Podcast appearances and mentions of max chafkin

Bloomberg Businessweek brings you a smart and fun chat show about all things...business. Hosted by award-winning business and economics journalists Max Chafkin (author of The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power) and Stacey Vanek Smith (former co-host of NPR’s Planet Money and reporter for Marketplace), Everybody's Business is powered by the unparalleled sources and reporters who bring you Businessweek magazine’s headlines and the stories behind them. The show gives listeners a window into the discussions happening in boardrooms, Zooms and group chats in power centers around the world. From interpreting Fed meetings to the business of wolf cloning, each week Max, Stacey and their friends at Bloomberg Businessweek guide listeners through what really went on during the last week from Wall Street and Main Street. Because what’s happening with money and markets is everybody’s business. Listen here and subscribe to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump pushes for his budget bill on Capitol Hill as the GOP's self-imposed deadline approaches. Then, how the President's economic agenda is leading foreign investors to turn away from the U.S. And, the Justice Department opens an investigation into former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over congressional testimony he gave last year. Luke Broadwater, Jeff Mason, Dave Weigel, Max Chafkin, Justin Wolfers, Tim Miller, Joel Payne, and Leah Litman join as Melissa Murray hosts The 11th Hour this Tuesday. 

The President visits Saudi Arabia, where his priorities are all about making "deals". Plus, Trump renews attacks on Fed chair Powell as new data shows how inflation is impacting the economy. And, breaking down new reporting on how the Trump adminstration wants to use FBI, drug and gun agents on immigration enforcement. Jeff Mason, Carol Leonnig, Daniella Diaz, Justin Wolfers, Max Chafkin, Chuck Rocha, Mark McKinnon, Dr. Vin Gupta, and Randi Weingarten join The 11th Hour with Alicia Menendez this Tuesday night. 

President Trump holds an awkward meeting with Canada's Prime Minister just two months before tariffs are set to go up. Then, the President's top trade officials are scheduled to meet with a Chinese delegation just hours after the Treasury Secretary admits trade negotiations have yet to start. And, the consequences of the Trump administration's stance on due process. Jeff Mason, Sam Stein, Senator Doug Jones, Barry Ritholtz, Max Chafkin, Mark Joseph Stern, and John King Jr. join The 11th Hour this Tuesday. 

