Today, Explained Bettor living through Polymarket
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Dec 3, 2025 
Jen Vietchner, a finance and crypto features writer at New York Magazine, shares her experiences with Polymarket, a platform that allows betting on various outcomes, including political events. John Herman, a technology columnist, discusses the risks and ethical concerns of prediction markets, highlighting how betting on politics can influence engagement and breed corruption. They dive into Polymarket's accuracy in elections and explore the unsettling nature of wagering on civic outcomes, questioning the broader implications for political trust.
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Founder Built It In His Bathroom
- Shane Copeland built Polymarket from his Lower East Side bathroom during the pandemic and launched a prediction market.
- He designed it to let people put money behind predictions to resolve debates and harness crowd wisdom.
Bets Act As A Faster Public Oracle
- Polymarket functions as a real-time oracle, using bets to reveal what people actually believe will happen.
- That crowd signal sometimes predicts events before mainstream news acknowledges them.
Reporter Used A VPN To Test It
- Jen Vietchner tried Polymarket herself by using a VPN and betting small amounts while researching the story.
- Her account was later shut down for illegal trading and she lost only small amounts.