Calling all AI prompstitutes/askholes, crypto whales, and everyone who grew up nerding out on Science Fiction...this episode is for you! Special guest Adam Becker, an astrophysicist, author, tech journalist, and scientific philosopher, joins Rick to dissect Silicon Valley's beating heart: techno-futurism and the Silicon Valley bros. Inspired by all of the weird stories he's heard at parties in the Bay, Adam decided he wasn't wearing enough hats already and wrote two books on the subject matter: What is Real?, about the unfinished quest for the meaning of quantum physics, and MORE EVERYTHING FOREVER: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. You all know Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Sam Bankman-Fried (not to mention the BIG power players like Google), but have you heard of JD Vance's friend and soft-cult leader Curtis Yarvin, or Netscape creator Marc Andreessen, or co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies (the surveillance state technology used in China) Peter Thiel? The PayPal Mafia spawned a LOT of bizarre shit, including the launch of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel's careers AND a lifelong rivalry. That’s only the beginning. Cover your keyboards, folks, Rick and Adam are brewing some piping hot Silicon Valley tea, so pull up a chair and the guys will spill it with you.
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Walk, nay, RUN to purchase smartypants Adam's latest book, More Everything Forever, which speaks to this moment. Also, please check out some of his work — @FreelanceAstro on Instagram, and his website is https://freelanceastrophysicist.com.
Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com.
Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference.
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