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Artist Barry Windsor-Smith is one of the most legendary names in comics. This is mainly thanks to his detailed line work and striking images on series such as Conan the Barbarian, and the iconic Wolverine story Weapon X. Now, publisher Fantagraphics has teamed up with Marvel to bring some of Barry Windsor-Smith’s earliest work in deluxe hardcover format. Coming this spring is The Marvel Creator Collection: Barry Windsor-Smith at Marvel. This three-volume series collects the artist’s earliest published work, going back to 1969. You can see the first images from the collection, collecting pages originally from Avengers #66, in our gallery down below. These pages show some of the earliest appearances of the Vision, who would go on to become one of Marvel’s most stalwart Avengers.

The Marvel Creator Collection No. 1: “Back to the Savage Land” Barry Windsor-Smith at Marvel Vol. 1 Click To View Gallery Fantagraphics/Marvel Comics Fantagraphics/Marvel Comics Marvel Comics/Fantagraphics Fantagraphics/Marvel Comics Marvel Comics/Fantagraphics Fantagraphics/Marvel Comics Marvel Comics/Fantagraphics Fantagraphics/Marvel Comics Marvel Comics/Fantagraphics

Due out at the end of April, The Marvel Creator Collection No. 1: “Back to the Savage Land” will feature early pre-Conan work on titles such as X-Men, The Avengers, Doctor Strange, and Iron Man. This will also include his amazing run on “Ka-Zar” of the Savage Land in Astonishing Tales. These stories helped close out Marvel’s Silver Age era, and usher in the Bronze Age. In addition to the previously mentioned series, this collection will collect individual stories from horror titles Chamber of Darkness and Tower of Shadows. Future volumes will collect Barry Windsor-Smith’s work from later groundbreaking Marvel series like Machine Man.

Fantagraphics/Marvel Comics

In a statement, here’s what Fantagraphics’ founder Gary Groth had to say about this upcoming celebration of Windsor-Smith’s decades of Marvel work:

I have literally been following Barry Windsor-Smith’s career since 1969 when he debuted at Marvel Comics and immediately became my 2nd favorite artist (after Jack Kirby). So, it is a distinct pleasure to have the privilege of finally presenting all the work he did for Marvel (with the exception of Conan) in a gorgeously produced 3-volume hardcover series

The Marvel Creator Collection No. 1: “Back to the Savage Land” is due out on April 29, 2026, from Fantagraphics. You can pre-order it now from the official Fantagraphics online store for $49.99.

The post Barry Windsor-Smith’s Marvel Comics Getting Deluxe Collection (Exclusive) appeared first on Nerdist.

Facebook provider also working with energy storage firm to keep 100 hours of juice on hand

With AI demand growing, Facebook parent Meta is looking for new ways to power its datacenters, with one ambitious project pledging to send solar power down from orbit. Another agreement offers Meta the opportunity to store enough power to keep its bit barns going, even when the grid is over capacity or down.…

Say what you will about House of the Dragon as an adaptation. (As both George R.R. Martin and myself have.) But d*mn if the show doesn’t know how to cut one seven bloody hells of a trailer. The latest look at the show’s upcoming third season is an intense, violent, sad affair that teases an explosive new entry. It makes good on House Targaryen’s promise. There will be plenty of fire and there will be plenty of blood. And the ones set to suffer the most are the family members bringing both to Westeros.

“There will be no doubt who the gods have chosen to rule.”

That’s the tagline for this newest promo for season three of HBO’s first Game of Thrones‘ prequel series. We’re not so sure this is a matter forthe gods, though. This is about dragons, both human and fire made flesh.

In this trailer we see Rhaenyra and her supporters having the advantage. However, as Queen Alicent tells her former friend-turned enemy-turned accomplice, ruling comes at a great cost. And that’s without factoring in that the Targaryen civil war is clearly far from over. There are still plenty of battles to be fought and plenty of losses to be endured.

HBO

While we won’t give away any spoilers, book readers will definitely spot some big moments (and/or their fallout) destined to occur this season. (That one very emotional reaction….we know. We know.) Even those unfamiliar with George R.R. Martin’s history knew multiple big battles loom at the start of the season. The show’s sophomore outing set up some huge conflicts without delivering them.

