E109: 2022 Bestie Awards Live from Twitter HQ

Russian President, predicted as a political winner by one host, but later cited as the common enemy of Western democracy and a figure whose military and propaganda efforts were potentially overestimated.

President of Ukraine, cited as a surprising political winner due to his role as a global hero and superstar during the conflict with Russia, leading the storyline about democracy's common enemy.

Chair of the Federal Reserve, tied as a biggest political loser due to criticism from both sides for not raising rates soon enough (leading to inflation) and then raising them too quickly.

Current San Francisco District Attorney, who was re-elected after being appointed, representing a 'tough D.A.' and a shift towards centrist policies.

Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, predicted as a political loser, which proved true as she lost the gavel.

Prominent programmer and venture capitalist, whose brief suspension from Twitter was acknowledged as a mistake by Elon Musk, who personally apologized.

Journalist who broke the FBI story in the Twitter Files, discussed for his reporting on FBI's constant boundary-pushing and the persistent effort to influence narratives on social media.

Investor, whose memo advocating for fitness and cuts at Meta prompted Mark Zuckerberg to take action.

President of China, predicted and confirmed as the biggest political winner due to his authoritarian control over China's vast population and economy.

Former US President, discussed in the context of the 2024 GOP nomination against Ron DeSantis and as a 'Scarlet Letter' whose endorsement led to political losses for candidates.

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, recognized for only 45 days in office, a significant political failure due to policy decisions that crashed the pound and led to her resignation.

Former CEO of Disney, identified as a biggest business loser for clashing with Ron DeSantis over the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, undermining talent, and eventually being forced out.

Former and current CEO of Disney, discussed for his return to lead Disney after undermining his successor, Bob Chapek. He is seen as a 'deal junkie' who wanted to get back into the action.

Chair of the SEC, predicted to aggressively prosecute other crypto 'grifts' after the FTX scandal and FTT tokens.

Founder of FTX, referenced as 'SPF' and a '30 billion fraud' with 50,000 views on a tweet, later discussed as the 'worst human being' for causing chaos and lost money.

Governor of Florida, named the biggest political winner of 2022 for his re-election victory and leading polls for the 2024 GOP nomination, a prediction many nailed.

U.S. Secretary of State, identified as responsible for the biggest political blunder of 2022 by keeping NATO's door open, which allegedly shut down diplomatic off-ramps for the Ukraine conflict.

Vice President of the United States, mentioned as a political surprise due to her being sidelined in 2022.

Actress, mentioned in the context of Bob Chapek's unforced errors, specifically his war with her over a $10 million settlement for her Black Widow film.

Political commentator, who observed that the New York Times' tweets had significantly fewer views than individual Twitter users, suggesting inflated follower counts.

San Francisco supervisor, who was rejected by his own community in November 2022, signaling a shift in voter sentiment.

Creator of 'Never Have I Ever', praised for her brilliant work.

Venture capitalist, awarded the 'Rudy Giuliani award for self-immolation' for defending FTX after securing a $15 million investment, damaging his reputation.

CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who acquired Twitter as the biggest business surprise of 2022. He's been praised for rapid cost-cutting, feature development at Twitter and his product genius.

Son of President Joe Biden, his alleged nude photo prompted incorrect suspensions, and his laptop story was discussed as a target of Russian disinformation claims and censorship.

Former San Francisco District Attorney, recalled by a 60-40 margin due to his decarceration agenda and releasing repeat offenders, which voters eventually had enough of.

Biochemist and author of 'The Vital Question' and 'Life Ascending,' praised for his insights on the origin of life and the principles of physics and statistics underlying it.

Former US Presidential candidate, her campaign was mentioned as having an interest in hyping the Russian misinformation threat to explain away the Trump phenomenon.

Former Twitter executive, testified about being bombarded with messages about an expected hack-and-leak operation concerning Hunter Biden, and repeatedly responded to the FBI about low follower foreign influence accounts.

Former member of the San Francisco school board, who was recalled by a significant margin due to controversial decisions and mismanagement.

CEO of Meta, who is predicted to turn Meta's fortunes around by implementing significant cost cuts in response to demands for fiscal responsibility.

Actor known from 'Succession,' author of the enjoyable audiobook 'Putting the Rabbit in the Hat.'

Former football player and political candidate, received the 'Rudy Giuliani award for self-immolation' for his disastrous political campaign.

Professor of international relations, interviewed on UnHerd, explaining the origins of the Ukraine war and offering pessimistic future predictions.

Filmmaker, author of 'Cinema Speculation,' which one host enjoyed.

Senator from Pennsylvania, mentioned as an example of a Democrat who self-immolated but still got elected, contrasting with Republicans.

Defense contractor and manufacturer of Javelins and HIMARS, identified as a biggest business winner of 2022 due to a 40% stock increase amidst global conflict and increased demand for defense products.

