Prediction Markets and the ‘Suckerifcation’ Crisis With Max Read

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In this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel explores the burgeoning industry of prediction markets. These platforms let people wager on everything from elections and award shows to the most trivial internet ephemera, framing bets as tradable “shares” that rise and fall like stocks. With billions in weekly trading volume, massive new funding rounds, and even a CNN partnership with the prediction-betting platform, Kalshi, prediction markets are quickly moving from a niche curiosity to a mainstream-media fixture—openly touting ambitions to financialize everything. Warzel is joined by writer Max Read, who argues that prediction markets sit at the intersection of gambling, finance, and a…