Owen Thomas joins Melinda Byerley to talk about the history of his controversial blog post about Peter Thiel’s sexuality and the ethos of narrative control that pervades Silicon Valley. His story includes how and why Nick Denton founded Valleywag. His story is about how journalists can incite grudges and the destruction money and power can unleash.
ARTICLES & BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- The original 2007 Gawker article: "Peter Theil is totally gay, people"
- The Washington Post published a good summary of the situation after the judgment: "Peter Thiel had no reason to be angry at Gawker for writing that he's gay"
- Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue by Ryan Holiday, Penguin Books, 2018, tells the story of the aftermath of Owen’s blog post and how Peter Thiel brought down Gawker
- Ryan Mac’s more recent account, “This Man Helped Peter Thiel Demolish Gawker,” talks about how Aron D’Souza helped Thiel bring down Gawker
- Kara Swisher’s interview talking about mirror-ocracy: “They look at themselves reflected and think their success is earned and they made it on their own, especially for white men...”
MUSICAL INSPIRATION FOR THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY:
"Gimme Some Truth" by John Lennon
ABOUT THIS PODCAST
Stayin' Alive in Tech is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley; and the founder of Timeshare CMO, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco.
We really appreciate your reviews, shares on social media, and your recommendations for future guests. And check out our Spotify playlist for a playlist for all the songs we refer to on our show.
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