AI research and deployment company, along with Microsoft, cited as the biggest business winner for ChatGPT's impact and potential to disrupt Google's search model.

Partner of OpenAI, aiming to release a search engine powered by OpenAI's technology that could challenge Google's dominance.

Social media platform, acquired by Elon Musk, undergoing rapid changes to cut costs, introduce new features like view counts and affiliate badges, and address bot accounts and content moderation.

Food company, previously criticized as a 'most loathsome company' for being a large slaughterer of animals.

Aerospace and defense technology company, mentioned as another defense stock that performed well, up almost 40%, benefiting from increased demand during wartime.

Television network, praised for consistently producing high-quality and popular shows like 'House of the Dragon' and 'White Lotus,' challenging Disney's IP dominance.

Aerospace and defense company, listed as a defense stock up almost 20% in 2022, benefiting from the global conflict.

Search engine giant, described as facing an existential threat from ChatGPT due to its business model relying on ad clicks, which is undermined if AI directly provides answers.

Aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company, referenced by Elon Musk when discussing risk management during a recession and its CFO's past experience with market crashes.

Design software, acquired by Adobe for $20 billion, noted as a surprising business event given the market environment.

Parent company of Facebook, predicted to turn around its business from money-losing to profitability by focusing on free cash flow and cutting expenses, with stock recovering from lows.

Biotech company, named as a 'most loathsome company' for animal abuse in its dog breeding facility leading to rescue of 4,000 beagles and its stock plummeting 90%.

Newspaper, cited for publishing an article revealing Bob Iger's actions to undermine Bob Chapek at Disney.

TV series, listed as a 'favorite media of 2022' and enjoyed by multiple hosts.

Film, chosen as a 'favorite media of 2022' by one host.

TV series, praised as 'absolutely incredible' and a favorite media of 2022.

Film, highly recommended as a 'favorite media of 2022' by one host.

Short TV series with Steve Carell about a serial killer kidnapping his psychologist, described as 'very well done' and a favorite media of 2022.

TV series, the latest season was called a 'brilliant offering from Mindy Kaling' and a favorite media of 2022.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, referenced as the model for early stage, government-funded research, like the initial development of the internet, before private industry takes over.

Identified as a major political loser for the failure of the 'Red Wave' in the 2022 midterms, the impact of the Roe v. Wade decision, and the continued viability of Donald Trump.

Cryptocurrency exchange, named the 'biggest business loser' of 2022 due to the incredible scale of fraud and scam that was revealed, leading to systemic laziness and bias among investors.

Research facility that demonstrated net energy gain from plasma fusion, which was called a 'milestone' rather than a 'breakthrough' but catalyzed investment in fusion startups.

US government agency, heavily implicated in the Twitter Files for allegedly flagging content for Twitter to take down and engaging in 'psyop stuff,' raising concerns about exceeding legal and ethical boundaries.

Described as a political loser outside the U.S. for painting itself into a corner, having to reverse green ESG policies due to energy and national security decisions.

Online media platform, an episode featuring Freddy Sayers interviewing John Mearsheimer about the Ukraine war's origins and pessimistic predictions was recommended.

Newspaper, reported on the Hunter Biden laptop story, which was initially censored by Twitter and discredited in public opinion.

A series of internal Twitter documents released by Elon Musk, revealing previous content moderation practices and alleged government collusion, especially with the FBI.

A financial model used to calculate the expected return on an asset, deemed the biggest business winner for individuals who understood and applied it to generate returns in volatile 2022 markets.

Represented as the biggest business loser of 2022 due to being a crowded trade, regulatory scrutiny, and a shift in innovation cycles.

Gene-editing technology, used in a UK lab to edit transplant T-cells to eradicate an uncurable form of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a 13-year-old girl, heralded as a major breakthrough.

City in California, discussed for its progressive policies, particularly cash welfare payments and lax law enforcement, which are criticized for exacerbating homelessness and drug addiction.

Private club and residence of Donald Trump, referenced in the context of the FBI's "heavy-handed and unnecessary" search and seizure operation.

The Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade was called a "complete unmitigated disaster" for Republicans, mobilizing women and the LGBT community. Its impact on state-level abortion battles was also discussed.

AI chatbot from OpenAI, and its partner Microsoft, identified as the biggest business winner for its ability to generate text comparable to Google's search results, posing an existential threat to Google's ad-based business model.

AI system for protein folding, mentioned as a 'best new tech' for achieving almost near-perfect accuracy.

Book by Quentin Tarantino, mentioned as very enjoyable.

Book by Nick Lane, recommended for its insights into the origin of life on Earth and the principles of physics and statistics that make life predictable.

Book by Nick Lane, highly recommended for understanding the difference between power and energy, alongside 'The Vital Question.'

Autobiography by Brian Cox, recommended for its enjoyable audiobook version.