Was that a mistake? Some would say yes. (It’s me, I’m some.) But the tradeoff is that season three could be the show’s best yet. We’ll find out when House of the Dragon returns to the skies of Westeros this summer. The third season debuts on June 21, 2026.

The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Season 3 Trailer Is Violent and Emotional appeared first on Nerdist.

Enola Holmes 3 on the way to our Netflix screens. A while ago, Netflix announced that not only was Enola Holmes 3 on the way, but that the third movie in the franchise had already begun to film in the UK. In addition, the streamer revealed the cast and synopsis of Enola Holmes 3. Now, we know that Enola Holmes 3 will hit Netflix on July 1. That’s refreshingly close and fans are ready after a four year wait for her return.

Netflix

Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming movie starring Millie Bobby Brown.

Enola Holmes 3 has gathered an excellent cast. As mentioned, Millie Bobby Brown will be back as the main character and Sherlock Holmes sibling, Enola Holmes. Joining her are Louis Partridge, Himesh Patel, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, and Helena Bonham Carter. Excitingly, Henry Cavill will also be back in Enola Holmes 3, returning to the cast as Sherlock Holmes himself. We’ll definitely be excited to see more of Cavill and Brown as the duo of detective siblings.

Netflix

As to what mystery lies in store for us in Enola Holmes 3, Netflix isn’t saying much yet. The official synopsis for Enola Holmes 3 reads as follows: “Adventure chases detective Enola Holmes to Malta, where personal and professional dreams collide on a case more tangled and treacherous than any she has faced before.“

We love a new setting and a tangled and treacherous case. We just hope Enola’s professional aspirations don’t end up ruining her personal desires. Philip Barantini will direct the Enola Holmes 3 movie with a screenplay by Jack Thorne. The Enola Holmes franchise is based on The Enola Holmes Mysteries book series by Nancy Springer. So, anyone wanting to get a jumpstart on enjoying the next film should pick up a copy.

Netflix

Of course, Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2 are available to stream on Netflix right now. We cannot wait to see Enola Holmes 3 on Netflix this July.

Originally published January 7, 2026.

The post ENOLA HOLMES 3 Reveals July Release Date appeared first on Nerdist.

Natural gas power plant costs have nearly doubled in two years and take 23% longer to build as data center electricity demand skyrockets.

At 11:00 PM Sunday night, Donald Trump endorsed a conservative influencer’s suggestion that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be renamed National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (NICE), “so the media has to say NICE Agents all day everyday.”

“GREAT IDEA!!! DO IT .” the President wrote. He has rarely been able to resist the magic of a good rebranding opportunity. Days after his inauguration, Trump announced that the Gulf of Mexico would henceforth be known as the “Gulf of America,” though that name has not caught on in the year since.

A few months later, he renamed the Department of Defense as the Department of War.

This, at least, was an honest move. The United States has been at peace for fewer than 20 years out of its 250-year history; calling our nation’s war-making machine the Department of Defense has always been a euphemistic choice.

Some of his renaming attempts have been more baldly self-centered: see the recently-re-dubbed Trump-Kennedy Center.

But none of these rebrands, no matter their motives, have reshaped the realities of the things they name: the gulf is still the gulf, whether of Mexico or of America. The Department of Defense or War is still vacuuming up over half the federal government’s discretionary budget in order to bomb at least seven different countries during Trump’s second term.

And whether National is tacked onto ICE or not, they’ll still be the same agency: bloated, overfunded, and killing roughly one person in their custody per week.

No. More. Exclusivity. Redmond keeps the ring until 2032, but OpenAI is free to see other clouds

Once tied tightly together, Microsoft and OpenAI have amended their agreement, making the Windows giant's license non-exclusive. In exchange, Microsoft will no longer owe OpenAI a revenue share.…

Governments across Europe are looking to rely less on American tech providers.

The Boys may be coming to an end with its fifth and final season, but this diabolical universe still has lots of bizarre stories to tell. Vought Rising will take us back to the 1950s to explore the early days of Vought with a murder mystery and lots of Soldier Boy shenanigans. We will learn more about supes and people we’ve already met as well as meet new characters who certainly ain’t heroes. Who will star in Vought Rising and what can we expect from the series? 

