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...
Last week, it was revealed that Elon Musk had welcomed his 13th child into the world several months ago with a conservative influencer. But he’s not the only tech mogul fixated on boosting birth rates. In this episode, journalist Julia Black joins Taylor to discuss the rise of pronatalism in Silicon Valley—a growing movement encouraging people to have as many babies as possible. They unpack why tech billionaires are so suddenly obsessed with having children and how their vision of the future is entangled with right-wing ideology, eugenics, and genetic engineering. From embryo selection to potential threats to reproductive rights, Julia and Taylor explore the unsettling ways pronatalist thinking is creeping into politics and culture.What does this mean for the future of parenthood, women’s autonomy, and the broader social landscape? And is this really about saving humanity—or something else entirely?SUBSCRIBE TO POWER USER ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/taylorlorenz
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28:56
How Spotify is Ruining Music: ‘It’s About How Power Works’
No platform has had more of impact on what we listen to over the past decade than Spotify. This week, Taylor is joined by journalist Liz Pelly, to discuss her new book "Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist."They discuss the profound impact Spotify has had on the music industry, culture, and the way we consume sound.Pelly reveals the truth about so-called "ghost artists" and other tactics the company has employed to squeeze artists and upend the content ecosystem.They also dig into how Spotify's algorithm-driven playlists have reshaped not just listening habits but also the very nature of music production, artist careers, and industry power structures.SUBSCRIBE TO POWER USER ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@TaylorLorenz
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31:21
Meet the zoomers aiding Musk’s government takeover
Over the past week, Elon Musk has been engaged in a near wholesale takeover of key areas of the U.S. federal government. Working under the newly minted "Department of Government Efficiency" aka DOGE, Musk and a group of young Gen Z loyalists have begun wreaking havoc on our institutions.Â
Online culture journalist Ryan Broderick joins Taylor to break down who exactly these young men are, what their backgrounds say about the people Musk is hiring, and what the billionaire is currently doing to the U.S. government.
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29:38
Why a MAGA influencer turned on Trump
Clarkson Lawson was a prominent MAGA influencer on TikTok who amassed over 31 million likes on his videos. He built a platform as an outspoken Gen Z conservative making pro-Trump content. But in the months leading up to the election, something changed.Â
Despite building a massive audience on pro-Trump messaging, he had a change of heart and voted for Kamala Harris. Lawson announced his political pivot in a video titled "Why I left MAGA."
Taylor sits down with Clarkson to talk about the behind-the-scenes reality of being a right-wing content creator, the industry forces that keep influencers tethered to Trumpism, what made him ultimately change his mind, and how he plans to navigate the choppy waters of the internet going forward.Â
Subscribe to Power User on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/taylorlorenz
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52:27
The Truth About Child Influencing
 Family vlogs are a huge category of online content. At their best, they show real parenting and the entertaining and relatable moments of family life. However, the content category has been plagued by accusations of child exploitation and new laws targeting creators claiming to protect children. Fortesa Latifi covers the space in-depth and joins Taylor to set the record straight.
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, the creator economy, and much more. Tune in every Thursday for the most influential stories that Silicon Valley often ignores.
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