Lauren Goode: Oh really?
Zoë Schiffer: Yes.
Lauren Goode: I didn’t have that experience at Caltrain.
Zoë Schiffer: Well, you weren’t reading Infinite Jest on Caltrain, were you? That was my catfishing strategy.
Lauren Goode: What’s your worst commute, Mike?
Michael Calore: There was a time in the early 2000s when I lived in the Sunset district of San Francisco. That is, there are several trains that can bring you to the city center, but they take an hour. And it was pre-mobile technology, so we had Discman Walkman players, portable CD players, so you had to carry a little book of CDs. And people read newspapers. I remember one day-
Zoë Schiffer: It sounds really romantic.
Lauren Goode: I was just going to say to my listeners who don’t remember these times, this was a train ride and you rode the Discman by hand.
Zoë Schiffer: It was 200 BCE.
Michael Calore: I just remember that there were a lot of things you had to carry when you were just walking. And the new Harry Potter book came out, and everyone on the train was reading this 10 pound, thick, hardcover Harry Potter book at the same time and talking about it. Lauren, you should tell us your worst commute story.
Lauren Goode: There was a period of time on the East Coast where I was taking the Metro North train, and then when I got into New York City, I had to jump on the subway and go downtown.
Michael Calore: Two trains. Stuffy. Many people push.
Lauren Goode: Yes. Most people read the Wall Street Journal.
Zoë Schiffer: Say no more.
Lauren Goode: It was long, and it sucked the life out of me. Although the pandemic was not a good thing, it is a good thing that none of us had to go back to the office. Are we done with that? Welcome to Uncanny Valley from WIRED, a show about the people, power, and influence of Silicon Valley, hosted by myself, senior writer, Lauren Goode, and my co-hosts.
Michael Calore: I’m Michael Calore, director of consumer technology and culture at WIRED.
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