Here’s everything we know about Vought Rising.

Title

The official title of the series is Vought Rising. 

Vought Rising’s Plot 

We don’t have a ton of plot details at this point, but here’s the general synopsis for Vought Rising is that it’s a “twisted murder mystery about the origins of Vought in the 1950s, the early exploits of Soldier Boy, and the diabolical maneuvers of a Supe known to fans as Stormfront, who was then going by the name Clara Vought.” 

There is a hint into Vought Rising’s twisted journey, thanks to an IG post revealing that the first episode is titled “Red Scare.” The episode is written by EP/showrunner Paul Grellong and directed by Sam Miller. 

This title is likely a reference to the real-life Red Scare that took place in the 1940s and 1950s. It was a period of time where people were really afraid of anyone whom they perceived to be a part of communist and socialist movements in the USA. The fears/suspicions from this moral panic could quickly escalate to persecution and violence. People found their freedom of speech and right to assemble being thwarted by the powers that be in charge. Sadly, this sounds all too familiar, even in 2026.

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Fort Harmony in THE BOYS, Explained: Its Ties to V-One and Vought

We have gotten some tidbits about what we might see in Vought Rising, thanks to The Boys season five. The show took Soldier Boy to Fort Harmony, where Frederick Vought did early experiments on soldiers and injected them with V-One. As we know, that’s what’s running in Soldier Boy’s veins and what Homelander wants in his. We ran into Quinn, who was mutated by V-One and causing a haze of hate in the dilapidated former military base. It’s clear that Quinn and Soldier Boy had a connection and a terse relationship, so we should get more of that and Fort Harmony in Vought Rising.

And, we will get more about the deep ties between Soldier Boy and Stormfront, whom he knew better at Clara Vought. Bombsight will eventually show up in The Boys, and we will likely learn more about him and how he relates to Soldier Boy in Vought Rising as well.

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VOUGHT RISING Will Show a Softer Side of Soldier BoyBehind-the-Scenes 

Paul Grellong will be the showrunner and executive producer for Vought Rising. The Boys’ showrunner Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Ori Marmur, Pavun Shetty, Ken Levin, Jason Netter, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Michaela Starr, and Jim Barnes are all executive producers on the series. We know that Sam Miller will direct at least the first episode of the series. The show wrapped production in March 2026, and is now going through the post-production process.

Vought Rising’s Cast Prime Video

Of course, Jensen Ackles and Aya Cash will return as Soldier Boy and Stormfront/Clara Vought, respectively. It really works in their favor that many supes do not age. Mason Dye will portray Bombsight, a supe who will make his debut in The Boys season five. Will Hochman and Elizabeth Posey will portray Torpedo and Private Angel. KiKi Layne, Jorden Myrie, Nicolò Pasetti, Ricky Staffieri, and Brian J. Smith will all star in this show as well in undisclosed roles. Raphael Sbarge, Romi Shraiter, Aaron Douglas and David Hewlett are all in Vought Rising in recurring roles that are currently under wraps.

Vought Rising’s Release Date 

There is currently no release date for Vought Rising but it is coming sometime in 2027.

Originally published October 21, 2025.

The post VOUGHT RISING Will Arrive in 2027 appeared first on Nerdist.

Side boosters to make simultaneous touchdown while center core takes one for the team

SpaceX is preparing to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time in more than 18 months, kicking off what could be a busy time for the vehicle.…

On May 27, the web will start to unravel as Nicolas Cage takes on the role of Ben Reilly in Spider-Noir. This Prime Video live-action series is coming at the perfect time, giving us a different type of Spider hero before Peter Parker swings into theaters for what will surely be a summer blockbuster. In the latest trailer for Spider-Noir, the mystery and chaos of this universe start to ramp up with a spiraling mystery.

Reilly is a private investigator in a chaotic New York City who used to be the Spider, the only hero on the streets. A woman comes to his agency asking for help to find her friend, but the details are scarce. She says the world is a dangerous place but Ben is braver than he seems to be.

Prime Video

And well, we see Sandman punch him clean off a building. Yikes. But of course he’s able to web-sling himself out of that situation, and Spider-Man is back once again to defend 1930s NYC. Entertaining, intriguing, and action-packed, the trailer for Spider-Noir sets the tone for this series perfectly.

