Gil Durán
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gilduran.com
Gil Durán
@gilduran.com
California writer. Ida Tarbell stan. Beat: tech fascism, billionaire extremism, network state, crypto cartels.

Writing a book: “The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Global Democracy.”

The Nerd Reich: http://www.thenerdreich.com
Tiny bit of sanity in the world: Vanity Fair drops Olivia Nuzzi

gift link:
www.wsj.com/business/med...
Vanity Fair, Olivia Nuzzi Agree to Part Ways
Nuzzi and the magazine will let her contract expire at year-end, following new allegations and revelations about her conduct while she reported on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
www.wsj.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:58 PM
I write about some crazy stuff that can seem far-fetched.

But here's venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar explaining why nations like the USA must be replaced with "network states."
He was an early investor in AirBNB, Uber, Slack, Warby Parker, Postmates, etc.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVkI...
19 - Network State Conference 2024 - Shervin Pishevar
YouTube video by Network State Podcast
www.youtube.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:39 PM
FIFA: Federation Issuing Fascist Awards
this shit is just beyond parody, man
December 5, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
I think you can make a legitimate case that the human brain cannot handle this much wealth.

Our mental well-being depends on someone being able to tell you to shut the fuck up when you start ranting in ways that would embarrass granite about the Antichrist.
Is your pension fund fueling fascism?
Wanna do something about it?

Join this call on December 8 to find out how you can help stop pouring public funds into tech fascist coffers.

👉 www.stopfundingbillionaires.org
December 5, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
Is your pension fund fueling fascism?
Wanna do something about it?

Join this call on December 8 to find out how you can help stop pouring public funds into tech fascist coffers.

👉 www.stopfundingbillionaires.org
December 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
getting the onion newspaper is worth it alone for the ads
December 4, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.
December 4, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
"...Newsom has vetoed our menopause bill, not one but two years in a row. But that's OK, because he's not going to be governor forever. And with the way he's overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be our next president either."

youtu.be/603NmGNkfqY
December 4, 2025 at 3:18 PM
They're enshittifying toilets now
Kohler claims its smart toilets are end-to-end encrypted. They don't seem to understand what that phrase actually means
Kohler's Smart Toilet Camera Not Actually End-to-End Encrypted
Gives new meaning to the 'internet of shit.'
www.404media.co
December 4, 2025 at 10:50 PM
On Sunday, I'll join @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social live at Lucid to discuss tech fascism and the current state of our politics.

lucid.substack.com/p/religion-a...
Religion and Authoritarianism: Collaboration and Resistance
Tech journalist Gil Duran is our guest on Sunday
lucid.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
Hannah reminds us why we have a cabinet with "talents" like Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, RFKJr and Pam Bondi...
December 4, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
Spotify is running recruitment ads for ICE, the federal agency behind mass deportation and surveillance of immigrant communities. Cancel your Spotify subscription. #DontStreamFascism app.sosha.ai/s/bQqCXjE5
Don’t Stream Fascism: Cancel Spotify
app.sosha.ai
December 4, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Is your pension fund fueling fascism?
Wanna do something about it?

Join this call on December 8 to find out how you can help stop pouring public funds into tech fascist coffers.

👉 www.stopfundingbillionaires.org
December 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
Everyone has seen the demonic Kalshi video about assetizing opinions and financializing everything, but the a16z hype is equally deranged [cont.]
a16z.com/prediction-t...
Prediction: the successor to postmodernism | Andreessen Horowitz
Prediction is emerging as the defining framework beyond postmodernism — reshaping business models, technology adoption, and cultural trends. Explore how AI, prediction markets, and speculation are dri...
a16z.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Speaking of dangerous cults and extremism:

Today I'm interviewing @matthewboedy.bsky.social, author of “Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy.”

Coming soon to the Nerd Reich pod. Got questions?

www.wjkbooks.com/bookproduct/...
The Seven Mountains Mandate - WJK Books
"A sobering assessment of the evolution of Christian nationalism." -Publishers Weekly"A timely and clarion call to action if we are to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States and ou...
www.wjkbooks.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
Especially if they can do anything to precipitate it.
They are manufacturing the very crises they wish to exploit.
Tech Fascists want their own cities and nations for a simple reason: They believe the USA will collapse in the 21st century (largely due to technology).

