Dystopia Now
Dystopia Now is a show where a comedian (Kate Willett) and an academic (Emile Torres) explore the philosophies and religions of Silicon Valley and tech billionaires shaping our country, our world, and our future.
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Pro-Natalism, Anti-Natalism and Efilism with Briahna Joy Gray
06/20/2025
Pro-Natalism, Anti-Natalism and Efilism with Briahna Joy Gray
To 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” Bad Faith Podcast: “Episode 445: Promo — From Merit to Eugenics: Elon Musk’s…” Pronatalism / Natalism Discourse Mother Jones — “This Is a War, and Natalism Is Our Sword and Shield” The Guardian — “Natal Conference in Austin, Texas, and Eugenics” The Guardian — “What Is Pronatalism? Right-Wing Republican Movement” The Guardian — “Elon Musk, Pronatalism, and Motherhood on Social Media” CNN — “Pronatalism, Elon Musk, and Birth Rates” Vox — “JD Vance, Pronatalism, and Population Decline” New York Times — “Liberals and Falling Birth Rates: Anastasia Berg Op-Ed” New York Times — “Natalism, Liberalism & Parenthood” The Atlantic — “Democrats and Pronatalism: Family Policy Debates” Liberal Currents — “Liberal Pro-Natalism” The New Yorker — “How Liberals Talk About Children” Current Affairs — “We Should Be Neither Anti-Natalist Nor Pro-Natalist” The Guardian — “Birthstrikers and Climate Change” People — “All About Elon Musk’s Children” New York Times — “Trump, Musk, and Birthrate Proposals” New York Times — “Trump’s Birthrate Proposals” Axios — “Elon Musk, Ashley St. Clair, and Baby Influencing” Conversations with Tyler — Ezra Klein Interview Efilism / Anti-Natalism Extremism The Intercept — “Efilism and the Palm Springs Bomber” NBC News — “Reddit Bans Anti-Natalists After Explosion” The Guardian — “Palm Springs IVF Clinic Bombing and Online Extremism” Eugenics, Longtermism, Effective Altruism Truthdig — “Nick Bostrom, Longtermism, and Eugenics” Truthdig — “A Short History of Eugenics” The Guardian — “Pro-Extinctionists and Effective Altruism” Utilitarianism: For and Against (PDF) LessWrong — Computronium Page Political News / Commentary AP News — “Trump’s Army Parade and Protests” New York Times — “Andrew Cuomo and Nursing Home Deaths During COVID” Social Media & Commentary Instagram Reel Twitter — Nathan J. Robinson Twitter — David Sirota Miscellaneous Zohran Mamdani Campaign Site Hacker News Thread
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The Crapture: Transhumanism and Christianity
06/12/2025
The Crapture: Transhumanism and Christianity
Please support our show at patreon.com/dystopianow This week, we explore the growing relationship between Christianity and transhumanism and how they may be merging in the MAGA movement into an end-times fantasy that can satisfy everyone! Surveillance, Policing, and Immigration Tech Waymo Faces Data Privacy Protests in Los Angeles Waymo's Driverless Cars Revealed to Be Narcs as Cops Use Them to Probe Crimes Los Angeles ICE Raids Spark Concerns Over Immigration Conditions Democrats Face Backlash Over Resolution Thanking ICE Trump Leans on Palantir to Build Massive Database of Americans Greta Thunberg AI, Religion, and the Tech-Spiritual Convergence Machine Learning MAGA: Rise of the Christian Cyborg Silicon Valley’s Obsession with AI Looks a Lot Like Religion AI’s Spiritual Delusions Are Destroying Human Relationships Excerpt from The Rapture of the Nerds Three Out of Four Pastors Believe God Can Work Through AI Faith Sermon AI Generator Free AI-Powered Sermon Generator AI Sermon Generator Tool by Vondy Christianity and the Tech Elite Are Merging in San Francisco In Silicon Valley, Christianity Finds a New Following Joe Rogan, Tech Bros, and the Rise of Austin Church Culture Why Elon Musk and Other Tech Leaders Are Embracing Christianity The Real Origins of the Religious Right Julian Huxley: The Man Who Put Eugenics Into UNESCO Centrism, Tech Politics, and Abundance Ideology Dispatch from Welcomefest: Centrism, Abundance, and the New Tech Politics Nuclear Armageddon and Christianity Castle Bravo: The Largest U.S. Nuclear Explosion ‘Armageddon View’ Prompts a Debate Among Evangelicals and Policy Experts Armageddon: Reagan-Era Beliefs and Political Impact
