Robert tells Ify about the time tech weirdo's recreated Hell using AI and Robert pisses off a VP at Google. Plus: More cult shit!

(Adapted from his article in Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-companies-advocates-cult-1234954528/)

Robert tells Ify about the time tech weirdo's recreated Hell using AI and Robert pisses off a VP at Google. Plus: More cult shit!
(Adapted from his article in Rolling Stone: <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-companies-advocates-cult-1234954528/">https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-companies-advocates-cult-1234954528/</a>)

There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.

Everything you don't know about History's greatest monsters

Behind the Bastards

There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.

Part Two: Tech Bros Have Built A Cult Around AI

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/166fa05b-0b80-4380-a253-b1090014db04/transcript

Robert tells Noah how Peter Thiel went to war against Gawker and also completely whiffed on profiting from the 2008 financial crash. Bonus: how Palantir enabled a bunch of creepy corporate security types to stalk their girlfriends, each other.

Robert tells Noah how Peter Thiel went to war against Gawker and also completely whiffed on profiting from the 2008 financial crash. Bonus: how Palantir enabled a bunch of creepy corporate security types to stalk their girlfriends, each other.

Part Three: How Peter Thiel Became the Gravedigger of Democracy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7beecf7f-91ae-4136-9b70-b21f00195f8f/transcript

We discuss Peter Thiel's rise to PayPal CEO, his betrayal of Elon Musk, and the birth of the technology that became Palantir.

We discuss Peter Thiel's rise to PayPal CEO, his betrayal of Elon Musk, and the birth of the technology that became Palantir.

Part Two: How Peter Thiel Became the Gravedigger of Democracy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6e231a1b-1993-4d8d-aa9b-b21a00174bbe/transcript

Robert sits down with Noah Shachtman to discuss the life and times of Peter Thiel, the demon investor of Silicon Valley and would-be assassin of democracy.

(4 Part Series)

Sources:

https://www.newser.com/story/235229/peter-thiel-wanted-innovation-he-got-networking-instead.html

https://www.edsurge.com/nhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdrange/2017/01/03/what-happened-to-the-original-class-of-peter-thiels-college-skipping-fellows-nowelcome1/

ews/2023-12-12-how-a-billionaire-s-fellowship-spread-skepticism-about-college-s-value

https://theintercept.com/2019/05/02/peter-thiels-palantir-was-used-to-bust-hundreds-of-relatives-of-migrant-children-new-documents-show/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/22/war-inside-palantir-data-mining-firms-ties-ice-under-attack-by-employees/

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/peter-thiel-israel-palantir/

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s542/client/snv?isnewsnv=true&noteGuid=46c636b6-b404-45df-ab0a-1f84c6fdc8c2&noteKey=7c94233539b8258d72b395a063f3c589&sn=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.evernote.com%2Fshard%2Fs542%2Fsh%2F46c636b6-b404-45df-ab0a-1f84c6fdc8c2%2F7c94233539b8258d72b395a063f3c589&title=That%2BEssay

https://archive.is/ZmTHu

https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-childhood-11-surprising-details-the-contrarian-max-chafkin-2021-9

https://archive.is/ZmTHu

https://www.quora.com/How-was-Peter-Thiel-in-high-school

https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-887.0-891.775

https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/my-conversation-with-peter-thiel-about-apartheid-and-its-aftermath-3fdf4249b08d#.xz4kamaam

https://newcriterion.com/article/the-diversity-myth/

https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-peter-thiel-20161026-story.html

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/peter-thiel-silicon-valley-contrarian-max-chafkin.html

https://archive.is/0CtR2#selection-487.0-509.305

https://archive.is/QPFbm#selection-1173.0-1189.97

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/19/jp-morgan-reportedly-had-to-oust-a-security-chief-backed-by-palantir.html

https://archive.is/WCWeQ

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/peter-thiel-republican-megadonor-wont-fund-candidates-2024-sources-2023-04-26/