The post SPIDER-NOIR Trailer: A Spiraling NYC and a Hero Reborn appeared first on Nerdist.

China has ordered Meta to unwind its multibillion-dollar Manus acquisition, dealing a potential setback to Zuckerberg’s push into AI agents.

The phone could go in mass production in 2028, an analyst says.

The American technology giant provides water and energy monitoring and utility meters to hundreds of millions of homes and businesses.

Space Force awards 11 firms prototype deals to build orbital interceptors

The United States Space Force (USSF) has awarded eleven companies contracts to develop space-based interceptors for President Trump's Golden Dome program, in agreements worth up to $3.2 billion.…

If you’re a watch person and you’re a Star Wars lover, Citizen Watch has a rare gift for you. In celebration of “May the Fourth” (Star Wars Day), Citizen will create its first-ever Disney collab in its premium ATTESA line. That means that you’ll get all the incredibly nerdery of a Star Wars watch mixed with all the high-end luxury of an ATTESA watch. But you’ll really have to use the Force if you want to get your wrist into this watch—the limited edition ATTESA Beskar watch will only release 100 pieces worldwide. That makes it not only a first-of-its-kind watch, but a SUPER rare creation. Don’t worry, though, Citizen has you covered if you want a more widely available timepiece that celebrates The Mandalorian. Let’s see what Citizen Watch has in store for you this Star Wars Day.Citizen Watch

Beskar, also known as Mandalorian iron or Mandalorian steel, is an incredibly rare metal in the Star Wars universe. It can be found only on Mandalorian worlds. So it makes sense that Citizen Watch would be inspired by Beskar to create its first-ever nerdy ATTESA watch. I mean, Beskar can repel even lightsaber strikes. That’s serious business.

Click To View Gallery Citizen Watch Citizen Watch Citizen Watch Citizen Watch

Citizen shares of its new watch, “Where the strength of the Mandalorian meets Citizen’s ATTESA premium line, this high-performance chronograph is forged from lightweight, scratch-resistant Super Titanium™ – a nod to Beskar, the legendary metal used to craft Mandalorian armor. Advanced features include Atomic Timekeeping, world time across 26 time zones, a perpetual calendar, and a power reserve display. Subtle design details like the mythosaur emblem on the crown and the Mandalorian helmet etched on the case back underscore its collectible appeal. Finished with Mandalorian-themed packaging, the release is limited to just 100 pieces worldwide.”

Nerdist Nerdist Nerdist Nerdist

We love the nods to Beskar’s wavy patterns in ingot form on the watch, as well. And the tiny Mythosaur emblem is just perfect. That’s the kind of attention to detail we expect from Citizen Watch. Having seen a preview of the watch, we can also exclusively share the nice heft of this creation, and the truly sleek design. Not to mention, all the Star Wars nuances are both really ornate and really subtle in the best ways. Our favorite part of any Citizen Watch is the incredible etchings on the back, and this watch is no different.

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Bring Beskar Into Your Kitchen with This MANDALORIAN Collection from Hedley & Bennett

Of course, this watch will set you back as much as a Beskar helmet, it costs $1,500. And as we mentioned, with only 100 pieces created, it’s pretty dang rare.

But, of course, Citizen Watch wants all Star Wars fans to celebrate in style ahead of The Mandalorian & Grogu, which debuts on May 22.  Not just 100. Even you can’t snag the limited-addition ATTESA Beskar watch, fear not. Citizen has made available a new timepiece inspired by The Mandalorian that all can own.

Click To View Gallery Citizen Watch Citizen Watch Citizen Watch Citizen Watch Citizen Watch

Here’s what Citizen Watch has to share about this one, “Inspired by The Mandalorian, this chronograph features a black dial, gold-tone bezel, and dark brown leather strap. Sub-dials highlight key elements from the series, including the Mudhorn, Mandalorian helmet, and Grogu, bringing subtle storytelling to an everyday wearable design.” This Star Wars watch will cost $450. And really, who can resist a glow-in-the-dark element?

