Joshua Bote

Joshua Bote is a reporter focusing on the nexus of culture, trends, and digital phenomena within San Francisco.
Previously, he covered technology for The San Francisco Standard and SFGate. He’s also served as a trending news reporter at USA Today, and as a music writer at NPR. His work has been published in places like New York Magazine, Billboard, and Paste.
Scale AI gets hit with another labor lawsuit on the same day U.S. Department of Labor dropped investigation into firm
The $14 billion AI training firm headquartered in SF has been hit with a multitude of labor lawsuits in the past year
For the weekend, a funk mix from modern greats
The very talented collective Ghost-Note is performing at Mill Valley Music Festival this weekend
College student’s job interview goes TikTok-viral as ‘creepy’ AI interviewer goes haywire
The AI interviewer, named 'Alex,' is made by San Francisco startup Apriora
Amid ‘a lot of unknown,’ a tech philanthropist comes through for San Francisco arts
One recipient of the grant hopes that it pushes more tech patrons to invest in local arts
Partying with the AI music generators
At a launch party thrown by Riffusion, industry players and techies alike see an AI-heavy vision of the future of music — for better or worse
Pokémon trading cards have never been bigger. For its biggest fans, SF’s Gamescape is the place to be.
On Thursdays, the Lower Haight games shop hosts an ‘open play’ night that's become a haven for serious Pokémon fans
Quince quietly changes description of popular handbag after getting called out by Wirecutter
The SF-based purveyor of fancy items for cheap marketed its bag as 'top-grain' leather before the article was published
Bay Area DJs and artists are boycotting Boiler Room in support of Gaza
The global party series is having trouble booking talent for a June event, as concerns mount about its new ownership
A new party, inspired by a viral TikTok, wants people of color to ‘take the Marina over’ for an afternoon
Event organizer Tomicia Blunt hopes that folks reluctant to visit the infamously un-diverse neighborhood come through
Walgreens tried to dodge back pay for workers amid SF layoffs, union alleges
Walgreens union head says that the pharmacy chain only paid after they filed a federal complaint