In the fifth (top secret) episode of Bloomberg Businessweek’s new podcast Everybody’s Business, hosts Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith look the first 104 days of the Trump administration--particularly the last 4. Businessweek editor Brad Stone joins to discuss Amazon's face-off with Trump, the GDP's downturn and the resignation of Mike Waltz. Then David Papadopoulos joins from the sidelines of the Kentucky Derby, where he explains why betting on the races is softening and why retirement is often more lucrative for horses than running (and what a retirement it is!). Finally, as the underrated story of the week, Stacey and Max discuss the rise of new media in the White House press corp, including one influencer who famously thought the moon had disappeared after she didn't see it for several days.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today marks the 100th day of the second Trump administration. It also means it’s been about 100 days since Elon Musk transformed the US Digital Service into what he and Trump contend is a government cost-cutting initiative named after Musk’s favorite crypto coin. With the Trump news cycle more intense than ever and Musk the fastest moving part of it, today’s episode of Elon, Inc. attempts to make sense of the past three-and-a-half months. What we do know is that the “Department of Government Efficiency” has only cut a fraction of the $2 trillion Musk initially promised, and that the South Africa native’s pledge of full transparency has come to nearly naught. Meanwhile, the entire effort is the subject of furious litigation over its arguably unconstitutional nature. Host David Papadopoulos gathers Max Chafkin, Dana Hull and Bloomberg technology reporter Kurt Wagner to break down Musk’s activities as his 130 days as a special government employee nears a close. What has been Musk’s biggest win? Biggest loss? What event has been the most surprising or under reported? The gang has its work cut out for them. Also, David, Dana and Max zero in on the robotaxi. Supposedly launching in Austin, Texas, in June, much of Tesla’s still-high valuation is bound up with Musk’s idea of a self-driving cab, and a lot of time was dedicated to it during last week’s Tesla earnings call. After years of promises, will the robotaxi actually see the light of day? How big of a fleet are we talking about? Will it survive an already crowded market? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the fourth (top secret) episode of Bloomberg Businessweek’s new podcast Everybody’s Business, hosts Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith grapple with the rise of the Man-o-sphere. Elon Musk is backing away from Doge, but his legacy will linger, and Max reveals the man behind Doge (hint: it’s not Elon) Then Sarah Frier joins the show to talk about the former talent agent who introduced President Trump to the Manosphere and how he politicized the space. And how one clip of President Trump talking to a podcast host about cocaine won the hearts and minds of the manosphere and put them squarely on team Trump. Finally, as the underrated story of the week, Stacey and Max discuss an AI tool invention that got a Columbia student suspended and then won him millions in venture capitalSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last year was a big year for Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant company, seeing as it made headlines by successfully inserting a chip into a human’s brain. Soon the world may marvel at a quadriplegic man playing chess using nothing but his mind. And while there are other companies in the field of neurotechnology, Neuralink has received outsized attention thanks to its deeply controversial founder. His ultimate ambitions are lofty—including characteristically extreme claims of products that can enable mental control of robotic limbs or substitute spoken communication all together. But brainwave-powered chess aside, as the South Africa native becomes more famous (or infamous) for his role as President Donald Trump’s government-gutting deputy than co-founder of an embattled electric car company, Neuralink has managed to endure his notoriety. In this week’s episode, David Papadopoulos catches up with Bloomberg technology editor Sarah Frier to discuss what Neuralink has been up to, how its fundraising is going and what the company’s plans are for 2025. Also, Papadopoulos talks with Musk reporter Dana Hull and Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin about Tuesday’s Tesla earnings call. Coming at a tumultuous time for the company, Musk has promised it will also be a “company update.” Chafkin and Hull break down what to expect. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the third (semi-secret) episode of Bloomberg Businessweek's new podcast Everybody’s Business, Businessweek Editor Brad Stone fills in for Max Chafkin and joins Stacey Vanek Smith to talk trade war winners an losers. Though uncertainty still surrounds many of the Trump Administration's tariff policies, some trends are starting to emerge. Brad and Stacey select their winners and losers based on what we know so far. And Harvard University is making headlines this week as it pushed back against Trump Administration demands. Now the University is at risk of losing billions of dollars in federal funding as well as its tax exempt status. Reporter Janet Lorin has been following the story and explains the stakes: What does it mean for universities if they lose federal money and why is the story captivating us so much? Finally, Everybody's Business goes to space. A group of women, including entertainer Katie Perry and CBS's Gayle King, went on a short trip to space. The voyage has been heavily critiqued, but Brad argues that this is, indeed, a milestone.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second episode of Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s new podcast Everybody’s Business, Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith talk market turmoil. The stock market has been on a wild ride ever since the Trump Administration put sweeping tariffs in place, but it was trouble in the bond market that seemed to get the President’s attention and inspire the White House to hit pause on the tariffs. Tracy Alloway of the Odd Lots podcast joins to help explain. And what does a big, global company like Apple do in a protectionist world? Mark Gurman, Bloomberg’s Chief Correspondent covering consumer technology, explains why the tariff announcement has hit Apple’s stock especially hard and how much you can expect the price of your iPhone to rise. Finally, have scientists unearthed an ancient howl? Stacey is blown away while Max is (unsurprisingly) skeptical.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author and journalist Max Chafkin, co-host of the podcast Elon, Inc., joins Trevor and Christiana to discuss one of today's most fascinating and controversial figures: Elon Musk. The three talk about how Elon came to be the world's richest person, whether he's a brilliant entrepreneur, scam artist, or both, and whether he and the rest of the “Paypal Mafia” have helped the world or helped ruin it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Donald Trump unveiled that big list of countries and their respective tariffs, the markets reacted immediately by nosediving. In the days since, business leaders, tech founders and global CEOs have been making noise about how their companies will be negatively impacted. And even though Elon Musk is now part of the Trump administration, he’s also jumped into the fray, feuding with Trump adjutant Peter Navarro on (where else?) X. This is the biggest split between Trump and Musk we’ve seen yet. To talk about these developments, Elon, Inc. regulars Dana Hull and Max Chafkin are joined by Bloomberg editor Craig Trudell and political correspondent Nancy Cook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump's latest tariffs are followed by the worst one-day loss for the markets since the pandemic. Then, POTUS gets rid of three National Security Council aides after an Oval Office meeting with far-right activist Laura Loomer, who pushed for the firings. And, a Pentagon watchdog is now investigating Pete Hegseth's Signal chat blunder. Brendan Greeley, Max Chafkin, Justin Wolfers, Peter Baker, David Jolly, Representative Jake Auchincloss, Mayor Freddie O'Connell, Mayor Tim Keller, and Mayor Leonardo Williams join The 11th Hour this Thursday. 

