(In bed with) the Russians

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I talk to Samuel Miller McDonald about his new book on the history of the idea of progress and how this idea has been used to justify parasitic super-stratified societies that have been denuding and killing our world, going back into antiquity. Pretty much everyone believes in the notion of progress these days. It’s safe to say that progress is a sort of religious belief that unifies all ideologies, even capitalism and communism. And that’s the problem.
Check out the book Samuel wrote: Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now Threatens to Destroy It. It’s a really wonderful book. I’d go straight to the first chapter.
—Yasha
I’m doing these weekly Vampire Valley streams about technology as part of my research for the Vampire Valley doc series I’m working on. Live streams are available to the public but recorded streams are only available to subscribers. Reminder: If you give $100 or more to the Vampire Valley doc project, you will automatically get an annual sub.

The NEFARIOUS RUSSIANS return to discuss their favorite topics: fame, movies, morality of media, power, cults, collapse, similarities between the Soviet Union and the United States… We also discuss Evgenia’s ongoing precog abilities: she sensed that there would be a White House correspondents’ dinner shooting the morning before it happened and talked about it.
Due to technical issues (aka sabotage), the episode cuts off mid-sentence. We apologize and promise to hold those responsible (Yasha) accountable.
—NF
We’ll be doing a NEFARIOUS RUSSIANS LIVE event at the KGB Bar in June. Look out for an announcement soon. And, as always, support Vampire Valley if you can!



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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nefariousrussians.com

For this Vamp Valley stream, I speak to Josh Golin about how commercialization and consumerist brainwashing of children, already dominant in American society before the internet, has been very consciously turbocharged by the tech overlords that mediate our reality. We discuss problems facing children in the age of the internet: alienation, bullying, sexual harassment, addiction, self-hate, suicide, destruction of critical thinking — all them being knowingly inflicted on kids just to keep them on these platforms as long as possible, wasting their lives and destroying their minds in the name of better ad metrics and rank consumerism. We also talk about attempts to regulate social media, the power of the tech lobby, and the baffling attempt of “left-prog” influencer Taylor Lorenz to protect vampiric mind control monopolies from even the tiniest bit of democratic control.
I’m doing these streams to talk to people about the tech that’s destroying our minds and destroying our world — as part of my research for a doc series I’m working on, Vampire Valley. Live streams are available to the public but recorded streams are only available to subscribers. Reminder: If you give $100 or more to Vampire Valley, you will automatically get an annual sub.

Josh Golin is an Executive Director at Fairplay. They’re great. Check them out here.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nefariousrussians.com

Today I chat with Joe Costello about the backlash to data centers and why he thinks this national grassroots movement just might be the very first time Americans are engaging in politics in many, many decades. Joe recently published a great book — The Politics of Ape and Machine. Also check out his newsletter: Life in the 21st Century.
I’m making a doc series about the internet called Vampire Valley. The first ep will look at data centers. It should be out closer to May. If you want to help fund this film, give here. Or if you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation, write us at [email protected].

Joe’s been on the show a few times before. Check him here:

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nefariousrussians.com

Married with podcast, we catch up on some topics dear to our hearts. Among things discussed: Evgenia’s films, the ghettoization of feminist (and minority) filmmaking in a liberal society, Yorgos Lanthimos, Kathryn Bigelow, Sophia Coppola…Then we move on to discussing the saga of the Feiyue sneaker and how it illustrates the rise of China and American/European collapse and hubris. It all ties together. Trust us.
Have a great week. Pray with us that Trump does not nuke the world. Praying is all we got left. 🙏