We discuss the "Friends of the IDF" in leadership roles at Interscope (Kendrick’s label), UMG (Drake’s label and Interscope’s parent company), NBC Universal (UMG’s parent company), and Comcast (NBC Universal’s parent company).

We apologize for our tardiness and for this cop-out pop culture ep. We both had crazy schedules the last couple of weeks (on top of our side hustle as outside agitators on college campuses) and will be back to our regularly scheduled program next week ... BBL Drizzayyyy

We talk about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which will enable a new level of financial surveillance and social control. And we’re joined by John F O’Donnell, a guy with horrible karaoke etiquette. We promise we're not a con op lim hang !!!

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Kitty History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Lvv1f5Qu4

Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act of 2023: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5776?s=1&r=42#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20House%20(09%2F27%2F2023)&text=This%20bill%20directs%20the%20Department,the%20ages%20of%2018%2D65.

A Proposal for CBDC based UBI: https://www.institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/proposal-web3-based-universal-basic-income

IMF’s CBDC Virtual Handbook: https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/fintech/central-bank-digital-currency/virtual-handbook

“Greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303763804579183680751473884

Digital Currency vs. Existing Electronic Currency: https://www.nttdatapay.com/blog/types-of-digital-currency/#:~:text=What%20distinguishes%20digital%20currency%20from,those%20connected%20to%20the%20Internet.

CBDC vs. Crypto: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/11/cbdcs-how-different-cryptocurrency-stablecoin/#:~:text=The%20main%20difference%20between%20CBDCs,data%20protection%20and%20online%20privacy.

The Federal Reserve Dissing Crypto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SxNyL3YFaM

IMF Dissing Crypto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4NpCf5Phj0

BIS Dissing Crypto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mvSsM1uqGo

The benefits of a cashless society: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/benefits-cashless-society-mobile-payments/

Atlantic Council CBDC Tracker: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker/

Atlantic Council Donors: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/2022-annual-report/

IMF Working Hard on Global CBDC Platform Concept, Georgieva Says: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-19/imf-working-hard-on-global-cbdc-platform-concept-georgieva-says?embedded-checkout=true

BIS Survey on CBDCs: https://www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/bispap136.pdf

BIS Explained: https://www.bis.org/about/index.htm

BIS Livestream, “Central bank digital currencies, digital payments, and the future of money”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVD1ZFPzcbg

Biden Executive Order on CBDCs: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/03/09/executive-order-on-ensuring-responsible-development-of-digital-assets/

Statement from Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen on the Release of Reports on Digital Assets: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0956

US Policy Objectives for a CBDC System: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/09-2022-Technical-Evaluation-US-CBDC-System.pdf

The IMF on Nigeria’s CBDC: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/11/15/na111621-five-observations-on-nigerias-central-bank-digital-currency

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announces “Catalyst: Inclusive Cashless Payment Partnership” for India: https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/india/press-releases/oct-14-2016-usaid-launches-catalyst-drive-cashless-payments-india

Indian PM Modi Announces Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 to be Pulled Out of Circulation immediately: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/rs-500-and-rs-1000-notes-pulled-out-of-circulation-immediately-pm-narendra-modi/articleshow/55315473.cms

The Federal Reserve on Programmable CBDC: https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/money-and-payments-20220120.pdf

JP Morgan on Programmable Money: https://www.jpmorgan.com/onyx/programmable-payments-purpose-bound-money

Bank of England calls on ministers to decide whether a CBDC should be programmable: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/06/21/bank-england-tells-ministers-intervene-digital-currency-programming/#:~:text=Bank%20of%20England%20tells%20ministers%20to%20intervene%20on%20digital%20currency%20'programming',-Digital%20cash%20could&text=The%20Bank%20of%20England%20has,is%20spent%20by%20the%20recipient.

Eswar Prasad on the “Future of Money” at the WEF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyANVmHJB3c

Factchecking the Eswar Prasad Quote: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-world-economic-forum-cashless-society-false-cbdc-592718364311

Ron DeSantis on CBDC and “Woke Banking”: https://www.c-span.org/video/?532981-1/governor-ron-desantis-campaigns-hampton-nh

Republican Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Ban a CBDC in the U.S.: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/02/27/republican-lawmakers-introduce-legislation-to-ban-a-cbdc-in-the-us-again/

Trump Campaign Vows to Block CBDC: https://thehill.com/business/4416139-trump-vows-to-block-creation-of-digital-dollar/

Trump Admin Floats Idea of “USDC,” US Digital Currency: https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/17/22888225/jared-kushner-us-treasury-mnuchin-government-federal-cryptocurrency-trump-white-house

Better than Cash Alliance: https://www.betterthancash.org

Digital Dollar Project: https://digitaldollarproject.org

The IMF’s Tobias Adrian on a Synthetic CBDC: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2019/05/13/sp051419-stablecoins-central-bank-digital-currencies-and-cross-border-payments

The IMF’s Tobias Adrian used to be at the NY Fed Before the IMF: https://www.tobiasadrian.com/About

John’s 17 Plugs: https://linktr.ee/therealjfod

We talk about Israel’s automated kill lists generated by an “AI” assassination machine named Lavender and Amazon’s automated checkout experience called “Just Walk Out.”

Talking about Truth Social and killer robots.

