Taking On the Tech Bros, with Taylor Lorenz

‘We’re Not Kidding’ is back! After a not-very-relaxing holiday break, Mehdi is joined by tech and online culture journalist (and new Zeteo contributor!) Taylor Lorenz to discuss the new age of American oligarchy. Trump is back in office and his inauguration was a star-studded showcase of spineless tech billionaires.

Mehdi and Taylor also unpack the dumbfounding blunder of Democrats’ TikTok ban, why private ownership of social media platforms by “red-pilled billionaires” is actually BAD for free speech, the MAGAfication of Elon Musk, and whether Mark Zuckerberg looks cool now. Taylor also pushes back against the argument made by Zeteo guest writer Will Stancil, who called for Democrats to go to war with social media companies.

00:00 - Opening montage
1:10 - Intro
1:28 - Washington Post controversy
2:20 - Right-wingers are obsessed with Taylor
4:16 - TikTok ban
9:00 - TikTok censorship
13:14 - Tech billionaires bend to Trump
14:55 - Mark Zuckerberg’s MAGA turn
19:10 - Is Elon Musk the shadow president?
20:20 - Why tech oligarchs are so powerful
21:42 - Free speech & content moderation
27:59 - Breaking up Big Tech
29:21 - Right-wing social media
30:25 - Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk
31:23 - Decentralized social media
33:47 - Regulating social media

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Watch, listen and subscribe to ‘We’re Not Kidding’ on Substack:
https://zeteo.com/s/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-and-friends

Listen to ‘We’re Not Kidding’ as a podcast:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-friends/id1743028415
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ogT7ZvKhH04CInjNQbbdp

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_news
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonews

Find Mehdi:
Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan

Find Taylor:
Twitter: https://x.com/TaylorLorenz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorlorenz

Credits:
Hosted by Mehdi Hasan
Guest Host: Taylor Lorenz
Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi
Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello
Music: Andy Clausen
Design: Alicia Tatone
Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera
Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali