Part One: How Peter Thiel Became the Gravedigger of Democracy | BEHIND THE BASTARDS

[@vrdfrdcf]

Considering how many self-proclaimed "Libertarians" love Pinochet, I think Helicopter Libertarian might have different connotations.

[@Cheresy]

Are they offshoots of the minarchists?

[@beryllium1932]

@@vrdfrdcf Call ‘em “Swamp Libertarians” or “Mountain Libertarians” (Mountin ? 🤔)

[@gking407]

No joke that was a little uncomfortable

[@ConvincingPeople]

@@vrdfrdcf I feel like there are helicopter libertarians in the sense of weird guys who just really love helicopters and “helicopter libertarians” in the sense that they like the idea of throwing people out of helicopters. There is probably some overlap but they are, I suspect, very different Types of Guy.

[@RaunienTheFirst]

​@@ConvincingPeople helicopter theory might have some value to it. My dad, thoroughly working class and at least vaguely socialist, hates helicopters. Says they only fly because the earth itself rejects them.

[@Rockyzach88]

A lot of these guys just never grew up from late teenager ideology. I remember when I was like this. Thankfully I learned to think.

[@sebastianb.1926]

Rebe! Tell us more.

[@keyofpop]

I think this every time I hear about these people! I wouldn't say I was exactly like this, but black and white worldviews, putting too much stock in being a certain way and how I'm perceived, thinking there's only a few forms life can take in order to be "successful", being very misanthropic.... It all screams teenager. These men are teens.

[@GarrettMcGrath815]

'failure to escape highschool'

[@syntheticjesso]

That in combination with "I didn't get what I wanted and I'm going to make that EVERYONE else's problem forever."

[@MyWalk3296]

Stunted to be sure

[@THEHAR0LD]

Historically, being friends with Dick Cheney can get you shot by Dick Cheney, so I personally wouldn't take his endorsement.

[@sharkbelly1169]

I’m assuming this “face turn” is a ruse designed to hurt democrats.

[@letsRegulateSociopaths]

Hey, that's what happens when hunting quail with 4 scotch before lunch

[@ConvincingPeople]

I absolutely popped when Sophie immediately recognised who René Girard was and namedropped Violence and the Sacred, not because I am a Girard fan but both because it's important context to understanding modern neofascist creeps like Thiel and I think a lot of people don't give Sophie nearly enough credit for what she brings to this show.

[@afakeslimshady]

It's me, I am the one person all these Alien: Resurrection jokes are for. I appreciate your genius, Robert.

[@EricDMMiller]

We can all laugh at Alien: Resurrection.

[@cGoryeo]

There are dozens of us. Dozens! I think as a kid I heard on the DVD commentary that Sigourney Weaver said she refused to do any more Alien moviesuntil 'they drove a dump truck full of money to my house' and that image has stuck with me more than EDIT: almost anything from the movie itself

[@mycroft_moriarty]

I will always remember that Weaver sunk that basketball in the shot for real, and Pearlman's "Oh shit" reaction was wholly real.

[@hairychris444]

@@mycroft_moriarty Yeah, the behind the scenes footage is awesome. Apparently they needed to cut part of the shot out as the rest of the cast weren't supposed to react like they did!

[@joehemmann1156]

It just reminded me of a little piece of movie trivia. When they brought up the "game over, man" line, that was delivered by Bill Paxton, who has the distinction of being the only actor to have been killed by a xenomorph from Alien, the Predator, and the Terminator. Edit: outdated trivia, after AVP Lance Hendrickson joined him.

[@testboga5991]

Peter Thiel is only the result of a process that started under Reagan. When rich people managed to buy the government it was basically over.

[@theautisticguitarist7560]

The story starts with "His dad was a German chemical engineer" so i guess everything is gonna be fine!

[@MajorHickE]

My city's aviation museum has a Hall dedicated to portraits of famous pilots and engineers who pushed manned flight forward. A significant number of the featured engineers are Germans born in the 1890s-1900s who did their best work from 1933 to 1945. At no point do any of these portraits or placards explain why that span of years keeps popping up for German aviators. I'm sure nobody has thought to pursue the implications of this.