In the first episode of Bloomberg Businessweek’s new podcast Everybody’s Business, Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith try to make sense of “Liberation Day”—Donald Trump’s recent introduction of steep tariffs on imports from seemingly every corner of the globe. Will these taxes "fix" the economy like a hammer helps a headache? Or are they a tool to change an unsustainable system of global trade? Then Businessweek editor Brad Stone joins to discuss reported recent attempts of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Oracle’s Larry Ellison to acquire TikTok. After a dramatic near-decade of politicians trying to cancel the app in the US, will an unlikely cabal of investors manage to save America’s new favorite pastime? Also, Max shares what story he thinks deserved more attentions this week. It’s all about bats. Everybody’s Business is a Businessweek production. It will live in the Elon, Inc. feed for a few weeks until it gets its own home starting May 16th.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Friday night, news broke that Elon Musk was merging his company X with his company xAI—a move that this very podcast, Elon, Inc., had predicted last year. This week, a campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court looms very large, as Musk is again spending millions of dollars to (Democrats contend) try and tilt an election in the Republican Party’s favor. Today, we talk about what the Friday night news means for Musk’s financial world and what the Wisconsin race means for his political future. This episode features social media reporter Kurt Wager, Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull, Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin and host David Papadopoulos.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump's top intel officials questioned before Congress after attack plans were accidentally shared with a journalist in a Signal group chat. Plus, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz tries to explain what happened. And, consumer sentiment hits a 4-year low as the President's ' tariff “liberation day” approaches. Nayyera Haq, Luke Broadwater, Annie Karni, David Jolly, Conor Lamb, and Max Chafkin join as Ayman Mohyeldin hosts The 11th Hour this Tuesday night. 

Elon Musk’s leverage over the Republican Party, made plain by his threats to finance primary challenges against anyone who fails to fully support Donald Trump, comes from his multibillion-dollar bank account. Recently, he’s decided to spend some of that money on behalf of the party. In Wisconsin, Musk has spent upwards of $13 million to sway a state supreme court race that has ramifications for Republican control of the US House of Representatives. To discuss this, host David Papadopoulos is joined by Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull, Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin and politics reporter Ted Mann. Then, later in the episode, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Steve Man joins to talk about his optimistic view on Tesla sales. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In some ways, Elon Musk had a quiet week—if making news on a daily instead of hourly basis counts as quiet. This week on Elon, Inc., the panel— Max Chafkin, Dana Hull and Bloomberg Businessweek columnist Amanda Mull—discusses Mull’s latest story about the wrong turns Musk has taken with the Tesla brand. And while Tesla dealerships and Supercharger stations are increasingly the focus of anti-Musk ire, the panel ponders the future of SpaceX and Starlink, especially as the latter is seeing growth among its competitors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He may be the world’s richest person and a personal pal of Donald Trump, but even Elon Musk can have a bad week. Not only has Tesla stock continued to crater as consumers worldwide turn their back on the South Africa-born multibillionaire (some violently) but his right-wing social network X was hit by sporadic outages he blamed on hackers. Even one of his SpaceX rockets blew up, raining debris down on the Earth and endangering passenger airliners. A big part of Musk’s waning popularity is of course tied to his starring role in gutting the US government on behalf of Trump—and even there he’s not as loved as he once was. On this episode to discuss all of this are Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin and Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull. Later, Bloomberg stocks reporter Esha Day talks about how the markets have been treating Musk of late. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Social media bosses from Meta, X, TikTok and Google were grilled by the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee yesterday. We speak to Labour Chair of the committee, Chi Onwurah, for her reaction. Also on the programme, a career interview with the British-American broadcaster Mehdi Hasan. He discusses his new media business Zeteo, his departure from MSNBC and the importance of opinion journalism. As the BBC faces criticism about its Gaza documentary – it's emerged that the boy who narrates the film is the son of a Hamas official – we discuss the controversy with former Head of News & Current Affairs at Channel 4, Dorothy Byrne, and TV executive Leo Pearlman. Plus, Max Chafkin, Bloomberg reporter and author of The Contrarian, profiles Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel.Guests: Chi Onwurah, MP, Labour; Mehdi Hasan, broadcaster and CEO, Zeteo; Dorothy Byrne, former Head of News and Current Affairs, Channel Four; Leo Pearlman, Co-CEO, Fulwell Entertainment; Max Chafkin, tech reporter and author, BloombergPresenters: Ros Atkins and Katie Razzall Producer: Simon Richardson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

