Mark Sussman & Nikita Petrov – The Billionaire Class's Doomsday Plans

0:00 Intro

1:28 Biden’s abysmal debate performance

5:01 Billionaire survivalists

12:53 So you made it to your luxury bunker. Now what?

16:22 The postapocalyptic war of all against all

21:29 Is the very existence of billionaires the real doomsday scenario?

26:20 The doomsday tax

32:24 Will the bunker dwellers have a reason to live?

40:39 The problem of government after nuclear holocaust

46:08 The literal bunker mentality

52:08 Was Mark responsible for Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall? Who can say for sure?

Recorded June 28, 2024

Links and Readings

Evan Osnos’s 2017 New Yorker piece, “Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich”

Douglas Rushkoff’s book, Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires

Douglas Rushkoff’s Guardian piece, “The Super-Rich ‘Preppers’ Planning to Save Themselves from the Apocalypse”

Ingrid Schmidt’s Hollywood Reporter piece, “Billionaires’ Survivalist Bunkers Go Absolutely Bonkers with Fiery Moats and Water Cannons”

Andre Mayer’s CBC News piece, “From Luxury Bunkers to Tactical Vehicles, the Ultra-Rich Are Preparing for the Big One”

Cixin Liu’s trilogy of sci-fi novels, The Three Body Problem

Everybody Loves Raymond complete series DVD box set

Louis van Gasteren’s documentary, Now Do You Get Why I Am Crying?

Paul Celan’s Selected Poems and Prose, translated by John Felstiner

Tadeusz Borowski’s book, This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman