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Silicon Valley billionaires’ war on democracy

πŸ“Ί Fresh Air πŸ• August 10, 2026 at 10:37 AM
πŸ“ Source based in: World β€Ί Northern Hemisphere β€Ί North America β€Ί United States

Keeps playing with the screen off. The episode is played from Fresh Air’s own podcast host.

Journalist Gil DurΓ‘n argues that a small circle of Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists have concluded that democracy is in their way β€” and that they should be governing in its place. DurΓ‘n traces their fringe ideologies from blogs, manifestos and private talks straight to the White House. β€œThe weird stuff these guys say in their blogs or in their speeches is not just eccentric fluff. Because they have so much money, they can turn these weird ideas into policy and cause tremendous damage.” His book is The Nerd Reich.Β 

Also, Ken Tucker has a 50th anniversary appreciation of the Sparkle soundtrack. Loosely based on the girl group The Supremes, the 1976 film starred Aretha Franklin and the music was written and produced by Curtis Mayfield.Β 

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