封面故事：Rogan has shown an ambivalence toward mainstream politicking Photographer: Jeff
Bottari/Zuffa LLC
由 Jingyi 翻译。
译文
Joe Rogan 染指政治
在美国生活中所有疯狂的第二幕中，Joe Rogan 的是最令人震惊的一幕。二十年前，他主持了一场令人恶心的游戏
节目《恐惧因素》，观看参赛者在鱼内脏等浴缸里洗澡。
现在，他正在美国历史政治舞台上晒太阳呢。
bask 晒太阳、取暖
周五的时候，在随机的总统选举快结束的时候，特朗普飞到德州，开启了额外的面谈，和 Rogan（就是封面图）。或者，也只是一场普通的面试，这人是一个耐力的播客。几乎经过了曲折的 3 个小时，他建议，他可能会使用收入征税的方式，来去支持进出口关税，他批判民意调研不可信，以及表达了第一任总统期间，犯了很多错误，雇佣了不忠诚的人。
toss-up 向上抛出。译者注，意思是，比较随机。
presidential campaign 总统选举
meandering 蜿蜒曲折
所有这些话，几乎和之前没什么不同。但是（却有）炫耀其政策英明，而其位置已经不重要的嫌疑。对于特朗普团队来说，仅仅是坐在 Rogan 旁边就是很好的嘉奖了，这是长期以来翘首以盼的交流机会。理解起来也并不难。
proximity 接近，时间或者空间上的。
the mere proximity to Rogan was its own reward 仅仅是坐在 Rogan 旁边就是很好的嘉奖了
communion 圣餐，思想情感的交流会
they'd long been chasing 长期以来期盼的
自从 2016 选举以来，美国听播客的月活人数超过了 2 倍，正如我的同事 Ashley Carman 最近所说的那样。几项研究表明，人们试图去信任播客主，其程度多过于其他媒体人物，特别是在评估新闻上。Rogan 是开启他的节目在 2009 年的时候，很快就在上升的行业中展露头角，以及活跃到现在。
在今年第二季度的时候，Rogan 的经验是美国的顶级播客主，依据 Edison Research。在 YouTube 上，Rogan 节目是用视频的形式展示的，他拥有 1750 万的订阅者。这是非常多的听众，还和很多年轻的男性听众，结成团队，期待去购买任何 Rogan 以及其客户兜售的产品。
touting 兜售
在演播室的时候，Rogan 语气是非常友好的，发散的、还有点阴谋论的、阿谀奉承的、几乎对立的。所有都充分展示，在他和特朗普坐下来聊天的过程中。来到 Rogan 的秀，分享故事和玩笑，以及解决问题的方法，阴谋理论，这些都是会变得受欢迎，在让人妒忌的俱乐部里。Roganverse 的荣誉会员，例如 Elon Musk，总是驻足停留，原因是他们享受 Rogan 的尊重所带来的温暖。
chummy 非常友好的
digressive 离题的
conspiratorial 阴谋家
adulatory 阿谀奉承的， adulate 奉承
lionizing regard 崇拜尊重
特朗普的举措，长期以来，或多或少有些让人惊奇的。
最近几年，Rogan 将自己定位为主要的喜剧行业的元老制造者（kingmaker）。自从他开启自己频道之后，喜剧《母亲》，2023 年的时候，在 Austin 市区上映了，他也非常积极地完成招聘，训练，以及提拔下一代的笑话陈述者。（在周末的时候，Tony Hinchcliffe，他是 Rogan 内圈好友的喜剧演员，变成了机会的标语任务，在特朗普麦迪逊广场花园的集会，因其开了 Puerto Rico 的玩笑）。短期来说，Rogan 能够对闭环流程产生影响，在他所喜欢的喜剧行业。
kingmaker 政界元老
bend the well-established circuitry 对闭环流程产生影响
然而，在政治上，Rogan 抱负被实现，还是有很多限制的。是的，他将自己成为自由党人，也很容易被激进的、对其播客内容、创业日常的否定（finger wagging a recurring theme）所激怒，她偶尔会表达对特殊候选人的支持，例如 Bernie Sanders ,2020 年参选，以及 Robert，今年早些时候。然而，所有这些，由合理比例的救护车，朝向主流政策。
在 2022 年，Rogan 并表示自己有机会采访特朗普好几次，每次都拒绝。今年，即便他大多数同事，包括 Musk 和 Kennedy，后者是跳槽来的，Rogan 坚持道。直至现在还是这样的。
Rogan 单边的、欢乐的面试，对特朗普的帮助有多大，在长期帮助活动的参与机会越来越少，值得商榷的。（Rogan，对于什么有价值，过去也说过，他不是特朗普的粉丝）但是对于投入的 Ragon 粉丝， 他愿意他介入政治领域，在关键时刻，是比较看空的。这是首次离题吗？或者其他的？Rogan 也有试图取悦 Harris 在其节目上，尽管至今她都拒绝。
convivial 欢乐的
courting 试图取悦
某种意义上，在 Rogan 走红过程，人们兴起流行，称他为 “男性的 Oprah Winfrey”。可能现在很难以记起，但是长期以来，Winfrey 自己有名，然后再是有影响力的脱口秀，主要在美国。现在也是很类似的，不情愿地支持政治候选人。逐渐地，她克服了自己的非倾向性。2008 年的总统活动，她是完全支持奥巴马的，最终帮助其进入白宫。自那以来，她也很活跃，致力于宣传民主党候选人，以及其事业，最近都是支持 Harris 的。
Rogan 和特朗普的采访并非那样。甚至都不类似。但是，很确信的是，看上去的相仿的第一步，在一些新的方向上。
简要新闻
1.联邦代表突袭布鲁克林鉴于，两场演出在哪里举行，Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Sam Bankman-Fried
2.沙特阿拉伯这周将举办最富盛名的金融科技盛会，测试投资人喜好
3.工业供应企业 Grainger 问鼎榜首，关于美国最卖力员工排名
私募，只不过为 APP 准备
Phil Libin 是 Evernote 联合创始人，2022 年不再管理业务，但是他保持专注于投资，以及仍然每天使用记笔记 APP。他知道，Evernote 是停滞的，及其老板对于买断的利益，非常感兴趣。收购者是在米兰的公司，他没听说过，Bending Spoons SpA。Libin 说到，“坦率地说，我并不有任何期待。”
attentive 专心的
几位其他企业家，也经理了类似的经历。Bending Spoon 就像一个新的 PE，生长在 APP 时代。自从去年购买 Evernote，Bending Spoon 还抢购了 5 家公司。包括荷兰文档分享服务 WeTransfer，这家公司将其计划束之高阁（shelf the plan），计划是 IPO 以及估值为 8 亿美元，就在几年前，被收购之前。Meetup 资产，即破产公司业务，后来干净利索地由 WeWork 接管了。
snapped up 抢购
shelf the plan 束之高阁的计划
Bending Spoon 转悠了十多年，生命中多数时候，大多数融资，来自于意大利投资者，以及当地银行贷款。但是最近几年，他开始融资数亿美元，从国际巨头和社会名流，包括 Ryan Reynolds，Andre Agassi，Abel Tesfaye，也就是 Weekend。投资人估值该公司今年市值 26 亿美元。使得其成为欧洲最有价值的科技创新公司。
international tycoon 国际巨头
作为收购者，Bending Spoon 拥有风格 ：与稳定的大现金奶牛公司、出售订阅软件的公司的头疼业务。然后，它带来 20 多个意大利的程序员，以及数据科学家，增加产品特点，有时候也会突破极限，关于哪种订阅会使得订阅者付钱。为了将这些 APP 放置于新的道路，公司经常炒掉其购买公司的员工。
distressed 苦恼的
美国科技公司在非洲迎头赶上
当 Meg Whitman 住在加州的时候，已经管理 eBay，然后管理 HP 的时候，关于“非洲有些空缺岗位和她业务相关”这类想法，几乎很少会进入她的脑中，“我逐渐想到非洲，只占据我 1% 的时间”。
这样的不注意在美国是很常见的，通常都会认为，在这块大路上建立完备的运营，并不值得，考虑到其不稳定的政治环境，摇摆的税收政策，以及补丁般的数字基础设施。改变这些计算方式，是主要的关注点，对于 Whitman 而言，她是美国大使，驻肯尼亚，试图帮助美国赶上在这块土地的业务，成为激烈竞争的科技领域的关键前沿，对手是中国。
“战争一半已经显现，以及我不认为美国出现在这样的竞争场域，如我们 20 年前想的那样”Whitman 说到，发言来自于美国驻内罗毕大使，这是一块复合的、延展的、上乘的郊区居住地，“我们遗留了一些开放的、跑步空间（做管理的市场），给到中国。”
significant operations 完备的运营
原文
Joe Rogan dips his toe into presidential politics
Among all the crazy second acts in American life, Joe Rogan’s is one of the most astounding. Two
decades ago, he was hosting the gross-out game show Fear Factor, watching contestants bathe
themselves in tubs of fish guts and the like. Rogan appeared destined to spend the rest of his
career, like many fellow comedians-turned-actors, grappling for attention on the slippery margins of
the entertainment industry.
Now he’s basking at center stage in US history.
On Friday, in the closing moments of a toss-up presidential campaign, Donald Trump flew to Texas for
an extended interview with Rogan (or, really, a normal interview with Rogan, who’s a bit of an
endurance podcaster). Over almost three meandering hours, Trump suggested he might do away with
income taxes in favor of tariffs, criticized polls as untrustworthy and said the biggest mistake of
his first term was hiring disloyal people.
Little of which sounded markedly different from what Trump has been saying on the campaign trail. But
