Tech Won't Save Us

The SpaceX IPO Gives Elon Musk Even More Power w/ Sean O’Kane

SpaceX is finally going public, and it’s bad news for anyone who wants to rein in Elon Musk. Sean O’Kane joins Paris Marx to discuss the flimsy sci-fi ideas Elon Musk is using to justify the company’s massive valuation and the way corporate governance rules are shifting to give him even more power. Sean O’Kane is a senior reporter at TechCrunch. Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Paris asked listeners to fill out a survey [https://tally.so/r/KYv8Ok]. It will only take a few minutes! * Sean wrote about the SpaceX IPO [https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/20/the-spacex-ipo-filing-ai-bets-starship-dreams-elon-musk/] and the worrying ways it will increase Elon Musk’s power [https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/21/how-elon-musk-will-increase-his-power-through-the-spacex-ipo/]. * After recording, Sean also wrote about how SpaceX is getting a major boost from the Trump administration [https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/29/spacex-awarded-6-45b-in-space-force-contracts-ahead-of-ipo/]. * SpaceX has made a deal with Anthropic [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-20/anthropic-to-pay-spacex-nearly-45-billion-for-computing-deal]. * Musk has a poor environmental regulation record [https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-environmental-regulations]. * OpenAI bought a tech podcast [https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/openai-acquires-tbpn-the-buzzy-founder-led-business-talk-show/]. Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Do Chatbots Really Belong in Schools? w/ Tom Mullaney

Generative AI is making its way into many parts of society, and schools are no different. Tom Mullaney joins Paris Marx to discuss how generative AI has been adopted in K-12 education and the many concerns it presents for students and teachers. Tom Mullaney is a high school social studies teacher in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Here is the New Yorker article on AI in schools [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/progress-report/what-will-it-take-to-get-ai-out-of-schools]. * For those looking for a refresher on Weizenbaum and ELIZA [https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-eliza-effect/]. * Here is the paper “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big” [https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3442188.3445922]. * For those curious about the Canvas breach [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdepzg83x87o]. * Students have been booing pro-AI speeches [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-backlash-college-commencements-2026/] and AI presence in graduation ceremonies [https://www.businessinsider.com/graduation-ceremony-ai-misses-names-boos-glendale-community-college-2026-5]. * xAI is facing a lawsuit for polluting Black neighborhoods [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/14/naacp-lawsuit-elon-musk-xai-memphis]. Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Prediction Markets Want to Financialize Everything w/ Jathan Sadowski

Polymarket and Kalshi are everywhere. But what are they doing to society? Jathan Sadowski joins Paris Marx to discuss the rise of prediction markets and their negative social effects as they push the global economy closer toward the financialization of everything.  Jathan Sadowski is an Associate Professor at Monash University [https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/jathan-sadowski/]. He is the author of The Mechanic and the Luddite and co-hosts [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9780520398078]This Machine Kills [https://soundcloud.com/thismachinekillspod]. Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Jathan wrote about Kalshi trying to bring about the financialization of everything [https://www.fastcompany.com/91457404/kalshi-betting-gambling-polymarket] in Fast Company. * The NYT reported on the use of classified information [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/nyregion/polymarket-maduro-indictment-soldier.html] by a US soldier to place a bet on the capture of Maduro. * Wired just reported on how the US is using AI [https://www.wired.com/story/polymarket-insider-trading-cftc-michael-selig-interview/] to spot insider trading. * Polymarket users sent death threats to a reporter [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/18/polymarket-gamblers-threaten-israeli-journalist-missile-strike-wager]. Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

The UK Government’s AI Obsession is a Big Risk w/ Will Dunn

What happens when a government goes all in on AI? It creates some huge vulnerabilities. Will Dunn joins Paris Marx to dig into how the UK government is using chatbots to write laws without public consultation and why it isn’t asking the hard questions about the risks of that growing reliance on US technology. Will Dunn is the business editor at the New Statesman [https://www.newstatesman.com/author/will-dunn]. Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Will wrote about the UK government’s adoption of AI [https://www.newstatesman.com/technology/2026/04/the-silent-coup] and the risks it presents. * Rishi Sunak is working with Anthropic [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyqe22pz81o]. * Sunak acknowledges companies reliant on AI technology are hiring less young people [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg07x4rejdo]. * Will shouts out the book Fancy Bear Goes Phishing [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250335678/fancybeargoesphishing/] by Scott J. Shapiro. Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Muskism is the New Fordism w/ Ben Tarnoff & Quinn Slobodian

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian to discuss their new book Muskism which explores how Elon Musk exemplifies a new economic system shaping our lives, similar to Fordism in the twentieth century. Ben Tarnoff & Quinn Slobodian are the authors of Muskism [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9780063484320]. Ben is a writer and technologist based in Massachusetts and the author of Internet for the People [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781839762024]. Quinn is professor of international history at Boston University, and the author of books like Crack-Up Capitalism [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781250871855]. Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * For listeners who are feeling extra academic, here is the Milton Friedman economics paper [https://www.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/fachbereich/bwl/pruefungs-steuerlehre/loeffler/Lehre/bachelor/investition/Friedman_the_methology_of_positive_economics.pdf], “The Methodology of Positive Economics.” * Quinn discusses his struggle to find any reporting on Jared Leto and the Optimus robot [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/social/teslas-optimus-robot-shows-off-kung-fu-skills-to-jared-leto-at-disney-event-watch/articleshow/124369196.cms] media stunt (that goes deeper than commenting on the virality). Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]