Dystopia Now

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Back from our short break. This week we analyzed Peter Thiel's interview with Ross Douthat and then sat down with Will Menaker from Chapo Trap House to talk about Zohran and fighting the tech billionaires.

Further Reading:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/us/politics/democrats-project-2029.html

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/28/europe/jeff-bezos-wedding-protest-venice-latam-intl

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/opinion/peter-thiel-antichrist-ross-douthat.html

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/machine-learning-maga-rise-of-the-christian-cyborg/

https://www.uvm.edu/~gflomenh/courses/ENV-NGO-PA395/articles/Lynn-White.pdf

https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/abolish-venture-capitalism/

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/11/30/how-venture-capitalists-are-deforming-capitalism

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/nyregion/mamdani-wins-mayor-primary-nyc.html

https://www.thenerdreich.com/is-peter-thiel-the-antichrist-nyt-didnt-think-to-ask/

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/01/kirsten-gillibrand-zohran-mamdani-00436031

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/welcomefest-dispatch-centrism-abundance/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/919-abruendance-agenda-feat-madinah-wilson-anton-matt/id1097417804?i=1000700707105&l=ru

To become a supporter and help keep our show going: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow

Back from our short break. This week we analyzed Peter Thiel's interview with Ross Douthat and then sat down with Will Menaker from Chapo Trap House to talk about Zohran and fighting the tech billionaires.

Further Reading:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/us/politics/democrats-project-2029.html

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/28/europe/jeff-bezos-wedding-protest-venice-latam-intl

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/opinion/peter-thiel-antichrist-ross-douthat.html

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/machine-learning-maga-rise-of-the-christian-cyborg/

https://www.uvm.edu/~gflomenh/courses/ENV-NGO-PA395/articles/Lynn-White.pdf

https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/abolish-venture-capitalism/

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/11/30/how-venture-capitalists-are-deforming-capitalism

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/nyregion/mamdani-wins-mayor-primary-nyc.html

https://www.thenerdreich.com/is-peter-thiel-the-antichrist-nyt-didnt-think-to-ask/

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/01/kirsten-gillibrand-zohran-mamdani-00436031

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/welcomefest-dispatch-centrism-abundance/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/919-abruendance-agenda-feat-madinah-wilson-anton-matt/id1097417804?i=1000700707105&l=ru

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" 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

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 https://www.wired.com/story/waymo-data-privacy-protests-los-angeles/

Waymo's Driverless Cars Revealed to Be Narcs as Cops Use Them to Probe Crimes https://gizmodo.com/waymos-driverless-cars-revealed-to-be-narcs-as-cops-use-them-to-probe-crimes-2000590426

Los Angeles ICE Raids Spark Concerns Over Immigration Conditions https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/11/la-ice-raids-immigration-conditions

Democrats Face Backlash Over Resolution Thanking ICE https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-ice-gratitude-resolution-backlash-2084004

Trump Leans on Palantir to Build Massive Database of Americans https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/trump-palantir-data-americans.html

Greta Thunberg https://x.com/GozukaraFurkan/status/1932462605928464469

AI, Religion, and the Tech-Spiritual Convergence

Machine Learning MAGA: Rise of the Christian Cyborg https://www.truthdig.com/articles/machine-learning-maga-rise-of-the-christian-cyborg/

Silicon Valley's Obsession with AI Looks a Lot Like Religion https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/silicon-valleys-obsession-with-ai-looks-a-lot-like-religion/

AI's Spiritual Delusions Are Destroying Human Relationships https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-spiritual-delusions-destroying-human-relationships-1235330175/

Excerpt from The Rapture of the Nerds https://www.npr.org/2012/08/24/159996462/excerpt-the-rapture-of-the-nerds

Three Out of Four Pastors Believe God Can Work Through AI https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/tech-gaming/three-out-of-four-pastors-believe-god-can-work-through-ai/

Faith Sermon AI Generator https://www.verble.app/faith-sermon/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22426629834&gbraid=0AAAAAp5jAe4rAOh1sg8xXRKGQlFjiGUdB&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0qTCBhCmARIsAAj8C4bpBxsXcD1_Ks4M9IFWA0FpEcdv1YbwNoHYFx6YojGR8dga7TQk-gEaArfQEALw_wcB

