The Astroturf Agenda with Dean Preston
Dystopia Now
To help us keep the show going become a subscriber here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about the tech billionaire-backed astroturf campaigns that flooded his district with money and disinformation. We dig into how tech barons are reshaping local politics through alleged “grassroots” groups, what it means for democracy when dark money drives housing and policing policy, and how Preston sees the fight for tenants’ rights and progressive politics moving forward. The Guardian — Inside tech...
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My BF is AI
Dystopia Now
To become a sponsor and get an extra episode each week, visit us at https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow, This week, we talked about what AI is doing to our emotions and our relationships. From AI Psychosis to AI Boyfriends, AI is breaking our brains and our hearts. Further reading:
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Patreon Preview: The Vox Writer w/ Eugenics Fanfic (Effective Altruism in Media)
Dystopia Now
To hear the rest of the episode and become a supporter visit us on Patreon. We are entirely listener supported and we appreciate your contributions so much! This week, we were joined by Rachel Adjogah, of the brilliant blog. discussed The Argument, a new publication funded in part by Open Philanthropy. We also discussed Vox's Future Perfect, and the general problems of having EA/Rationalist aligned reporters cover...themselves.
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UNLOCKED: Zizians Part 1- A Cult Within a Cult
Dystopia Now
This week we are off, so thought I'd unlock one of our Patreon eps from the series we did about the Zizians. We discuss the origins of the Zizian ideology in the Rationalism community, MIRI, CFAR, Roko's Basilisk and Doom Circles. To hear parts 2 and 3 become a subscriber on Patreon: We'll be back on our regular schedule next week.
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PATREON PREVIEW: Listener Q and A
Dystopia Now
This week we answered questions from our Patreon supporters about the Bay Area cyberdelic scene, Church of the Subgenius, the persistence of eugenics, anarcho-primitivism, TESCREAL boardgames and what our personal tech (or tech free?) utopias would be. To hear the rest of the episode become a sponsor at . We use your $ to edit the podcast. Further reading: Organizations Mentioned: Board game: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/257732/pax-transhumanity
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"These F*cking People" with Adam Becker
Dystopia Now
Become a supporter at This week we interviewed astrophysicist and science journalist Adam Becker, author of More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. Becker contends that Silicon Valley’s grandiose fantasies cloak a hunger for control, often rooted in pseudoscience and elitism rather than real science or ethics Adam cuts through the bullshit of Mars colonization, sentient AI and digital immortality to bring us all back down to earth. Where we live. And are going to stay forever. Futher Reading: More...
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PATREON PREVIEW: The Extropians
Dystopia Now
To hear the full ep sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow In the 1990s, at the height of the Grunge Era, a small but ambitious group calling themselves the Extropians dreamed of transcending the limits of the human body and mind, through technology, radical life extension, and an unapologetically libertarian vision of the future. In this episode, we trace their journey from obscure online mailing lists to their outsized influence on today’s transhumanist movement, Silicon Valley techno-utopianism, and AI ideology. We’ll unpack their proactionary principle, ties to...
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Simone and Malcolm Collins: TESCREAL Parents
Dystopia Now
To become a Patreon subscriber go here: https://www.patreon.com/DystopiaNow This week we go on a dark journey of TESCREAL parenting with Simone and Malcolm Collins, the rationalist pro-natalism advocates who are raising their kids on an all AI diet. Strap in as we explore their secular religion, their runs for office, and "Future Day." By the end of this episode you may never want to have 10 kids. We also covered Jim Acosta's interview with an AI Parkland survivor, Elon's sex chatbot, and Èmile's new newsletter, Real Time Techpocalypse. Further reading Intro ...
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PATREON PREVIEW: The Zizians Part 3: The Murder Spree
Dystopia Now
This is the final installment of our series on the Rationalist Death Cult, the Zizians. This three part series unpacks the twisted story of the Zizians, a fringe group born out of the Bay Area rationalist and effective altruism subcultures that descended into violence and murder. Blending a belief in utilitarianism with extreme accelerationist ideology, the Zizians started with an AI Doom fixation and ended up justifying a string of brutal killings in the name of a supposed greater good. To hear the series, become a member here: In "A Cult Within a Cult" We discuss the origins of...
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Mark Zuckerberg: Bunker Boy
Dystopia Now
To become a supporter, visit us at https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we explore the weird world of Mark Zuckerberg and billionaire bunkers. FURTHER READING: Meta, Zuckerberg, and AI Meta Q2 earnings beat forecasts, pushes toward AI “personal superintelligence” Inside Meta’s plans for a new AI lab focused on superintelligence Meta’s growing dominance in AI Zuckerberg responds to Cambridge Analytica scandal How Facebook contributed to genocide in Myanmar Zuckerberg grilled in Congress on Facebook’s origins Zuckerberg’s Hawaii Estate and Land Development...
info_outlineTo join us on Patreon go here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow
This week we were joined by Briahna Joy Gray to talk about natalism and Efilism. We also had a great discussion about the philosophy of human extinction.
