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Dystopia Now

Dystopia Now

By: Kate Willett and Emile Torres
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About this listen

 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.2025 Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • The Unabomber

    The Unabomber
    Feb 5 2026

    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
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • Four Companies, Under AGI

    Four Companies, Under AGI
    Jan 26 2026

    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
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    1 hr
  • LARPing into Authoritarianism with Dr. Alexander Thomas

    LARPing into Authoritarianism with Dr. Alexander Thomas
    Jan 17 2026

    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)
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    1 hr and 1 min
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