[@theautisticguitarist7560]

​@@MajorHickE eh probably nothing to worry about.

[@harkonen1000000]

@@MajorHickE Put a paperclip on that.

[@huckthatdish]

@@MajorHickEthey were tragic victims of communism, clearly.

[@arthurswanson3285]

😂

[@mansaurus_wrex]

i have been WAITING for this not just a bastard but a literal supervillain

[@DissertatingMedieval]

Yes. My going theory regarding Trump right now is that the gameplan is for Trump to die, then Peter FUCKING Thiel will just have his bought politician JD Vance undermine democracy full stop.

[@function0077]

But he isn't a supervillain. He is just a butt hurt nerd who doesn't seem to see others as human.

[@Tolgeros]

"illegal apartheid uranium mining concentration camp" That's a bingo!

[@drhxa]

This is where it started (!) And somehow his childhood only got worse and worse from there

[@tjbarke6086]

Everyone knows that the ability to accumulate capital through happenstance and amorality is what makes one the most fit to govern society.

[@quantumenergy3334]

I hope you don’t actually believe that bullshit.

[@Sarah-l8r2w]

​@@quantumenergy3334, bruh. I know the last few years have really screwed up our collective sense of irony, but if you can't tell that was a joke you genuinely need to take a time out.

[@nerag7459]

oligarchy or kakistocracy?

[@dstrctd]

The thing I always find amazing about Rio Tinto: it’s a mining company named after an ecological disaster. The Rio Tinto is so called because the river is red, and it’s probably red because humans have been mining in the area for over 5000 years, and the river has a pH of 2, so it has a bunch of iron dissolved in it.

[@Wired_User]

pH of 2!?!?!? Jesus Christ

[@EBannion]

I think the reason Rio Tinto sounded familiar was because in 2021 they blew up an archaeological / historical site in australia after explicitly being told not to.

[@mkvenner2]

And that wasn’t the first time

[@alexxistiredofyourbullshit7144]

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Mining companies in Australia destroy Indigenous sacred sites regularly.

[@skylertherobot]

in 2021 and now 2024 they are making the largest lithum mine in Serbia, there's evidence that they are also trying to bribe the scientists that wrote a paper detailing why the project is a bad idea. Not just that, but on the 2021 protest someone got up and hit a peaceful protestor with an excavator. They're beyond evil

[@Joebaseball-qp2nk]

We gotta love the rio tinto classic of just disregarding public health in favor of some nickel

[@PanEtRosa]

they're also effectively the #2 owners of Utah and its government, #1 being the LDS Church

[@onytay75]

Man, if democracy ends because of a cowhide rug Like it's not even the best animal to rug.

[@inappropriatern8060]

It died for a while over an art school rejection letter.

[@onytay75]

@@inappropriatern8060 crap. You're right.

[@keyofpop]

Kids are experts at that kind of vague psychological warfare that bullying is. I'm small, but I never once got shoved in a locker or whatever. Making sure I felt disgusting and unwelcome though? Always. Genuinely crazy how good they are at that.

[@maybemablemaples2144]

I'm a grown ass adult but sometimes I see a group of teens and I go right back into high school like a Vietnam PTSD episode. I literally have to remind myself that I pay taxes and I'm not 14 again. Kids got that demon in them.

[@bluester7177]

Even though everything you said is true, I think it may also be a little cultural, I'm in LATAM and at least in my experience and the teens I know, and also the brief period I was a teacher, it's not even close to as intense as it seems to be for you people.

[@FlameQwert]

@@bluester7177 you were probably just lucky- im not american or western at all but i definitely experienced what the original comment said

[@bluester7177]

​@@FlameQwertbut that's kind of the point is about luck and the culture of the place you are, where I live bullying is incredibly dependent on the institution, there wasn't a lot bullying in my school , mostly because there wasn't really a social strata there and you got punished, if you fought someone you would get expelled. I taught teenagers for a year and it was pretty chill, there was some distasteful jokes now and then but mostly fine. There is a divide between studying in a private school and a public one, you're much more likely to have to deal with it in the former than the latter. Also, I live in a place you have more things to worry about like if you're gonna be shot in the way to school by police or cartels.