showing off novel policy positions was hardly the point. For Team Trump, the mere proximity to Rogan
was its own reward, a communion they’d long been chasing. It isn’t hard to understand why.
Since the 2016 election, the number of people listening to podcasts on a monthly basis in the US has
more than doubled, as my colleague Ashley Carman recently noted. Several studies have suggested that
people tend to trust podcasters more than other media personalities, particularly when evaluating
news. Rogan, who started his show in 2009, quickly emerged as the champion of the ascendant industry
—and remains so to this day.
In the second quarter of this year, The Joe Rogan Experience was the top podcast in the US, according
to Edison Research. On YouTube, where Rogan’s show appears in video form, he has 17.5 million
subscribers. It’s a significant audience, teeming with loyal young male listeners, eager to buy
whatever Rogan and his guests are touting.
In the studio, Rogan’s tone tends to be chummy, digressive, conspiratorial, adulatory and rarely
oppositional. All of which was fully on display during his sit-down with Trump. To be on Rogan’s
show, sharing stories and jokes and workout advice and conspiracy theories, is to be welcomed into an
enviable club. Honored members of the Roganverse, such as Elon Musk, stop by repeatedly to enjoy the
warmth of Rogan’s lionizing regard.
Trump’s initiation was a long time coming—and something of a surprise.
In recent years, Rogan has positioned himself as a major kingmaker in the comedy industry. Since
opening up his own club, the Comedy Mothership in downtown Austin in early 2023, he’s been actively
recruiting, training and promoting the next generation of joke tellers. (Over the weekend, Tony
Hinchcliffe, one of the comics in Rogan’s inner circle, made headlines from Trump’s Madison Square
Garden rally, by telling a joke insulting Puerto Rico.) In short order, Rogan has managed to bend the
well-established circuitry of the comedy industry to his liking.
But in politics Rogan’s ambitions to date have been much more constrained. Yes, he’s made his
libertarian political views and irritation with progressive finger-wagging a recurring theme of his
podcast and stand-up routine. And he’s occasionally expressed support for specific candidates—
Bernie Sanders in 2020 and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this year. All of it, however, has been
accompanied by a healthy dose of ambivalence toward mainstream politicking.
