Most Q&As bore us—stiff, formal things full of pleasantries and PR. Pablum! So this year, we launched the Big Interview: conversations done our way. They’re drinks with the one person you wish you could get drinks with. (Metaphorically speaking, of course—though, well, alcohol may have been involved in one or two.) Some are tech CEOs; others are scientists, actors, athletes, writers. Ultimately, though, we’re not just interested in who these people are. We care, more importantly, about how they think. How their minds work, and how their mind have changed. How, even, our readers’ minds might be rewired too. And while these conversations aren’t always about predicting the future, they do seek to illuminate paths forward—modes of thinking or being you maybe haven’t fully considered. Below are the Big Interviews we published in 2023, with teases of some of our favorite moments.
WIRED: I see a lot of katanas and axes on the wall. There’s also, like, a bearskin over there.
Snyder: That’s a lion.
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WIRED: So you knew Sydney was going to fall in love with journalist Kevin Roose?
Nadella: We never expected that somebody would do Jungian analysis within 100 hours of release.
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WIRED: You must’ve grown up in the shadow of the bomb.
Nolan: When I was 13, me and my friends, we were convinced we would die in a nuclear holocaust.
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WIRED: Would you say you tend to be a hopeful, forward-looking guy?
Pascal: We have to hope. But I’m too privileged. Like, I’m too lucky. The reason my older sister and I grew up in the States is because my parents fled a military dictatorship. So, you know, only 10 years after my parents were in hiding, I was crying because The Breakfast Club was checked out at the video store.
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WIRED: What’s your take on kombucha?
Doudna: I don't have an official position on kombucha.
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WIRED: Should I be worried about AIs coming for my job?
Reeves: The people who are paying you for your art would rather not pay you. They’re actively seeking a way around you.
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WIRED: If you had to body-swap with an animal, what kind of animal do you think would make the best Margaret Atwood?
Atwood: A fox. They’re wily.
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WIRED: What is neoliberalism, and what happened to it?
Buttigieg: When it comes to neoliberalism, we got mugged by reality. That’s one cheeky way to put it.
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WIRED: A friend said the other day, “Why would I ever use WeightWatchers if we’re all getting shots someday that are going to suppress our appetites?”
Sistani: That probably comes from somebody who’s privileged and understands healthy eating.
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WIRED: Is the business of Hollywood broken?
Riley: I wouldn’t call it broken. It’s working like they want it to. Now, the question is—does it work for creativity? Does it work for people? No, it doesn’t.
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WIRED: I understand that earlier this year you took some shifts as an Uber driver yourself.
Khosrowshahi: Yeah, that was fun.
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WIRED: Aren’t you a woke person?
Grimes: Probably not.
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WIRED: Do you think there’s an incentive to shift rightward now to bolster one’s personal brand online?
Klein: Yes.
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WIRED: Have you seen the movie Oppenheimer?
Pichai: I'm actually reading the book. I'm a big fan of reading the book before watching the movie.
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WIRED: Do you think that Xavier and Picard are different in some ways?
Stewart: Charles Xavier is physically handicapped. I think it gave him more empathy than Picard had. We’ve seen Picard lose it a couple of times.
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WIRED: Did you end up in any sort of hangups with Marvel? Like, with the content? Let me put it this way: Can you still be R-rated?
Levy: Fuck yes.
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WIRED: Do you generally believe the platforms should be arbiters of truth?
Harvey: I generally feel as though it is impossible and also that they have to try.
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WIRED: Does AI freak you out?
Curry: Oh, all the time.
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