[@dweb]

Rejection hurts. For this reason, an Austrian aspiring art student committed a crime against humanity.

[@SgtKaneGunlock]

to quote Death "You might be a King or a little Street sweeper but sooner or later you dance with the Reaper"

[@Coestar]

Robert seems to be losing resolution with every new episode

[@ThereIsOnlyGaja]

This is what reading too much history does to you. Beware!

[@franzfanz]

I love how he's had this camera for months now and still can't get it set up correctly.

[@MikeHutch88]

Mad respect how he never looks into the camera, I do the same shit during Zoom meetings. Major power move

[@Mors]

The feds are just gradually downgrading his internet connection ahead of the final siege.

[@davidchristian8447]

​@@Morsit's a joint operation between the FDA and the Washington state patrol.

[@punksci6879]

As a Kiwi this guy scares the crap out of me, I'm sure he wants to turn us into his Congo.

[@franzfanz]

I would have labelled these episodes "Peter Thiel, the Evilest New Zealander." Seriously, I can't believe we invited this viper into our nation.

[@mattgilbert7347]

Kia ora, guys. It's scary how many of these billionaire ghouls are just buying up our country.

[@phil3924]

Hopefully he’ll ban white people from doing the Haka. It’s like imitating someone having a seizure. In bad taste

[@careyfreeman5056]

Galts Gulch. They want to cosplay Atlas Shrugged.

[@mattgilbert7347]

@@franzfanz even worse than Robert Muldoon or Roger Douglas?

[@ThatsMyRice]

35:57 I imagine Robert's neck tattoo actually says "Born to WAAAAHHGG!"

[@SimonyeCraig]

Peter Thiel seems like he would have been a better person if Dungeons and Dragons wasn't demonized in the 70s and 80s.

[@ghostinthecode]

45:00 i am the one alien resurrection fan that appreciates the alien jokes. thank you for your service gas station man

[@andrewwestfall65]

Doing a BtB with the guest being the subject would go fucking hard

[@FirstIsa]

That would be a trial, with the guest trying to defend themselves while Robert just sits there with a stack of records "okay so explain why this was good"

[@russelljackson2818]

​@@FirstIsaif he could combine this with his other show idea, Super Soaker Full of Piss, the sentencing portion of the show would be very interesting indeed

[@GuerillaBunny]

Wait, accepting mortality is an "ideology"? Holy cow, we fell off the rails earlier than I anticipated. Why is it that all of these guys decided their ideologies when they were children, and never stopped to evaluate whether it's even possible?

[@Apjooz]

Well accepting our biology as something that can't be further engineered.

[@ZeldaQueen64]

That whole thing just reminded me of Hobbes, from Sandman, and how he insisted dying was stupid and people only died because other people did it. He wasn't meant to be a Deep Thinker, let's put it that way.

[@RichOrElse]

He wants to be an elf

[@zeusjukem9484]

​@@RichOrElse but in the end he's just another boromir

[@waywardscythe3358]

My dad had a dinner with Dick Cheney (chance encounter) a few years ago. First words out of my mouth were "but you .... didn't go hunting with him right??" My mom thought it was pretty funny, my dad a little less so.

[@beryllium1932]

Cheney would think it was funny.

[@johannageisel5390]

Is Dick Cheney known for shooting his hunting companions? Bzw. there is an ongoing case in Austria featuring a hunter who shot the mayor of his town and is on the run.

[@waywardscythe3358]

@@johannageisel5390when Dick Cheney was Vice President of the United States he accidentally shot a hunting partner with a shotgun non-fatally. So it was big news.

