The Tech Billionaire Plan to Destroy Democracy | Gil Duran | TMR

Jun 20, 2026 | Gil Duran, publisher of the Nerd Reich newsletter, joins to discuss John O’Farrell a former partner at Andreessen Horowitz who recently quit the VC firm over their prioritizing of AI hype over the common good. You can preorder Gil’s book “The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley’s Fascism and the War on Democracy” here.

People like Peter Thiel may WANT to live forever, but even though I am no doctor, I can assure him that he will not. Just look at how much and how quickly Peter Thiel has aged in just a few years! Peter Thiel and people like him are living in a land of make-believe. They are totally and utterly delusional. — © Mark Alexander

How to Tax Billionaires

May 25, 2026 | How many billionaires are there in the world? How much has their wealth grown by? Why do lots of billionaires pay almost no income tax? How much of a problem are tax havens? Would a 2% global wealth tax (on people with over $100million) work in practice?

Robert and Steph talk to prominent economist Gabriel Zucman about his decades long research on wealth inequality and discuss the pros and cons of wealth taxation policies.

The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.

The Billionaires Are Afraid

This gutsy American has the balls to say what many others will not: apparently, many billionaires in America are s******g themselves! They’ve lined their own pockets with mountains of the people’s money and treasures; now, they are running for cover! They must be terrified that the people they have been fleecing will turn on them!

Billionaires Quietly Added THIS to Your Meat (And You’re Eating It Daily)

May 30, 2026 | The “meat” funded by billionaires isn’t what you think it is, and this investigation breaks down the additives, processing changes, and rise of engineered alternatives blurring the line between real and fake meat. Fourth-generation ranch owner & farmer Joel McCafferty unpacks why this shift is happening now—and what most consumers are already missing on their plate.

The Billionaire Derangement Syndrome that Is Destroying the World

May 23, 2026 | Journalist and political analyst Gil Duran joins The Left Hook to break down the growing influence of billionaires, tech oligarchs, and corporate power in reshaping American democracy, media, and public life.

Waj and Gil discuss how the billionaire class has consolidated unprecedented levels of wealth and influence while ordinary Americans struggle with rising inequality, political corruption, media consolidation, and economic instability.

From AI and surveillance capitalism to corporate capture and authoritarian politics, this conversation connects the dots on how concentrated wealth is transforming society — and why more people are beginning to push back against the oligarch era.

”We Need a Wealth Tax on Billionaires.” Here's Why | Aaron Bastani Meets Gabriel Zucman

May 24, 2026 | Introducing a wealth tax on the very richest people in our society has never been more popular amongst the electorate, with recent polls showing 90% approval. This figure is basically unheard of when polling people on any form of policy proposal.

This week's guest, Gabriel Zucman, is a French economist who is a key inspiration for the UK's leading wealth tax advocate and friend of the show, Gary Stevenson.

Steve Schmidt: Ted Turner's Legacy Deserves Better

May 7, 2026 | Ted Turner was an American icon who built CNN into a network that connected the world and told it the truth. Steve Schmidt pays tribute to his legacy and explains how CNN has been destroyed by greed.


READ ALSO:

Ted Turner, Creator of CNN and the 24-Hour News Cycle, Dies at 87: As one of the most important figures in media history, he oversaw a vast cable empire of news, sports and entertainment channels. »

Ted Turner Saw Himself in Atlanta, and Atlanta in Him: The city where he planted his empire came to embody his ambitions and his confidence. Mr. Turner died on Wednesday at 87. »

Ted Turner’s Legacy as a Landowner and Conservationist: The media mogul, who died this week, amassed roughly two million acres and revived entire ecosystems. »

Moguls Remember Ted Turner: ‘Changed the Media Industry Forever’: The CNN founder’s death was met with encomiums from leaders in the media industry, which he helped reinvent. “He will be remembered for generations,” said one. »

The Billionaire Funding France’s Far Right

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Pierre-Édouard Stérin is financing projects to make France less Muslim, more Catholic and more capitalist. He says his program has trained thousands running for municipal office on Sunday.

