Dystopia Now

Dystopia Now
Podcast Description
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.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on the philosophies and religions of Silicon Valley, examining how they shape societal values and future trajectories through discussions on topics like effective accelerationism, libertarianism, and transhumanism. Episodes delve into contemporary figures such as Elon Musk, exploring ideologies like longtermism, with specific discussions including debates between AI Doomers and Accelerationists, as well as the implications of Network States envisioned by tech billionaires.

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.
To join us on Patreon go here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow
This week we were joined by Briahna Joy Gray to talk about natalism and Efilism. We also had a great discussion about the philosophy of human extinction.
Bad Faith Podcast / Briahna Joy Gray Bad Faith Podcast: “Episode 479: Promo — Truth in Fiction w/ Cory Doctorow” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-479-promo-truth-in-fiction-w-cory-doctorow/id1531192509?i=1000710888262
Bad Faith Podcast: “Episode 445: Promo — From Merit to Eugenics: Elon Musk’s…” https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/episode-445-promo-from-merit-to-eugenics-elon-musks/id1531192509?i=1000688606822
Pronatalism / Natalism Discourse Mother Jones — “This Is a War, and Natalism Is Our Sword and Shield” https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/03/this-is-a-war-and-natalism-is-our-sword-and-shield-my-weekend-with-the-pronatalists/
The Guardian — “Natal Conference in Austin, Texas, and Eugenics” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/natal-conference-austin-texas-eugenics
The Guardian — “What Is Pronatalism? Right-Wing Republican Movement” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/11/what-is-pronatalism-right-wing-republican
The Guardian — “Elon Musk, Pronatalism, and Motherhood on Social Media” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/25/elon-musk-pronatalism-mothers-social-media-parenting
CNN — “Pronatalism, Elon Musk, and Birth Rates” https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/10/us/pronatalism-elon-musk-birth-rates-cec
Vox — “JD Vance, Pronatalism, and Population Decline” https://www.vox.com/policy/363543/pronatalism-vance-birth-rates-population-decline-fertility
New York Times — “Liberals and Falling Birth Rates: Anastasia Berg Op-Ed” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/16/opinion/anastasia-berg-falling-birth-rates-liberals.html
New York Times — “Natalism, Liberalism & Parenthood” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/opinion/natalism-liberalism-parenthood.html
The Atlantic — “Democrats and Pronatalism: Family Policy Debates” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/democrats-pronatalism-family-policies/681827/
Liberal Currents — “Liberal Pro-Natalism” https://www.liberalcurrents.com/liberal-pro-natalism/
The New Yorker — “How Liberals Talk About Children” https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/how-liberals-talk-about-children
Current Affairs — “We Should Be Neither Anti-Natalist Nor Pro-Natalist” https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/we-should-be-neither-anti-natalist-nor-pro-natalist
The Guardian — “Birthstrikers and Climate Change” https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/mar/12/birthstrikers-meet-the-women-who-refuse-to-have-children-until-climate-change-ends
People — “All About Elon Musk’s Children” https://people.com/all-about-elon-musk-children-11678749
New York Times — “Trump, Musk, and Birthrate Proposals” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/us/politics/elon-musk-trump-birthrate.html
New York Times — “Trump’s Birthrate Proposals” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/us/politics/trump-birthrate-proposals.html
Axios — “Elon Musk, Ashley St. Clair, and Baby Influencing” https://www.axios.com/2025/04/17/elon-musk-babies-ashley-st-clair
Conversations with Tyler — Ezra Klein Interview https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/ezra-klein-3/
Efilism / Anti-Natalism Extremism The Intercept — “Efilism and the Palm Springs Bomber” https://theintercept.com/2025/05/19/efilism-palm-springs-bomber-fertility-clinic/
NBC News — “Reddit Bans Anti-Natalists After Explosion” https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/reddit-bans-anti-natalists-palm-springs-explosion-rcna207677
The Guardian — “Palm Springs IVF Clinic Bombing and Online Extremism” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/21/palm-springs-ivf-clinic-bombing-online-extremism
Eugenics, Longtermism, Effective Altruism Truthdig — “Nick Bostrom, Longtermism, and Eugenics” https://www.truthdig.com/articles/nick-bostrom-longtermism-and-the-eternal-return-of-eugenics-2/
Truthdig — “A Short History of Eugenics” https://www.truthdig.com/articles/a-short-history-of-eugenics-from-plato-to-nick-bostrom/
The Guardian — “Pro-Extinctionists and Effective Altruism” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/22/pro-extinctionis-longtermim-effective-altruism-human-extinction-emile-torres
Utilitarianism: For and Against (PDF) https://www.utilitarianism.com/utilitarianism-for-and-against.pdf
LessWrong — Computronium Page https://www.lesswrong.com/w/computronium
Political News / Commentary AP News — “Trump’s Army Parade and Protests” https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-parade-troops-tanks-birthday-protests-4cca4da0e89908d39c820240744375a1
New York Times — “Andrew Cuomo and Nursing Home Deaths During COVID” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/09/nyregion/cuomo-pandemic-nursing-home-deaths.html
Social Media & Commentary Instagram Reel https://www.instagram.com/reel/DK-VjqwxisA/
Twitter — Nathan J. Robinson https://x.com/NathanJRobinson/status/1890845684061847836
Twitter — David Sirota https://x.com/davidsirota/status/1921259098516918382
Miscellaneous Zohran Mamdani Campaign Site https://www.zohranfornyc.com/
Hacker News Thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10812804

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