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Transhumanism and Capitalism with Dr. Alexander Thomas
06/05/2025
Transhumanism and Capitalism with Dr. Alexander Thomas
To become a supporter and join our group chat, visit us on Patreon: This week we chatted with Dr. Alexander Thomas, author of : Techno-Human Evolution and Advanced Capitalism. Dr Alexander Thomas is a multi-award-winning film director and screenwriter. His academic research questions what it means to be human when cultural, cybernetic and biotechnological developments undermine the notion of the human as a cogent and eternal category. This episode is a great pairing to last week's episode with Quinn Slobodian. We mentioned a lot of texts and authors in this episode that we've included below. Inclusion does not mean agreement in all instances. Critical Analyses of Transhumanism & Longtermism University of East London: Emile Torres in The Guardian: Torres in Aeon: Boston Review: New Statesman: Slate: Economics Papers: Tyler Austin Harper thread on X: Books & Research on Transhumanism Posthuman Bliss? by Susan B. Levin: The Proactionary Imperative by Steve Fuller: Citizen Cyborg by James Hughes: James Hughes lecture: Nietzschean Meditations by Stefan Lorenz Sorgner: Future Superhuman by Elise Bohan: Mind Children by Hans Moravec: Research paper: Transhumanism: The Future of Humanity (book): IAI Essay: Literal Magazine: Futurism, Accelerationism & Up-Wingers Wired (1994): The Breakthrough Institute: AEI: Slate: Aeon: F. M. Esfandiary’s Manifesto: The Guardian: Philosophy, Politics & Theory Achille Mbembe: MIT Press: Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism: New Statesman: Dan Paul Zimmer website: | Billionaires NYT: Sam Altman:
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The Tech Bro Zone with Quinn Slobodian
05/28/2025
The Tech Bro Zone with Quinn Slobodian
To join our group chat or become a subscriber, go here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we chatted with historian , a professor of international history at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. His books, which have been translated into ten languages, include, most recently, and . Intro Quinn Slobodian Other
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PATREON PREVIEW: The Zizians, A Cult Within A Cult
05/25/2025
PATREON PREVIEW: The Zizians, A Cult Within A Cult
This week is Part 1 of our Patreon supporter only series on the Zizians. We discuss the origins of the Zizian ideology in the Rationalism community, MIRI, CFAR, Roko's Basilisk and Doom Circles. To become a subscriber, visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow
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Dragging Matt Yglesias with Nathan Robinson
05/22/2025
Dragging Matt Yglesias with Nathan Robinson
To become a Patreon supporter go here: With guest , Editor of Current Affairs, we dive into the career and ideology of Matt Yglesias and his confidently wrong opinions about everything. Yglesias has helped shift mainstream liberalism toward a colder, more cynical worldview that prioritizes elite consensus and data-driven “pragmatism” over solidarity and human dignity. From Sam Bankman-Fried and crypto, to housing, to Palestine, he’s the voice of technocratic centrism beloved by Silicon Valley elites. His views reflect a shallow utilitarianism that strips politics of moral urgency and empathy, and we are here to drag that shit. We explore how Yglesias has become a key ideological bridge between neoliberal Democrats and the techno-libertarian right. Nathan J. Robinson – Articles & Book Articles Mentioned in Intro: Matt Yglesias – Writings & Critiques Sam Bankman-Fried & Effective Altruism Breakthrough Institute Empathy, Musk Additional Resources
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TESCREAL Overview with Kath Barbadoro and Alex Ptak
05/15/2025
TESCREAL Overview with Kath Barbadoro and Alex Ptak