RELATED ARTICLE

Citizen’s Dark Side STAR WARS Watches Keep You Marching on Time

If you’re looking to snag either one of these watches, the Star Wars ATTESA Limited-Edition will be available beginning 4/27, and The Mandalorian will be available on 5/18, ahead of the film release, both available on Citizenwatch.com. 

The post Snag This SUPER Limited STAR WARS Citizen Watch Release appeared first on Nerdist.

Getting banned from Elon Musk’s X for pointing out Palantir’s fascism has created more interest in my work.

Last week, I spoke with Emma Vigeland of the Majority Report about the Palantir manifesto and the company’s role in Trump’s fascist regime. You can watch the full interview below.

I also spoke with Cydney Hayes of the SF Gazetteer, one of the few journalists to write about my baseless suspension from X, for her piece on Palantir.

“Palantir is quickly becoming one of the most hated companies in the world, due to its open complicity with an authoritarian regime,” I told her. “They have a major public relations crisis.”

Here’s a gift link to read her story.

Reading Palantir: Why the defense tech giant’s manifesto may signal panic inside the companyThe war tech firm is suffering from a lethal combo of stock price superinflation and midterms anxietyGazetteer SFCydney Hayes

The word “fascism” gets tossed around a lot, often as a generic term for authoritarian or dictatorial. But it has a more specific meaning. I’m currently writing a piece that will explain why the Palantir manifesto is a clear expression of fascism. (Makena Kelly of Wired reports that “Palantir Employees Are Starting To Wonder If They’re The Bad Guys.” Spoiler Alert: Obviously.)

In the meantime, I explain some of my thinking in the Majority Report interview (transcript below).

Prefer audio?

• Listen to the Majority Report on Apple Podcasts
• Listen to the Majority Report on Spotify

Full transcript below

The Palantir Manifesto | The Majority Report with Sam Seder|Gil Duran Interviewed By Emma Vigeland

Transcripts may contain errors.

Emma Vigeland: We are back, and we are joined now by Gil Durán, publisher of The Nerd Reich, a newsletter about the tech authoritarian politics of Silicon Valley. Gil, welcome back to the show.

Gil Durán: Thanks for having me.

Emma Vigeland: Of course. So earlier this week, Palantir took out a full-page ad in the New York Times — or was it the Wall Street Journal? I forget which paper — about how they "stand with Israel." We knew that already. But they also published this so-called manifesto on social media, and I want to get to that in a second. Before we do, can you explain to people what Palantir is? It's talked about all the time — it's kind of this boogeyman — but its origin story, how it came to be, and really what role it's currently playing in American politics and in our economy.

Gil Durán: Sure. Palantir came into being after 9/11, when there was a lot of concern about national security, fears of terrorism, and the need for vastly increased surveillance of everything in the United States and internationally as well. It was funded partly with an investment from In-Q-Tel, the CIA's investment arm, but most of the funding came from Peter Thiel and his venture capital funds. He's a co-founder along with several other people, like Joe Lonsdale and Alex Karp, who was Thiel's law school buddy and is now the CEO and has been a part of it a long time too.

What Palantir does — they keep the whole thing kind of opaque, so it's hard to explain — but they're a surveillance technology giant with software that helps governments sort through, collect, and organize large troves of information on whatever their chosen targets are. It's a program that sits on top of other systems and helps them have more of an all-seeing-eye effect. That's why they chose the name Palantir. The name comes from The Lord of the Rings, and it's that little orb the evil wizard uses to see what's going on with the hobbits as he tries to take over the world. So they literally named it after a technology wielded by an evil, corrupted wizard in The Lord of the Rings. Think of it that way: it's the little all-seeing orb. That's what they want you to think of.

Emma Vigeland: Yeah. And their insistence on portraying themselves in this braggadociously evil, mendacious manner is unique. It's manifest in this manifesto, if you will. Let's pull it up here. From what I understand, it's basically a summary of Alex Karp's book — Karp being the CEO of Palantir, who we've played on the show before, a very manic and bizarre individual. A lot of this is just summarized from what he's previously written. But this is what they say the new Palantir manifesto is — their role in the United States.

The first plank: Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible, and they have an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation. Number two — rebelling against the iPhone apps — that seems a little less consequential. Number three: free email is not enough; the decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public. Whatever. But one and four seem to link together. Number four: the limits of soft power or soaring rhetoric alone have been exposed; the ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal — it requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.

