From shooting themselves up with boys’ blood to starting their own countries, “techno-optimism” has taken a decidedly dark turn. It turns out Silicon Valley is going through a midlife crisis — and while us peasants might address that with a motorcycle or a long vacation, the dudes in the PayPal Mafia are facing their mortality by inflicting pain on the rest of us. Taylor Lorenz joins the pod to dissect what’s caused so many billionaires to lose their minds, and the implications for humanity.

Our guest Taylor Lorenz is a journalist. She hosts the podcast Power User, and writes about tech and online culture for her Substack, User Mag https://www.usermag.co/. You can follow her everywhere else @taylorlorenz.

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Credits

- Host: Ryan Broderick

- Producer: Grant Irving

- Researcher: Adam Bumas

- Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad

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Silicon Valley’s midlife crisis (with Taylor Lorenz)

Panic World

Silicon Valley’s midlife crisis (with Taylor Lorenz)