fashion drama

A new chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to mimic the leading candidates in the 2024 presidential race is fresh on the scene. Users can query a candidate’s avatar or conjure up a one-on-one debate. We’ll get into the potential impact of AI on future U.S. elections and what some politically engaged citizens are doing about it. Plus, we’ll explain why the wait for your morning latte at Starbucks might be getting out of hand. And Operation Santa is open for business.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “Conspiracy Theorists Go Viral With Claim Sen. John Fetterman Actually Body Double” from Forbes

• • “John Fetterman would be particularly hard to body-double” from The Washington Post

• • “Prepare yourself. A Donald Trump chatbot is about to be unleashed.” from Politico

• • “Artificial Intelligence in Campaign Ads” from the Federal Register

• • “Write to Santa Today!” from the USPS

• • “Why Starbucks (SBUX) Is Desperate to Reduce Your Coffee Wait Time” from Bloomberg

Got a question for the hosts? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.

Meta’s new Threads became the most quickly downloaded app on Wednesday, its opening day. Twitter’s not thrilled about it. We’ll get into why folks may or may not gravitate toward the app and whether any of the “new Twitters” can become a true social media hub. And, could a scandal involving a celebrated behavioral science researcher impact the way we engage with pop science? Plus, guest host Reema Khrais leads us in a new game.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “Twitter is threatening to sue Meta over Threads” from Semafor

• • “All the red flags in the Threads privacy policy” from Quartz

• • “Meta’s Threads Proves That Social Media Cannot Die” from The Atlantic

• • “The Harvard Expert on Dishonesty Who Is Accused of Lying” from The Atlantic

• • This week’s newsletter from Marketplace’s “This Is Uncomfortable”

Got a question about the economy, business or technology for the hosts? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.