Lauren Goode: Oh, really?
Zoe Schiffer: Yeah.
Lauren Goode: I didn’t have that experience on Caltrain.
Zoe Schiffer: Well, you weren’t reading Infinite Jest on Caltrain, were you? That was my catfishing technique.
Lauren Goode: What was your worst trip, Mike?
Michael Calore: There was a period in the early 2000s when I lived in the Sunset district of San Francisco. There are a couple of trains that can take you to the 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 bring a little book of CDs. And people would read the newspapers. I remember one day-
Zoe Schiffer: It sounds really romantic.
Lauren Goode: I was just going to say to the people listening and who don’t remember those times, this was a locomotive train and you operated the Discman with the crank.
Zoe Schiffer: It was the year 200 BC
Michael Calore: I just remember there were so many things you had to bring just for the trip. 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 need to tell us your bad travel story.
Lauren Goode: There was a period of time on the East Coast where I was riding the Metro North train, and then once I got to New York City, I had to get on the subway and head downtown.
Michael Calore: Two trains. Loaded. Lots of people pushing.
Lauren Goode: Yes. Many people read the Wall Street Journal.
Zoe Schiffer: Don’t say more.
Lauren Goode: It was long and it took my life. While the pandemic wasn’t a good thing, it’s nice that none of us had to go back to the office. Are we done with that? Welcome to WIRED’s Uncanny Valley, a show about the people, power and influence of Silicon Valley, brought to you by me, lead writer Lauren Goode and my co-hosts.
Michael Calore: I’m Michael Calore, director of consumer culture and technology at WIRED.