Legal Turmoil and Political Rhetoric: The Interplay of Crime and Democracy

Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss all the money Elon Musk is pouring into the US election and what Silicon Valley’s political influence will mean regardless of who becomes president.

Jacob Silverman is the author of Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley, coming in September 2025 from Bloomsbury. His book Easy Money is now available in paperback.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• The New York Times reported on Elon Musk’s efforts to get Trump elected in the final two weeks of the campaign.
• The Pennsylvania district attorney sued Elon Musk’s PAC to stop his $1 million giveaways.
• Marc Andreessen wrote the Techno-Optimist Manifesto and the Little Tech Agenda.
• FTX was up to way more shady things that didn’t make it into the first trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. The second didn’t go ahead after he was found guilty in the first.
• The canvassing operation for Trump by Elon Musk's PAC has been flagged as potentially fraudulent.
• The US Supreme Court’s Chevron decision will have significant consequences for federal regulators.

Support the show