Bad Faith Podcast / Briahna Joy Gray
Bad Faith Podcast: “Episode 479: Promo — Truth in Fiction w/ Cory Doctorow”
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-479-promo-truth-in-fiction-w-cory-doctorow/id1531192509?i=1000710888262
Bad Faith Podcast: “Episode 445: Promo — From Merit to Eugenics: Elon Musk’s…”
https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/episode-445-promo-from-merit-to-eugenics-elon-musks/id1531192509?i=1000688606822
Pronatalism / Natalism Discourse
Mother Jones — “This Is a War, and Natalism Is Our Sword and Shield”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/03/this-is-a-war-and-natalism-is-our-sword-and-shield-my-weekend-with-the-pronatalists/
The Guardian — “Natal Conference in Austin, Texas, and Eugenics”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/natal-conference-austin-texas-eugenics
The Guardian — “What Is Pronatalism? Right-Wing Republican Movement”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/11/what-is-pronatalism-right-wing-republican
The Guardian — “Elon Musk, Pronatalism, and Motherhood on Social Media”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/25/elon-musk-pronatalism-mothers-social-media-parenting
CNN — “Pronatalism, Elon Musk, and Birth Rates”
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/10/us/pronatalism-elon-musk-birth-rates-cec
Vox — “JD Vance, Pronatalism, and Population Decline”
https://www.vox.com/policy/363543/pronatalism-vance-birth-rates-population-decline-fertility
New York Times — “Liberals and Falling Birth Rates: Anastasia Berg Op-Ed”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/16/opinion/anastasia-berg-falling-birth-rates-liberals.html
New York Times — “Natalism, Liberalism & Parenthood”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/opinion/natalism-liberalism-parenthood.html
The Atlantic — “Democrats and Pronatalism: Family Policy Debates”
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/democrats-pronatalism-family-policies/681827/
Liberal Currents — “Liberal Pro-Natalism”
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/liberal-pro-natalism/
The New Yorker — “How Liberals Talk About Children”
https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/how-liberals-talk-about-children
Current Affairs — “We Should Be Neither Anti-Natalist Nor Pro-Natalist”
https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/we-should-be-neither-anti-natalist-nor-pro-natalist
The Guardian — “Birthstrikers and Climate Change”
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/mar/12/birthstrikers-meet-the-women-who-refuse-to-have-children-until-climate-change-ends
People — “All About Elon Musk’s Children”
https://people.com/all-about-elon-musk-children-11678749
New York Times — “Trump, Musk, and Birthrate Proposals”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/us/politics/elon-musk-trump-birthrate.html
New York Times — “Trump’s Birthrate Proposals”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/us/politics/trump-birthrate-proposals.html
Axios — “Elon Musk, Ashley St. Clair, and Baby Influencing”
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/17/elon-musk-babies-ashley-st-clair
Conversations with Tyler — Ezra Klein Interview
https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/ezra-klein-3/
Efilism / Anti-Natalism Extremism
The Intercept — “Efilism and the Palm Springs Bomber”
https://theintercept.com/2025/05/19/efilism-palm-springs-bomber-fertility-clinic/
NBC News — “Reddit Bans Anti-Natalists After Explosion”
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/reddit-bans-anti-natalists-palm-springs-explosion-rcna207677
The Guardian — “Palm Springs IVF Clinic Bombing and Online Extremism”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/21/palm-springs-ivf-clinic-bombing-online-extremism
Eugenics, Longtermism, Effective Altruism
Truthdig — “Nick Bostrom, Longtermism, and Eugenics”
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/nick-bostrom-longtermism-and-the-eternal-return-of-eugenics-2/
Truthdig — “A Short History of Eugenics”
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/a-short-history-of-eugenics-from-plato-to-nick-bostrom/
The Guardian — “Pro-Extinctionists and Effective Altruism”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/22/pro-extinctionis-longtermim-effective-altruism-human-extinction-emile-torres
Utilitarianism: For and Against (PDF)
https://www.utilitarianism.com/utilitarianism-for-and-against.pdf
LessWrong — Computronium Page
https://www.lesswrong.com/w/computronium
Political News / Commentary
AP News — “Trump’s Army Parade and Protests”
https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-parade-troops-tanks-birthday-protests-4cca4da0e89908d39c820240744375a1
New York Times — “Andrew Cuomo and Nursing Home Deaths During COVID”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/09/nyregion/cuomo-pandemic-nursing-home-deaths.html
Social Media & Commentary
Instagram Reel
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DK-VjqwxisA/
Twitter — Nathan J. Robinson
https://x.com/NathanJRobinson/status/1890845684061847836
Twitter — David Sirota
https://x.com/davidsirota/status/1921259098516918382
Miscellaneous
Zohran Mamdani Campaign Site
https://www.zohranfornyc.com/
Hacker News Thread
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10812804