Dystopia Now

If you'd like to become a subscriber to hear more bonus episodes you can do it here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow

his Patreon bonus episode with Kenice Mobley 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: https://www.jasonhickel.org/less-is-more

Astrotopia: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo184287883.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/12/15/forget-musks-martian-ambition-jeff-bezos-thinks-humans-should-live-in-giant-cylindrical-space-stations/

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/nuke-mars-elon-musk-seems-serious-about-plan-terraform-red-ncna1045181

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/08/science/starship-spacex-explosion-elon-musk.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/technology/elon-musk-spacex-mars.html

Please join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow

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! The New Press – Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our Communities
• Substack: Equal Justice Under Law
• Twitter/X: @equalityAlec
• Bluesky: equalityalec.bsky.social
• PDF: The Body Camera by Alec Karakatsanis (Yale Law)

Articles and People We Mentioned

• Truthdig – "The Endgame of Edgelord Eschatology"
• Vox – "Will AI become God? That's the wrong question."
• The Guardian – "Tech guru Jaron Lanier: 'The danger isn't that AI destroys us. It's that it drives us insane'"
• Wired – "Doug Rushkoff Is Ready to Renounce the Digital Revolution"
• Semafor – "The Group Chats That Changed America"
• Harper's – "A Letter on Justice and Open Debate"
• Mother Jones – "The Billionaires Who Want to Live Forever"

Chesa Boudin Recall

• Mission Local – $9 Million Spent on the Boudin Recall
• 48 Hills – GOP Donors & Big Money in the Recall

Portugal & Drug Decriminalization

• Scientific American – Portugal's Drug Decriminalization Success
• TIME – What Can the World Learn from Portugal's Drug Policy?

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 https://www.theverge.com/news/647405/louisiana-tiger-algorithm-parole
• Why Sam Altman wants AI to say "please" and "thank you" – Quartz https://qz.com/open-ai-sam-altman-chatgpt-gpt4-please-thank-you-1851777047

TESCREAL and End Times

• End Times: How Fascism, the Far Right, Trump, and Musk are converging – The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk
• Overview of TESCREAL (by Èmile) The acronym behind our wildest AI dreams and nightmares – Truthdig https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-acronym-behind-our-wildest-ai-dreams-and-nightmares/

Effective Altruism & Scandals

• The sexual harassment scandal tearing Effective Altruism apart – TIME https://time.com/6252617/effective-altruism-sexual-harassment/
• Sam Bankman-Fried funded 'woke shit' for transactional purposes, prosecutors allege – VICE https://www.vice.com/en/article/sam-bankman-fried-funded-woke-shit-for-transactional-purposes-prosecutors-allege/
• The rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried – The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/23/sam-bankman-fried-rise-and-fall-details
• Defective Altruism – Current Affairs https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2022/09/defective-altruism
• Effective Altruism's bait-and-switch: From global poverty to AI doom – Techdirt https://www.techdirt.com/2024/04/29/effective-altruisms-bait-and-switch-from-global-poverty-to-ai-doomerism/

Neoliberalism

• Neoliberalism's World Order – Review of Quinn Slobodian's Globalists – Dissent https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/neoliberalism-world-order-review-quinn-slobodian-globalists/
• The Bastards of Neoliberalism – New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/04/the-bastards-of-neoliberalism
• The Geneva School, Hayek, and Neoliberal Nationalism – Jacobin https://jacobin.com/2022/11/neoliberalism-geneva-school-nationalism-mises-hayek
• Review of Hayek's Bastards by Quinn Slobodian – The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/books/review/hayeks-bastards-quinn-slobodian.html
• Race Science, Neoliberalism & Hayek – Jacobin https://jacobin.com/2025/04/race-science-neoliberalism-hayek-slobodian

Rationalism

• Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality

Transhumanism

• Beyond our ape-brained meat sacks: Can transhumanism save us? – The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/04/beyond-our-ape-brained-meat-sacks-can-transhumanism-save-our-species
• The Frozen Father of Modern Transhumanism: Upwingers and Downwingers – VICE https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-frozen-father-of-moden-transhumanism/

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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

• Moore's Law for Everything – Sam Altman's Blog
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Is a Survivalist Prepper – Futurism
• Sam Altman's Manifest Destiny – The New Yorker
• The Most Powerful Man in AI – New York Magazine

OpenAI Controversy

• The Real Story Behind Sam Altman's Firing From OpenAI – WSJ
• Former OpenAI Employee Sounds Alarm on Altman – Futurism
• Sam Altman Reinstated at OpenAI – The Guardian

Tech Utopias & Praxis

• Altman-Backed Praxis Eyes Kyiv and Athens for Tech Utopia – Bloomberg
• Praxis: Tech Dystopia as the Next America – The Nerd Reich

Science, Ethics & Philosophy

• Dyson Sphere – Wikipedia
• Simulation Hypothesis – Wikipedia
• The Matrix as Reality: Simulation Hypothesis Explained – Vox

Longevity & Biohacking

• Sam Altman Invested $180M in Anti-Aging Startup Retro Biosciences – MIT Technology Review

Ethics, Exploitation & Effective Altruism

• Red Cobalt: Mining in the Congo – NPR
• Shrimp Welfare Project – Official Site
• Introducing the Shrimp Welfare Project – Effective Altruism Forum
• Against Speciesism – Jacobin

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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.

The Inside Story of Sam Altman's Ouster—and Reinstatement—at OpenAI – TIME https://time.com/6551117/sam-altman-openai-ouster-return/

Sam Altman's Worldcoin Launches Amid Privacy Concerns – The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805254/worldcoin-sam-altman-iris-scanning-launch-privacy

Sam Altman Has a Big, Scary Plan for the World – The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/08/sam-altman-worldcoin-openai-ai-ethics/674928/

Sam Altman's Secret Fundraising Spree – The Information https://www.theinformation.com/articles/sam-altmans-secret-fundraising-spree

OpenAI Drama: What Really Happened with Sam Altman – New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/technology/openai-sam-altman-chaos.html

The Worldcoin Controversy Explained – MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/07/25/1076412/worldcoin-biometric-id-sam-altman/

Greenland 'Freedom City'? Rich donors push Trump for a tech hub up north – Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greenland-freedom-city-rich-donors-push-trump-tech-hub-up-north-2025-04-10/

I Went to Greenland to Try to Buy It – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/15/i-went-to-greenland-to-try-to-buy-it-meet-the-founder-who-wants-to-re-create-mars-on-earth/

Peter Thiel Thinks the Next Great City Should Be in Greenland – InsideHook https://www.insidehook.com/internet/peter-thiel-praxis-next-great-city-greenland

Cybercity of the Future: How an Ambitious 29-Year-Old Plans to Build Praxis – NY Post https://nypost.com/2025/04/06/world-news/robo-cops-ai-schooling-food-from-3-d-printers-and-post-work-future-are-anticipated-for-praxians/

Tech Utopian Project Praxis Gets $525 Million in Commitments – Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-utopian-project-praxis-gets-525-million-in-commitments-for-planned-heroic-city-f4623e98

Altman-Backed Praxis Scouts Kyiv, Athens for Tech Utopia Base – Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-08/altman-backed-praxis-scouts-kyiv-athens-for-tech-utopia-base

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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?

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:

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

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/16/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-eugenics-scientific-racism

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/opinion/richard-hanania-eugenics-billionaires.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/richard-hanania-origins-of-woke-book/675348/

https://jacobin.com/2023/01/effective-altruism-longtermism-nick-bostrom-racism

https://theintercept.com/2019/09/06/exxon-mobil-progressive-policy-institute-climate/

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/ruben-gallego-crypto-digital-assets-andreessen-yglesias-1235260013/

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.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian/

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/owned-book-peter-thiel-trump-tech-silicon-valley-1235276868/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/26/elon-musk-peter-thiel-apartheid-south-africa

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets?srsltid=AfmBOop8TkGouVZ72xamuuLVjtZjqQ8rz2G_SBCykFPkOpQGDtS77-j4

https://www.ft.com/content/02217acf-ac64-49c2-acd5-ef4f107f014c

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://parismarx.com/

https://www.disconnect.blog/

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/12/g-s1-9545/ai-brings-soaring-emissions-for-google-and-microsoft-a-major-contributor-to-climate-change

https://www.wired.com/story/true-cost-generative-ai-data-centers-energy/

https://theconversation.com/data-centre-emissions-are-soaring-its-ai-or-the-climate-240137

https://www.versobooks.com/products/2795-road-to-nowhere?srsltid=AfmBOor_bXPpd8aqF9_mHCdTCfJsbfp-V1qFE-ERNFyRVF2RVRfYj365

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnvze9dzq8vo

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/08/business/elon-musk-tesla-violence-protests-vandalism.html

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 Kenice Mobley 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.