Nick Denton: Our New Chinese Overlords

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Mar 28, 2025

Nick Denton, entrepreneur and founder of Gawker Media, shares his insights on the shifting power dynamics in technology. He discusses how China is outpacing rivals like Elon Musk and explores the implications of Chinese pragmatism on global competition. Denton reflects on his unique early experiences in journalism, contrasting Eastern Europe's transformations with current tech narratives. He also highlights the burgeoning Chinese automotive industry and challenges American misconceptions about technological advancement.

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ANECDOTE

Denton's Upbringing

Nick Denton was born in Hampstead, London to a Hungarian Jewish mother and a Yorkshire-born father.
His mother fled Hungary in 1956 and worked hard to achieve her dream of living in Hampstead.

INSIGHT

European Future

Denton's father, a European federalist, believed Britain's future lay within Europe.
After time in America, Denton now agrees with his father's perspective.

ANECDOTE

Oxford and Asimov

Denton, like his father, attended Oxford and studied PPE, focusing on political transitions and game theory.
His interest in "branching futures" stemmed from a fascination with Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.com

Nick is an entrepreneur and journalist. He was the founder of Gawker Media, the publisher of Gizmodo, and the editor of Valleywag. He began his career as a journalist with the Financial Times — as a derivatives and tech correspondent — and later founded a Silicon Valley news aggregator called Moreover Technologies. He’s now working on Maze.com, which hosts a network map of near-future timelines.

For two clips of our convo — on the growing global dominance of China, and the Chinese outcompeting Elon Musk — pop over to our YouTube page.

Other topics: raised in Hampstead in the lower-middle class; a Jewish mom who fled the Communists in Hungary; growing up on sci-fi; Asimov’s Foundation; attending Oxford like his father; game theory; being a young reporter in London, Hungary, Romania, and Singapore; pioneering the internet in the ‘90s; Foundation parallels with Singapore; Lee Kuan Yew; Chinese pragmatism; Taiwan; EVs in China; Musk’s companies; tech theft between the US and China; DOGE and Trump reigning in Musk; Peter Thiel; Andy Grove; Uber’s Travis Kalanick; Kara Swisher; Oculus’ Palmer Luckey; how Silicon Valley is PR obsessed; Zuckerberg; David Sacks and crypto; Andreessen; drones; Ukraine; Thatcher; housing crisis in the UK; Orbán; the German Greens; Russian expansionism; the Poles and nukes; Trump’s tariffs; Tucker’s interview with Putin; the growing US-Europe rift; Greenland; AI and DeepSeek; and Nick’s predictions as a futurist.

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