Hi, welcome to your Weekend.
“The playa doesn’t give you what you want. It gives you what you need.” I’ve been hearing that old Burning Man saw around these parts since the early 2000s—most recently by a participant in this weekend’s cover story, The Instant Oral History of ‘Trench Foot Burning Man.’ But never has the truism seemed more true than at this year’s Burn.
So what did the playa give to the 70,000 people who trekked out to the Nevada desert this year? For sure, a lesson in humility. Mother Nature doesn’t care about your incredible art car or your 70,000-watt DJ booth. She laughs at your strategies for radical self-reliance—your fat-tired bikes, your waterproof tactical boots and your Shiftpod tents.
But the playa also gave many participants a chance to actually help each other during a stressful time. The fear of a natural disaster may have been fleeting for the attendees—“It wasn’t the end of the world. It wasn’t the apocalypse,” recounted Twitch co-founder Justin Kan—but it was real, and unnerving, while it lasted. And for many participants we spoke to, it brought out the best in the festival.
Far from the nightmare scenario that outsiders watched transpire on TikTok and the news, Burning Man 2023 was considered a raging success by many who experienced it. “It’s funny to see the outside media’s perception of ‘Oh, it’s a hell,’” said Bill Perkins, a veteran burner and founder of Skylar Capital. “If hell is a party like this, I want to go!”
Now onto this week's stories...
Firearms, paranoia and Amazon’s endless quest for convenience have combined to create deadly risks for the retailer’s growing fleet of gig drivers. Theo investigated the very real dangers for Amazon Flex drivers, at least five of whom have been shot on the job since 2022 during late-night or pre-dawn deliveries.
An RV caravan’s worth of tech pros told us their personal survival stories from this year’s mud-struck (but still epic) desert bacchanal. Come for the Burning Man wedding, complete with a procession on a metal elephant; stay for tales of muddy socks and soggy raving.
This week, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the ADL, absorbed a constant stream of invective from Elon Musk and an army of X users. I asked him how he navigated the week’s onslaught, why the feud with Musk began in the first place and where the tides of hate and division seem to be flowing.
In our new series, The Most Epic, tech luminaries share their far-flung escapades—and divulge the diets, workouts and gear that power them. Margaux chatted with James Currier, founding partner at venture firm NFX, whose adventures include long-haul sailing, treks in the Himalayas and winter camping in the high Sierras.
Reading: The life and times of a billionaire baller
How did a middle-aged white guy inherit Diddy’s status as the host of the legendary, celebrity-filled Hamptons White Party? Well, being a billionaire sports merchandise mogul probably helped. This week, Vanity Fair profiled Michael Rubin, Fanatics CEO and friend to rappers, athletes and movie stars everywhere. He’s the guy who picked Meek Mill up from prison in a helicopter on the day of his release, who’s on an “I love you” basis with Lil Baby and who helps Jay Z run his probation and parole reform nonprofit Reform Alliance. (As Rubin points out, he’s continued to care about criminal justice issues, even as it’s gone out of vogue again.) Rubin estimates that approximately one percent of billionaires actually know how to have fun. By the looks of it, he might actually be in the top .01%. —Julia
Noticing: What has four wheels and is likely spying on you?
Answer: your Tesla. In fact, the same is true of most cars. According to a new report from the Mozilla Foundation, 25 major automakers failed to meet basic privacy standards, with vehicles acting as “powerful data-gobbling machines,” outfitted with cameras, sensors and microphones purportedly designed to keep drivers safe. It turns out that the information the vehicles are collecting is stored and sometimes sold to third parties. Not only do car companies record data on where drivers travel, they also gather information about drivers’ race, “genetic information” and even their immigration status. The foundation declared Nissan one of the worst offenders, with a privacy policy that is “creepy” and “messed up.” On Nissan’s website, the company says it will collect information like “health diagnosis data,” “sexual orientation” and “sexual activity.” According to the Mozilla Foundation, most car companies don’t give drivers an easy way to opt out—so be careful what you do in your SUV. —Margaux
Watching: A Netflix series for the longevity obsessed
Unlike some who are reading this, I don’t want to live forever. I’d be satisfied with eight-plus decades of good health, a close-knit crew of family and friends, and an energizing mix of work, hobbies and what the Japanese call ikigai, or purpose. In other words, I want to be a Blue Zoner, a person who lives in one of the communities around the globe where lifespans are way above average. They are the subjects of the new Netflix series “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” hosted by explorer and longevity researcher Dan Buettner. The show is a joy to watch, thanks mostly to the international cast of centenarians who dance while balancing large sake bottles on their heads, ride horses while swinging machetes in the Costa Rican jungle and laugh, joke and flirt while their Greek spouses and grandchildren look on with pride. And all of this without a supplement or a blood boy in sight! Now that is what I call living. —Jon
Makes You Think
The playa is just a state of mind.
Until next Weekend, thanks for reading.
—Jon
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