System Crash

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, director, and activist Alex Winter about the Tesla Takedown protests he’s been helping to organize, how quickly they’ve grown, and all the people who want to p...

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 episode, become a supporter on Patreon . Support the show

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 American AI will “dominate,” and Meta’s soaring share price on its pivot to AI strategy. Things seem to be going from bad to worse, but we’ll be here to chronicle...

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 Washington DC, how enshittification will continue to unfold in 2025, and what, if any, hope there is for us, the humans and the users. Cory Doctorow is the au...

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 achieved and why it completely upends the assumptions the US AI boom was built on. Ed Zitron is the host of Better Offline, CEO of EZPR, and writer of the Where...

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 second inauguration, why he lined up the nation’s tech titans for the occasion, and where this Silicon oligarchy is headed. Jacob explains all four of Trumpworld’s c...

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 initiative, John Deere in the FTC’s crosshairs, and more bad AI news. Mentioned this week: Jason Koebler is a cofounder of 404 Media and cohost of the 404 Media...

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 MAGA, and how they’re crushing any attempts to rein in their power. Plus, how Elon Musk is interfering in politics in Europe, ChatGPT Pro isn’t profitable, an...

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 episode is free for everyone. To keep getting them, support the show at patreon.com/systemcrashpod . In this episode, Brian and Paris dig into Sam Altman’s...

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 might happen next, now that the Supreme Court is getting involved and Trump's changed his mind. Plus, Elon Musk points his cash cannon at the UK, and Am...

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 election and won Trump’s favor, what the crypto industry wants from the incoming administration—and how it plans to wield power.  Mentioned this week: Molly Whit...

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 week: Brian has a new report out with the AI Now Institute: AI-Generated Business: AGI and the Rush to Find a Working Business Model , Paris co-authored a white pa...

The system is crashing, and we’re here to guide you through the wreckage. In the inaugural episode of System Crash, Brian Merchant and Paris Marx dig into how the alliance of Donald Trump and Elon Musk—along with his Silicon Valley cohort—is poised to transform both our politics and the tech world. Plus, how generative AI is trained on thousands of Hollywood scripts and why Bluesky gives us (a lea...

The system, clearly, has crashed — and we’re here to help you dig through the wreckage. System Crash is 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, hosted by Paris Marx and Brian Merchant. Tune in Friday for the first episode. Theme music is “Dystopia” by YACHT . Support the show