In this first episode of Elon Musk Vs Twitter, in trying to understand what happened when Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, tried to buy Twitter, comedian Bec Hill explores Musk’s backstory and the myths and legends that surround him. She speaks to Jill Lepore, the host of the BBC Sounds series Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket, about the influence Science Fiction stories have had on Musk’s career and self-perception. She also chats to comic book scholar Kelly Kanayama and tech correspondent Marc Cieslak about how Elon’s public persona and business ventures have shaped the way that some people perceive him as a superhero and others see him as a supervillain. Produced by Audio Always

In this first episode of Elon Musk Vs Twitter, in trying to understand what happened when Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, tried to buy Twitter, comedian Bec Hill explores Musk’s backstory and the myths and legends that surround him. She speaks to Jill Lepore, the host of the BBC Sounds series Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket, about the influence Science Fiction stories have had on Musk’s career and self-perception. She also chats to comic book scholar Kelly Kanayama and tech correspondent Marc Cieslak about how Elon’s public persona and business ventures have shaped the way that some people perceive him as a superhero and others see him as a supervillain. Produced by Audio Always

1. Superhero Fantasy vs Flawed Reality

The story of Elon Musk, the way it's usually told, makes him sound like a fictional character, a comic-book superhero - or supervillain. He's the world's richest man, and now an adviser to the US President. He uses X - his social media platform - to berate politicians he doesn't agree with around the world. He plans to put chips in people's brains, and to save the world by colonising Mars. Musk's visions of the future seem to stem from the science fiction that has fired his imagination since he was a boy. But what's the real story, the true history, behind the comic book? Back in 2021 Harvard History Professor and New Yorker Writer Jill Lepore became fascinated by this question. So she made a Radio 4 podcast which tried to explain Musk through the science fiction he grew up with - tales of superheroes with origin stories that seemed to influence how he understands his own life. So much has happened since then that we decided to update that series - and add three new episodes, too. Because Musk keeps changing, and so does what Lepore calls 'Muskism' - his brand of extreme capitalism and techno-futurism. And strangely, his origin story keeps changing, too. How can understanding these fantasy stories - some of them a century old - help us understand the future Musk wants to take us to?

Technology

The story of Elon Musk, the way it's usually told, makes him sound like a fictional character, a comic-book superhero - or supervillain. He's the world's richest man, and now an adviser to the US President. He uses X - his social media platform - to berate politicians he doesn't agree with around the world. He plans to put chips in people's brains, and to save the world by colonising Mars. Musk's visions of the future seem to stem from the science fiction that has fired his imagination since he was a boy. But what's the real story, the true history, behind the comic book? Back in 2021 Harvard History Professor and New Yorker Writer Jill Lepore became fascinated by this question. So she made a Radio 4 podcast which tried to explain Musk through the science fiction he grew up with - tales of superheroes with origin stories that seemed to influence how he understands his own life. So much has happened since then that we decided to update that series - and add three new episodes, too. Because Musk keeps changing, and so does what Lepore calls 'Muskism' - his brand of extreme capitalism and techno-futurism. And strangely, his origin story keeps changing, too. How can understanding these fantasy stories - some of them a century old - help us understand the future Musk wants to take us to?

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1. Superhero Fantasy vs Flawed Reality

1. Superhero Fantasy vs Flawed Reality

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