Silicon Valley venture capital isn’t just funding technology. It’s also building an escape plan from democracy.

In this episode of The Nerd Reich, Gil Duran is joined by Olivier Jutel (University of Otago) to examine what can only be described as a tech cult: a small, ideologically aligned group of venture capitalists who have become the de facto state planners of American capitalism.

As many VC funds underperform, leading figures—from Peter Thiel to Marc Andreessen—are turning toward increasingly radical political projects.

These include network states, charter cities, special economic zones, crypto-enabled sovereign zones, and heavy investment in AI, surveillance, and war technologies.

The goal is no longer innovation, but power—and a strategy Jutel describes as “exit through the state.” This conversation breaks down:

How venture capital actually makes money (and why “risk-taking” is largely a myth)

Why VC is clustering around AI, crypto, surveillance, and militarization What the “network state” really is—and why it’s a political threat

How Trump-era politics fit into VC’s long-term strategy

Why “abundance” narratives collapse under real economic incentives

What’s at stake for democracy, labor, and the future itself

Venture capital is a political cult project—one increasingly willing to dismantle democratic systems to preserve its own power.

Follow Olivier Jutel on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ojutel.bsky.social

Follow Gil Duran on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/gilduran.com

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Pre-order Gil Duran’s book: The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-nerd-reich-silicon-valley-fascism-and-the-war-on-democracy-gil-dur-n/a6f6f0dce1150339?ean=9781668221402&next=t

#venturecapital #tech #politics #billionaire #democracy #ai

Journalist Gil Duran explores the strange alliance between JD Vance, Silicon Valley and Christian Nationalists.

Experts say they are converging on the same anti-democratic playbook. From the Seven Mountains Mandate to "Network State" projects like Highland Rim, we expose how figures like JD Vance, Peter Thiel, and Doug Wilson are planning a theocratic-technocratic future.

Gil Duran speaks with Prof. Matthew Boedy, author of "The Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy": Buy it here: https://www.wjkbooks.com/bookproduct/0664269214-the-seven-mountains-mandate/

And Kiera Butler of Mother Jones, a national correspondent at Mother Jones. https://www.motherjones.com/author/kiera-butler/

• Read: Christian Theo Bros Are Building a Tech Utopia in Appalachia: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/christian-theobros-are-building-a-tech-utopia-in-appalachia/
• Please Pre-Order Gil Duran's new book, "The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War on Democracy." https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Nerd-Reich/Gil-Duran/9781668221402
• Subscribe to The Nerd Reich newsletter: https://www.thenerdreich.com/
• Follow Gil on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gilduran.com
• Follow Matthew Boedy on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/matthewboedy.bsky.social
• Follow Kiera Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kieraevebutler.bsky.social

#jdvance #project2025 #tech #politics #siliconvalley #billionaire #christian #christianity #peterthiel #democracy #podcast #religion #charliekirk

Silicon Valley sold us the dream of saving the world—but what if the system funding that dream is the real problem?

In this explosive episode of the Nerd Reich Podcast, host Gil Duran sits down with Catherine Bracey, founder of Tech Equity Collaborative and author of "World Eaters: How Venture Capital Is Cannibalizing the Economy."

Together they unpack “fentanyl capitalism”—the idea that if capitalism is heroin, venture capital is its far more potent and dangerous form.

From the whaling origins of VC to blitzscaling, MAGA politics, and Silicon Valley’s god complex, Bracy explains how tech’s obsession with unicorns, power laws, and exits is warping innovation, democracy, and faith itself.

00:00 Intro – Why VC is Fentanyl Capitalism

04:20 The Whaling Origins of Venture Capital

09:40 Blitzscaling & the Psychology of Unicorns

17:30 VC Meets MAGA Politics

26:00 Hereticon, Antichrist & Tech’s Spiritual Crisis

28:40 Can We Fix It or Let It Burn?

33:00 Lightning Round & Final Words of Wisdom

📚 Buy "World Eaters" → https://bookshop.org/p/books/world-eaters-how-venture-capital-is-cannibalizing-the-economy-catherine-bracy/ff2a78cff5580674?ean=9780593473481&next=t

💌 Subscribe → http://www.thenerdreich.com

#tech #venturecapital #SiliconValley #WorldEaters #TechEquity #FentanylCapitalism #PeterThiel #AndreessenHorowitz #Politics #AI #Neoliberalism #podcast