hosted by Worldcoin – Sam Altman’s other business. This was an incredibly weird crypto eye-scanning thing in a San Francisco warehouse.
Michael Calore: Orbs?
Lauren Goode: The party was a success. Yeah. There was some swag and a nice sweatshirt with World on it. I checked the label, it was by Original Favorites and ordered one. The Sam Altman Worldcoin Sweatshirt does not have the World logo. It’s right in front of you.
Michael Calore: Yeah. What are you wearing?
Lauren Goode: It’s a great sweatshirt. Is it like the sweatshirts you bought in the 1990s, which were tough and felt almost like cardboard.
Michael Calore: Yes.
Lauren Goode: You know, like the old Champion sweatshirts?
Michael Calore: Yes.
Lauren Goode: This feeling. You could wash the shirt a hundred more times, and still it would have that feeling. Here’s what it is.
Michael Calore: The new look is fantastic.
Lauren Goode: Thanks for your kind words
Michael Calore: Congratulations.
Lauren Goode: What’s the best thing to do?
Michael Calore: Oh, gosh. You should watch some comedy.
Lauren Goode: Do it.
Michael Calore: HBO has the latest Marc Maron special. This was about a month ago. It is called Panicked It is very good. The reason I recommend it is because of a wonderful riff. Right in the middle of the episode, there’s an entire bit that talks about Watch Duty. Watch Duty was the app people used to monitor wildfires, and which became extremely popular in Los Angeles when the fires destroyed the city at the start of 2025. Marc tells how when he was using Watch Duty he wasn’t able to understand notifications. He didn’t even know whether he should be evacuating. This is a very long, fun story. Everything about it is excellent. You’ll be familiar with Marc Maron if you watch his comedy. This special is very dark. It’s a must-see if Marc Maron is someone you enjoy and know.
Lauren Goode: Add to watch list.
Michael Calore: Great.
Lauren Goode: Add it to Watch Duty. He wrote about our guy Boone Ashworth who produced this show. a feature story this year about Watch Duty, too.
Michael Calore: He did. He did.
Lauren Goode: This will be included in the show’s notes.
Michael Calore: Yes.
Lauren Goode: Mike, are you sure that you will never again leave us? You’ll never take another vacation?
Michael Calore: Never ever.
Lauren Goode: Please thank God
Michael Calore: I will be behind this microphone for the rest of my life.
Lauren Goode: What is the best chatbot?
Michael Calore: Thank you for your attention Uncanny valley. Please rate our podcast and subscribe to it if you like what you hear today. You can contact us via email with any questions, suggestions or comments. uncannyvalley@wired.com. The show today is produced by Adriana Taia and Marc Leyda. Amar Lal from Macrosound has mixed this episode. Marc Leyda, our SF Studio Engineer. Meghan Herbst checked the facts in this episode. Daniel Roman fact checked this episode. Kate Osborne was our executive director. Katie Drummond is WIRED’s global editorial director and Chris Bannon is Condé Nast’s head of Global Audio.
