Episode 224 - Gaming The System

Noam and Jen know that 2026 is hard and scary and that everyone wants to return to 2020. But alas, we do have to discuss the things happening in 2026, like El-Sayed's very slim win in the Michigan Democrat primary for Senate. As per usual the polling was wrong. The problem is, the polling was very, very wrong and people are starting to ask questions about if that happens for less than honest purposes.  Speaking of manipulation, Twitter announced that they will be rolling out a new content creator payment system that seems designed to demonetize those who aren't providing anything of use to the platform. The requirements for both content type and metrics will be much higher than they are currently, and it sounds like the platform will be keeping a tight lid on who will qualify for payouts. Will we finally see the end of engagement slop? Will influencers who no longer meet monetization criteria stop posting? We'll find out next month! For our WAWC, we discuss season three of House of the Dragon, which aired it's season finale this past Sunday. Overall the season is a mixed bag, but we do love that Aegon is now comic relief. And that Aemond's fiancee may turn him into a toad if he tried to take Aemond from her.