https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-1933.0-1933.1393

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets

https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-2085.0-2085.515

https://archive.is/ncwwe

https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-1913.0-1913.1159

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-09-17/contrarian-review

Chafkin, Max. The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power (p. 11). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Robert sits down with Noah Shachtman to discuss the life and times of Peter Thiel, the demon investor of Silicon Valley and would-be assassin of democracy.
(4 Part Series)
Sources:
<a href="https://www.newser.com/story/235229/peter-thiel-wanted-innovation-he-got-networking-instead.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.newser.com/story/235229/peter-thiel-wanted-innovation-he-got-networking-instead.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw09dxX24Z_dcncBP51wMefc" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.newser.com/story/235229/peter-thiel-wanted-innovation-he-got-networking-instead.html</a>
<a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-12-12-how-a-billionaire-s-fellowship-spread-skepticism-about-college-s-value" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-12-12-how-a-billionaire-s-fellowship-spread-skepticism-about-college-s-value&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0zfPdhZFR4MnEFivng2Y-m" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.edsurge.com/n</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdrange/2017/01/03/what-happened-to-the-original-class-of-peter-thiels-college-skipping-fellows-nowelcome1/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdrange/2017/01/03/what-happened-to-the-original-class-of-peter-thiels-college-skipping-fellows-nowelcome1/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0kIC5RmAPMURLCNO4asUEQ" data-originalfontsize="12pt" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdrange/2017/01/03/what-happened-to-the-original-class-of-peter-thiels-college-skipping-fellows-nowelcome1/</a>
<a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-12-12-how-a-billionaire-s-fellowship-spread-skepticism-about-college-s-value" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-12-12-how-a-billionaire-s-fellowship-spread-skepticism-about-college-s-value&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0zfPdhZFR4MnEFivng2Y-m" data-originalfontsize="12pt" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">ews/2023-12-12-how-a-billionaire-s-fellowship-spread-skepticism-about-college-s-value</a>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/05/02/peter-thiels-palantir-was-used-to-bust-hundreds-of-relatives-of-migrant-children-new-documents-show/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://theintercept.com/2019/05/02/peter-thiels-palantir-was-used-to-bust-hundreds-of-relatives-of-migrant-children-new-documents-show/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2oDTth_txfbcEBtm_4-lv5" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://theintercept.com/2019/05/02/peter-thiels-palantir-was-used-to-bust-hundreds-of-relatives-of-migrant-children-new-documents-show/</a>
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/22/war-inside-palantir-data-mining-firms-ties-ice-under-attack-by-employees/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/22/war-inside-palantir-data-mining-firms-ties-ice-under-attack-by-employees/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1k0Zt2YOomQyazqjPw5cr9" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/22/war-inside-palantir-data-mining-firms-ties-ice-under-attack-by-employees/</a>
<a href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/peter-thiel-israel-palantir/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://responsiblestatecraft.org/peter-thiel-israel-palantir/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10NLlvmjCZ8NLeKu3fDUnE" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://responsiblestatecraft.org/peter-thiel-israel-palantir/</a>
<a href="https://www.evernote.com/shard/s542/client/snv?isnewsnv=true&amp;noteGuid=46c636b6-b404-45df-ab0a-1f84c6fdc8c2&amp;noteKey=7c94233539b8258d72b395a063f3c589&amp;sn=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.evernote.com%2Fshard%2Fs542%2Fsh%2F46c636b6-b404-45df-ab0a-1f84c6fdc8c2%2F7c94233539b8258d72b395a063f3c589&amp;title=That%2BEssay" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.evernote.com/shard/s542/client/snv?isnewsnv%3Dtrue%26noteGuid%3D46c636b6-b404-45df-ab0a-1f84c6fdc8c2%26noteKey%3D7c94233539b8258d72b395a063f3c589%26sn%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.evernote.com%252Fshard%252Fs542%252Fsh%252F46c636b6-b404-45df-ab0a-1f84c6fdc8c2%252F7c94233539b8258d72b395a063f3c589%26title%3DThat%252BEssay&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1lDhAoxQTj684gH6qeGct5" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.evernote.com/shard/s542/client/snv?isnewsnv=true&amp;noteGuid=46c636b6-b404-45df-ab0a-1f84c6fdc8c2&amp;noteKey=7c94233539b8258d72b395a063f3c589&amp;sn=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.evernote.com%2Fshard%2Fs542%2Fsh%2F46c636b6-b404-45df-ab0a-1f84c6fdc8c2%2F7c94233539b8258d72b395a063f3c589&amp;title=That%2BEssay</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/ZmTHu" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/ZmTHu&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2UIoDgqpakTO9cOVznn00y" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/ZmTHu</a>
<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-childhood-11-surprising-details-the-contrarian-max-chafkin-2021-9" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-childhood-11-surprising-details-the-contrarian-max-chafkin-2021-9&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mCT_beL9qMUQcCQvcBY9z" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-childhood-11-surprising-details-the-contrarian-max-chafkin-2021-9</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/ZmTHu" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/ZmTHu&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2UIoDgqpakTO9cOVznn00y" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/ZmTHu</a>