[@dziban303]

Noah is an excellent guest, more of him plz

[@imagine212]

My favorite thing is Robert correctly pronouncing "Cuyahoga" but a couple months ago missing "Monticello"

[@wrexvincent]

Fun fact Rankin/Bass (the duo production team for the animated Hobbit movie) also revolutionized the art of Stop Animation and are responsible for all the 'claymation' Christmas specials of the 60s and 70s. They also adapted the Peter S Beagle novel 'The Last Unicorn' some years later. They also took quite a few songs Tolkien wrote in the Hobbit and scored them in the film with help of Maury Laws. HOWEVER the one song that was written specifically for the film is indeed the one Thiel quoted. Uhhhh okay thats all I have to add

[@Rennar3210]

They also outsourced a lot of animation to Japan, and much of the original workforce for Studio Ghibli came from one of those studios.

[@xXRickTrolledXx]

Rudolf is my favorite seasonal Anime

[@marocat4749]

Oh the last unicorn, great movie

[@MarauderMorgaine]

I still watch so many of those Christmas claymations every year. The nostalgia hits HARD.

[@xXRickTrolledXx]

@@MarauderMorgaine Santa Clause is coming to town and that one with Rudolf and the father time nonsense were my favorite.I fucking love Eon to this day

[@campbellboisvert2268]

On the hobbit quote: I think what the original author is trying to say is that Thiel misrepresented that quote from the hobbit, elevating it from a mere animation line to an actual word of Tolkien. He might be reaching out to further cast doubt that on thiels projected image of perfection.

[@kinslayermds]

The joke about dropping acid and not needing tracer rounds is so funny.

[@andrewklang809]

Discovered the show only about a month ago, and have been going through the backlogs. This is the first series I'm catching from the beginning. And...wow. It's a whopper already.

[@marocat4749]

Be preparedto ransomly talk about something something products and services :P

[@MaterialMenteNo]

Don't miss the True Allegiance series, it's a balm for the soul.

[@andrewklang809]

​​​@@MaterialMenteNo I'm less than twenty minutes in and I'm already convulsing uncontrollably from the cringe. "Nobody knows his name, but he's on the football team? "Yes, no one knows his name." "What's on his jersey?" "....No one knows his name."

[@ReidBottorff]

I, for one, think comparing Thiel to Lenin is a special kind of burn, quite apt. Y'all are on a roll lately, thanks!

[@trioptimum9027]

Lenin, like Martin Luther King, has after his death become admired by a lot of people who, in life, he wouldn't have pissed on had they caught fire. Steve Bannon is a big Lenin fan, for instance.

[@crimson_oracle]

I often think Robert and I share half a brain, the 10 mins of alien resurrection references in an episode where he also talks about impressing the 14 year old at the warhammer store may have sealed it

[@BlueEyedBrunette]

But do you also like Alien Ant Farm?

[@TheyDrinkOurMlkshake]

Same, between the kratom, the warhammer and downloaded all the aliens last week to watch them in a row with Romulus 😂

[@MusicalRiolu]

Im sorry but as a spanish speaker I HAVE to point out that "Rio Tinto" translates from spanish to Red River, especifically the shade of red that wine amd blood are. THEY LITERALLY NAMED THEMSELVES "RIVER OF BLOOD"

[@GuerillaBunny]

Another commenter said that the river is so acidic that it dissolves iron, which gives it the red color. It's not just a "river of blood", it's a river of nightmares.

[@jessaminehaak8253]

God as soon as Robert said "Rio Tinto" I felt The Fear XD

[@franzfanz]

You have to admire their commitment to doing everything in the most evil possible way. Could we mine this uranium without kicking a puppy? Sure, but we're Rio Tinto. We go the extra mile for you.

[@NeroWesten]

“Ohio was just a series of river fires…” completely got me. 😂

[@Jakeurb8ty82]

I was 14 when I though 'imagine what humanity could accomplish if all of society was organized to pushing us into the future.' -and then I immediately realized that was some hitler ass shit.