To join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we welcomed comedians (What a Time to Be Alive podcast) and (Quorators podcast) to go through each letter in the bundle of ideologies. Who invented them, who believes in them, and the impact they are having on our world today. Transhumanism Extropianism Singularitarianism Cosmism Rationalism Effective Altruism Longtermism Extra reading/watching: Intro clip: The TESCREAL Bundle: Adam Becker: The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism by Alexander Thomas: TESCREAL overview by Èmile:
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The Dark Enlightenment (Nick Land and Curtis Yarvin)
05/08/2025
The Dark Enlightenment (Nick Land and Curtis Yarvin)
Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we discussed Nick Land's series of essays "The Dark Enlightenment," considered a foundational document for right accelerationists (r/acc) and neoreactionary ideologies (NrX). Plus the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit, Mark Zuckerberg's AI friends, Bryan Johnson's penis de-aging, and AI spirituality. Additional Resources: Segment 1: Bryan Johnson Vanity Fair: The bizarre journey of Bryan Johnson, his anti-aging endeavors, and his controversial experiment in penile rejuvenation. Segment 2: AI Is Stealing Your Boyfriend Rolling Stone: How spiritual delusions about AI are fracturing human bonds. Segment 3: Nick Land Vox: Neoreaction as a segment of the alt-right Slate: John Derbyshire Nick Land's Foundational Text: A dense introduction to accelerationism, emphasizing the destructive potential of speeding up capitalist processes. Mark Fisher (Tumblr): A reflection on accelerationism from the left Viewpoint Magazine: Dark Enlightenment The Guardian: How accelerationism predicted our modern world. Financial Times: Dark Enlightenment •
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UNLOCKED: Nuke Mars (Bezos vs. Musk)
05/04/2025
UNLOCKED: Nuke Mars (Bezos vs. Musk)
If you'd like to become a subscriber to hear more bonus episodes you can do it here: his Patreon bonus episode with about Bezos vs. Musk on space was so fun we decided to unlock it. Bezos wants us to live in cylinders, Musk wants us to nuke Mars, but both of them want a future where we're all digital beings maximizing value. Some of the wildest information we've talked about so far. Thanks for being one of our patreon subscribers! For further reading: Jason Hickel: Astrotopia:
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COPAGANDA with Alec Karakatsanis
05/01/2025
COPAGANDA with Alec Karakatsanis
Please join us on Patreon: For the first half of the episode, we talked about the Semafor reveal of Silicon Valley groupchats and Marc Andreessen’s posting addiction + Èmile’s article on End Times Eschatology. We covered Yudkowsky’s “Fun Theory,” cryogenically freezing your head, and the connection between transhumanists and Christianity. Then, we talked to author and former public defender Alec Karakatsanis about his new book Copanganda and the way we are all propagandized about policing and crime. Alec is the founder of the Civil Rights Corps, an organization designed to advocate for racial justice and bring systemic civil rights cases on behalf of impoverished people. This was such a good interview. Apologies for Kate’s slightly bad audio in this, we had some internet issues and had to record on the phone. Alec Karakatsanis – Resources THE BOOK! Articles and People We Mentioned Chesa Boudin Recall Portugal & Drug Decriminalization
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Q & A Part 1 -- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
04/23/2025
Q & A Part 1 -- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