<a href="https://www.quora.com/How-was-Peter-Thiel-in-high-school" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.quora.com/How-was-Peter-Thiel-in-high-school&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Tr7w8Q-Ultd8Qm4DVU49F" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.quora.com/How-was-Peter-Thiel-in-high-school</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-887.0-891.775" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/ncwwe%23selection-887.0-891.775&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0ROHmcB1TTY9cvUmfCkSQe" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-887.0-891.775</a>
<a href="https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/my-conversation-with-peter-thiel-about-apartheid-and-its-aftermath-3fdf4249b08d#.xz4kamaam" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/my-conversation-with-peter-thiel-about-apartheid-and-its-aftermath-3fdf4249b08d%23.xz4kamaam&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0VeVIVkX4VI5f4ms-WyqV6" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/my-conversation-with-peter-thiel-about-apartheid-and-its-aftermath-3fdf4249b08d#.xz4kamaam</a>
<a href="https://newcriterion.com/article/the-diversity-myth/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://newcriterion.com/article/the-diversity-myth/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3GC6kykPr-c6rbRJYXpQS6" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://newcriterion.com/article/the-diversity-myth/</a>
<a href="https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-peter-thiel-20161026-story.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-peter-thiel-20161026-story.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1vmHxjWSXjfmkRuS-cgbV4" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-peter-thiel-20161026-story.html</a>
<a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/peter-thiel-silicon-valley-contrarian-max-chafkin.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/peter-thiel-silicon-valley-contrarian-max-chafkin.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1HulUQALHOCEu2YRHUNRF6" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/peter-thiel-silicon-valley-contrarian-max-chafkin.html</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/0CtR2#selection-487.0-509.305" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/0CtR2%23selection-487.0-509.305&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3TndDf9BpzATpD3fH1eRYh" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/0CtR2#selection-487.0-509.305</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/QPFbm#selection-1173.0-1189.97" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/QPFbm%23selection-1173.0-1189.97&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw17Ddw3VJf-3kRmgxAEJGEY" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/QPFbm#selection-1173.0-1189.97</a>
<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/19/jp-morgan-reportedly-had-to-oust-a-security-chief-backed-by-palantir.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/19/jp-morgan-reportedly-had-to-oust-a-security-chief-backed-by-palantir.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2uFpVe_jsYmqI1DTKO1FUp" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/19/jp-morgan-reportedly-had-to-oust-a-security-chief-backed-by-palantir.html</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/WCWeQ" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/WCWeQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1uBVD6evpRFMAygXdOMO8p" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/WCWeQ</a>
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/peter-thiel-republican-megadonor-wont-fund-candidates-2024-sources-2023-04-26/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/peter-thiel-republican-megadonor-wont-fund-candidates-2024-sources-2023-04-26/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2ejHCbJREe2j86e1MhoTdP" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.reuters.com/world/us/peter-thiel-republican-megadonor-wont-fund-candidates-2024-sources-2023-04-26/</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-1933.0-1933.1393" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/ncwwe%23selection-1933.0-1933.1393&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0AAnQtdAMgl12TD6dYQS6f" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-1933.0-1933.1393</a>
<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1VBfPRTiQ5byrmIr-G9EKT" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-2085.0-2085.515" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/ncwwe%23selection-2085.0-2085.515&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Ni8Km5JWTg7CSKhohrcmD" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-2085.0-2085.515</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/ncwwe" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/ncwwe&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2VSLAUj7pUR1sKaZjjv-rI" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/ncwwe</a>
<a href="https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-1913.0-1913.1159" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.is/ncwwe%23selection-1913.0-1913.1159&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Q6HU_PgjFbSBETUpdJmk5" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://archive.is/ncwwe#selection-1913.0-1913.1159</a>
<a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-09-17/contrarian-review" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-09-17/contrarian-review&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730245087994000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3miBez_WiPQSk4Q_hMjFlp" data-removefontsize="true" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16">https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-09-17/contrarian-review</a>
Chafkin, Max. The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power (p. 11). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Part One: How Peter Thiel Became the Gravedigger of Democracy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/062db7a0-9fb6-4efe-b890-b21701862f74/transcript

Part Two: Tech Bros Have Built A Cult Around AI

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