As France elects thousands of mayors this Sunday, one of the most influential players is not on the ballot.

His name is Pierre-Édouard Stérin. He is a billionaire entrepreneur who left France 14 years ago to pay less tax, but has since spent millions, he said in an interview, to “ensure France doesn’t disappear.”

Inspired, he said, by George Soros’s support for liberal causes, Mr. Stérin has steered money to right-wing think tanks, political training programs, social media influencers and nonprofit groups to shape the country according to his beliefs — anti-immigrant, free-market, less Islamic and more Catholic.

One program funded by Mr. Stérin has, by his count, trained at least 4,000 right-wing candidates in the municipal elections. With the far-right National Rally party projected to potentially win the presidency next year, Mr. Stérin is striving to accelerate France’s rightward shift.

“I dream of a France that is once again economically powerful and a France that rediscovers a sense of values, that embraces its Christian roots,” Mr. Stérin, 52, said.

The France of Mr. Stérin’s dreams would be more capitalistic, socially conservative and Trumpian — and to his critics, racist. It would tolerate little immigration, particularly from Muslim countries that France colonized. Undocumented immigrants who commit crimes or do not work would be deported. Muslim dress would be banned in public, and halal food no longer served in schools.

“I am even further to the right than the far right on immigration,” said Mr. Stérin, who also considers the National Rally’s economic program too “statist.”

Mr. Stérin wants to ban abortion, access to which was enshrined two years ago in the French Constitution; to swell Catholic church attendance; and to encourage more French couples to procreate. Since he funds Christian projects, he said, he hopes he might eventually be canonized as a saint. He disputes the idea that his views on migration clash with those of Pope Leo XIV.

Finally, he would slash the country’s taxes; dismantle the welfare system; privatize education and health care delivery; and end public funding for culture. “I am a fervent supporter of competition,” he said.

The ultimate goal, Mr. Stérin said, is to bring to power a right-wing government that fundamentally changes how the country looks and works. » | Catherine Porter | Catherine Porter, who has covered the French far right for years, interviewed Pierre-Édouard Stérin and several of his former and current employees and associates. | Sunday, March 22, 2026

Tucker Carlson Blows Up at Rutger Bregman in Unaired Fox News Interview | NowThis

Feb 20, 2019 | Fox News refused to air this full interview with historian Rutger Bregman after Fox News host Tucker Carlson lost his temper, calling his guest a 'tiny brain...moron' during the interview.

During the Rutger Bregman interview, host Tucker Carlson goes off on Bregman, calling his guest a 'tiny brain...moron.' NowThis has obtained the full segment of the unaired interview with historian Rutger Bregman that Fox News refused to air. Watch it here first..

Rutger Bregman, Historian, Called Out Billionaires Face to Face in Davos

He explains all in Switzerland.

The Billionaire Crime Ring

Feb 17, 2026 | The Epstein files coverup. The environmental toxicity crisis. The cost of life crisis. Permanent war. Masked stormtroopers. Corrupt politics. One global crime syndicate. A crime so big you can't see it. Or the billionaires who run it. Learn the tools. Take back our economy. Take back our future.

Our so-called democratic leaders have just allowed THIS SHIT to happen! They haven’t had the SPUNK to do ANYTHING about it! The West needs CHANGE, BIG CHANGE. SOON! Kick the MORONS out of office and let the grown-ups take the reins. But we must make sure that these grown-ups have SPUNK. Lots of it! — © Mark Alexander

Bernie Sanders Unleashes Fury on Musk & Billionaire Class, Demands Wealth Tax Now

Feb 21, 2026 | Sen. Bernie Sanders warned that despite huge gains in productivity and technology, American workers are earning less than they did more than 50 years ago after inflation, while the richest Americans prosper. He argued that this crisis is driven by a “massive concentration of ownership,” noting that just four Wall Street giants, BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, and State Street, are now major shareholders in about 95% of U.S. corporations.

