As the year draws to an end, hosts Michael Calore and Lauren Goode have some news to share with listeners. But first, they head over to the pool to unwind and reflect on what they’ll be watching for in the tech space this upcoming year, and what they think should stay behind.
Articles mentioned in this episode:
You can follow Michael Calore on Bluesky at @snackfight, Lauren Goode on Bluesky at @laurengoode, Brian Barrett on Bluesky at @brbarrett, and Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at @zoeschiffer. Write to us at uncannyvalley@wired.com.
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TranscriptNote: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.
Michael Calore: Hey Lauren, how's it going?
Lauren Goode: It's going pretty good. How are you?
Michael Calore: Good. The pool is very nice.
Lauren Goode: It is so nice. Well, the pool itself is really cold, but this hot tub?
Michael Calore: Even better.
Lauren Goode: Fantastic. Yeah. Not a bad workday.
Michael Calore: Not a bad workday. It's a nice way to end the year.
Lauren Goode: Is it the end of the year already?
Michael Calore: It really is.
Lauren Goode: How did we get here? Good lord.
Michael Calore: I know, I know. But I think it's a good opportunity for us to float and soak and think about the year that was and look forward to next year.
Lauren Goode: We actually have some big news that we're going to be sharing with people today.
Michael Calore: We do. And the birds have some big news too. The birds are chirping.
Lauren Goode: The birds are in on the pod. What do you call a flock of birds chirping on a podcast?
Michael Calore: I don't know. The comment section? Should we get going?
Lauren Goode: Yeah, let's do it.
Michael Calore: All right.
This is WIRED's Uncanny Valley, a show about the people, power, and influence of Silicon Valley. Today, Lauren and I are bringing you our last episode of the show as you know it. But don't fret, because the show will not be going away. We're going to continue bringing you all of the best of WIRED's reporting, analysis, and informed takes of what's happening in Silicon Valley. But this upcoming year, the show will be entering a new era with our colleagues, Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger as the hosts. We're going to get to hear from them a little bit later. But for now, Lauren and I want to share with you a special round of our WIRED and TIRED picks to take you into the holiday season. I'm Michael Calore, director of consumer tech and culture.
Lauren Goode: And I'm Lauren Goode, senior correspondent.
Michael Calore: OK. So we're here in the pool, and we are going to reflect on 2025 and talk about what's happening now and what's happening in 2026. And we're going to do it as WIRED and TIRED. And if you know the show, or if you know WIRED as a brand, you know that it's like the rubric that we use, yes, I said rubric, this is a tech podcast, that we use to sort of talk about the trends that are on the way out and the trends that are on the way in and offer some commentary.