[@Virjunior01]

It's actually a form of utopia... it's _how_ such things are implemented and various ideologies put into policy that decides how it plays out. If we used the massive amount of food we produce to end hunger (we could do it RIGHT NOW), and put our resources towards breakthroughs in medicine and sustainable technology rather than endlessly producing annual iPhones and plastic wrappers, that would be a good thing. It doesn't mean everyone would be forced to become engineers or whatever. Honestly, what messes things up (and creates fascism) is a system in which most must suffer to maintain comfort for a very few people... aka Capitalism.

[@bluester7177]

​@@Virjunior01it seems like OP is imagining a particular set of people organising all of society, there is a reason most utopía end up being a little dystopic, not everyone wants the same thing and at some point you will need to force some people along.

[@johannageisel5390]

So, a guy who believes that you are the shaper of your own fate and does everything to shape _his_ fate in a specific way, fails, but because he is better than anybody else he would never make a mistake and therefor somebody else must be responsible for that. And now he's searching for a scapegoat... Did I get that right?

[@letsRegulateSociopaths]

It's easy to see by looking at Bryan Johnson that drinking your teenage son's extracts turns you into a literal vampire.

[@thefrank446]

Peter Thiel is great. Big fan.

[@joshv.1490]

Sophi was right. There are three animated Tolkien movies as well. Hobbit and the return of the king done by the same animators and more kids targeted and the Bakshi older audience LOTR. Real nerd weighing in here.

[@marocat4749]

Yes , one was released as as scam to hold the rights hostage, which worked, but yes that weird movie that even was animated , but not produced in earnest.

[@_vcctv_]

21:06 Uranium Fever has gone and got me down 💃uraaaaaanium fever 🎤🎶💃🎶

[@WaltzingUndead]

Do you fear this man's invention that they call atomic power? Are we all in great confusion, do we know the time or hour When a terrible explosion may ring down upon our land Leaving horrible destruction blotting out the works of man Are you ready for that great atomic power? Will you rise and meet your Savior in the end? Will you shout or will you cry when the fire rains from on high? Are you ready for that great atomic power?

[@Musamecanica]

Fuck yeah, Peter thiel for Halloween. The scariest bastard yet.

[@inappropriatern8060]

Interchangable with the Tucker Carlson costume at Spirit.

[@p8ntballnxj]

I'm just here for when Peter slaps lawsuits and tries to take down CZM.

[@Musamecanica]

It will be worth it if this is at least a 3 parter.

[@IRocaNox]

@@Musamecanica This is a 4 parter according to the description.

[@Musamecanica]

@@IRocaNox Lets all start a go fund me for the lawsuit then. Can't wait to listen to the rest.

[@nosferados8402]

16:10 not to sound like a buzzkill but weren't there complaints from the state, when during relief efforts there was a bunch of unrelated airtraffic, which was a hinderance to said efforts.

[@AnthonyFlack]

Picture a time in the unfathomably distant future, long after everything else has ceased to be, trillions of years since the last dim stars went out and cast the universe into eternal darkness. There is nothing left now except for the eternal consciousness of Peter Thiel, who never accepted the ideology of the inevitability of death.

[@prodigal_southerner]

My god, that would be such poetic justice. Also, after the last stats burn out, that won't be the last light in the universe; once a black hole evaporates off sufficient mass, it will explode, so there could be intermittent flashes before complete equilibrium is achieved. Sadly, whatever was powerig the substrate hosting his consciousnes would have died well before any of that happens.

[@maybemablemaples2144]

I have no mouth, and I only quote Tolkien 😔👌🏿

[@arthurswanson3285]

​@prodigal_southerner so, you're saying the universe is communist. How leftist.

[@prodigal_southerner]

@@arthurswanson3285 the universe is neither sentient nor an economic system, so I don't know how one could describe it as communist. I'm sure what you said made sense in your head, would you care to explain what you were trying to convey?

[@arthurswanson3285]

@@prodigal_southerner The universe seeks equilibrium. Oneness. No differentiation. Is that not communist?

[@Durandurandal]

With the cow hide rug thing, without knowing *how* Klaus actually had that conversation with Peter, there's no way of knowing what he was trying to elicit in his son, other than being honest with his answer, lol

[@dckpunk6318]

53:49 the pregnant pause after saying "on a weiner" perfection

[@SesshyLover777]

Libertarians, they DO move in herds.

