System Crash
Tech giants like Google and Facebook have conquered — some would say killed — the internet. Elon Musk used his platform to help elect Trump, and Silicon Valley elites want to gut the public sector. OpenAI and Microsoft aim to wipe away millions of jobs. Uber is driving down wages. Apple is impenetrable. Amazon is inescapable. All this high tech, and our quality of life is getting lower. The system has crashed.
So, System Crash: a weekly tech news show willing to tell the hard truths about how tech — and the titans who own and operate it — is really transforming the world. Co-hosts Paris Marx and Brian Merchant dissect the stories that matter, break news of their own, offer expert commentary, and interview journalists, whistleblowers, authors, and tech workers and ordinary people fighting back.
Episodes
20 episodes
How Elon Musk Used Tesla to Build His Power ft. Ed Niedermeyer
In our new series Elon In Power, we’re digging into the billionaire’s history to find out how he got to this point and what his past tells us about who he is today. For our second episode, Ludicrous author and Autonocast cohost Ed Nied...
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Episode 16
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1:10:49
Patreon Preview: The Trump Administration’s Crypto Dream
This is a preview of System Crash’s monthly bonus episode, breaking down the White House crypto summit and recent speeches by AI and crypto czar David Sacks praising Donald Trump. To get the full bonus episode, become
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5:56
SpaceX and the Foundation of Elon’s Empire ft. Lora Kolodny
In our new series Elon In Power, we’re digging into the billionaire’s history to find out how he got to this point and what his past tells us about who he is today. For our second episode, CNBC Digital tech reporter Lora Kolodny joins the ...
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Episode 15
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57:47
Elon in Power: The PayPal Mafia and Building the Myth of Musk ft. Max Chafkin
In our new series Elon In Power, we’re digging into the billionaire’s history to find out how he got to this point and what his past tells us about who he is today. For our first episode, Bloomberg senior reporter and author of The Contrari...
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Episode 14
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45:33
The Promise of a New Tech Era ft. Ed Ongweso Jr.
Donald Trump finally launched his trade war on Canada and Mexico. For two days. Some tariffs remain, and they could all be back in April, and who knows what happens then. As Trump abandons allies, there’s a lot of uncertainty—but there’s also o...
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Episode 13
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57:54
Paris and Brian Crash a BioTech Conference
In a break from chronicling Elon Musk’s takeover of the US government, Paris and Brian share some thoughts from Monterey, California, where they attended a convening to mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark Asilomar biotechnology conference...
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Episode 12
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55:44
Taking Down Tesla ft. Alex Winter
A media narrative has taken shape that there’s little resistance to Trump and Musk, but protests against the administration’s antidemocratic push for power are growing. In fact, they’re everywhere. This week Brian and Paris chat with actor, dir...
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Episode 11
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51:12
Patreon Preview: Decoding Peter Thiel’s Deeply Bizarre Manifesto
This is a preview of System Crash’s monthly bonus episode, looking into a recent op-ed by none other than Peter Thiel that gives us important insight into how he’s thinking and the political moment we find ourselves in. To get the full bonus ep...
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5:53
Silicon Valley Enters Its Imperial Era
Silicon Valley hard at work turning DC into an AI-fueled dystopia. This week Paris and Brian dig into three big trends all converging at once: Elon Musk’s expanding power over the federal government, JD Vance’s speech in France declaring Americ...
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Episode 10
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1:00:27
Elon Musk's Digital Coup and the Future of the Internet ft. Cory Doctorow
Paris is out this week, so we found another esteemed Canadian writer, activist, and tech critic to log in as System Crash's first-ever guest host: Cory Doctorow. Brian and Cory examine Elon Musk’s campaign of governmental destruction in Washing...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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47:20
Did a Chinese Startup just Burst the AI Bubble? ft. Ed Zitron
Is the AI hype going to evaporate after Chinese startup DeepSeek shows it can do generative AI way cheaper than OpenAI, Anthropic, and big tech? AI watcher and tech PR guru Ed Zitron joins Brian and Paris to break down what the company has achi...
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Episode 8
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56:07
The Rise of the Silicon Oligarchy ft. Jacob Silverman
Trump’s back in office, Elon’s doing “awkward hand gestures,” and the oligarchy 2.0 is right behind them.This week on System Crash, Paris and Brian welcome special guest Jacob Silverman to dive into the grotesque spectacle of Trump’s se...
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Episode 7
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57:05
What Meta Wants From Donald Trump ft. Jason Koebler
Jason Koebler joins the show to chat with Paris and Brian about the looming TikTok ban (that got even less likely after we recorded) and what Mark Zuckerberg is really looking for from the Trump administration. Plus, the new Free the Feeds init...
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Episode 6
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1:01:54
Mark Zuckerberg Saves Free Speech
The new year has arrived, and luckily Mark Zuckerberg has started it by saving free speech! Brian and Paris break down the latest announcements from our benevolent social media overseer, what they signal about the tech oligarchy’s embrace of MA...
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Episode 5
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54:32
Welcome to the Intelligence Age: Dissecting the Tech Titans’ Key Ideas of 2024
Every month, Brian Merchant and Paris Marx will be digging into writings, worldviews and future visions of the tech titans shaping our lives, exclusively for Patreon supporters. To give you an idea of what that will sound like, the first bonus ...
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57:40
The Looming Specter of the TikTok Ban
After hearing from a very special guest, Brian and Paris consider: Is the US really about to ban TikTok? If nothing changes come January 19th, it will. We explain why Congress *really* moved to shut down the massive social media app, and what m...
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Episode 4
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55:31
The Great Crypto Conquest of 2024 ft. Molly White
Brian Merchant and Paris Marx are back with the very first guest of System Crash: Molly White! With Molly’s help, we walk through the biggest stories in the crypto world. We explore the resurgence of crypto, how its backers influenced the elect...
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Episode 3
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1:04:00
ChatGPT’s Sad Second Birthday
Brian Merchant and Paris Marx are back to celebrate ChatGPT’s second birthday while questioning how OpenAI is really doing as it embraces advertising and the rivalry between Sam Altman and Elon Musk continues to escalate.Mentioned this ...
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Episode 2
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53:01