Barrett Brown is a journalist, activist, and media critic whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Guardian, The Intercept, Huffington Post, Wired, Vice, The Daily Beast, al-Jazeera, and dozens of other outlets. In 2011 he began overseeing an investigation into the private intelligence contracting industry via his research collective Project PM, which the Department of Justice subsequently labeled a “criminal organization”; in 2012, he was arrested and charged with a variety of offenses that Reporters Without Borders and other entities denounced as retaliation for his work. He served four years in federal prison, from which he won the National Magazine Award for commentary and other awards.

On this week's podcast, Jason and Matt talk with Barrett about a shift in media and the narrative he watched unfold from inside prison. Barrett expounds on the vast influence Peter Thiel wields over media and government and how he uses that influence to usher in a technocratic dystopia. Barrett also delves into the role Elon Musk is playing in this push toward technocracy and how many of today's ostensible "independent" voices could actually be funded by these very forces.

You can follow Barrett Brown at the following links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProjPM