Demystifying the Department of Government Efficiency

Joe Schiffer: It must have been a long walk.

Lauren Good: I mean, I’ve heard a lot about jujitsu. 56 minutes of that show was taken up on jujitsu, and then there was also, “Also, how to live forever.” I don’t know yes.

Michael Calor: I really want to hear it, because I was fascinated when you started talking about it, and Zoë is talking about her. I don’t want to read his book, but I will listen to him on Joe Rogan. The big Joe Rogan thing for me was a recent appearance by Marc Andreessen.

Lauren Good: Oh, what was it like?

Michael Calor: It was like 18 hours.

Lauren Good: wow You were deep in broligarity.

Joe Schiffer: I heard it because you were talking about it, and I was… and it’s relevant to our conversation today, but damn, was it long?

Michael Calor: It is. And this show won’t be 18 hours long, but it’s relevant to the topic, because we’re going to talk about DOGE.

Lauren Good: So again broligari.

Michael Calor: Broligari.

Lauren Good: Let’s do it.

Michael Calor: This is Wired’s Uncanny Valley, a show about the people, power and influence of Silicon Valley I’m Michael Calor, director of consumer tech and culture here at WIRED.

Lauren Good: And I’m Lauren Good. I’m a senior writer at WIRED.

Joe Schiffer: And I’m Zoë Schiffer, director of business and arts at WIRED.

Michael Calor: Today, we’re demystifying the DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency, meme currency. Lauren calls it, broligari. We’ll talk about the key players, what their proposed plans are for the US government, and what we think is really behind it. DOGE. ok We’re talking about DOGE today, and no, not meme currency.

Joe Schiffer: Meme Coin is relevant here, though, because that’s the big joke. That’s why they chose this acronym. So to give a little background on what this means, Meme Coin is a type of cryptocurrency that is based on a joke. It’s almost like having fun with cryptocurrency. So Dogecoin is one that Elon Musk has promoted for a long time now. There are others like BONK and FLOKI which I think are named after his dog, Floki, not BONK. They are actually a type of crypto, but they are based on an internet joke

Lauren Good: Wasn’t there a Hawk Tuah coin recently?

Joe Schiffer: U

Michael Calor: was yes

Lauren Good: yes And how does that go?

Michael Calor: not good

Joe Schiffer: yes

Michael Calor: Meme Coins generally don’t go well. But it has a second life, as it has now been rebranded as the Department of Government Efficiency, with Elon Musk as one of the men in charge.