Revenge of the Nerds

Hello and welcome to Revenge of the Nerds. A new podcast where we do a deep dive into the intersection between nerd culture, Silicon Valley and right-wing authoritarianism. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have noticed that a large chunk of Silicon Valley is shifting to the political right, and if you’re anything like me, this will be somewhat puzzling to you. Why did all these tech guys who are obsessed with systems, probabilities and first principles thinking sink millions of dollars into the campaign of a man who calls AI “The AI”? Why would Elon Musk, a man who famously sees himself as a hero in his own science fiction novel that’s on a quest to save humanity from climate change throw his support behind Trump? Why is J.D. Vance, a former high-profile venture capitalist and never-Trumper, now his Vice President? These are some of the questions this podcast will be exploring…