Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy. With Tech Journo Gil Duran

Bill talks to journalist Gil Duran about his book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy, arguing that a tech-driven oligarchy already wields outsized power through figures like Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk, including political donations to Donald Trump and lucrative government contracts. Duran describes the rapid expansion of AI-fueled data centers as a visible flashpoint driving bipartisan local backlash over land use, water, pollution, and electricity costs. He focuses on Thiel’s long-running anti-democratic worldview, influenced by Thiel-backed thinker Curtis Yarvin into mainstream politics, including “Freedom Cities.” Duran warns crypto has become a “weapon of mass corruption,” criticizes Washington’s reluctance to confront these forces, and calls for public organizing, curbing billionaire power, and resistance movements targeting surveillance and contractors like Palantir and Flock. You can get your copy of Gil’s prescient book at Bookshop.org. Or paste this link into your browser: bit.ly/4qxH9gy .Today, Bill reminds of how important certain Senate races are to retake control of the government from Trump’s unfettered corruption. Best way to help is donations to these Democratic candidates through the great Democratic fundraising platform, ActBlue.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.