Peter Thiel has repeatedly cited “The Sovereign Individual” as his inspiration. Here are the basics:

www.thenerdreich.com/the-sovereig...
The Sovereign Individual: Radical Bible of Tech's 'Cognitive Elite'
How a 1997 Book Predicted Tech’s War on Democracy
www.thenerdreich.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
And climate change. They want to control all the resources.
Tech Fascists want their own cities and nations for a simple reason: They believe the USA will collapse in the 21st century (largely due to technology).

Peter Thiel has repeatedly cited “The Sovereign Individual” as his inspiration. Here are the basics:

www.thenerdreich.com/the-sovereig...
The Sovereign Individual: Radical Bible of Tech's 'Cognitive Elite'
How a 1997 Book Predicted Tech’s War on Democracy
www.thenerdreich.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
This is the brand of fascism cyberpunk tried to warn us about.
Why Did Trump Pardon the Former Honduran President? Follow the Tech Bros.

“Próspera is an example of the tech-right concept of the network state, a phrase coined by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan.”

by @kieraevebutler.bsky.social
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Why did Trump pardon the former Honduran president? Follow the Tech Bros.
With Roger Stone taking a victory lap for having come up with the idea in the first place.
www.motherjones.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Gil Durán
If you wanna know why the Trump admin gives so many shits about Honduras, Argentina, El Salvador etc… you should start with the notion of network states.

(Obligatory @telliotter.bsky.social CC)
Note that Roger Stone refers to Prospera, the Network State city in Honduras, as a "freedom city."

Trump wants to build ten of these cities on federal land, and Stone makes it clear that these fascist cities are, indeed, the Network State.
Why Did Trump Pardon the Former Honduran President? Follow the Tech Bros.

“Próspera is an example of the tech-right concept of the network state, a phrase coined by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan.”

by @kieraevebutler.bsky.social
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
December 4, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Note that Roger Stone refers to Prospera, the Network State city in Honduras, as a "freedom city."

Trump wants to build ten of these cities on federal land, and Stone makes it clear that these fascist cities are, indeed, the Network State.
Why Did Trump Pardon the Former Honduran President? Follow the Tech Bros.

“Próspera is an example of the tech-right concept of the network state, a phrase coined by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan.”

by @kieraevebutler.bsky.social
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Why did Trump pardon the former Honduran president? Follow the Tech Bros.
With Roger Stone taking a victory lap for having come up with the idea in the first place.
www.motherjones.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Why Did Trump Pardon the Former Honduran President? Follow the Tech Bros.

“Próspera is an example of the tech-right concept of the network state, a phrase coined by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan.”

by @kieraevebutler.bsky.social
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Why did Trump pardon the former Honduran president? Follow the Tech Bros.
With Roger Stone taking a victory lap for having come up with the idea in the first place.
www.motherjones.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:31 PM
WSJ story on pardon of Honduras' drug-trafficker ex-president notes his role in “Próspera, a libertarian ‘startup city’ backed by Silicon Valley investors including Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen.”

“A Thiel spokesman said Thiel wasn’t involved in the pardon.”
🎁 link:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
How a Man Convicted of Running a Latin American Narco State Landed a Pardon
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández’s unusual network of Trump allies and MAGA influencers helped deliver an extraordinary pardon to him.
www.wsj.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Reposted by Gil Durán
Full pardon for the convicted drug trafficker who helped move 400 tons of cocaine. Death by airstrike for the guys on the boat www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Ex-Honduras president, convicted of drug trafficking, freed on Trump pardon
A former DEA agent called the release “devastating”: “It means any attempt to work your investigations to the highest levels is meaningless.”
www.washingtonpost.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Reposted by Gil Durán
Palantir CEO Says Making War Crimes Constitutional Would Be Good for Business
Palantir CEO Says Making War Crimes Constitutional Would Be Good for Business
Alex Karp vows to use his "whole influence" on immigration and defense policy.
gizmodo.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Gavin Newsom is getting warmer...

The leader of the Democratic Party must declare war on corporate complicity with fascism and channel public anger toward the increasingly dangerous billionaire class.

And drive reform from there.

www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
'Some of you are probably fine with it’: Newsom confronts business elite on Trump
The California governor used financial power brokers as a foil during an interview in New York City.
www.politico.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:00 PM