Personnel Management (OPM) sent out an email seemingly to all federal employees instructing them to send back a list of five things they accomplished the previous week. Over on X, Musk posted that failure to do so would be tantamount to resigning. Confusion reigned as departments scrambled to advise employees on whether to follow the order from Donald Trump’s wealthiest assistant. This week, Bloomberg Businessweek’s Max Chafkin chats with Bloomberg social media reporter Kurt Wagner about this email and more. Then we hear a segment of the live show last week at On Air Fest, where host David Papadopoulos was joined by Chafkin, Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull and Wired’s Makena Kelly, who has been covering politics and Musk’s new government career for some time now. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Konungurinn lengi lifi, skrifaði Donald Trump um sjálfan sig á samfélagsmiðlum í gær. Frá því að hann tók við embætti forseta í Janúar hefur hann unnið að því að gjörbylta bandarísku stjórnkerfi og samfélagi með suðurafríska tæknimógúlinn Elon Musk sér við hlið. Hugmyndirnar sem þeir styðjast í niðurrifinu og uppbyggingu hins nýja samfélags hafa lengi verið að bruggast í tæknigeiranum - og þær eru róttækari en marga grunar. Lýðræðið er komið á endastöð, og Bandaríkin þurfa snjallan forstjóra sem stýrir samfélaginu eins og sprotafyrirtæki. Það þarf að byggja upp einveldi, nýtt konungsdæmi, segja jafnvel sumir. Næstu vikurnar ætlum við að sökkva okkur ofan í þessar byltingarhugmyndir og hugsuðina á bakvið þær, konungssinnana í Kisildal. Í fyrsta þættinum fjöllum við um þýsk-amerísk-nýsjálenska fjárfestinn Peter Thiel, læriföður varaforsetans JD Vance og fyrsta áhrifamanninn úr Silicon Valley sem studdi við Donald Trump. Það efni sem við notuðum við gerð þáttarins var meðal annars eftirfarandi: Textar eftir Peter Thiel: - Zero to One: Notes on Startups, Or How to Build the Future (2014) - Education of a Libertarian (2009): https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian/ - The Straussian Moment (2007): https://gwern.net/doc/politics/2007-thiel.pdf Viðtöl við Thiel: - Triumph of the Counter-Elites (2024): https://podcastnotes.org/honestly-with-bari-weiss/peter-thiel-on-the-triumph-of-the-counter-elites-honestly-with-bari-weiss/ - Peter Thiel is taking a break from democracy (2023): https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ archive/2023/11/peter-thiel-2024-election-politics-investing-life-views/675946/ - The state contains violence (2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh_nxwTwKrg Umfjallanir blaðamanna um Thiel - Ævisagan The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power (2019) eftir Max Chafkin. - Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets (2022): https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets

Once again, a special thanks to Deco19 for the suggestion. We hope you're enjoying the series so far.This episode focuses on the Media's Relationship with Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley at large. Our primary source for this episode was The Contrarian by Max Chafkin but we also relied on the way back machine to find archived articles, etc. Questions? Comments? Requests? Find us on our subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/profiteersvsthepeople/ or feel free to drop us a line at profitvspeeps@gmail.com

