KQED's Forum

Is ‘The Nerd Reich’ Taking Over the Government?

April 2, 2025

A group of Silicon Valley billionaires is causing chaos in the federal government by shuttering agencies, firing workers en masse and flouting legal and political norms. According to journalist Gil Duran, the chaos is carefully orchestrated, as figures like Elon Musk, David Sacks and Peter Thiel follow a playbook conceived by far right thinkers on how to take down institutions and seize power. We talk to Duran about what these tech elites – a group he calls “The Nerd Reich” – are reading, thinking and saying. Guests: Gil Duran, journalist, produces a newsletter covering the tech industry, "The Nerd Reich" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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