[@EricDMMiller]

Robert, I appreciate that you are willing to let yourself go and don't care about how you look or your physical condition. We should all embrace our blob-selves.

[@WaltzingUndead]

Robert is the sexiest man alive.

[@EtherwroughtPaige]

Me and my wife are both major Alien fans. We know what you are getting at buddy! you do you 😆

[@careyfreeman5056]

Yes, the stench of Rand is all over these guys.

[@worldofcardboard3203]

I love that the formative story that supposedly made Peter is the one about his dad explaining death and not, ya know, the slave mine that and the implications of having a father who worked at a uranium slave mine. I somehow don't think the convo about the dead cow was more formative than the, "Oh no, they stay on that side of the glass. It's better for everyone," convo that surely happened at some point.

[@templofzoom9635]

Haha, im loving the Alien Resurrection jokes. Maybe a bit younger than Robert but it was the first I saw. High production value, memorable characters and plenty of gore.

[@lsobrien]

Cozying up to the neocons went about as well as expected.

[@thesoupin8or673]

I appreciated the Alien: Resurrection jokes Robert, I just watched the whole series all the way through for the first time recently. Good stuff

[@warmachine5835]

Noah's facial expression at "I wouldn't abort you" as a yearbook signature is everything to me.

[@anezay4987]

"It's unclear to me if he's ever drank any young peoples' blood" is a wild side note.

[@AlexKo-457]

From all the people you discussed here Peter is one of most clever.

[@SoyAngellll]

first time hearing of this fella : 0

[@Korkosz-q7e]

@@SoyAngellll He is a type of guy who doesn't want to in the center of everybody's attention. He is more of a "behind the curtain" guy.

[@princejellyfish3945]

@@Korkosz-q7ehe’s the bastard behind the bastards

[@tai31415]

Honestly wild the part about how you should not judge the morality of a government, just how well it runs an economy. The right-wing is largely (at least the base) motivated by judging people morally and using the legislature to impose their own moral system.

[@princejellyfish3945]

Yet the price of gas is their only “policy” concern

[@TeagueChrystie]

Great guest. Good contributions.

[@SavageGreywolf]

The Harris campaign knows that anyone _left_ of Dick Cheney is either voting for the Democrats out of sheer self preservation or cannot be persuaded to vote in any case. I would have voted for a cat if I thought it could keep Trump out of the White House-- and not like a cute cat, like an ugly old mangy alley cat missing an eye and part of an ear.

[@xXRickTrolledXx]

What I say to everyone to the left of bill Clinton is “the endorsement isn’t for you, it’s for the republicans who the Democratic Party desperately needs to rehabilitate”. Because, ultimately, this republic now stands entirely on a gentleman’s agreement between partisan oligarchs, and the democrat’s oligarchs are trying to convince the republican’s that the current hegemony is still profitable

[@bluester7177]

And yet she is tied, so apparently most of the voters in the country are republicans or don't care very much.

[@M_M_ODonnell]

The bit about the lyrics from the _Hobbit_ song sounds like a future "Um, Actually..." question

[@mats8375]

I was waiting for this episode! Thanks!

[@ph0enixr]

Suggested title for Behind The People You Don't Want To Have Dinner With: "Behind the Mustard"

[@PseudOnym-mc6vg]

Listened to this on Apple Podcasts and got an ad for PAYPAL.

[@GilGTG]

Appreciate the shout out to the REAL Hobbit film 🎥 Gollum and Smaug were much scarier in that rendition

[@Murcuryzgirl]

The fact this guy has the same critical character trait as Voldemort is some shit you can't make up.

[@scttschlz]

Yikes: this podcast taught me that I was at Snodfart at the exact same time as Thiel. AFAIK, I never encountered him though I was writing columns for the Daily for a couple of semesters. (I was never sure why the Daily ran on semesters when the classes were on quarters.) I may have seen the Review, but I'd have never opened a copy.