Federal judges continue to declare most of Elon Musk’s activities in Washington to be probably illegal as the question of whether his 78-year-old boss will trigger a constitutional crisis becomes more pressing. At the same time, Musk has been making news in Silicon Valley, with a report Monday that he and others want to buy OpenAI. The proposal may have been a feint, but Sam Altman did take the opportunity to make Musk look small. The OpenAI chief executive said no thanks to the $97.4 billion offer, but added he’d be happy to buy X off of Musk for a pittance by comparison. From Washington, reporter Josh Wingrove joins host David Papadopoulos and panelists Max Chafkin and Dana Hull. Plus, New York magazine tech writer John Herrman comes on to talk about how Musk’s businesses may be benefiting from his role as Donald Trump’s hatchet man.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day 16 of the Trump Administration, the President hosted Israeli Prime Minister as he proposed a shocking plan for the Gaza strip. Plus, the latest as Democrats push back on Elon Musk's takeover of parts of the federal government. And FBI agents sue the Department of Justice alleging retribution for their work on January 6th cases. Jeff Mason, Lehigh Ann Caldwell, Susan Glasser, Hagar Chemali, Tim O'Brien, Max Chafkin, Frank Figliuzzi, David Jolly, and Harry Litman join The 11th Hour this Tuesday.

Elon Musk has been in Washington a few weeks now, and he and his team of Silicon Valley adjutants show no signs of stopping their efforts to (illegally, many legal experts say) dismantle portions of the federal government in the name of Donald Trump. This weekend, we discussed how the Tesla co-founder and far-right billionaire was given access to a central component of government—the mechanism by which the Treasury distributes trillions of dollars authorized by Congress. Today, Max Chafkin discusses these historic events with Bloomberg reporters Dana Hull, Ted Mann and Anthony Cormier. Cormier co-reported a story on Musk’s effort to collapse the US Agency for International Development, which distributes humanitarian and development aid all over the world. In addition to the ramifications Musk’s unprecedented actions may have for the 249-year-old republic, we also consider what this all means for his finances.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a week of unprecedented action (and chaos) from both Elon Musk and the Trump administration, breaking news this weekend brought the Elon, Inc. team together for an emergency episode. The New York Times broke the news, and the Washington Post followed, that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was given access to the Treasury Department’s payment system. This system, which handles a big chunk of the government’s money transfers, including Social Security, is normally administered by a small number of non-political appointees, and it was reported that Musk’s desire to get in the gears drove a career Treasury official out of the department late this week. This is a big deal. Musk has many apparent conflicts of interest, and beyond the finances, this is where sensitive information about American citizens is stored. To discuss this development, host Max Chafkin is joined by Sarah Frier, Big Tech editor; Kurt Wagner, social media reporter; and Dana Hull, who covers Musk for Bloomberg News.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here is the episode where Peter Thiel and Max Levchin start Paypal and meet and defeat Elon Musk. We hope you like that. Thanks again, Deco19 for the request! Have a request, or want to say hi? - Here is our subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/profiteersvsthepeople/ - Here is our email: profitvspeeps@gmail.com Here are our sources, besides The Contrarian, by Max Chafkin: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1diauIRcuH0XXYg1AWrIRcbx1b9sV0-78RtW5O3dhx4c/edit?usp=sharing

It’s that time of year: quarterly earnings for Tesla are tomorrow. Regular Elon, Inc. listeners will know that means a new bingo card is here (and you can play on the Bloomberg Terminal at BNGO). But that’s only one of the many breaking news items about Elon Musk—another is today’s announcement that Visa is partnering with X to deliver banking services to the social media platform. To discuss all of this, host David Papadopoulos is joined by Max Chafkin, Dana Hull and editor Craig Trudell to talk Tesla, and senior banking reporter Sridhar Natarajan to unpack X’s new debt deal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump orders 1,500 active duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. Plus, the CEO defending Trump's tariff plans. And, after Trump's inauguration, a government website providing information on reproductive health is shut down. The founders of 'The Skimm' discuss how they're ensuring those same resources are still available. David Jolly, Philip Bump, Max Chafkin, Dylan Ratigan, Danielle Weisberg, and Carly Zakin join The 11th Hour this Wednesday.

