Sam Blum
@samblum.bsky.social
Sr. Writer at Inc Magazine. Tech, startups, billionaires, outsiders, investigations. Written for Rolling Stone, Vox, etc. Real G's move in silence like lasagna. 🍝
Proton: Sam_Blum1905@proton.me
Signal: Sammblum.89
Proton: Sam_Blum1905@proton.me
Signal: Sammblum.89
Pinned
I’m in London and some little kid on a scooter wearing his school kid uniform called me a mug for looking lost. I love England
November 6, 2025 at 5:22 PM
I’m in London and some little kid on a scooter wearing his school kid uniform called me a mug for looking lost. I love England
The Zohran effect, maybe? Am I reaching? Maybe. But also, maybe not! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Pelosi Plans to Retire in 2027 After 39 Years in Congress
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:07 PM
The Zohran effect, maybe? Am I reaching? Maybe. But also, maybe not! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Reposted by Sam Blum
Please take a minute to scroll through this—and share it.
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
The Authoritarian Stack
How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic America — And Why Europe Is Next
www.authoritarian-stack.info
November 5, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Please take a minute to scroll through this—and share it.
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
"If our customer base can no longer afford to live in the city, then we will not be able to stay open,” one NYC biz owner tells @inc.com “So seeing a Mamdani win is great for the average New Yorker, but it’s great for small businesses like mine.”
www.inc.com/melissa-ange...
www.inc.com/melissa-ange...
Champion of Dollar Slices and Rent Freezes: Small Businesses React to Mamdani's Win in the NYC Mayoral Race
Among his proposals, Mamdani wants to slash small-business fines and expedite permitting. Are business owners convinced he can get it all done?
www.inc.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:43 PM
"If our customer base can no longer afford to live in the city, then we will not be able to stay open,” one NYC biz owner tells @inc.com “So seeing a Mamdani win is great for the average New Yorker, but it’s great for small businesses like mine.”
www.inc.com/melissa-ange...
www.inc.com/melissa-ange...
Working on the essay Why I'm Leaving New York: The Mayor Is An Arsenal Fan.
November 5, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Working on the essay Why I'm Leaving New York: The Mayor Is An Arsenal Fan.
Bill Ackman in an overcoat handing a briefcase to Curtis Sliwa
according to @jessyedwards.bsky.social of @hellgatenyc.com Curtis Sliwa just said on stage that he was offered $10 million to drop out of the race
November 5, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Bill Ackman in an overcoat handing a briefcase to Curtis Sliwa
If there was ever a municipal post for Curtis Sliwa it’s rat czar. Make that man the rat czar now.
November 5, 2025 at 3:20 AM
If there was ever a municipal post for Curtis Sliwa it’s rat czar. Make that man the rat czar now.
Has Bill Ackman moved yet?
November 5, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Has Bill Ackman moved yet?
"Your honnah, there was mustard and gabagool everywhere. It was haaaarrrible!!!"
Border Patrol agent Lairmore testifies that he was not injured by the sandwich, but he felt the impact through his ballistic vest.
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
November 4, 2025 at 4:33 PM
"Your honnah, there was mustard and gabagool everywhere. It was haaaarrrible!!!"
Reposted by Sam Blum
NEW: I learned a lot talking to Alex Karp's biographer, Michael Steinberger. Namely, that Palantir has ambitions to become what IBM used to be for the U.S. government: its de facto operating system.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
Alex Karp Wants to Make Palantir the De Facto Operating System of the U.S. Government, Says Biographer
A new book explores how a liberal academic became the CEO that now embraces the Trump administration and ICE.
www.inc.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:57 PM
NEW: I learned a lot talking to Alex Karp's biographer, Michael Steinberger. Namely, that Palantir has ambitions to become what IBM used to be for the U.S. government: its de facto operating system.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
Reposted by Sam Blum
A philosophical question: if 21% of Staten Islanders left the city, would the rest of the city notice?
Nearly a million New Yorkers ready to flee NYC if Mamdani becomes mayor — possibly igniting mass exodus: poll
Nearly a million New Yorkers ready to flee NYC if Mamdani becomes mayor — possibly igniting mass exodus: poll
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are prepared to bolt from the Big Apple if socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani wins Tuesday's mayoral race — potentially setting the stage for the largest population flight in US history, a new poll warns.
nypost.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:09 PM
A philosophical question: if 21% of Staten Islanders left the city, would the rest of the city notice?
NEW: I learned a lot talking to Alex Karp's biographer, Michael Steinberger. Namely, that Palantir has ambitions to become what IBM used to be for the U.S. government: its de facto operating system.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
Alex Karp Wants to Make Palantir the De Facto Operating System of the U.S. Government, Says Biographer
A new book explores how a liberal academic became the CEO that now embraces the Trump administration and ICE.
www.inc.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:57 PM
NEW: I learned a lot talking to Alex Karp's biographer, Michael Steinberger. Namely, that Palantir has ambitions to become what IBM used to be for the U.S. government: its de facto operating system.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
It's one thing to do this in *normal times,* it's another when you've donated generously to the White House and advocated for the gutting of the SEC for years. www.fastcompany.com/91433012/coi...
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong flips prediction markets with last-minute earnings call word salad
Bettors on platforms such as Kalshi had wagered that the crypto exchange boss would say words like 'Bitcoin' and 'Web3.' He handed them a win.
www.fastcompany.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:13 PM
It's one thing to do this in *normal times,* it's another when you've donated generously to the White House and advocated for the gutting of the SEC for years. www.fastcompany.com/91433012/coi...