[@lemonmania967]

i’m there right now: daily is on quarters now and the review has detoriated even further somehow. still coming out w bs

[@matthewcaldwell8100]

What's....Palan my Tir?

[@gypsyharrison9101]

I thought you meant Gravedigger like the monster truck, but still, stoked you are doing a BtB on Theil.

[@24hoursinthelife]

56:19 Missed opportunity to call it "Big Zigg". Which will be my wrestling name once I break into the scene.

[@ChristinaMuzzu]

I just discovered your channel and am beguiled! Terrifying, informed, funny, relevant. Thank you so much.

[@MichałCoPopychał]

I'm a weird nerd and got bullied and I can understand his hatred towards education institutions. You can lose faith in broader humanity when you mix it with alienation, to be honest.

[@marocat4749]

Yes but the more productive way is to engage in demonstrasions and activism to try to change democratic.

[@ronanodonovan3673]

16:25 So the name "Pridwen" is from Arthurian mythology, it comes from the Welsh "fair appearance", and it was either the name of Arthur's boat (which he used to *pillage Hell* ), or Arthur shield (which had a picture of the Virgin Mary on it) So if you ever asked yourself "Damn, who told the Palantir guy that you could name your company after a fake magic thing from a story", well, now you know

[@richgird7959]

"moral issues are irrelevant" in the pursuit of economic success, was a more prevalent attutude on late 80's college campuses, than one might think.

[@Khandrake]

just watched the animated hobbit movie again recently...when robert started reciting the lyrics i thought i was having a stroke. Also that movie is amazing and huge part of my childhood...fun fact that's a Rankin Bass movie with part of the animation work done by people that would help start ghibli if i'm remembering right

[@gargrazz]

The lack of stories about one's parents growing up in the Bay Area has all the signs of a latchkey kid. I have MEMORIES about my parents from that time, but very few stories.

[@Lifelover992011]

Cant wait to find out what's the deal with Thiel

[@prodigal_southerner]

I can understand not judging someone for their high school stuff, and I would even go so far as to say that in some circumstances grace should be extended to people who do stupid shit in university. That being said, I would not extend that grace to someone who was defending a rapist (and let's stop using "statutory" as a modifier for rape - children cannot consent, and in the absence of consent from both parties a rape has occurred) or telling gay people AIDS was them getting what was coming to them.

[@PropheticShadeZ]

Honestly, I'm OK with people doing that in the past as long as they have moved away from the ideas that caused them to say those things

[@prodigal_southerner]

@PropheticShadeZ depends on if the have made amends with whomever they hurt. It isn't my place to forgive someone on behalf of someone else.

[@theendisoverdue]

The definition of child is different in every state. The age of consent is as low as 13 in this country. Maybe fuck off with your arbitrary decisions about child consent. It’s just law not fact

[@prodigal_southerner]

@theendisoverdue I don't think anyone could get me to write and post the words you have chosen, even with a gun held against my head. Don't conflate legality with morality, and stay away from kids.

[@princejellyfish3945]

@@theendisoverduemaybe dont have sex with children

[@martincann5052]

Okay, that story about Thiel and the chess tournament reminded me of the Iron Man villain Obadiah Stane who, after finally losing to Tony Stark ONCE, at the conclusion of their lengthy storyline, promptly BLEW HIS OWN HEAD OFF with a repulsor ray because he couldn't handle the thought of having lost at ANYTHING.

[@podemosurss8316]

Río Tinto (tainted river) is a river in southwestern Spain famous four its high iron content, due to the nearby deposits. The Río Tinto mining company ran many of the mines there due to the mismanagement by the Spanish authorities.

[@Rhaethyn]

I actually agree that death doesn't need to be inevitable - but only to an extent. Even an unaging person will eventually die from some sort of accident. But what these assholes don't get is - 1. That tech should be available to everyone, and 2. Maybe we should improve the quality of existence, not just quantity? Just a thought. Also they're doing it wrong. To attain immortality, we need tech, and to attain that tech, we need researchers, and to have THOSE, we need to give people the opportunity to. Y'know. Learn.

