Dystopia Now

Kate Willett and Emile Torres

Dystopia Now is a show where a comedian (Kate Willett) and an academic (Emile Torres) explore the philosophies and religions of Silicon Valley and tech billionaires shaping our country, our world, and our future.

  1. Big Tech is Watching You with Taylor Lorenz

    HACE 6 DÍAS

    Big Tech is Watching You with Taylor Lorenz

    Journalist Taylor Lorenz joins us to discuss Section 230, how Big Tech is already tracking everything from eye movements to finger presses, the ongoing erosion of online privacy through right-wing tech policy and identity verification. Find Taylor on YouTube @TaylorLorenz and her publication UserMag on Substack. Further Reading Taylor Lorenz, Usermag, The Media Lied About the Social Media Addiction Trial Taylor Lorenz, The Biggest Lies About Section 230 Mick Masnick, TechDirt, Everyone Cheering The Social Media Addiction Verdicts Against Meta Should Understand What They're Actually Cheering For KWCH, AI-powered cameras on Wichita school buses raise privacy concerns for one driver WBAL, 'Just holding a Doritos bag': Student handcuffed after AI system mistook bag of chips for weapon

    1 h 6 min
  2. Understanding the U.S. Blockade on Cuba with David Ramírez Álvarez

    25 MAR

    Understanding the U.S. Blockade on Cuba with David Ramírez Álvarez

    David Ramírez Álvarez, secretary at the embassy of Cuba in the US, joins us to understand the escalating blockade on Cuba.

    55 min
  3. The Ethics of Human Extinction Part 1

    20 MAR

    The Ethics of Human Extinction Part 1

    Find Part 2 coming soon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we dive into Emile's area of expertise, the ethics of human extinction and how these ethics are shaping Silicon Valley.  Further Reading https://www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/making-sense-of-the-human-extinction Books Mentioned The Last Man, Mary Shelley Human Extinction: A History of the Science and Ethics of Annihilation, Émile Torres

    56 min
  4. Data Centers in My Backyard with Dylan Gyauch-Lewis

    5 MAR

    Data Centers in My Backyard with Dylan Gyauch-Lewis

    Support the show at https://patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow Researcher and journalist Dylan Gyauch-Lewis joins us this week to discuss the views behind ongoing data center buildout for AI despite community resistance. Find Dylan's work at the American Prospect and https://therevolvingdoorproject.org Further Reading Dylan Gyauch-Lewis for The American Prospect: More AI Means More Cancer  Dylan Gyauch-Lewis for The Revolving Door Project: Support for Data Centers in Shor Supply

    1 h 3 min
  5. Gilded Rage with Jacob Silverman

    23 FEB

    Gilded Rage with Jacob Silverman

    Find Jacob Silverman on Substack at https://substack.com/@jacobsilverman or Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/jacobsilverman.com  Further Reading from Jacob * The Shady Financial Past of a Major Trump Crypto Investor: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/andrei-grachev-dlw-labs-world-liberty-financial-trump/ * The President Took A $75 Million Bribe And We All Saw It: https://www.jacobsilverman.com/p/the-president-took-a-75-million-bribe    Books Mentioned Gilded Rage, Jacob Silverman Easy Money, Ben McKenzie and Jacob Silverman Survival of the Richest, Douglas Rushkoff More Everything Forever, Adam Becker The Technological Republic, Alex Karp

    1 h 10 min
  6. The Unabomber

    5 FEB

    The Unabomber

    This week, we discussed the biography of the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and his brand of tech doomerism. Further Reading Émile's article: https://www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/eliezer-yudkowsky-and-the-unabomber

    1 h 14 min
  7. Four Companies, Under AGI

    26 ENE

    Four Companies, Under AGI

    While profit motivates all companies under capitalism, why are the wealthiest tech companies so focused on AGI? This week, we dive into the relationships, ideologies, and claims behind the four biggest players claiming to build artificial general intelligence: Google DeepMind, OpenAI (partly owned by Microsoft), Anthropic, and Elon Musk's xAI. Further Reading https://www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/tescrealism-and-the-race-to-build Book mentioned The AI Con - Emily Bender & Alex Hanna

    1 h
  8. LARPing into Authoritarianism with Dr. Alexander Thomas

    17 ENE

    LARPing into Authoritarianism with Dr. Alexander Thomas

    We're joined again by Dr. Alexander Thomas, author of The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism, to discuss current events and how the Extropians' libertarian transhumanist fantasies connect to today's efforts to meme right-wing authoritarianism into reality.   Books Mentioned Hayek's Bastards by Quinn Slobodian The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism by Alexander Thomas (open access)

    1 h 1 min
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Dystopia Now is a show where a comedian (Kate Willett) and an academic (Emile Torres) explore the philosophies and religions of Silicon Valley and tech billionaires shaping our country, our world, and our future.

Información

  • Creador
    Kate Willett and Emile Torres
  • Años de actividad
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodios
    56
  • Clasificación
    Explícito
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Mostrar sitio web
    Dystopia Now

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