The Chris Hedges Report The Rise of the Thielverse and the Construction of the Surveillance State (w/ Whitney Webb) | The Chris Hedges Report
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Oct 23, 2025 
Whitney Webb, an investigative journalist and author of One Nation Under Blackmail, delves into the alarming intersection of tech and state power. She discusses the Thiel network's influence on U.S. policy, emphasizing how figures like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk promote a new form of authoritarianism. The conversation reveals insights on mass surveillance, pre-crime practices, and how Silicon Valley is entangled in military and intelligence operations. Webb warns about the implications of a corporate-state fusion and the urgent need for pushback against these emerging forces.
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Coup By Inches Reshapes The State
- The Trump administration is rebuilding the national security apparatus to serve a leadership cult rather than dismantle the deep state.
- Chris Hedges warns checks, balances, and civil service protections are being erased to enable dictatorial control.
Origins Of Predictive Surveillance
- John Poindexter's Total Information Awareness birthed the idea of mass predictive surveillance now privatized.
- Whitney Webb traces Palantir's origins to DARPA, PayPal algorithms, and early CIA funding and partnership.
Pre-Crime Expands Into Health And Policing
- Predictive policing and biosurveillance extend pre-crime logic into health and law enforcement.
- Webb shows these systems disproportionately target low-income and minority neighborhoods despite poor accuracy.