In 2022, Rogan revealed that he’d had the opportunity to interview Trump several times and turned
him down at every turn. This year, even as more of his pals, including Musk and Kennedy, shifted to
Team Trump, Rogan resisted. Until now.
How much a single, convivial interview at Rogan’s side actually helped Trump in the waning moments
of a long campaign is debatable. (And Rogan, for what it’s worth, has said in the past that he’s
not a Trump fan.) But for devoted Rogan-watchers, his willingness to jump into the political arena at
such a crucial moment, bears watching. Was this a one-time digression? Or something else? Rogan has
also been courting Harris to come on his show, though so far she’s declined.
At some point during Rogan’s ascendancy, it became fashionable to describe him as “Oprah Winfrey
for men.” It may be hard to remember now, but there was a long period when Winfrey herself, then the
most influential talk show host in America, was similarly reluctant to throw her support behind
political candidates. Eventually she overcame her disinclination. During the 2008 presidential
campaign, she fully embraced Barack Obama, ultimately helping to propel him into the White House.
Ever since, she’s been an active and engaged promoter of Democratic candidates and causes, most
recently backing Harris.
Rogan’s interview with Trump is not that. Not even close. Not yet. But it sure looks like the first
step in a new direction.
Brief
Federal agencies raided the Brooklyn jail where Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried are being
held.
Saudi Arabia will host the biggest names in finance and technology this week in a test of investor
appetite.
Industrial-supply company Grainger tops an annual ranking of US employers that invest the most in
their workforces.
Private Equity, But for the App Economy
Phil Libin, the co-founder of Evernote, was no longer managing the business by 2022, but he remained
an attentive investor and still used the note-taking app every day. He knew that Evernote was
stagnating and that its bosses were entertaining buyout interest. The acquirer, he learned, was a
Milan-based company he’d never heard of called Bending Spoons SpA. “Frankly,” Libin says, “I didn
’t have any expectations.”
Several other entrepreneurs have gone through similar experiences since. Bending Spoons is like a new
kind of private equity firm for the app store generation. Since buying Evernote last year, Bending
Spoons has snapped up five other companies. That includes Dutch file-sharing service WeTransfer,
which had shelved plans for an initial public offering that would have valued the company at €716
million ($800 million) just a couple of years before its sale, and the assets of Meetup, a bankrupt
events-listing business that briefly belonged to WeWork Inc.
Bending Spoons has been around for a little more than a decade, and for most of its life, the bulk of
its financing came from Italian investors and loans from local banks. But in recent years it’s
raised hundreds of millions of dollars from international tycoons and celebrities, including Ryan
Reynolds, Andre Agassi and Abel Tesfaye, aka the Weeknd. Investors valued the company at $2.6 billion
this year, making it one of Europe’s most valuable technology startups.
As an acquirer, Bending Spoons has a type: distressed businesses with a steady cash flow that sell
subscription software. Then it brings in twentysomething coders and data scientists in Italy who add
features and sometimes push the limits of what subscribers will pay. To set these apps on a new path,
the company often fires the employees it inherited.
US Tech Plays Catch-Up in Africa
When Meg Whitman was living in California and running first eBay Inc. and then HP Inc., the idea that
Africa had some role to play in her businesses rarely crossed her mind. “I literally thought about
Africa 1% of my time,” she says.
Such inattention is common at US tech companies, which generally decided that establishing
significant operations on the continent wasn’t worth it, considering its unstable governments,
oscillating tax regimes and patchy digital infrastructure. Changing that calculus is now a major
focus for Whitman, who as US ambassador to Kenya is trying to help the US catch up in an area that’s
become a key front in the intensifying technology rivalry with Beijing.
“Half the battle is showing up, and I don’t think America showed up quite as much as we might have
in the last 20 years,” says Whitman, speaking from the US Embassy in Nairobi, a sprawling compound
in the upscale residential suburb of Gigiri. “We left an open running room for China.”
原文链接
长按/扫码，有您的支持，我们会更加努力！
|
8131
沪公安联网 31011502019103