On with Kara Swisher Tech Billionaires & the Rural Poor: Two Sides of Trump’s MAGA Populism
112 snips
Dec 4, 2025 
Beth Macy, award-winning reporter and author, shares insights from her memoir and discusses the opioid crisis and community decline. Jacob Silverman, an independent journalist, examines the link between tech billionaires and rural America under the MAGA umbrella. They explore the role of social media in political polarization, the decline of upward mobility, and how non-political activities can mend family ties. Their conversation also touches on tech elites' accountability and strategies for bridging divides between different social groups.
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News Deserts Fuel Political Polarization
- Rural communities often lack local news, pushing residents to national outlets and Facebook for information.
- That media vacuum helps national politics and misinformation infiltrate family life and local discourse.
Family Split Over Social Media Posts
- Beth Macy recounts her brother unfriending her over 'all the liberal shit' she posted on Facebook.
- She regained relationship ground by avoiding politics and reconnecting over shared activities like fishing.
Shared Online Space Flattens Elites And Followers
- Tech billionaires and rural right-wing users now occupy the same online epistemic space and exchange conspiratorial narratives.
- That flattens differences between elites and their most extreme supporters, amplifying radicalization.
