2511 - Palantir's Role in Government Surveillance & Activists Disrupting ICE w/ Makena Kelly & Roberto Camacho

Jun 4, 2025

Makena Kelly, a senior writer at Wired, discusses the influence of Doge and Elon Musk on government surveillance, particularly focusing on Palantir's controversial role. Roberto Camacho, a journalist from San Diego, highlights grassroots efforts to protect immigrant communities from ICE raids. They delve into the implications of budget cuts affecting public services and the growing trend of privatization in government, raising questions about data management and community activism. Their conversation showcases the critical intersection of technology, activism, and immigration.

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INSIGHT

Weather Cuts Risk Lives

Cuts in NOAA and National Weather Service reduce hurricane forecasting accuracy significantly.
Staffing shortages and less weather balloon data undermine advanced warnings for major weather events.

INSIGHT

Doge Infiltrates Government Agencies

Doge has deeply embedded younger engineers across nearly every government agency.
This infiltration shows a strategic long-term plan beyond just personnel cuts.

INSIGHT

Privatization Behind ‘Cuts’

Doge aims officially to cut fraud, waste, and abuse but primarily shifts jobs from government staff to contractors.
This results in privatization of government functions, often favoring companies like Palantir.

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It's an Sam Solo Wednesday, and we have the latest on the Big Beautiful Bill inching its way through Congress. Some of the cuts will impact federally-backed science institutions, including weather monitoring. Florida meteorologist John Morales tells his viewers on air that he doesn't think he'll be able to predict the paths of hurricanes this season as he has in previous years because of the defunding of vital monitoring institutions. Scary.

After that we have two great guests. First, Sam speaks to Wired senior writer Makena Kelly about Doge and Elon Musk's lingering impact on the government, as well as Palantir and it's role in government surveillance.

Check out her reporting here: https://www.wired.com/author/makena-kelly/

After that Sam spoke to San Diego journalist Roberto Camacho to discuss his reporting in Bolts on a grass root organization dedicated to monitoring ICE and protecting immigrant communities. Check out his his piece here: https://boltsmag.org/how-volunteer-patrols-are-working-to-protect-san-diego-immigrant-communities-from-ice/

Follow Roberto on social media here:

Twitter/IG/Threads: @rob_camacho_sd

Bluesky: @robcamachosd.bsky.social

In the Fun Half™, Elon Musk is now publicly poo poo-ing the Big Beautiful Bill which he thinks is bloated. Takes one to know one bud. As Sam points out, maybe it has something to do with how the bill would effect his bottom line. Patrick Bet-David and crew however are defending Trump, and Musk's drug use. They're in a tough spot these days. Alex Jones is going out of his way to defend Palantir. Gee, I wonder why? And for his part, Richie Torres is defending the Abundance Agenda. Go figure.

Here's the link to the petition that a commenter mentioned to stop Ohio Senate Bill 1 which would hurt freedom of speech and higher education: https://ohsb1petition.com/

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