Tech Won't Save Us

The Untold History of Silicon Valley w/ Malcolm Harris

Feb 16, 2023

01:18:08

Episode guests

Malcolm Harris

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Herbert Hoover and the Rise of the Tech Oligarchy

01:16

The Rise of the Silicon Valley Elite and the Threat to Democracy

01:23

Silicon Valley's History of Oppression

01:18

Steve Jobs and the Microchip Era

04:05

Introduction

3min

Tech Won't Save Us - Part 2

3min

The Last Link of the Chain in Global Capitalism

2min

The History of Stanford University

2min

The History of Stanford University

3min

The Evolution of Humanity: A Novel by David Star Jordan

3min

Stanford and the Evolution of Eugenics at Stanford

2min

The History of the Trotting Horse Racing Industry

5min

The Relationship Between the Military and the Tech Industry, Right?

5min

10.

The History of the High-Tech Industry

3min

11.

Palo Alto's Technology Becomes the Answer to the Cold War Question

3min

12.

The Counterculture and the Tech Industry

4min

13.

Steve Jobs and the Microchip Era

4min

14.

The Opposition to Technology Is Old, Right?

2min

15.

Jobs Is Not Just a Break From That History, but Is a Part of It

6min

16.

Silicon Valley Labor Relations

3min

17.

Is There a Jobs or a Gate in the Industry?

3min

18.

The Great Man Historiography

4min

19.

Peter Thiel and the History of Silicon Valley

5min

20.

Peter Thiel, Larry Ellison, and the Rest of the Tech Industry

4min

21.

Stanford University and Indigenous Peoples

7min

Paris Marx is joined by Malcolm Harris to discuss the sordid history of Silicon Valley, including the long influence of eugenics at Stanford, how Silicon Valley profited from the United States’ wars throughout the 20th century, and why the libertarian narrative of tech hide a much darker reality.

Malcolm Harris is the author of Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World. You can follow Malcolm on Twitter at @BigMeanInternet.

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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

You can read an excerpt of Malcolm’s book in The Atlantic.

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