Hacks On Tap New Year's Special: On with Kara Swisher
15 snips
Dec 30, 2025 
In this engaging discussion, Beth Macy, an award-winning investigative reporter and congressional candidate, teams up with Jacob Silverman, an investigative journalist exploring tech and corruption. They delve into the surprising overlap between Silicon Valley elites and rural MAGA voters. Topics include the media's influence, personal strategies for bridging political divides, and the corrosive effects of propaganda. Macy also shares her motivations for running for Congress, emphasizing grassroots connection and health care issues. Can these voices reshape the narrative?
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Tech Elites Dismiss Traditional Accountability
- Many tech elites reject critique and distrust traditional journalism, reshaping what they consider 'getting it right.'
- That intolerance for scrutiny prevents accountability for large platform owners, Jacob Silverman argued.
Authoritarian Roots Shaped Tech Founders
- Many leading tech founders were shaped by hierarchical, authoritarian backgrounds and long-term political organizing.
- That upbringing influenced their later contempt for institutions and embrace of power projects, Jacob Silverman noted.
Trades Declined As Pathways Narrowed
- Upward mobility has eroded: trades and community college slots shrank while college became unaffordable.
- Social supports and transportation are now pivotal to vocational training success, Beth Macy explained.
