The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Why are billionaires prepping for the apocalypse?

Listen Later

Sean Illing talks with technologist, media theorist, and author Douglas Rushkoff, whose new book Survival of the Richest explains how the ultra-wealthy are obsessed with preparing for the end of the world — and the troubling mindset that leads many rich and powerful people down this road. They discuss the blend of tech utopianism and fatalism behind this doomsday prepping, how Silicon Valley and "tech bro" culture have incentivized a kind of misanthropy, and why the world's billionaire class can't see that the catastrophes they fear are of their own making.


Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Douglas Rushkoff (@rushkoff), author; professor, media studies, CUNY Queens College

References: 

  • Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires by Douglas Rushkoff (W.W. Norton; 2022)
  • "Epson boobytrapped its printers" by Cory Doctorow (Medium; Aug. 7)
  • "Cosmism: Russia's religion for the rocket age" by Benjamin Ramm (BBC; Apr. 20, 2021)
  • The Selfish Gene (1976) and The God Delusion (2006) by Richard Dawkins
  • Francis Bacon, Redargutio Philosophiarum (1608), tr. by Benjamin Farrington in The Philosophy of Francis Bacon (1964): "Nature must be taken by the forelock . . . lay hold of her and capture her" (p. 130).
  • "Power changes how the brain responds to others" by Jeremy Hogeveen, et al., Journal of Experiential Psychology (Apr. 2014)
  • What We Owe the Future by William MacAskill (Basic Books; 2022)
  • Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff (W.W. Norton; 2021)

     

    Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

    Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

    Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

    This episode was made by: 

    • Producer: Erikk Geannikis
    • Editor: Amy Drozdowska
    • Engineer: Patrick Boyd
    • Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store
      The Gray Area with Sean IllingBy Vox
      • 4.5
      • 4.5
      • 4.5
      • 4.5
      • 4.5

      4.5

      10,470 ratings

      More shows like The Gray Area with Sean Illing

      View all
      On the Media by WNYC Studios

      On the Media

      9,055 Listeners

      Radiolab by WNYC Studios

      Radiolab

      43,840 Listeners

      Fresh Air by NPR

      Fresh Air

      38,000 Listeners

      The Political Scene | The New Yorker by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

      The Political Scene | The New Yorker

      3,871 Listeners

      Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

      Gastropod

      3,592 Listeners

      Switched on Pop by Vulture

      Switched on Pop

      2,603 Listeners

      Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

      Decoder with Nilay Patel

      3,115 Listeners

      Explain It to Me by Vox

      Explain It to Me

      7,850 Listeners

      The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

      The New Yorker Radio Hour

      6,581 Listeners

      Pivot by New York Magazine

      Pivot

      8,779 Listeners

      The Daily by The New York Times

      The Daily

      111,521 Listeners

      Good One: A Podcast About Jokes by Vulture

      Good One: A Podcast About Jokes

      1,441 Listeners

      Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

      Radio Atlantic

      2,266 Listeners

      Today, Explained by Vox

      Today, Explained

      10,077 Listeners

      The Cut by Vox Media Podcast Network

      The Cut

      1,585 Listeners

      Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

      Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

      6,621 Listeners

      Future Perfect by Vox

      Future Perfect

      589 Listeners

      Throughline by NPR

      Throughline

      15,841 Listeners

      Land of the Giants by Vulture

      Land of the Giants

      2,146 Listeners

      Unlocking Us with Brené Brown by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

      23,604 Listeners

      The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

      The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

      5,014 Listeners

      A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe by Vox Media Podcast Network

      A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe

      586 Listeners

      Hard Fork by The New York Times

      Hard Fork

      5,363 Listeners

      Celebrity Memoir Book Club by celebritymemoirbookclub@gmail.com

      Celebrity Memoir Book Club

      6,208 Listeners

      The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

      The Ezra Klein Show

      15,228 Listeners

      Unexplainable by Vox

      Unexplainable

      2,147 Listeners

      Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

      39 Listeners

      The Interview by The New York Times

      The Interview

      1,427 Listeners

      Not Just Football with Cam Heyward by Cam Heyward

      Not Just Football with Cam Heyward

      141 Listeners

      Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF by Vivian Tu

      Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

      1,687 Listeners

      Served with Andy Roddick by Served with Andy Roddick

      Served with Andy Roddick

      866 Listeners

      Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Prof G Markets

      803 Listeners