In the pilot episode of The Unlimited Hangout Podcast, Whitney Webb and Mark Goodwin discuss their latest investigation into Polymarket and how the company was born out of a desire to resurrect the US military's controversial Policy Analysis Market, also known as the Terrorism Futures Market, from 2003.

Also discussed is the largely unknown background of Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan, the role of oligarch Peter Thiel in privatizing failed DARPA programs like the Policy Analysis Market, and how Coinbase helped sunset Polymarket's unofficial predecessor Augur after Coinbase's earliest employees poured money into Polymarket shortly after its founding.

0:00 Intro, Why A New Video Show, and Latest Piece Reactions

7:29 Brief History of Prediction Markets

18:57 DARPA, PAM, and Robin Hanson

32:07 Privatizing the Information Awareness Office

39:30 The Napsterization Model and Sean Parker

48:56 Shayne Coplan Before Polymarket

56:17 Joey Krug, Augur, Thiel Fellow and Founders Fund

1:05:52 Augur = Napster, Polymarket = Spotify

Read Part 1 of UH's Polymarket investigation here: https://unlimitedhangout.com/2026/06/investigative-series/the-secret-history-of-polymarket-part-1/

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Intro/Outro Music by meanthemusician.bandcamp.com

Iain Davis joins Whitney Webb to discuss his forthcoming book, The Technocratic Dark State, which explores how the so-called “counter-elites” and tech billionaires behind much of the second Trump administration’s policies envisage a world remarkably similar to, and perhaps even worse than, that of the globalist oligarchs long reviled by Trump’s electoral base.

Show notes.

Follow Iain: Pre-Order The Technocratic Dark State : Trump, AI, and Digital Dictatorship, IainDavis.com, Iain Davis, Author at Unlimited Hangout, Substack, and Iain Davis | X.com.

Originally published 12/18/25.

The PayPal Presidency Part IV: Teaching Technocracy with John Klyczek

Whitney and John Klyczek discuss how Big Tech, led by the PayPal Mafia, and neo-conservative think tanks are converging to influence Trump administration education policy and education financing.

Show notes.

Follow John: Unlimited Hangout, @ProfessorTaoist | X, School World Order.com, TrineDay

Originally published 08/22/25.

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In this episode, Whitney is joined by Mark Goodwin to discuss how the passage of the GENIUS act is the culmination of decades of the PayPal Mafia's efforts in the digital finance space.

Show notes

Follow Mark: Unlimited Hangout, @markgoodw_in, The Chain Series

Originally published 07/24/25.

In this episode, Whitney is joined by Iain Davis to discuss his recent article series on the philosophy and political theories that motivate the PayPal Mafia and their most prominent members like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.

Show notes

Follow Iain Davis: Iaindavis.com, Substack, OffGuardian, Unlimited Hangout, Geopolitics & Empire, Books by Iain Davis

Originally published 03/31/25.

In this episode, Whitney is joined by UH contributor Max Jones to discuss the influence of the PayPal Mafia's Peter Thiel on Trump's HHS, the likely policies of a RFK-led HHS, and what the expansion of the contracts between HHS and the Thiel-founded Palantir portend for the expansion of the surveillance state.

Show notes

Follow Max: @maxyyjones, Max Jones | Substack, Max Jones | Unlimited Hangout

Originally published 02/10/25.

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In this episode, Whitney is joined by Dr. Jacob Nordangard to describe the early influence of oligarchs like the Rockefeller clan in the development of the UN and other international institutions, efforts to hijack the environmental movement to further corporate control of planetary resources, and the UN policy agendas seeking to digitalize and surveil both people and planet.

Show notes

Follow Jacob: jacobnordangard.se, Amazon.com, Skyhorse Publishing, Jacob Nordangård - YouTube

Originally published 11/25/24.

In this episode, Whitney is joined by independent media veteran James Corbett to discuss the upcoming US presidential election, how it differs from previous cycles and why rejecting the corrupt political duopoly is more important than ever.

Published 10/25/24.

Show notes

Follow James:

In this episode, Whitney, along with UH contributor Mark Goodwin, talk to John Titus about the recent US economic crises, the role of BlackRock on US fiscal policy during crisis events, and the brazen criminality of Wall Street and how deeply corrupted financial institutions enable their plunder of taxpayer wealth.

Show notes

Follow John Titus :

Originally published 10/04/24.

Whitney is joined by Unlimited Hangout contributor Stavroula Pabst to discuss Peter Thiel, the man behind Trump's VP pick J.D. Vance and the CIA-linked architect of key aspects of the technocratic surveillance state.

Show notes

Follow Stavroula: @stavroulapabst / X and Stavroula Pabst | Substack

Originally published 07/25/24.

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