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Hosted by Nick Zenkin, a podcast about the stress of American politics. Come hang out, and let’s vent together.
A strange new buzzword has been floating from obscure blogs into elite political circles: The Dark Enlightenment. In this episode, I dig into where it came from, who coined it, and why it matters now.
We’ll cover:
The origins — Curtis Yarvin’s 2007 blog and Nick Land’s 2012 essays.
Core ideas — the “Cathedral,” running a state like a company, and why they think exit is better than voice.
The key players — Yarvin, Land, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, Patri Friedman, Balaji Srinivasan, and more.
The numbers — $10–15M in Thiel PAC funding to Vance, 2.2M federal employees targeted by “fire-the-bureaucracy” talk, and early seasteading investments of ~$500k.
Critiques — why strong democracies like the Nordics contradict the theory, and the risks of a “CEO state.”
What to watch — staffing, policy drafts, and new “exit” experiments like charter cities or network states.
By the end, you’ll see how a once-fringe internet philosophy went from blogs to salons to inauguration parties—and why it’s suddenly brushing up against the halls of power.
Also, thoughts for Charlie Kirk and his family.
The Lonely Liberal
Hosted by Nick Zenkin, a podcast about the stress of American politics. Come hang out, and let’s vent together.
