Who's scarier than Donald Trump? J.D. Vance, a true believer in America's tech-dystopian future, and he's one heartbeat away from the presidency. This week, independent journalist Gil Durán joins us to discuss his explosive new book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy–the book Mark Zuckerberg doesn't want you to read. (Duran has been blocked and blacklisted from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.)
Duran exposes how billionaire oligarchs like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk are weaponizing crypto, mass surveillance tools like Palantir and Flock cameras, and extreme wealth to overthrow our democracy. Their most dangerous trojan horse is JD Vance. Vance is the kind of opportunist who made the Third Reich possible. In our chilling interview, Durán discusses how Vance is a true believer in tech-fascism and entirely a "creation of Peter Thiel." From fantasizing about purging the civil service to openly defying the courts, Vance is prepared to go much further than wrecking ball Trump could manage.
We cannot let billionaires buy our government. Support fearless independent journalism by pre-ordering The Nerd Reich today and supporting shows like Gaslit Nation, and tune in to the full episode to learn how we can fight back! And thank you to everyone who preorders Andrea's new book, A Reasonable Guide for Unreasonable Women: 20 Steps to Find Your Purpose and Power in a World on Fire -- for concrete ways to build a better world from the MAGA dumpster fire ashes.
EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:
- Join Andrea and actor Steven Pasquale for an Instagram Live this Thursday August 20 at 4:30pm ET to discuss our authoritarian crisis and ways artists and culture can help us rethink and rebuild our democracy.
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Join Gaslit Nation at the Network NoVA Women's Summit this weekend at Tysons Corner, Virginia. Andrea will be speaking Saturday night after the drum circle and before the pajama party (yes, we're serious!) Details here: https://networknova.org/ws2026/
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Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit and GaslitNation.Substack.com for our community
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New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join on Patreon or Substack!
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The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: Join on Patreon or Substack!
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Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: Join on Patreon or Substack!
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Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: Join on Patreon or Substack!
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Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect. Join on Patreon or Substack!
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Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join. Join on Patreon or Substack!
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Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group. Join on Patreon or Substack!
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As always, keep it kind in our chat groups, extend grace and assume good faith. A culture of care is how we build a better world.
This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.