Apple’s Next Chapter, SpaceX and Cursor Strike a Deal, and Palantir’s Controversial Manifesto | WIRED

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This week on Uncanny Valley, the team discusses what’s next for Apple as Tim Cook steps down from his role as CEO. They also go into the reasoning behind SpaceX and Cursor’s surprising deal, and why Palantir’s self-published manifesto drew a lot of heat online. Also, we discuss why some conspiracy theorists are leaving Trump’s side, and how a scammer created an AI-generated woman to attract and grift MAGA men.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

- Tim Cook’s Legacy Is Turning Apple Into a Subscription

- MAGA Is Starting to Look Beyond Trump

- This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men

You can follow Brian Barrett on Bluesky at @brbarrett, Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at @zoeschiffer, and Leah Feiger on Bluesky at @leahfeiger. Write to us at [email protected].

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Transcript

Note: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.

Brian Barrett: Hey, it's Brian. Zoë, Leah, and I have really enjoyed being your new hosts these past few weeks, and we want to hear from you. If you like the show and have a minute, please leave us a review in the podcast or app of your choice. It really helps us reach more people, and for any questions and comments, you can always reach us at [email protected]. Thank you for listening. On to the show.

Leah Feiger: Zoë, welcome back.

Zoë Schiffer: Thank you.

Leah Feiger: I missed you so much.

Brian Barrett: And I missed you the exact same amount.

Zoë Schiffer: Wow.

Brian Barrett: It's not a contest.

Zoë Schiffer: Oh, my gosh. I feel so loved. I'm going to go away more often. Absence makes the heart go fonder, as we all know, and I'm thrilled to be here. Welcome to WIRED's Uncanny Valley. I'm Zoë Schiffer, director of business and industry.

Brian Barrett: I'm Brian Barrett, executive editor.

Leah Feiger: And I'm Leah Feiger, director of politics and science.

Zoë Schiffer: This week on the show, we're saying goodbye to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who announced that he is stepping down from the top gig at the company. And, more than just talking about his legacy at Apple, we'll be looking into what this long-awaited shift actually means for the future of one of the world's biggest companies.

Brian Barrett: We'll also get into why SpaceX and Cursor's potential $60 billion deal announced this week is pretty staggering, and we'll get into Palantir's controversial 22-point manifesto. I feel like “manifestos” are inherently controversial, otherwise they'd be memos that they posted on X this week.

Leah Feiger: And slowly but surely, we have been seeing certain MAGA leaders and supporters move away from Trump. We're going to break down whether these instances are actually building to something meaningful or just some wishful thinking on the behalf of our Bluesky followers.

Zoë Schiffer: So let's kick it off this week with the news that grabbed all of our attention on Monday. It had Brian Barrett calling me, I don't know, 15 times in the span of two minutes. Tim Cook officially stepping down.

Brian Barrett: If you'd picked up, Zoë, I wouldn't have had to.

Zoë Schiffer: Brian, I was trying to fill out the goddamn art request. It was really stressful. He has officially stepped down as the CEO of Apple. I think the official transition is September 1st, but the announcement is out there. John Ternus, a longtime executive at Apple, is taking over the CEO gig. This is a pretty pivotal moment for the company. I mean, Cook's legacy, I think, will be twofold, one in just honing in on Apple's financials. The company was doing really well, but he took it into the trillion-dollar range, and he's also perfected its operations and supply chain. He went all in on making Apple a services and subscription business with things like the App Store, iCloud, Apple Pay, all of that. So this doesn't sound quite as sexy as launching the iPhone, but in many ways he's the person that shaped Apple into what it is today. And rumors about Tim Cook stepping down have been swirling for a really long time. Back in 2024, WIRED’s Steven Levy asked him if retirement was on the horizon and Cook responded like this:

Tim Cook, archival audio: I'll do it until the voice in my head says, "It's time," and then I'll go and focus on what the next chapter looks like. My life has been wrapped up in this company, as you mentioned, since 1998. This is a long time. It's the over