Multiple Silicon Valley accelerationists like Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, and Mark Zuckerberg are getting attention for what some consider their challenges to values that many consider central to humanity: introspection, civil society, education, and privacy. Egghead Declares War on Introspection Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz who bears […]
Recent Items
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Coffee Break: Silicon Valley Accelerationists Take On the World and Everyone in It
Topics: Guest Post
Posted by Nat Wilson Turner at 2:00 pm | No Comments »
AI-Powered Robot Dogs Guarding Reviled Data Centers Is Where We Have Arrived
Robot dogs, known as “quadrupeds,” patrol sprawling energy-sucking complexes, which are increasingly met with protest around the country.
Topics: Energy markets, Environment, Guest Post, Politics, Surveillance state, Technology and innovation, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 20 Comments »
Links 3/18/2026
Topics: Links
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:55 am | 34 Comments »
Iran War: Joe Kent Resignation Bombshell; US Deploys Bunker-Busters Near Strait of Hormuz; Iran Makes Retaliatory Strikes on Israel, Across Gulf for Ali Larijani Assassination; Real World Oil Prices Diverge from Paper Oil
Today’s Iran war update: attritional slugging continues as Joe Kent’s resignation shows MAGA doubts and the economic tsunami starts rolls in.
Topics: Doomsday scenarios, Economic fundamentals, Environment, Globalization, Investment outlook, Media watch, Middle East, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:54 am | 161 Comments »
What Does Europe Do Now?
EU economy chief downplays risks from war against Iran as misleadership class seeks ways to make crises even worse.
Topics: Energy markets, Europe, Middle East, Russia, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Conor Gallagher at 6:00 am | 12 Comments »
“Regime Tweaking” In Cuba Is The Most Realistic Outcome Of Its US-Instigated Crisis
Cuba has no option other than to knuckle under in the face of US economic strangulation. What comes next?
Topics: Banana republic, Economic fundamentals, Energy markets, Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Politics, Social values
Posted by Yves Smith at 2:35 am | 8 Comments »
Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – Distributed Deterrence
Military superiority has long been assumed to confer decisive strategic advantage. Yet the spread of precision missiles, mobile launch systems, and low-cost drones is eroding that assumption. A new condition of “distributed deterrence” is emerging—one that may constrain great power coercion while introducing new risks of escalation.
Topics: Coffee Break, Guest Post
Posted by Haig Hovaness at 2:00 pm | 20 Comments »
Why Insect Farming Startups Are Going Bankrupt
To the frustration of Davos Man, insect agriculture has found it difficult to compete with the traditional meat industry.
Topics: Economic fundamentals, Environment, Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Social policy, Species loss
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 21 Comments »
Links 3/17/2026
Topics: Links
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:55 am | 81 Comments »
Iran War: No Uptake to Trump Plea for Help With Opening Strait of Hormuz; Israel Claims Assassination of Iran Security Chief; Iran Clarifies That Friendly Countries Can Transit, Strikes UAE Terminal at Fajarah, Trump Delays Xi Summit
Today’s Iran war update: Trump embarrassment, more Israel decapitation, Iran continues working over Israel, US airbases, and the Gulf States.
Topics: Doomsday scenarios, Economic fundamentals, Energy markets, Europe, Media watch, Middle East, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:53 am | 302 Comments »
Palantir Faces Growing Backlash in UK Following Mandelson-gate Scandal
But is it already too late to reverse course?
Topics: Guest Post
Posted by Nick Corbishley at 6:45 am | 3 Comments »
Causal Evidence on Cost-of-Living Shocks: How the Energy Crisis Affected Energy Demand, Labour Supply, and Financial Strain
Quelle surprise! Poorer households have to make across-the-board spending cuts when hit with a price shock.
Topics: Economic fundamentals, Energy markets, Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Income disparity, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 5:43 am | 4 Comments »
Coffee Break: AIPAC, Crypto, Gambling, AI Money Coalitions Up The Dark Money Game in Dem Primaries
With Israel’s popularity nosediving among Democrats, AIPAC is having to up its dark money game to impact primaries, often in concert with AI and crypto interests.
Topics: Coffee Break
Posted by Nat Wilson Turner at 2:00 pm | 13 Comments »
Economic Questions: The Thorstein Veblen Question
A timely recap of Thorstein Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption and its implication.
Topics: Guest Post, Income disparity, Social values, The dismal science
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 49 Comments »
Links 3/16/2026
Topics: Links
Posted by Conor Gallagher at 6:55 am | 73 Comments »