All eyes were on Washington, DC, this past weekend, when Elon Musk joined Donald Trump’s inauguration events bigly, as our once and current president would say. The news was flowing throughout, including changes to the nascent DOGE project and a very controversial hand gesture. Also controversial? Musk’s ongoing video game scandal, in which influential gamers have accused Musk of not actually getting to the upper echelon of a few games by himself. To discuss DC, host David Papadopoulos is joined by series regulars Max Chafkin and Dana Hull, and Bloomberg video game reporter Cecilia D’Anastasio later joins to talk about her new story on the affair.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump's pick to run the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, faces tough questions during a Senate confirmation hearing. Plus, more than 88,000 people are still under evacuation orders in LA. And, Bloomberg reports that China could potentially sell U.S. operations of TikTok to Elon Musk. Kate Kelly, Melanie Zanona, Matthew Dowd, Jen Psaki, Max Chafkin, Ron Insana, and Max Rose join the 11th Hour this Tuesday.

Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will end its third- party fact checking just weeks before a new Trump admininistration begins. Plus, the president elect won't rule out using military force to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal. And, dangerous wildfires continue in Southern California as officials urge residents to evacuate. Yael Eisenstat, Dan Nathan, Vaughn Hillyard, Rufus Gifford, Peter Spiegel, Max Chafkin, Barbara McQuade, Jacob Soboroff joins The 11th Hour on this Tuesday. 

For those who haven’t been following Elon Musk’s voluminous and combative X posts about the UK—good for you. It’s a confusing situation where Musk backed and then renounced fellow right-winger Nigel Farage, and then tried to taint Prime Minister Keir Starmer with a “scandal” tied to when he was a prosecutor. Starmer, for his part, said “a line has been crossed” with Musk’s messaging. Musk then made an X poll asking people, essentially, if it was time for a coup in the UK. David discusses this with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Marc Champion, Musk reporter Dana Hull and UK government reporter Alex Wickham. Then, Kurt Wagner and Max Chafkin join Hull to talk about changes at X. Musk seems to have changed the platform’s policy to privilege posts that are “positive” in nature. The timing of this has the panel wondering if he plans on boosting people who are saying nice things about, say, how his new boss is doing come Jan. 20. Finally, “Adrian Dittman.” It’s been a longstanding rumor that this person is actually Musk—his voice sounds like Musk’s in various recordings and he posts often about Musk in glowing terms. A recent story seemed to debunk that rumor, but the internet doesn’t seem ready to let go.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the holiday break, Elon Musk was busy making news on X, furiously posting his way into a multipronged fight with ultra-right wing MAGA luminaries Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon about immigration visas. But over the past 24 hours, two other stories arguably overshadowed the civil war in Trumpland: a deadly Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas and some surprisingly bad sales numbers from Tesla. David Papadopoulos is joined by Max Chafkin and Dana Hull to break down the news. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The long-awaited House Ethics Committee report into Matt Gaetz is released. Plus, Silicon Valley's growing influence in the next administration as Trump taps more tech leaders for government positions. And a sitting Congresswoman from Texas is absent for months from Capitol Hill only to turn up in a senior living facility. Carol Leonnig, Dave Weigel, Charles Coleman Jr., Max Chafkin, Roger McNamee, Chuck Rocha, and Mark McKinnon join the 11th Hour this Monday night.

