Today’s episode in our series about transhumanism and its astonishing influence looks at how it helped build Silicon Valley. David talks to Duncan Bell about what happened when California became the centre of transhumanist operations. Where do drug-taking hippies fit into this story? Who were the cyberpunks and what did they want? How were Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and others shaped by the transhumanism they discovered while growing up? And is all this really just a surrogate religion?

Out tomorrow on PPF+: the final part of this series bringing the story bang up to date. How is transhumanism behind the latest warnings about the end of the world? Is Elon Musk a visionary or a fraud? And what’s wrong with transhumanism anyway? To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening – and to help support everything we do – subscribe to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus

You can find out everything else you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus our free online courses and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes – on our website https://www.ppfideas.com

Next time a brand new series: The Past, Present and Future of Universities

They can't harm you, if they can't find you! Use code ppf at the link below  and get 60% off annual plans: ⁠https://incogni.com/ppf

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör David Runciman. Innehållet i podden är skapat av David Runciman och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.