The Broligarchy Playbook

In conversation with Brooke Harrington

You’re listening to What Rough Beast! Out now: episode 11.

We are Virginia Heffernan and Stephen Metcalf, and today we’re talking with Brooke Harrington, author of Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism and a professor of sociology at Dartmouth, about:

⭐️ The rise of the "broligarchy": how today's tech billionaire bros are playing a whole different game than old-school rich people, acting like they're above countries and laws while still enjoying all the perks

⭐️ Secret money moves: why offshore finance isn't just about dodging taxes (looking at you, Saudi Arabia with zero taxes), but about keeping your wealth-building under wraps

⭐️ The billionaire god complex: diving into the wild psychology of ultra-wealthy dudes who literally think they're "reincarnated pharaohs" and why they can never have enough money, yachts, or blood transfusions from their teenage sons

⭐️ Crypto's secret agenda: unpacking how Bitcoin and other digital currencies aren't just nerdy internet money, but part of a deliberate power grab to kneecap nation-states and remake the world order

⭐️ When the trust bubble pops: exploring why even Alan Greenspan knew trust is everything in economics, and how the "move fast and break things" crew might accidentally crash the whole system when people stop believing in it

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