WIRED Roundup: Satellites Data Leak, Cybertrucks, Politicized Federal Workers

Zoë Schiffer: Yeah, I mean, I was talking to someone before these recent layoffs who used to work at the CDC and had been pretty involved in efforts to study the impact of certain diseases or pandemics specifically on pregnant populations, and this person had told me some time ago that the entire team was gone. They didn't have a lot of people in place anymore who could look at particularly vulnerable populations from a health perspective, which I found pretty sad and disturbing, but now, I mean, it's just getting a lot worse. It gets so much worse.

Jake Lahut: And Russell Vought seems pretty happy about every extra version of this that keeps coming down the pike, so.

Zoë Schiffer: On the right. Okay. We'll talk more about these federal layoffs and how they've affected other agencies as well in our next segment. But before we go to break, I have a fun and highly technical bro-scoop for you, Cybertrucks.

Jake Lahut: Yes. Honestly, I should pay you to be on the show today, Zoë, so tell me more about it.

Zoë Schiffer: Okay. Well, I found this story so charming because essentially our Feature Director Reyhan had said, “Let's do a photo essay of Cybertruck owners.” And I was like, 'I'm more of a volunteer than a tribute. I really want to do this.” So I contacted a bunch of people, I actually went around, and when I saw Cybertrucks, I would leave little notes on their cars. Not one person ever responded to me, I was like that.

Jake Lahut: Stalker behavior.

Zoë Schiffer: “Okay, okay.” But eventually I got in touch with this guy who runs Cybertrucks Owners Only, which is this 50,000 person Facebook group that's really, really active. And he, while he was very suspicious of the media, like many Cybertrucks owners, “I'm game. If you come to Palm Springs this weekend, we can have a Cybertrucks meetup and you can meet people, you can take pictures and interview them.” I love reporting where your original thesis has been completely refuted in the course of the reporting, and the Cybertrucks owners really see themselves as the victims of this campaign. They are spat on, they are targeted, people shout that they are Nazis. And for many people I talk to, they don't see their purchase of this car as political at all. They're like, “I just like the car. It's a cool car, it's fun and all these crazy liberal people are screaming at me all day. I have my kids in the car and they're chasing me and calling me a Nazi.” The article came out today, there are some very cool pictures. I wonder what you thought.