Скачать или смотреть The Rivalry Report and The Authoritarian Stack: What We Missed While We Were Distracted

In this episode, Heather and Paulette break down The Authoritarian Stack — a deeply researched investigation into how tech billionaires, defense contractors, and political actors are quietly constructing a privatized, post-democratic governance system. What looks like chaos on the surface is, according to the report, part of a long-term strategy to shift state power into private hands.

Key Points

What the Authoritarian Stack Is:
A mapped network showing how tech firms (Palantir, SpaceX, Anduril, OpenAI), major venture funds, and political figures (Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr.) form an integrated system of influence over data, defense, energy, finance, and space.

The Pentagon’s $10B Contract:
In 2025 the U.S. Army consolidated 75 procurement agreements into one massive contract with Palantir—an unprecedented move transferring core military functions to a private firm whose founder questions the compatibility of democracy and freedom.

Patriotic Tech & Privatized Sovereignty:
The report argues that corporate boards—not voters—are increasingly setting the rules. Elections may continue, but democratic power is being hollowed out by infrastructure controlled by private tech.

Global Expansion:
Europe is already adopting components of these systems: Starlink in Italy, autonomous drones in Germany, and Palantir’s data platforms across the UK’s health and defense sectors.

Why We Didn’t See It:
Public attention has been kept focused on culture-war issues, immigration shocks, and media spectacle while long-term strategic consolidation has happened quietly.

Economic Context:
Over 1.1 million jobs have been lost this year—driven largely by tech restructuring—while AI and defense-aligned companies expand their federal footprint.

What Comes Next:
The hosts outline plans for a multi-part series breaking down each key player and company to help readers understand the network, follow the money, and recognize where resistance is still possible.

Sources

The Authoritarian Stack: https://www.authoritarian-stack.info/

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung: https://www.fes.de/en

Civic Tech Field Guide listing: https://directory.civictech.guide/lis...

The Nerdreich analysis: https://www.thenerdreich.com/techs-au...

CBS News — Job losses: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/employer...

U.S.–DRC–Rwanda mineral agreements: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr...

Burkina Faso / resource sovereignty coverage: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e...

DOE restructuring (Project 2025 context): https://fas.org/publication/new-doe-r...
And
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/ar...