The

The Hey, and welcome back to Unlimited Hangout.

I'm your host, Whitney Webb.

During the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign and in the early days of the second Trump administration,

a group of Silicon Valley oligarchs quietly rose off the back of the faux populism of the Trump-era Republican Party.

Clothed in anti-woke rhetoric and sharp criticisms of the previous administration,

these tech multimillionaires and billionaires skillfully portrayed themselves as anti-establishment,

quote-unquote, counter-elites who promised to be against unpopular policies of the Biden administration.

They also claim to be opposed to the designs of the oligarchs who would become infamous in the COVID era among much of Trump's base,

particularly those tied to the World Economic Forum and its now former former chairman Klaus Schwab as well as bad

tech billionaires like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. These supposed counter elites promoted

themselves and their chosen politicians, Donald Trump and his vice president, venture capitalist

J.D. Vance, across prominent podcasts, several of which had previously booked establishment

COVID-19 narratives and developed audiences that, at least a few years ago, had regarded politicians

and oligarchs of both political persuasions with suspicion. Yet, through their apt rebranding,

fueled by certain podcasts, social media platforms, and quote-unquote, alternative media influencers, this faction of oligarchs has artfully persuaded an audience of would-be dissidents to come back to the fold, not the fold of the elites they hated in the COVID era, but instead the fold of these new counter-elites.

But who are these counter-elites really, and what do they actually believe?

Surprisingly few seem to know the answer, despite the viral and arguably manufactured popularity

of such figures.

Disturbingly, what these people seek is arguably an even more dystopian future than the one envisioned by the elites.

They are ostensibly replacing.

Joining me to discuss this and more is Ian Davis, whose forthcoming book, The Technocratic Dark State, explores these issues in great detail.

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