Thiel’s Upbringing, Girard, and Early Influences

Over the course of the past year, Peter Thiel—the Trump backing, Vance boosting gay tech billionaire—has been delivering a series of lectures on the Antichrist, using an examination of the Biblical antagonist of the End Times to make an argument about the supposed perils of this political moment. We got our hands on transcripts of these talks as delivered last year in San Francisco, and explain what Thiel said and why it matters. Topics include: Thiel's conservative evangelical upbringing, the influence of Rene Girard on his thinking, and how Thiel's Antichrist lectures relate to his broader thinking and worldview; the place of the Antichrist in the eschatology of different Christian traditions, and the curious similarities between Thiel's understanding of the Antichrist and that found in the work of Timothy LaHaye, co-author of the Left Behind novels; Christianity's recent trendiness in Silicon Valley; the way Thiel's account of how the Antichrist will come to power connects to his economic interests; and more!

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Listen again: 

"Rene Girard and the Right" (w/ John Ganz), KYE, Feb 26, 2024

"A Remedy for Envy? Rene Girard Redux," KYE, March 4, 2024 (for subscribers)

Sources:

Peter Thiel, "The Straussian Moment," 2007

Ross Douthat interviews Peter Thiel (transcript), New York Times, June 26, 2025

Max Chafkin, The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and the Rise of the Silicon Valley Oligarchs (2021)

Timothy LaHaye, Revelation Unveiled (1999)

Elisabetta Povoledo, "Peter Thiel Fears the Antichrist Is Coming. In Rome, Some Call His View Heresy," New York Times, March 17, 2026

Johana Bhuiyan, Dara Kerr, Nick Robins-Early, "Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s off-the-record lectures about the antichrist," The Guardian, Oct 10, 2025

Peter Thiel & Sam Wolfe, "Voyages to the End of the World," First Things, Oct 1, 2025

Emma Goldberg, "Seeking God, or Peter Thiel, in Silicon Valley," New York Times, Feb 11, 2025

Kate Lucky interview w/ Michelle Stephens, "‘Wouldn’t It Be Funny if We Tricked a Bunch of People into Going to Church?’" Christianity Today, Aug 11, 2025

Laura Bullard, "The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession," Wired, Sep 30, 2025

John Ganz, "What Happened Here," Unpopular Front, Feb 4, 2025

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