[@Rhaethyn]

Curing aging is going to be really fucking difficult - possibly requiring several orders of magnitude more effort than the Manhattan project. What these empathy-bereft motherfuckers don't get is that their whole "fuck you, got mine" mentality just isn't going to work. We need More Dudes. So, like. Maybe try to address the inequalities that prevent us from dedicating more people to thinking about this kinda stuff? Maybe try to provide everyone in the world access to education? Ugh.

[@rosariabirrane2373]

Remember the movie On Time; eventually the superrich immortals reduce themselves to do NOTHING at all, for fear of said accidents...

[@Scriven42]

".... you don't even need tracers..." 🤣

[@kaitlynnp582]

I didn't expect to fit into the pretty big tolkein nerd category, but here I am.

[@Jerdifier]

Usually, when I watch BtB, I just feel a kind of morbid curiosity to learn about awful people. But the more I hear about Peter Thiel, the more it feels like I'm staring at a version of myself that never made friends and got the optimism beaten out of him. I'm honestly not sure how to feel after watching.

[@zeusjukem9484]

can i have some money?

[@Grizabeebles]

The least surprising part of this supervillain origin story -- "Reflexive contrarian who believes there's no such thing as 'facts' gets a law degree" Can we please just screen these people out at the door and redirect them to QA and product safety testing companies instead?

[@RaunienTheFirst]

"he moved from Tolkien and Asimov to Ayn Rand" Guy should try reading books that aren't set in impossible fantastical worlds.

[@MDDev1ce]

I'll have you know the pyramid is in Memphis and contains a massive bass pro shop.

[@theethanatorem]

I was also offended by the Nashville/Memphis mix up

[@johannageisel5390]

I want to recommend the video by Milo Rossi (aka. Miniminuteman) and some other dude about where the Bass Shop Pro pyramid fits in with the other pyramids in the world. (It's satire dunking on Pseudoarchaeology.)

[@bonzosmashes]

Fascinating. Crazy to think what caused him to potentially turn and become hell bent on taking over. Like it’s such a boring villain origin story. It just blows my mind how some people get to a point where they literally want to control the world.

[@YourC0nsc1ence]

I don't know why. But I think one of the truly scary things about thes Thiel, Johnson & Musk types is I look and scream "They're only that old?!?!?!" Its hard to not hear about these types of political would be godkings and just expecting them to be Kissinger old. Or at least Prager or Koch old.

[@ruffethereal1904]

Hate seems to just age and warp people both physically and mentally.

[@agrid2608]

South Africa occupied the entirety of Namibia, not just a part of it. (1914-1990)

[@greglewis725]

"No one knows what to say in response to Alien: Resurrection" Truer words never said.

[@oliviag3180]

I haven't listened to this podcast in over a year, and out of the blue wondered "they joked about Peter Thiel a lot, wonder if they told his story yet" and was shocked to see this uploaded 6 hours ago

[@plagueparchments]

in another universe peter thiel would have been a warhammer enthusiast and i dont think thats something either of us would like to contend with

[@matthewangelucci4849]

29:18 I learned about South Africa’s nuclear weapons program, and how they disassembled them to keep the new black government from having them, from Metal Gear Solid V! I believe Israel was also involved in their nuclear weapons program as well

[@iain349]

Great show, keep it up. Also - does anyone else think Robert looks a bit like Rasputin? :D

[@lza5735]

I'd just like to assure Robert that 100% of of these alien 4 jokes are landing

[@romacus]

I was a Libertarian in my 20's and I think it was my path to Progressivism from a Reagan Republican household.

[@Argon1115]

Trump, Musk, Thiel, Bezos... You just can't make these antagonists up, no one would buy the back story short of a comic book/ manga plot line! Truly our civilization has embraced Shakespeare and reduced to a farce complete with hapless heroes and cartoonish evil villains. Mr Burn's: "Excellent!"

[@findingliospugolini8979]

I fucking ADORE finding fellow fans of the animated version!!!