We'll come back to this in a second, but those two seem to connect. And the fifth plank is about how AI needs to be used to develop weapons and military and national security technology. So this is them announcing publicly: one, we shouldn't be bound by morality, and yet Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to contribute to the national defense via surveillance; and also, we're going to use AI weapons. Are they going to do that for free, or are they going to take government contracts? I think we know the answer.

Gil Durán: Yeah. What's interesting about that first point is that the greatest threat to our nation right now is from the Trump regime, which is attempting to destroy the country from the inside — and Palantir is a major conspirator in that project. They are reaping billions in contracts, expanding their footprint like never before. To be clear, Palantir has thrived under Democratic and Republican administrations — something that really needs to change. But the country they're talking about defending is not the country we think of as the United States of America. It's this new authoritarian regime that's being brought into being by Trump, and which they plan to defend with their software violence.

The important thing to understand about this Palantir manifesto — which, as you said, comes from Alex Karp's book The Technological Republic — is that it rings all the bells of classic fascism. It is a call to arms for a group of chosen Silicon Valley elites to merge with the military-industrial complex, on a moral imperative to defend against an existential threat to Western civilization posed by inferior cultures that are invading us and weakening us, along with liberal elite decadence. This is fascism.

In addition, they call for Silicon Valley to get engaged with law and order and fighting violent crime to save lives — fascists always try to exacerbate fears around crime. And they call for a new respect for religion and the fusing of corporations with government. That's pretty much what Mussolini did when he created fascism: you fuse corporate, state, and religion. So without saying the f-word, they're winking and nodding and saying it other ways.

The thing is, this is what many of these venture-capital-funded tech companies are doing right now. Everyone's issuing some kind of manifesto about acceleration, about the need for more warfare and technology — and this is basically classic fascist rhetoric. They're all competing to be the new Mussolini, essentially. It should terrify Americans, and it should radicalize Americans, that these people are becoming so completely extreme while living off our taxpayer dollars.

Emma Vigeland: And it is notable that Palantir's technology has been integrated with ICE activities. You mentioned how Palantir started after 9/11, and that the CIA's venture arm invested in it. ICE is also an outgrowth of 9/11. The Department of Homeland Security is an outgrowth of 9/11. And viewing Palantir and its growth as an extension of the national security state that came out of 9/11 — many leftists, many people, warned that eventually these technologies and the rollback of our civil liberties would result in this being used on American citizens. It feels like Palantir is central in that project, as is its work with ICE specifically.

Gil Durán: Oh, definitely. It's part of the immigration machine. It's part of the war machine. It is completely bought in. Its entire fate depends on this increased surveillance model. They're also doing stuff in hospitals, like monitoring the work schedules of nurses. There's a large level of buy-in to this company right now.

One of the big problems is that the United States government is creating a company that now feels entitled to rival government power — to start issuing its own political manifestos. It's the hazards of privatization unfolding in real time. If the government needs some of these technologies, it should own those technologies. It should not have a company that now decides what the new political structure of the country is going to be.

Why aren't the CEOs of Lockheed or Raytheon issuing manifestos? I'm not saying those companies are good, but for the most part, in the past, you didn't have government contractors out there pushing radical political ideas of their own. Their job is to do what the president and Congress decide. They are contractors. So you have contractors acting like they're the CEOs of government, and this is very much the idea they have in mind: a privatization of government and a seizure of power through surveillance and military might. It's important to be aware of that. It has to become a political goal of all of us to destroy this company and disentangle it from our government.

Emma Vigeland: We had Rana Dasgupta on a few weeks ago to discuss his book After Nations, and he compared Silicon Valley and the growth of the tech industry to the East India Company historically — a private entity acting alongside and in conjunction with the imperial power of the time, but privatized, with its own incentives, and so powerful at this point that it can have more sway than even the most powerful nation states that supposedly have some sort of democratic input.

Gil Durán: And they talk about that very openly. Balaji Srinivasan uses the Dutch East India Company as a framework — returning to a world where these sort of corporate guilds have a tremendous amount of power. A big idea I've talked about on your show before is what they call the Network State: the creation of a new power source that is not national, that is not based on democracy or government power, that's based on pure corporate power. They explicitly talk about that, and everywhere we look we can see examples of them doing it.

I should say, too, that meanwhile, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has been traveling the globe talking about the Antichrist, saying the Antichrist will seek to establish a one-world rule through technology under the slogan of "peace and safety" — which sounds a lot like what Palantir is doing, as people have pointed out.

Emma Vigeland: Isn't he saying Greta Thunberg is the one ushering it in?

Gil Durán: He throws in a lot of words like that, but those are distractions. What he's really saying, if you read the whole speech, is that the United States is the cradle of the Antichrist, apparently because it's the cradle of what we call democracy — and that Silicon Valley should not help the United States spread democracy, but should find a way to decentralize this power. Basically what Karp is saying: make it privatized, and reverse what the country has traditionally stood for.

A lot of what these guys are afraid of is the fact that this is going to become a minority-majority country, and they fear what will happen to white supremacy when that happens. So that's the thread: these expressions of public political psychosis coming out of Silicon Valley. It's extremely concerning.

Emma Vigeland: Yeah. And as Matt just said off-mic — what a coincidence that these are all white South Africans who seem very obsessed with demographics. I just want to return quickly to what you said about crime — Silicon Valley coming out of San Francisco, where there has been this large-scale panic about homelessness and crime, and the insistence that crime was out of control when we saw a temporary spike during COVID and now have seen precipitous declines. The network state concept you've written about is about the privatization of government, as you say. They made those efforts within different cities — they funded an effort to recall Chesa Boudin in San Francisco. But it feels like their ambitions for the privatized surveillance state to combat crime aren't just limited to the cities where they were making billions. It's now about expanding that to the entire United States.

Gil Durán: Crime is a tried-and-true way to create anxiety about poor people, about poverty, to create racial anxiety. This goes back many decades. They're not creating anything new there. They're just saying they've got to supercharge it. That's what we saw in San Francisco at a time when crime was declining and crime rates were generally at historic lows across California, including in San Francisco, which is a very safe city. They created a moral panic around crime and were able to achieve their political aims by doing so.

I definitely think they want to deploy that strategy at a larger scale. Again, everywhere you look, this is the extreme right-wing fascist playbook being played out: creation of fear of the other, a need to centralize elites and wealthy people around a goal of purging the enemy. They speak about inferior cultures that don't contribute to the country. It's all very transparent, but they put it in this pseudo-intellectual format that makes it seem like they have some kind of high-minded philosophy, when it's really some of the ugliest stuff in our politics.

Emma Vigeland: My last question: how seriously should we take it? How much is this Alex Karp branding himself? How much is a way to attract investors by overstating their power? How concerned should we be about a manifesto like this? Is it PR? Is it bluster? Is it a mix of all of the scary things?

Gil Durán: I think it's a mix of all of them. And I would say, too, I think Palantir is starting to panic a little bit, because they're becoming one of the most hated companies in the world. People are now associating them with some of the worst abuses of the genocide in Gaza. So they have a massive public relations problem, and I think they thought this would somehow assuage that, but it seems to have only made it worse.

What we have to do is take it very seriously. These people mean what they say. They do mean to destroy our country and our democracy, and we have to organize against them in order to purge Palantir from our government, and from the planet, really.

Emma Vigeland: I really appreciate your time today, Gil Durán. You can read The Nerd Reich newsletter about the tech authoritarian politics of Silicon Valley — it's essential reading these days. Thanks so much.

Gil Durán: Thanks for having me.

Global recruitment giant says 71% of human firewalls saw wages stagnate last year as threats and responsibilities grew

Cybersecurity professionals were the most overlooked workers in IT when it came to pay rises in 2025, according to new figures from recruiter Harvey Nash.…

Spotify is adding fitness as its next major category, launching workout videos, playlists, and Peloton classes inside the app for free and Premium users.

The Santa Cruz City Council will vote on whether to approve this year’s updates to the city’s active transportation plan, a guide for implementing projects, policies and initiatives that promote and improve walking, biking and mass transit.

The post Carmageddon: Santa Cruz City Council eyes updates to active transportation plan; Bike Santa Cruz County annual survey appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.