Skip to main content
All Stories By:

Elizabeth Lopatto

Elizabeth Lopatto

Senior Reporter

Elizabeth Lopatto is a senior writer at The Verge, where she covers how the internet is changing how we think about money: cryptocurrency, business, fintech and Elon Musk for some reason.

She joined the site in 2014, as science editor, then deputy editor running science, transportation and social media, before she got tired of being an authority figure and went back to blogging.

E
External Link
England’s... redwoods?

“At the moment they’re some of the tallest trees in the UK and they are starting to poke above the forest canopy,” says an expert. But they’re still just babies by redwood standards. The Victorians brought back a bunch of redwoods from California and they’re starting to do what redwoods do: get real big.


E
External Link
I chatted with Marketplace about the Reddit IPO.

Many of the Redditors I spoke to did not care for the IPO. I went on Marketplace to talk about the usefulness of Reddit as an online community — and why that may just be really difficult to make profitable.


E
External Link
Are science journals prepared to deal with AI-generated glurge?

So far, the obvious giveaway phrases (“As of my last knowledge update in September 2021,” and “Certainly, here is a possible introduction for your topic”) are appearing primarily in low-tier journals. But after Penis Rat, I am somewhat concerned about the quality of peer review.


E
External Link
A bloc of private equity and hedge-fund types are holding talks about how to minimize SEC fines over disappearing messages.

The firms include Citadel, KKR. and Blackstone. “Their goal is to minimize any fines and ensure that if they reach a settlement, no firm is singled out for a harsher penalty,” according to Bloomberg.

The SEC is investigating whether WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal use at these companies broke disclosure rules. Citadel in particular is still willing to fight the SEC on this.


E
External Link
Hey, some guy made a bot for dating apps.

What’s the definition of a “baddie” that’s being “found” by this bot? “I just gathered some photos of girls I thought were hot, attached a small sample.”

If you aren’t picky about personality and your tastes align with this guy’s, you too can be flagged by Tinder for Captchas to prove you’re human!


Why the Kate Middleton scandal just won’t die

How a bad Photoshop job turned into an existential crisis for the British monarchy.

E
Youtube
I’ll have what she’s having!

“This is not an attempt to ban TikTok. It’s an attempt to make TikTok better. Tic-tac-toe. A winner. A winner.”

??????????????????????????????????


E
External Link
Deadspin sold.

Jim Spanfeller, known for his sensitivity about being called a “herb,” has sold sports site Deadspin to Lineup Publishing. Every person who worked at the site has been fired.

Spanfeller’s management has had some benefits; when he bungled Deadspin’s editorial tone, a mass quit resulted in the founding of the excellent new website Defector.


Happy 311 day to all who celebrate!

NPR posted a Tiny Desk concert with the Omaha band.

Nick Hexium, the band’s lead singer, reviewed the NPR venue: “This kind of reminds me of being in my dad’s basement, being back next to the pool table, but it smells better here.”

They did not play “Come Original,” a song I have been making jokes about for at least the last 20 years.