Silicon Valley used to dream of liberation. Now some of its loudest voices are cozying up to Trump and talking like monarchists. What happened? Is oligarchy the bug in our tech-friendly society we didn't anticipate and need to stem?

Once upon a time, Silicon Valley stood for idealism: personal freedom, creative rebellion, and maybe even the most fully realized form of democracy itself. But something shifted. In this episode of Pacific Time, host Greg Amrofell talks with historian Margaret O’Mara about how tech's brightest minds—and wealthiest billionaires—ended up funding and fueling an anti-democratic turn.

We trace the evolution from daydreams about Apple laptops in Yosemite to Elon’s DOGE-soaked disassembly of the public square. We explore what tech workers really believe, why West Coast universities matter more than ever, and what it will take to rebuild a shared civic foundation.

The West Coast is ready to resist. And the West Coast owes the rest of you an apology for its naughty billionaires.

In this episode:

• How Big Tech's politics fragmented post-Obama
• Why “tech workers” stayed liberal, even as their bosses flipped
• The rise of Curtis Yarvin, Peter Thiel, and the new techno-reactionaries
• Lessons from the origins of Silicon Valley
• What history tells us about moments like this one
• Why West Coast states (and their universities) could hold the line

Guest Bio:
Margaret O'Mara is a professor of history at the University of Washington and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. She's a New York Times Contributor and her research traces the deep links between government, innovation, and ideology in the rise of modern tech.

Related Episodes:

• Ep 07: What If the West Coast Actually Got Its Act Together? (With John Zysman)
• Ep 06: What If We Designed Healthcare from Scratch? (With Mike Hanlon)
• Ep 08: Leave America and Discover Ecotopia? (Solo)