Boeing has certainly helped kill people in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. But did it also kill a Southern funcle? Fasten your seatbelt, because this Boeing story has it all. Plane crashes, union busting, offshoring, whistleblowers, and a mysterious parking lot death. We also talk about the Justice Department’s new lawsuit against Apple for monopolizing smartphone markets. Btw rejected titles for this episode include No Plane No Gain, Error Plane Mode, Airline Fractures, Plane in the Neck, and Boeing Pains.

Here we discuss the TikTok ban and Clearview AI, a US company with a database of more than 40 billion facial images from the public internet. We also listen to big tech kingmaker Peter Thiel explain why artificial intelligence and facial recognition are "kind of communist." And we're joined by Pat Burtscher (https://www.instagram.com/patburtscher/), the nation's foremost cabbage diet expert.

For nerds who like to sign petitions: https://www.banfacialrecognition.com/

We explore Reddit’s journey from online community to data business. We also cover NYT suing OpenAI for copyright infringement and Google laying off a group of striking contractors. RIP Aaron Swartz

They say the next dystopian surveillance technology will be launched by a gay CEO ... Really makes you feel like part of history.

In Part 2 of this series on Neuralink and the brain-computer interface (BCI), we discuss the current human trials for the N1 implant, FDA commissioner Robert Califf, and key figures in the movement of transhumanism such as Julian Huxley (President of the British Eugenics Society), Ray Kurzweil (Director of Engineering at Google), and Zoltan Istvan (Bus Driver). Sorryyyyyyyy this is late. This was recorded on Feb 4th but we couldn't edit it until now. Naomi was on tour doing comedy and Michele had to dance in the Super Bowl.

Founded in 2016, Neuralink has developed a device that can implant ultra-thin threads inside the brain. The threads connect to a custom-designed chip with electrodes that can read data from groups of neurons. It’s a yarmulke homie no cap. In Part 1 of this series on Neuralink and the brain-computer interface (BCI), we explore the cruel and unusual monkey torture that built the company and Elon Musk’s plan for “human/AI symbiosis.” We recorded this ep before Daddy Musk’s Monday announcement that the first human received a Neuralink implant.

Video version of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8NrVQgWOz0

Fortune Tellers and Cameos are in. Sam Altman and Tom's Toothpaste are out. Welcome to Season 2. Send your burning questions to cargocultpod@gmail.com.

Video version of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEigSNxHwcU

This one is about having feelings for "AI." We look into Replika, the company whose chatbot was in the news because it encouraged a 19-year-old to become an assassin. Then we learn about InflectionAI, the second-best-funded generative AI startup (behind OpenAI) whose owners want to create "personal AI for everyone."

We debate the viability of solar geoengineering and learn about the Drapers, a "venture capital family" with a pretty racist and eugenicist history. Then, we try to figure out how a Silicon Valley-based robot pizza company called Zume failed to turn a profit.

On this 4th of July, it's time to meet Palantir, a powerful and Patriotic software company that helps Western countries derive insights from their data and whose first client was the CIA. In this episode, we disclose the company's underreported origins, make fun of the eccentricities of its bipartisan founders, and cover its controversial work with the US military, cops, border patrol, and more. We discover some Lord of the Rings lore.

We consider how the gamification of love affects our sanity and the shape online dating might take in the future. We also investigate how Match Group (parent company of Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, and more) dominates the dating app industry and discover a new conservative-only dating app funded in part by Peter Thiel. Then we investigate the bizarre and untimely death of Peter Thiel's side piece. This episode also includes a brief and just okay Jordan Peterson's impression.

More information on the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (EARN IT) Act:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/congress-must-stop-graham-blumenthal-anti-security-bill

Netflix is raising prices, cracking down on password sharing, and adding an ad tier. Here we cover this sea of changes at the company, discuss why it's a target of the writers' strike, and investigate its founders, Marc Bernays Randolph and Reed Hoffman. This episode also includes a basic recap of the Netflix Black Mirror episode, "Joan is Awful."

How to support the WGA writers: https://www.wgacontract2023.org/take-action/stand-with-writers

This episode covers the CIA's relationship with one of your favorite big tech companies, Google. In Part 2 of our series on In-Q-Tel, we track Google's journey from the Stanford University dorms to Davos. We also cover a few poignant flashpoints in the relationship between Google and the CIA, like trying to help overthrow the Syrian government in the 2010s and creating Intellipedia (Wikipedia for spooks). Take a shot every time Michele says “apparatus.”

We discuss In-Q-Tel, a strategic venture capital firm created in 1999 to invest in technologies that serve the mission needs of the CIA and the broader intelligence community, including the FBI, NSA, and DHS.

Did you know that SpaceX owes its life to the former head of In-Q-Tel, the CIA's venture capital arm? In this episode, we explore Elon Musk's rocket ambitions and the imperialist origins of SpaceX's satellite business. We also discuss the destructive effects of SpaceX's recent 4/20 Starship rocket launch in Southern Texas.

A global leader in enterprise software, Oracle is the second-largest software company in the world by revenue (behind Microsoft). This episode explains Oracle's role as the database of all databases and explores the company's relationship with the U.S. government. We also discuss Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison's recent run-in with the Hawaiian police. Then, we mourn the loss of Cash App founder Bob Lee and the equally tragic loss of Naomi's Twitter Blue Check.