This week we answered some questions from our Patreon supporters. It's like a mini episode on a bunch of different topics, including the worst book I've ever heard of. We covered Èmile's journey out of longtermism, Yudkowsky's Harry Potter fan fic, end-times narratives, and how we will one day beat the tech bros by withholding our labor. If you'd like to hear part 2 become a subscriber here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow Articles Mentioned in This Episode and Further Reading AI Ethics Louisiana is using a mysterious algorithm to decide who gets parole – The Verge Why Sam Altman wants AI to say "please" and "thank you" – Quartz TESCREAL and End Times End Times: How Fascism, the Far Right, Trump, and Musk are converging – The Guardian Overview of TESCREAL (by Èmile) The acronym behind our wildest AI dreams and nightmares – Truthdig Effective Altruism & Scandals The sexual harassment scandal tearing Effective Altruism apart – TIME Sam Bankman-Fried funded 'woke shit' for transactional purposes, prosecutors allege – VICE The rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried – The Guardian Defective Altruism – Current Affairs Effective Altruism’s bait-and-switch: From global poverty to AI doom – Techdirt Neoliberalism Neoliberalism’s World Order – Review of Quinn Slobodian's Globalists – Dissent The Bastards of Neoliberalism – New Statesman The Geneva School, Hayek, and Neoliberal Nationalism – Jacobin Review of Hayek’s Bastards by Quinn Slobodian – The New York Times Race Science, Neoliberalism & Hayek – Jacobin Rationalism Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality – Wikipedia Transhumanism Beyond our ape-brained meat sacks: Can transhumanism save us? – The Guardian The Frozen Father of Modern Transhumanism: Upwingers and Downwingers – VICE
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Sam Altman Part 2: Doomsday Prepping and Simulation Hypothesis
04/17/2025
Sam Altman Part 2: Doomsday Prepping and Simulation Hypothesis
Please consider becoming a subscriber on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/dystopianow/membership This episode we began with a discussion of Peter Singer and eugenics ideas in the Effective Altruism community. And more Sam Altman-- his firing at Open AI, his doomsday prepping and his version of utopia. Sam Altman & OpenAI – Futurism – The New Yorker – New York Magazine OpenAI Controversy – WSJ – Futurism – The Guardian Tech Utopias & Praxis – Bloomberg – The Nerd Reich Science, Ethics & Philosophy – Wikipedia – Wikipedia – Vox Longevity & Biohacking – MIT Technology Review Ethics, Exploitation & Effective Altruism – NPR – Effective Altruism Forum – Jacobin
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Sam Altman Part 1: Building God, Scanning Eyeballs
04/10/2025
Sam Altman Part 1: Building God, Scanning Eyeballs
Become a member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week, we begin to explore the mystery that is Sam Altman of Open AI. We cover the AI Doomer coup, Sam's Worldcoin metal orb that scans your retinas, his friendship with Peter Thiel, and his views on restructuring our government with AItopia. We also talked about the weirdo tech billionaire plot to do a Mars colonization trial run on Greenland. An hour in, we had barely scratched the surface of Sam, so we'll be back with a Part 2. Further Reading on Sam Altman: The Inside Story of Sam Altman’s Ouster—and Reinstatement—at OpenAI – TIME Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Launches Amid Privacy Concerns – The Verge Sam Altman Has a Big, Scary Plan for the World – The Atlantic Sam Altman’s Secret Fundraising Spree – The Information OpenAI Drama: What Really Happened with Sam Altman – New York Times The Worldcoin Controversy Explained – MIT Technology Review Praxis & Greenland Articles Greenland 'Freedom City'? Rich donors push Trump for a tech hub up north – Reuters I Went to Greenland to Try to Buy It – TechCrunch Peter Thiel Thinks the Next Great City Should Be in Greenland – InsideHook Cybercity of the Future: How an Ambitious 29-Year-Old Plans to Build Praxis – NY Post Tech Utopian Project Praxis Gets $525 Million in Commitments – Wall Street Journal Altman-Backed Praxis Scouts Kyiv, Athens for Tech Utopia Base – Bloomberg
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Curtis Yarvin
04/04/2025
Curtis Yarvin
To become a Patreon subscriber and hear our bonus eps: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we talked about Curtis Yarvin and his vision of CEO/Monarchies, Network States for Tech Bros-- in the US. And Ezra Klein's more minor tech backed reforms. How much democracy should we have?
