In this insightful conversation, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum, IT Brew reporter Eoin Higgins, and New York Times journalist Ryan Mac analyze Elon Musk's aggressive takeover of key government operations. They discuss the troubling implications of tech billionaires influencing democracy and governance, drawing parallels to historical regimes. The guests explore how Musk's actions challenge accountability in the digital age, as well as the potential for corporate tactics to undermine democratic values. Expect a captivating dive into the intersection of technology and politics.
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insights INSIGHT
Accountability Concerns
Lack of accountability in Musk's takeover is concerning, with staff cuts creating confusion.
AI recording software is used in meetings, raising fears of sensitive information leaks and political attacks.
insights INSIGHT
Ideological Takeover
Musk's takeover is an ideological one, aiming to impose his views on government function.
He disregards the rule of law, the Constitution, and established democratic processes.
insights INSIGHT
Musk's Playbook
Elon Musk is applying his Twitter takeover playbook to the federal government, prioritizing engineering and cost-cutting.
He's using a similar approach, demonstrating a high level of confidence despite limited knowledge of government operations.
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How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left
Eoin Higgins
Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter
Ryan Mac
Kate Conger
Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter chronicles the tumultuous takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk, detailing the financial, social, and political consequences of his actions. The book, based on over 150 hours of interviews and extensive research, paints a vivid picture of Musk's volatile leadership, the mass layoffs, policy changes, and the resurgence of hate speech and misinformation on the platform. It also explores the broader implications of Musk's actions on public discourse, democracy, and the intersection of tech, wealth, and far-right politics[1][3][5].
Autocracy, Inc.
The Dictators Who Want to Run the World
Anne Applebaum
In 'Autocracy, Inc.', Anne Applebaum provides a detailed analysis of how modern autocracies operate, highlighting their sophisticated networks of kleptocratic financial structures, surveillance technologies, and professional propagandists. These autocratic regimes, spanning countries like China, Russia, and Iran, collaborate across borders to maintain power and undermine democracy. Applebaum argues that international condemnation and economic sanctions are ineffective against these autocrats and calls for democracies to fundamentally reorient their policies to combat this new threat. The book serves as both a historical investigation and a practical guide for defending democratic values against the rising tide of autocracy.
Elon Musk and a band of young DOGE engineers are taking control of key government infrastructure. The scale and speed with which they’re hijacking control of the federal government is shocking, and even President Donald Trump appears not to know all that Musk is doing.
In order to analyze what’s actually happening and understand how and why other tech billionaires are also cozying up to Trump, we’re joined by Anne Applebaum, Eoin Higgins & Ryan Mac. Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, and author of the recently released Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run The World. Higgins is a reporter for the IT Brew and author of Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left. And Mac covers corporate accountability across the global technology industry for the New York Times, and he is the co-author of Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter. This episode was recorded on Monday February 3rd.
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