This episode of The Dig is brought to you by our listeners who support us at patreon.com

and by Haymarket Books, which has loads of great left-wing titles, perfect for dig listeners

like you. One that you might like is Bit Tyrants, the political economy of Silicon Valley, by

Rob Larson.

For fans of corporate fairy tales, there are no shortage of official histories that

celebrate the innovative genius of Steve Jobs, liberal commentators who fall over themselves

to laud Bill Gates' selfless philanthropy, or politicians who tell us to listen to Mark Zuckerberg

for advice on how to protect our democracy from foreign influence.

In this highly unauthorized account of the Big Five's origins, Rob Larson sets the record straight.

Those readers unwilling to smile and nod, as every day we become

more dependent on our phones and apps to do our chores, our jobs, and our socializing, can take

heart as Larson provides us with maps to all the shallow graves, skeleton-filled closets, and invective-laced emails that big tech left

behind on its ascent to power.

Larson's withering analysis will help readers crack the code of the economic dynamics that

allowed these companies to become near monopolies very early on.

And, with a little bit of luck,

his calls for digital socialism might just inspire a viral movement

for online revolution.

Bit Tyrants,

the political economy of Silicon Valley.

By Rob Larson.

Out now from Haymarket Books.

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