Zoe Schiffer: It must have been a long walk.
Lauren Goode: I mean, I've heard a lot about jujitsu. 56 minutes of that show was on jujitsu, and then it also had content like “Also, how to live forever.” I do not know. Yes.
Michael Calorie: I really wanted to hear that, because I was so interested when you started talking about it, and Zoë was talking about him too. I don't want to read his book, but I will listen to him talk about Joe Rogan. The Big Joe Rogan thing for me is the recent appearance of Marc Andreessen.
Lauren Goode: Oh, how was that?
Michael Calorie: It was already 18:00.
Lauren Goode: OH. You are already deep into the regime.
Zoe Schiffer: I heard it because you were talking about it, and I thought… And it's relevant to our conversation today, but damn, is it long?
Michael Calorie: That's right. And this show won't be 18 hours long, but it fits the theme because we're going to talk about DOGE.
Lauren Goode: So again, broligarchy mode.
Michael Calorie: Political regime.
Lauren Goode: Let's do it.
Michael Calorie: This is WIRED's Uncanny Valley, a show about the people, power and influence of Silicon Valley. I'm Michael Calore, director of technology and consumer culture at WIRED.
Lauren Goode: And I'm Lauren Goode. I'm a senior writer at WIRED.
Zoe Schiffer: And I'm Zoë Schiffer, WIRED's chief business and industry officer.
Michael Calorie: Today, we're shedding light on DOGE, the Department of Government Effectiveness, the meme co. As Lauren calls it, governmentality. We'll talk about the key players, what their proposed plans are for the US government, and what we think is really behind it all. DOGE. Alright. Today we're talking about DOGE, and no, not the meme coin.
Zoe Schiffer: Although the meme co is relevant here, because it's a big joke. That's why they chose this acronym. So just to give a little background on what that means, a meme coin is a cryptocurrency based on a joke. It's almost like making fun of cryptocurrency itself. So, Dogecoin is something that Elon Musk has been promoting for a long time. There are others like BONK and FLOKI which I think are named after his dog, Floki and not BONK. They are actually a cryptocurrency, but they are based on an internet joke.
Lauren Goode: Wasn't there also a Hawk Tuah coin recently?
Zoe Schiffer: Ouch.
Michael Calorie: Already have. Correct.
Lauren Goode: Yes. And how did that happen?
Michael Calorie: Not okay.
Zoe Schiffer: Yes.
Michael Calorie: Meme coins in general don't do well. But this agency has a second life, as it is now renamed the Department of Government Effectiveness, of which Elon Musk is one of the people in charge.