Free AI-Powered Sermon Generator https://speechgenerator.co/free-sermon-generator/

AI Sermon Generator Tool by Vondy https://www.vondy.com/ai-sermon-generator--sAqpPa5L

Christianity and the Tech Elite Are Merging in San Francisco https://sfstandard.com/2024/11/09/christians-tech-religion-sf/

In Silicon Valley, Christianity Finds a New Following https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/business/silicon-valley-christianity.html

Joe Rogan, Tech Bros, and the Rise of Austin Church Culture https://www.chron.com/culture/religion/article/joe-rogan-austin-church-bros-20349767.php

Why Elon Musk and Other Tech Leaders Are Embracing Christianity https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-says-hes-a-cultural-christian-why-some-leading-thinkers-are-embracing-christianity-233601

The Real Origins of the Religious Right https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133/

Julian Huxley: The Man Who Put Eugenics Into UNESCO https://aeon.co/essays/julian-s-huxley-the-man-who-put-eugenics-into-unesco

Centrism, Tech Politics, and Abundance Ideology

Dispatch from Welcomefest: Centrism, Abundance, and the New Tech Politics https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/welcomefest-dispatch-centrism-abundance/

Nuclear Armageddon and Christianity

Castle Bravo: The Largest U.S. Nuclear Explosion https://www.brookings.edu/articles/castle-bravo-the-largest-u-s-nuclear-explosion/

'Armageddon View' Prompts a Debate Among Evangelicals and Policy Experts https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/24/us/armageddon-view-prompts-a-debate.html

Armageddon: Reagan-Era Beliefs and Political Impact https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/10/24/armageddon/8b364a1c-fadc-41e1-b2d1-b262aa08eb46/

To become a supporter and join our group chat, visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DystopiaNow

This week we chatted with Dr. Alexander Thomas, author of The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism: 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: A Critical Look at the Rise and Risks of Transhumanism Emile Torres in The Guardian: Pro-Extinctionists and the Longtermist Threat Torres in Aeon: Why Longtermism Is the World's Most Dangerous Secular Credo Boston Review: The New Moral Mathematics New Statesman: The Longtermist Threat to Humanity Slate: Existential Risk vs Human Apathy Economics Papers: Is Longtermism Dangerous? Tyler Austin Harper thread on X: Post

Books & Research on Transhumanism Posthuman Bliss? by Susan B. Levin: Oxford University Press The Proactionary Imperative by Steve Fuller: Palgrave Macmillan Citizen Cyborg by James Hughes: Westview Press James Hughes lecture: What Is Transhumanism? (PDF) Nietzschean Meditations by Stefan Lorenz Sorgner: Amazon Future Superhuman by Elise Bohan: Amazon Mind Children by Hans Moravec: CUNY Commentary Research paper: Transhumanism: A Progressive Vision or Capitalism's Last Ideological Resort? Transhumanism: The Future of Humanity (book): Hudson Booksellers IAI Essay: The Irrationality of Transhumanists Literal Magazine: Transhumanism: Bostrom and Pearce Interview

Futurism, Accelerationism & Up-Wingers Wired (1994): The Extropians The Breakthrough Institute: Rise of the Up-Wingers AEI: Up-Wing America Slate: Reframing Environmental Policy Aeon: Up vs Down Politics F. M. Esfandiary's Manifesto: Up-Wingers (Book) The Guardian: Accelerationism Explained

Philosophy, Politics & Theory Achille Mbembe: Necropolitics (PDF) MIT Press: Cybernetics by Norbert Wiener Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism: Book New Statesman: On K-Punk and Fisher Dan Paul Zimmer website: Main | Research

Billionaires NYT: Elon Musk, Trump, Drugs, and Children Sam Altman: Moore's Law for Everything

To join our group chat or become a subscriber, go here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow

This week we chatted with historian Quinn Slobodian, 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, Hayek's Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ and the Capitalism of the Far Right and Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World without Democracy.

