Power User with Taylor Lorenz

Vox Media

Tech. Internet. Influence. Power.

  • 16 minutes 1 second
    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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    21 November 2024, 11:00 am
  • 26 minutes 50 seconds
    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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    14 November 2024, 11:00 am
  • 27 minutes 30 seconds
    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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    7 November 2024, 11:00 am
  • 23 minutes 43 seconds
    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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    31 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 33 minutes 30 seconds
    Into the Costcoverse with AJ Befumo

    Over the past few months, a father-son duo known as the Costco guys has become inescapable online. Their family-friendly videos about the grocery chain's chicken bakes and double-chunk chocolate cookies have earned them over 62 million likes on TikTok.

    This week, AJ Befumo joins Taylor to discuss how he went from former pro wrestler to king of the Costcoverse.

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    24 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 38 minutes 59 seconds
    Are Jubilee videos healing or polarizing?

    This week Taylor Lorenz dives into the charged content world of Jubilee Media with its founder Jason Y Lee.

    Jubilee is quickly becoming a YouTube behemoth. It’s amassed 9.2 million subscribers on its main channel alone by producing social experiments and debates over polarizing questions such as ‘is being fat is a choice?’, or ‘can someone stop being gay?’ and other hot-button topics.

    The company's stated goal is to spark conversations that matter and help us all come together more around our shared humanity. Is their model working? And how is Jubilee expanding its empire outside of YouTube?

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    17 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 32 minutes 42 seconds
    Inside the strange world of corporate influencers

    Taylor explores the inner workings of modern office life through the world of corporate influencers. She’s joined by Ross Pomerantz aka ‘Corporate Bro’, a successful corporate influencer who simultaneously parodies the entire genre.

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    10 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 29 minutes 34 seconds
    How nostalgia accounts are destroying pop culture history

    This week Taylor Lorenz talks about going independent and launching her new online culture newsletter, User Mag!

    Later, Taylor is joined by entertainment culture critic Coleman Spilde to explore how nostalgia accounts are rewriting pop culture history.

    Subscribe to User Mag here!

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    3 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 19 minutes 33 seconds
    Why online retailers all sell the same crappy products

    If you do a lot of online shopping, you may be experiencing deja vu. Amazon, AliExpress, WalMart, Temu, eBay, the TikTok shop, even Etsy all seem to be selling the exact same, cheaply made products from China. How did this happen? Have we reached some sort of eCommerce singularity? And what does this say about the future of online shopping? Are we all doomed to have shitty cheap products forever? Taylor is joined by New York Magazines John Herman to discuss.

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    26 September 2024, 10:00 am
  • 35 minutes 6 seconds
    The Problem with Age Verification Online

    Description: Age verification technology is becoming increasingly commonplace as lawmakers seek to enact deeply concerning restrictions in the name of “child safety.” Washington Post technology reporter Drew Harwell joins to discuss the threats to our freedom of speech, expression, and privacy this new software unlocks.

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    19 September 2024, 10:00 am
  • 32 minutes 15 seconds
    Why is Instagram Reels so unhinged?

    You can spend hours carefully curating your algorithms on TikTok and YouTube, But there’s one place where the algorithm doesn’t seem to care about what you want to see: Instagram Reels. Business Insider’s Katie Notopoulos joins Taylor to dive deep into the strangest corners of IG Reels and unpack how the platform became such an unusual place online.

    Then, Taylor weighs in on the latest news, including Taylor Swift's stance on AI, right wing YouTubers getting paid millions by a Russian propaganda group, why Facebook keeps removing emergency fire alerts, and the new iPhone.

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    12 September 2024, 10:00 am
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