2024 Update

Intro

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Post Show Musings

Outro

In October of 2022, we released this episode on Peter Thiel. The last line of the story is that he’s a monster. At the time, we were focused on his personal selections and funding of Congressional candidates, one of whom was none other than JD Vance. Far from his purported hillbilly roots, the country quickly came to know that JD is little more than a huckster who grew up pretty well and became a go-to hedge fund guy for Peter Thiel. Amazingly, Thiel is still on the backburner of people’s awareness and given Vance’s sudden rise to VP prominence, it’s important we continue to bring him forward.

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I’m not a doctor. But even I can certainly see that Peter Thiel is a sick, sick person. Bright, awkward and successful, Peter Thiel has risen to prominence in American society on the gamble that he can break it. The product of an elitist system who wants to take it down. A gay man who backs candidates that would degrade his civil rights. A hedge fund tech investor who thinks Silicon Valley hasn’t done anything innovative in 50 years. A Trump backer and advisor who walked away when he got what he wanted. Peter Thiel is known as a contrarian, but it may be simpler than that. He might just be a nihilistic asshole.

Chapters

2024 Update: 00:00:00

Intro: 00:01:18

Chapter One: So who the fuck is this guy? 00:05:21

Chapter Two: Where did all his money come from and can I have some? 00:14:26

Chapter Three: We’re all just pawns on Peter’s board 00:22:11

Chapter Four: Bring it home, Max. 00:33:11

Post Show Musings: 00:39:09

Outro: 00:46:56

Resources

The Atlantic: Peter Thiel Hates a Copycat

ProPublica: Lord of the Roths: How Tech Mogul Peter Thiel Turned a Retirement Account for the Middle Class Into a $5 Billion Tax-Free Piggy Bank

Founders Fund: Portfolio

The Intercept: How Peter Thiel’s Palantir Helped The Nsa Spy On The Whole World

The Wall Street Journal: Tech Tycoon Peter Thiel Shies From Trump Re-Election Campaign

SEC: Palantir Technologies Inc.

Cato Unbound: The Education of a Libertarian

The Intercept: The New New Right Was Forged in Greed and White Backlash

Daily Beast: Blake Masters’ Views on Gay Marriage May Surprise His Political Master Peter Thiel

Book Love

Max Chafkin: The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power

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If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.

Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.

Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.

Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.

Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic."

In October of 2022, we released this episode on Peter Thiel. The last line of the story is that he’s a monster. At the time, we were focused on his personal selections and funding of Congressional candidates, one of whom was none other than JD Vance. Far from his purported hillbilly roots, the country quickly came to know that JD is little more than a huckster who grew up pretty well and became a go-to hedge fund guy for Peter Thiel. Amazingly, Thiel is still on the backburner of people’s awareness and given Vance’s sudden rise to VP prominence, it’s important we continue to bring him forward.
--
I’m not a doctor. But even I can certainly see that Peter Thiel is a sick, sick person. Bright, awkward and successful, Peter Thiel has risen to prominence in American society on the gamble that he can break it. The product of an elitist system who wants to take it down. A gay man who backs candidates that would degrade his civil rights. A hedge fund tech investor who thinks Silicon Valley hasn’t done anything innovative in 50 years. A Trump backer and advisor who walked away when he got what he wanted. Peter Thiel is known as a contrarian, but it may be simpler than that. He might just be a nihilistic asshole.
Chapters
2024 Update: 00:00:00
Intro: 00:01:18
Chapter One: So who the fuck is this guy? 00:05:21
Chapter Two: Where did all his money come from and can I have some? 00:14:26
Chapter Three: We’re all just pawns on Peter’s board 00:22:11
Chapter Four: Bring it home, Max. 00:33:11
Post Show Musings: 00:39:09
Outro: 00:46:56
Resources
The Atlantic: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/10/peter-thiel-max-chafkin-contrarian/619823/">Peter Thiel Hates a Copycat</a>
ProPublica: <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/lord-of-the-roths-how-tech-mogul-peter-thiel-turned-a-retirement-account-for-the-middle-class-into-a-5-billion-dollar-tax-free-piggy-bank">Lord of the Roths: How Tech Mogul Peter Thiel Turned a Retirement Account for the Middle Class Into a $5 Billion Tax-Free Piggy Bank</a>
Founders Fund: <a href="https://foundersfund.com/portfolio/">Portfolio</a>
The Intercept: <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/02/22/how-peter-thiels-palantir-helped-the-nsa-spy-on-the-whole-world/">How Peter Thiel’s Palantir Helped The Nsa Spy On The Whole World</a>
The Wall Street Journal: <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-tycoon-peter-thiel-shies-from-trump-reelection-campaign-11593730590">Tech Tycoon Peter Thiel Shies From Trump Re-Election Campaign</a>
SEC: <a href="http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1321655/000119312520230013/d904406ds1.htm#toc">Palantir Technologies Inc.</a>
Cato Unbound: <a href="https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian/">The Education of a Libertarian</a>
The Intercept: <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/04/29/new-right-movement-peter-thiel/">The New New Right Was Forged in Greed and White Backlash</a>
Daily Beast: <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/arizona-senate-candidate-blake-masters-views-on-gay-marriage-may-surprise-his-political-master-peter-thiel">Blake Masters’ Views on Gay Marriage May Surprise His Political Master Peter Thiel</a>
Book Love
Max Chafkin: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781984878533">The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power</a>
--
If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://unftr.com/rate">unftr.com/rate</a> and follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Unfucking-The-Republic-102319714930389">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/unftrpod">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/unftrpod/">Instagram</a> at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/">unftr.com</a>.
Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565">facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565</a>
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at <a href="https://shop.unftr.com/">shop.unftr.com</a>.
Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at <a href="https://unftr.substack.com/">unftr.substack.com</a> to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.
Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1PpzNXBub9FLngMradJByC?si=abaed3d396504fae">spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.</a>
Visit our bookshop.org page at <a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod">bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod</a> to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at<a href="https://bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations"> bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations</a>.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/accessibility">unftr.com/accessibility</a>.
Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (<a href="https://www.mannyfacesmedia.com">mannyfacesmedia.com</a>). Original music is by Tom McGovern (<a href="http://www.tommcgovern.com/">tommcgovern.com</a>). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic."

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is a series of audio essays on the grand American experiment lovingly curated and presented by a quasi-anonymous political writer. 

Each essay reflects on a singular topic that is generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called “powers that be.” As we know, history is written by the victors and can be perilously manufactured to favor destructive world views. These views become intractably ingrained in the public consciousness and pervert public policy, oftentimes with horrific results. 

As of this podcast’s founding, we find ourselves living in a true kakistocracy. The disconnect between what we believe and what is actually happening below the surface or in plain sight is where this podcast lives. 

Together we’ll upend conventional wisdom, blow up narratives on the left, right and center and use magical devices like facts, logic and reason to explain how exactly we arrived in bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. #UNFTR

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is a series of audio essays on the grand American experiment lovingly curated and presented by a quasi-anonymous political writer. 
Each essay reflects on a singular topic that is generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called “powers that be.” As we know, history is written by the victors and can be perilously manufactured to favor destructive world views. These views become intractably ingrained in the public consciousness and pervert public policy, oftentimes with horrific results. 
As of this podcast’s founding, we find ourselves living in a true kakistocracy. The disconnect between what we believe and what is actually happening below the surface or in plain sight is where this podcast lives. 
Together we’ll upend conventional wisdom, blow up narratives on the left, right and center and use magical devices like facts, logic and reason to explain how exactly we arrived in bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. #UNFTR

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