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Dystopia Now

Dystopia Now

By: Kate Willett and Emile Torres
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Dystopia Now is a show where a comedian (Kate Willett) and an academic (Emile Torres) explore the philosophies and religions of Silicon Valley and tech billionaires shaping our country, our world, and our future.2025 Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Pope Leo's Anti-AI Encyclical
    Jun 11 2026

    This week, we go over the merits and demerits of the Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas and its co-presentation with Christopher Olah of Anthropic, the company branding itself as most concerned with "AI Safety."

    Further Reading

    • Émile's article: https://www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/shame-on-the-pope-shame-on-ea-shame

    • Magnifica Humanitas: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html

    • Full Speech: Anthropic Co‑Founder Christopher Olah at Magnifica Humanitas Vatican Launch | EWTN News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORFrdYSvzuw

    • Paolo Benanti, "An invisible revolution: Peter Thiel and the Silicon Valley coup": https://legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2026/03/14/thiel-heresie-benanti

    • Timnit Gebru's comments: https://x.com/timnitGebru/status/2058959646891581898

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    40 mins
  • An Independent for Nebraska (ft. Austin Ahlman)
    Jun 4 2026

    Could a populist, independent candidate win an election in the most Republican part of Nebraska's 1st Congressional District? In a time when the Republican and Democratic Party are both notoriously corrupt, Austin Ahlman is making the call to "Take Back Nebraska."

    This week we talk with Austin about his run for office, antimonopoly, Abundance, and how tech companies are undermining Nebraska's public power system through regulatory carve-outs.

    Find Austin's campaign at ahlmanfornebraska.com or takebacknebraska.com.

    Further Reading

    • Austin Ahlman for The Intercept: https://theintercept.com/staff/austin-ahlman/

    • Austin Ahlman Launches Insurgent Independent Campaign in Nebraska https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYE10gacxiE

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    49 mins
  • Florida Man Runs for Congress as a Democratic Socialist (ft. Oliver Larkin)
    May 28 2026

    Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow!

    Oliver Larkin, activist, union organizer, and Democratic Socialist, joins us this week to discuss his run for election to the U.S. House as a Florida representative.

    We talk about Oliver's campaign, how South Florida and Greater Miami are becoming new headquarters for tech companies including Palantir, and what we can do electorally to support working people instead of billionaires.

    Further Reading

    • Find Oliver's campaign at https://www.oliverforcongress.com

    • https://theintercept.com/2026/02/26/iran-war-powers-vote-democrats-gottheimer-moskowitz

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    49 mins
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Great dynamic between both. In-depth look a Techbro ideologies and AI. What's really going on

One of the most important podcasts of our time

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