What a year 2024 has been for Elon Musk. From the ups-and-downs of Tesla stock, to his rapid ascent to the top of Republican party politics to various SpaceX wins and losses, it seems like a year that Musk won’t forget. And neither will we: for the year-end episode, we actually have a two-part special, featuring Max Chafkin as host, Dana Hull (Elon Musk reporter) and Sarah Frier (Big Tech editor) as panelists and a special guest, Ryan Broderick, host of his own podcast, Panic World, and Garbage Day newsletter founder. In the first part, we go over the word (or words) that describe Musk’s year; discuss both the biggest and most underappreciated stories of the year; and figure out who was the most important sidekick among Elon’s ever evolving entourage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the past day or so, Elon Musk has been singularly focused, on X, on one target: funding the US government. He has, basically, single-handedly, killed a bipartisan bill that would keep the federal government running through January 1, 2025. To unpack what is happening — and will what will happen — Max Chafkin sits down with Bloomberg News reporter Ted Mann. It’s a huge gamble, by Musk and Trump, on what could be a very problematic start to Trump’s new administration.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump's HHS pick RFK Jr meets with Republican Senators to drum up support. Plus, SoftBank CEO visits Mar-a-Lago and pledges to invest $100 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. And, the latest on the investigation into mysterious drones flying over the east coast. Susan Glasser, Leigh Ann Caldwell. McKay Coppins, Jeff Stein, Max Chafkin, Sam Morris, and Kevin Collier join the 11th Hour this Monday.

The simmering feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman is boiling again. In the latest round, OpenAI, which is being sued by Musk, uncorked a long post last week that included emails purporting to show that Musk didn’t really care about the safety of artificial intelligence (as he has long said he does). According to OpenAI, Musk just wanted to control the company. Also on the docket for Elon, Inc. this week: a conversation with Bloomberg reporter Loren Grush, along with regulars Dana Hull and Max Chafkin, about what Donald Trump’s designated head of NASA, billionaire Jared Isaacman, means for Musk. (Probably only good things.) Another story that is discussed is Hull’s deep dive into Musk’s funding of a preschool project. It’s part of a larger push from Musk to implement his own far-right agenda into education, and the money runs through at least two of his non-profit entities. There is a familiar cast of characters involved (like longtime money manager Jared Birchall) and some vague goals. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk is frequently on the move, but in his new role as Donald Trump’s wealthiest enforcer, he seems to be everywhere at once. One minute he’s on Capitol Hill with Vivek Ramaswamy pushing his boss’s government-gutting agenda, the next he’s in Paris with the president-elect for some awkward mingling with the global elite. Then he’s back at Mar-a-Lago, huddling with Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban. Bloomberg political writer Josh Green joins Max Chafkin and Dana Hull to talk about these developments. Also on the episode this week, a discussion about the recent astronomical SpaceX valuation, Max thinks he might have spotted a possible feud, and a quick peak into the show email inbox.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There have been a lot of raised eyebrows over Elon Musk's “DOGE” (not the cryptocurrency), short for Trump 2.0's “Department of Government Efficiency.” It's Donald Trump's project for Musk: he's assigned his wealthiest donor the task of cutting government spending by about $2 trillion (most of which is constitutionally up to Congress, but anyway...), in part by gutting or eliminating key regulatory agencies. The DOGE will be co-led by former presidential candidate, fellow tech entrepreneur and now full-on Trump acolyte Vivek Ramaswamy. Recent reporting has revealed a whole team of Trumpian billionaires, investors and tech personalities willing to join the feeding frenzy—a veritable Avengers team of MAGA fiscal expenditure. On the latest episode of Elon, Inc., David Papadopoulos and Max Chafkin break down who's who behind the scenes of the DOGE team, and try to figure out what, if anything, it can do or what Musk's end goal is.  The episode also includes a live recording in London from October with Papadopoulos, Chafkin and social media expert Devika Shanker-Grandpierre. The trio discuss the global consequences of Musk's lax content moderation on X. To top things off, David confronts Max with Musk's latest ploy: a suggestion that the billionaire should buy MSNBC. It may sound far fetched but, as David points out, didn't the purchase of Twitter also start out as a joke? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max Chafkin, senior reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek and host of the new podcast Citizen Elon, looks at how Elon Musk took center stage in Trump's campaign, and what the billionaire's involvement in the government might look like going forward.