Intro

• Anthropic: AI deception risk
• Patreon: Join Community Chats

Quinn Slobodian

• Tech bros, Trump, and the Silicon Valley nation-state – The Guardian
• The Bastards of Neoliberalism – New Statesman
• Elon Musk and the Demography Agenda – New Statesman
• Crack-Up Capitalism Interview – Jacobin
• The Bastards of Neoliberalism – New Statesman
• The Inhuman Future of Intelligence – The Guardian

Other

• Balaji's Private Island School – TechCrunch

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

To become a Patreon supporter go here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow

With guest Nathan Robinson, 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

• The Opinions of Matt Yglesias Should Be Ignored – Current Affairs
• Why Effective Altruism and Longtermism Are Toxic Ideologies – Current Affairs
• We Should Be Neither Anti-Natalist Nor Pro-Natalist – Current Affairs
• The Dangerous Ideas of Longtermism and Existential Risk – Current Affairs
• The Myth of American Idealism – Book by Noam Chomsky & Nathan J. Robinson

Articles Mentioned in Intro:

• Democrats, Influencers, and Trump – NYT
• Charity for Shrimps? Ronny Chieng Explores the Limits of Effective Altruism | The Daily Show
• Biden's PSA Test and Political Fallout – NYT

Matt Yglesias – Writings & Critiques

• The Troubling Rise of Hitler Revisionism – Slow Boring
• Some Thoughts on the FTX Implosion – Slow Boring
• Reds in the Family – Slow Boring
• Matt Yglesias's Crypto Opinions – Revolving Door Project
• Matt Yglesias in Biden's Washington – Washington Post
• Embarrassing Fans of the Super Rich – Jeet Heer
• Silicon Valley Patronage – Citations Needed
• Group Chats That Changed America – Semafor

Sam Bankman-Fried & Effective Altruism

• FTX's Collapse and Media Fallout – Semafor
• How SBF Sweet-Talked the Media – NY Mag
• Inside the Crazy World of FTX – The Guardian
• SBF Guilty Verdict – Semafor
• EA Group Debated SBF's Ethics in 2018 – Semafor

Breakthrough Institute

• Homelessness Meets Cluelessness – Prospect on Michael Shellenberger
• Ted Nordhaus – The Breakthrough Institute
• Bad Science in Apocalypse Never – Yale Climate Connections

Empathy, Musk

• Elon Musk on Empathy – CNN
• The Christian Right's War on Empathy

Additional Resources

• Solidarity – Book by Leah Hunt-Hendrix & Astra Taylor (N+1)
• International Factory Safety – Slate

To join us on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow

This week we welcomed comedians Kath Barbadoro (What a Time to Be Alive podcast) and Alex Ptak (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: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.free.press/video/7457615074945944863

The TESCREAL Bundle: https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/13636/11599

Adam Becker:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/03/tech-oligarchs-musk

The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism by Alexander Thomas:

https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-politics-and-ethics-of-transhumanism

TESCREAL overview by Èmile:

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-acronym-behind-our-wildest-ai-dreams-and-nightmares/

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.

  • Don't Die, Tech Mogul: Bryan Johnson's Quest

  • Bryan Johnson's Blog on Penis De-Aging

Segment 2: AI Is Stealing Your Boyfriend

• Rolling Stone: How spiritual delusions about AI are fracturing human bonds.

  • AI and Human Relationships: A Cultural Shift

Segment 3: Nick Land

• Vox: Neoreaction as a segment of the alt-right

  • The Alt-Right Explained

• Slate: John Derbyshire

  • Derbyshire's "Advice" and the Fallout

• Nick Land's Foundational Text: A dense introduction to accelerationism, emphasizing the destructive potential of speeding up capitalist processes.

  • A Quick and Dirty Introduction to Accelerationism

• Mark Fisher (Tumblr): A reflection on accelerationism from the left

  • Terminator vs. Avatar: Notes on Accelerationism

• Viewpoint Magazine: Dark Enlightenment

  • The Darkness at the End of the Tunnel

• The Guardian: How accelerationism predicted our modern world.

  • Fringe Philosophy that Predicted the Future

• Financial Times: Dark Enlightenment

  • Archived Content