Reactive features from Radio 4, exploring what's really happening behind the headlines and unearthing untold stories, both at home and abroad.
Reactive features from Radio 4, exploring what's really happening behind the headlines and unearthing untold stories, both at home and abroad.
Curtis Yarvin is suddenly all over American media. A computer engineer turned political blogger, he's known for writing long screeds that advocate for a radical reform of governance - dismissing liberal democratic values and instead calling for the return of absolutely monarchies.
For years, these ideas were buried in the blogosphere, but they began to gain traction after Donald Trump was first elected to the White House. But with President Trump back in the oval office, some observers think this once-niche school of thought is what's spurring some of the controversial policies currently causing outrage in America - from Elon Musk's DOGE to attacks on elite institutions like Harvard University to the widespread dismantling of DEI programmes.
How did Yarvin's ideas become so influential - and how important is he, really?
ARCHIVE:
Triggernometry podcast, The Case Against Democracy, Youtube, July 23 2023. Hermitix Podcast, Gray Mirror of the Nihilist Prince with Curtis Yarvin, Youtube, June 19 2020 Marc Andreessen on his Techno-Optimist Manifesto / YouTube, Start Up Archive / Jan 20 2025
Presenter: Mike Wendling Producer: Lucy Proctor Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Mix: James Beard