Going to London next week. Gonna see family and also break down doors and screeam "roooiiight" and convince myself that I'm Vinny Jones. Thank you for listening.
October 31, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Going to London next week. Gonna see family and also break down doors and screeam "roooiiight" and convince myself that I'm Vinny Jones. Thank you for listening.
Scooplet: Cameo's CEO tells me people are entering customer service queries for Sora 2’s Cameo feature into ChatGPT—which is then directing them to the original Cameo's customer support center.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/cam...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/cam...
Cameo CEO: Sora 2 AI Slop Poses an ‘Existential’ Threat to Our Business
Cameo CEO Steve Galanis explains why his company is suing OpenAI over its latest update to AI video-generation app Sora 2.
www.inc.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Scooplet: Cameo's CEO tells me people are entering customer service queries for Sora 2’s Cameo feature into ChatGPT—which is then directing them to the original Cameo's customer support center.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/cam...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/cam...
What's the over/under on the email address being Summerofbill420@nyc.gov?
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
How a London newspaper botched a New York political story
Welcome to New York.
www.semafor.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:12 PM
What's the over/under on the email address being Summerofbill420@nyc.gov?
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
Reposted by Sam Blum
New: The Trump administration might limit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s oversight of auto lenders.
Potentially, that could mean the CFPB would no longer supervise any lenders that cater to subprime borrowers.
My latest for @marketplace.org
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...
Potentially, that could mean the CFPB would no longer supervise any lenders that cater to subprime borrowers.
My latest for @marketplace.org
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...
Trump administration considers limiting CFPB's oversight of auto lenders
A potential rule change by the Trump administration could limit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s supervision of auto lenders, including many that focus on buyers with low credit scores.
www.marketplace.org
October 29, 2025 at 4:45 PM
New: The Trump administration might limit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s oversight of auto lenders.
Potentially, that could mean the CFPB would no longer supervise any lenders that cater to subprime borrowers.
My latest for @marketplace.org
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...
Potentially, that could mean the CFPB would no longer supervise any lenders that cater to subprime borrowers.
My latest for @marketplace.org
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...
Reposted by Sam Blum
“…for an AI chatbot to generate an autopsy report, contract workers have to sift through thousands of gruesome crime scene images, a gig known as ‘data labeling.’”
The AI Industry Is Traumatizing Desperate Contractors in the Developing World for Pennies
AI is propped up by a global sweat shop operation, where exploited workers polish the software for wealthy corporations in the west.
futurism.com
October 19, 2025 at 2:51 PM
“…for an AI chatbot to generate an autopsy report, contract workers have to sift through thousands of gruesome crime scene images, a gig known as ‘data labeling.’”
I firmly believe that whenever Magic finishes a post he pantomimes a skyhook and says "there goes the magic man."
October 29, 2025 at 7:25 PM
I firmly believe that whenever Magic finishes a post he pantomimes a skyhook and says "there goes the magic man."
Cuomo, offering a probable defense: "Let's call a spade a spade, sure I did it, but unlike my opponent I am an Italian-American."
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/n...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/n...
Cuomo Blasts Mamdani for His Rent-Stabilized Unit. But He Had One, Too.
www.nytimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Cuomo, offering a probable defense: "Let's call a spade a spade, sure I did it, but unlike my opponent I am an Italian-American."
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/n...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/n...
This is quite possibly the most death metal shit of all time.
October 28, 2025 at 8:36 PM
This is quite possibly the most death metal shit of all time.
Truth Social is going to let users place bets on politics (and probably most other things). Truth Social's parent company has reported losses of $51 million over the last two quarters. www.inc.com/sam-blum/tru...
Truth Social Says It’s Betting on the Predictions Marketplace
The president’s social media platform will allow users to place bets on politics, sports, and anything else.
www.inc.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Truth Social is going to let users place bets on politics (and probably most other things). Truth Social's parent company has reported losses of $51 million over the last two quarters. www.inc.com/sam-blum/tru...
Reposted by Sam Blum
There's been endless talk about an AI bubble, but less about exactly how, why, and how much it's a bubble. So I turned to the framework put forward by scholars Brent Goldfarb and David A. Kirsch, authors of "Bubbles and Crashes," for assessing tech bubbles.
Spoiler: On a scale of 1 to 8, AI is an 8
Spoiler: On a scale of 1 to 8, AI is an 8
AI Is the Bubble to Burst Them All
I talked to the scholars who literally wrote the book on tech bubbles—and applied their test.
www.wired.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:58 PM
There's been endless talk about an AI bubble, but less about exactly how, why, and how much it's a bubble. So I turned to the framework put forward by scholars Brent Goldfarb and David A. Kirsch, authors of "Bubbles and Crashes," for assessing tech bubbles.
Spoiler: On a scale of 1 to 8, AI is an 8
Spoiler: On a scale of 1 to 8, AI is an 8
It's good to know that if working as a journalist with integrity trying to hold power to account fails, I can always revert back to petty tribal shitposting and be rewarded by the one of most prestigious media orgs in the world.
Semafor newsletter via @willsommer.bsky.social. I have expired. I am deceased.
October 27, 2025 at 6:08 PM
It's good to know that if working as a journalist with integrity trying to hold power to account fails, I can always revert back to petty tribal shitposting and be rewarded by the one of most prestigious media orgs in the world.