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The Effective Altruists and the "Abundance" Movement
03/27/2025
The Effective Altruists and the "Abundance" Movement
This week we talked about the "Abundance Agenda" and it's roots in the Effective Altruism movement. A network of think tanks, Silicon Valley billionaires, and centrist pundits are getting all riled up about zoning ordinances, and possibly trying to take over the Democratic Party? Oh boy. We explore the dark side of Effective Altruism, men's rights activists, IQ Realists, "race science," eugenicists and more lurking in a movement where the biggest scoundrels in society are mixing with Vox writers- EA! This episode was a wild ride, let us know what you think. We'll be back with Thiel Part 2 next week but we had to know-- why did an Atlantic writer podcast with a Nazi? Further reading By Èmile:
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Peter Thiel Part 1
03/20/2025
Peter Thiel Part 1
In this episode, we explore Peter Thiel's villain origin story. From his budding commitment to being an edgelord at Stanford to developing the theory that girls ruined everything by voting. Seasteading, blood transfusions, the weird incel parties he throws with Curtis Yarvin. We've got it all. Next week we'll cover the NeoReactionary movement in detail. Futher reading: https://www.ft.com/content/02217acf-ac64-49c2-acd5-ef4f107f014c
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Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will
03/12/2025
Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will
This week we are joined by Paris Marx, host of the podcast Tech Won't Save Us and a tech critic, journalist, author, and international speaker. We talked about Silicon Valley's changing influence in politics, climate policy, and about reasons for optimism as we think about how to confront Musk and Co. in the political arena. This is somewhat of a sister episode to our conversation last week with Jacob Silverman about the tech right that explores the political ideologies of the tech billionaires shaping our country, including within the Democratic Party. To support us on Patreon (and get bonus eps plus a download of our intro song) go here: patreon.com/DystopiaNow Please note we generally record these episodes a few days before publishing so Tesla story was still evolving. Further reading: https://www.disconnect.blog/
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Patreon Preview: Nuke Mars (Bezos vs. Musk)
03/11/2025
Patreon Preview: Nuke Mars (Bezos vs. Musk)
To hear the rest of this episode, become one of our Patreon supporters at https://www.patreon.com/DystopiaNow For this bonus episode we were joined by comedian to talk about the different space futures Bezos and Musk have in mind. Bezos wants us to live in cylinders, Musk wants us to nuke Mars, but both of them want a future where we're all digital beings maximizing value. Some of the wildest information we've talked about so far.
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The Tech Right with Jacob Silverman
03/05/2025
The Tech Right with Jacob Silverman
This week our guest is Jacob Silverman, and independent journalist who has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Slate, The New Yorker & The New Republic. He's the co-author of "Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud." We talked about the growing right wing movement in the tech industry. From the PayPal mafia to President Sh*tcoin today, we dive deep into how a few billionaires are influencing policy from DOGE to how cities treat our unhoused neighbors. Sorry for slight reduction in audio quality this week, we had some issues with our recording software we will fix for next week! This is a fantastic interview you don't want to miss.
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Surveillance Capitalism with Albert Fox Cahn
02/26/2025
Surveillance Capitalism with Albert Fox Cahn
This week we welcomed special guest Albert Fox Cahn who is the Executive Director of S.T.O.P. (the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project). We talked about how AI is impacting policing and pricing. We also returned to the subject of Elon's ketamine addiction. Special thanks to Deon Wolf who has been helping with our short videos on instagram and youtube.
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Elon Part 2: Doomers vs. Accelerationists
02/19/2025
Elon Part 2: Doomers vs. Accelerationists
This week, Kate and Emile dive deeper into Elon Musk's ideology and explore the debate between two Silicon Valley camps, the AI Doomers and the AI Accelerationists. We explore the effective accelerationism or e/acc movement, a guy named Beff Jezos? Marc Andreessen's Techno Optimist Manifesto, and what Google founder Larry Page really believes. We also talked about what motivated Emile to do Ph.D research on human extinction.
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The Nerd Reich with Gil Duran
02/12/2025
The Nerd Reich with Gil Duran
Why is Elon trying so hard to dismantle the administrative state? This may be an answer you haven't heard yet. This week, Emile and Kate host journalist Gil Duran (New Republic, The Nerd Reich) for a discussion about Network States, aka libertarian post democracy colonies that have become a popular idea among tech billionaires. From seasteading to the California Forever tech utopia, from Mars to maybe... the entire US, these guys have their sites set on a feudal structure that makes an Ayn Rand novel look quaint. If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe. An if you prefer to listen in podcast form, we're also on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. As a brand new show, we really appreciate your spreading the word.
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Elon Musk Part 1
02/03/2025
Elon Musk Part 1
In our first episode we explore the question on everyone's mind: what the hell is Elon Musk doing? Well, the answer may be, trying (or pretending to try), winning a robot battle 10 billion years in the future when humanity is replaced with digital beings. Tune in to learn about the ideologies of longtermism and transhumanism and how they may be influencing Elon's actions in the Trump administration.
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