This week on In The Meanwhile, Nora and Marcus chat it up with Dr. Daudi Abe about America’s hottest commodity: ignorance, which is now streaming in a classroom near you! From states rebranding slavery as “involuntary relocation with benefits” to classrooms streaming PragerU like it’s the Disney Channel, we dive into how the powerful weaponize misinformation to keep us confused, divided, and buying Hulk Hogan bobbleheads instead of books. It’s hilarious, terrifying, and just the kind of conversation you need if you’re trying to make sense of why critical thinking is being treated like contraband. Oh, and Dr. Abe has a special message for anyone crying that higher education leads to indoctrination…

Mentioned in the episode:

Deadhorse Canyon | Man or Bear | Marcus’s article on Homer in the South Seattle Emerald | Book: A Festival of Violence

Support the pod:

Donate to Hinton Publishing to support In the Meanwhile

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Read Nora and Marcus’s Books:

Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare | Readying to Rise

Nora and Marcus’s work on the podcast is separate from their professional roles and does not represent the views of their employers.

Music: No Tears for a Wolf · Ahamefule J. Oluo · Okanomodé. Used with permission.

Logo by Nikki Barron.

Transcripts are machine-generated and imperfect.

Links to bookshop.org are affiliate links.

The broligarchy isn’t just cringe, it’s deeply dangerous. This week on In The Meanwhile, Nora and Marcus sit down with Dan McQuillan, author of Resisting AI, to unpack how artificial intelligence isn't changing the game—it's rigging it in favor of authoritarianism. McQuillan breaks down how Silicon Valley has found its perfect dance partner in far-right movements, and offers a crucial blueprint for resistance. By rejecting the lie that AI dominance is useful or inevitable, McQuillan maps out how we can refuse this technological takeover and build something better in its place. Enter "decomputing": the radical idea that communities can organize alternative infrastructures based on care, mutual aid, and actual human judgment instead of algorithmic solutionism.

Part organizing manual, part explainer on Elon’s tasteless Nazi fan fiction, this episode is necessary listening for anyone who's ever wondered if we're sleepwalking into a dystopian tech future. Spoiler alert: we are. But we don't have to be.

Mentioned in the episode:

Resisting AI by Dan McQuillan | Decomputing as Resistance by Dan McQuillan | Resisting the Techno-Fascist Takeover by Dan McQuillan | Travis Kalanick on doing “vibe physics” | A Former DOGE Employee Gives His Account of Working for the Operation, NPR. | More Everything Forever, by Adam Becker | Empire of AI, by Karen Hao | The Interview: The Grody-Patinkin Family is a Mess. People Love It. | Pathetic Spiritual Practice with Rev. Denise M. Cawley

Find Dan McQuillan on social media:

https://x.com/danmcquillan | https://bsky.app/profile/danmcquillan.bsky.social | @danmcquillan@kolektiva.social (mastodon) | https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmcquillan/ | https://www.instagram.com/resistingai/

Support the pod:

Donate to Hinton Publishing to support In the Meanwhile

Follow us:

Instagram | BlueSky | Website

Read Nora and Marcus’s Books:

Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare

Readying to Rise

Nora and Marcus’ work on the podcast is separate from their professional roles and does not represent the views of their employers.

Music: No Tears for a Wolf · Ahamefule J. Oluo · Okanomodé. Used with permission.

Logo by Nikki Barron.

Transcripts are machine-generated and imperfect.

Links to bookshop.org are affiliate links.

This week on In The Meanwhile, Nora and Marcus catch up with Seattle’s most unexpected threat to billionaire brunch politics, Katie Wilson. She’s a longtime organizer, transit rider, and Americano-splitter who went from dragging mayors in public comment to becoming the mayoral frontrunner herself. Her game plan? No hedge fund sugar daddies, no donor call lists, just a Google form, a ground game, and the radical idea that government should actually work for people. This one is for everyone who’s screamed “Do something!” at their screen, only to realize the person who should do something… might be themselves. It’s equal parts political strategy, Buddhist wisdom, and just enough hope to make every fauxgressive clutch their Chamber of Commerce tote bag in horror.

Mentioned in the episode:

Katie Wilson for Mayor | Voting info in King County |

Support the pod:

Donate to Hinton Publishing to support In the Meanwhile

Follow us on social & the web:

Instagram | BlueSky | Website

Nora and Marcus’ work on the podcast is separate from their professional roles and does not represent the views of their employers.

Music: No Tears for a Wolf · Ahamefule J. Oluo · Okanomodé. Used with permission.

Logo by Nikki Barron.

Transcripts are machine-generated and imperfect.