Does money speak? And if so, what is it saying about Elon Musk and Donald Trump? In this episode of Elon, Inc., the panel—host David Papadopoulos, Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull, social media reporter Kurt Wagner and Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin—consider how Musk has benefited from his incredibly close relationship with the president-elect, even as some cracks emerge between them.  Also discussed: Bluesky, a new version of what Twitter was before Musk got a hold of it, has had a great few weeks, adding millions of users. It's not clear how this will impact X, as its value—like all of the right-wing billionaire's companies—is now tied to Trump. There might not be a good advertising business left for X, but it has other uses now, as the media arm of Musk's political operation, and the Republican Party as a whole. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump chooses former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be attorney general, but can he get through the Senate confirmation process? Then Elon Musk goes from Trump campaign backer to Trump administration member. But how long will this last? And, former Democrat turned Fox News host Tulsi Gabbard is Trump's choice for Director of National Intelligence. Luke Broadwater, Carlos Curbelo, Joyce Vance, Ryan Reilly, Max Chafkin, Max Rose, Charlie Sykes, Leighton Woodhouse, and Fernand Amandi join the 11th Hour this Wednesday.

MSNBC's Katie Phang hosts "The Beat" on Monday, November 11, and reports on Donald Trump's deportation plans and his vow for "revenge" against his political enemies. Molly Jong-Fast, Fernand Amandi, Cecillia Wang, Harry Litman, Alexis McGill Johnson, Skye Perryman and Max Chafkin join.

It's hard to believe it's only been a week since the US presidential election. First Friend Elon Musk has been very busy—from talking on the phone to world leaders to racking up billions of dollars in additional wealth as Tesla stock soars (thanks to widespread expectations of presidential favor). To hash all of this out, Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin leads a discussion with Bloomberg technology editor Sarah Frier, Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull and wealth reporter Tom Maloney.  And we look at a new feud: Musk versus pop star Olivia Rodrigo. She had said that she asks men on first dates if they want to go to space—and if they say yes, “it's just weird.” We'll be looking for his response to this shot to the man-o-sphere. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Han har blivit miljardär på sin känsla för framtiden och investerar i Facebook, terrorbekämpning och evigt liv men är också en av de största bidragsgivarna till högerkonservativa politiker. Nya avsnitt från P3 ID hittar du först i Sveriges Radio Play. Efter att ha revolutionerat bankvärlden med PayPal tillsammans med bland andra Elon Musk, blir Peter Thiel känd som en av Silicon Valleys mest inflytelserika investerare. Med sin konträra inställning lyckas Peter Thiel bli en tidig investerare i flera företag som de kommande åren ska komma att rita om kartan för hela industrier. Men Peter Thiel är inte bara intresserad av att tjäna pengar, han vill stöpa om USA i grunden. Peter Thiel har hyllats för sin briljans och visionära idéer om samhället. Men också anklagats för att vara en puppet master, som med sin feta plånbok, inte bara lyckats få inflytande över världens stora sociala medie-jättar utan också politiker. Programledare & Producent: Vendela Lundberg Avsnittsförfattare & reporter: Carl-Johan UlvenäsTekniker: Fredrik NilssonAvsnittet producerades av produktionsbolaget DIST hösten 2024Ljud från: CNN, MSNBC, ImitatioVideo, Founders Fund, C-Span, Big Think, AP , CBS, CNBS, JD Vance, NBC, ABC News, Rubin Report, Curious Mind, The Financial Review, Recode, Libertopia, Fox News, Real Time with Bill Maher, Hoover Institution, Sveriges Radio, TODAY, SVT, BBC, Pivot.Biografin The Contrarian - Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power av Max Chafkin har varit särskilt hjälpsam under arbetet.

Mere hours after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election, Elon, Inc. headed to the studio to do some processing. Max Chafkin and Dana Hull discuss how much credit Musk can take, how he spent election day and night and what's next for America as Musk seems poised to occupy an important role in shaping Trump's second term.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter Thiel isn't as rich as Elon Musk or as notorious as Steve Bannon. But over the last 10 years he has grown from Silicon Valley's oddball conservative to an ideological anchor of the Trump era. And, unfortunately for us, he thinks the country would be better off without voting. Bloomberg Businessweek reporter, Max Chafkin, has written a book about Thiel and his mind boggling worldview: The Contrarian. He joins Max to discuss what Thiel wants from the Republican Party, his mentorship of J.D. Vance, and how he's emboldening a huge swath of tech leaders to be openly MAGA.