Bernie Sanders is the man who should be president. Now this man really would make America great again! If only the American voter could be more clear-eyed! Were Bernie Sanders made president, we’d see a nation emerge which is far more at ease with itself, and it would be, of course, eminently fairer. An America governed by Bernie Sanders wouldn’t put a stop to the accumulation of wealth—nobody should want to do that—but an America governed by Bernie Sanders would endeavour to give every American a chance to succeed in life. Let us pray that Americans will one day see the light! — © Mark Alexander

‘These Billionaires Are Going to Learn…’: Bernie Sanders Fiery Speech in California | US News

Feb 19, 2026 | US News: In a fiery speech in Los Angeles on 18 February, the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders criticizes ‘grotesque’ levels of economic inequality. Billionaires are “treading on very, very thin ice,” He warned imploring California voters to fight “grotesque” levels of economic inequality by approving a proposed tax on the state’s richest residents.

The Vermont senator railed against the “greed”, “arrogance” and “moral turpitude” of the nation’s “ruling class”, calling it “fairly disgusting” that some ultra-wealthy tech leaders have fled California – or are threatening to do so, if the proposed wealth tax becomes law.

Massive Labor Day Protests as Americans Stand Up for Their 'Workers over Billionaires' Rights

Sep 1, 2025 | Hundreds of protests were organized across the country as part of the national “Workers Over Billionaires” effort, a mass action calling for the protection of social safety nets such as Social Security; the funding of public schools, healthcare, and housing; amid the fascist takeover by Trump and his billionaire friends.

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

"A Rotten Racket" Senator Whitehouse Rebukes Republican Bill

Jun 30, 2025 | June 29 | Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) speaks on the Senate Floor in opposition to the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" that only benefits the wealthiest in our country.

Sheldon Whitehouse represents Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate, where he champions policies to uphold American leadership in the world, protect our planet in a changing climate, and hold the powerful accountable.

AOC and Bernie Sanders 'Fight Oligarchy' Rally in Denver, Colorado

Mar 22, 2025 | FULL SPEECH: The resistance arrives as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders tour the country standing up to Trump's authoritarianism. All across the country, people are tired of the greed of the billionaire class. They are tired of a corrupt political system that leaves working people behind.


Five Minute News can be supported on Patreon here.

Thom Hartmann Program: Trump, Billionaires, and the Fight for Media and Political Control

Dec 31, 2024 | Trump's second-term ambitions reveal an unsettling alliance with billionaires and corporations, reshaping media narratives and leveraging lawsuits to suppress dissent. From rigged editorials to polling manipulation claims, the stakes rise as Democrats seek bold leadership for a new era.

What's behind the US Indictment of Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani? | DW News

Nov 21, 2024 | Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest people, has been indicted on multiple counts of fraud in the US. The criminal charges are related to his alleged role in a scheme to bribe officials in India. Prosecutors say he and other senior executives paid more than 250 million dollars to win contracts for his renewable energy company. His Adani Group has issued a statement describing the allegations as baseless.

Democracy Now! "Open Celebration of the Oligarchy": Both Dems & GOP Sucked Up to Billionaires in 2024 Election

Nov 8, 2024 | In the wake of the reelection of Donald Trump, some of the richest people in the world saw their net worths soar as stock prices rapidly shot up. "What was different about this election was how central billionaires were in the entire political discourse," says The Lever's David Sirota, who joins Democracy Now! to discuss the outsized role of the super-rich in U.S politics, pointing out that both Trump and Kamala Harris campaigned heavily with billionaires, including Elon Musk and Mark Cuban. "These people are not giving money simply out of the goodness of their hearts. They want things. They have policy demands," Sirota says. "The investors, the donors, like billionaires, are looking for a return on their investment." Sirota, who previously worked as a communications adviser and speechwriter for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, also explains how Elon Musk's influence on Trump's campaign is a preview of the power he could wield if he ends up appointed to the Trump administration.


Democracy Now! can be supported here.

Thom Hartmann Programm : Inside Billionaires' Brazen Attempt at Fascism

Nov 5, 2024 | This is not how a democracy is supposed to work. The “demos” in democracy means “the people.” Democracies are supposed to fulfill the will of the people; add the protections for minority groups a republic provides and you have what the Founders called “republican democracy” and we refer to as a democratic republic.