System Crash

About System Crash

Tech giants like Google and Facebook have conquered — some would say killed — the internet. Elon Musk used his platform to help elect Trump, and Silicon Valley elites want to gut the public sector. OpenAI and Microsoft aim to wipe away millions of jobs. Uber is driving down wages. Apple is impenetrable. Amazon is inescapable. All this high tech, and our quality of life is getting lower. The system has crashed. So, System Crash: a weekly tech news show willing to tell the hard truths about how tech — and the titans who own and operate it — is really transforming the world. Co-hosts Paris Marx and Brian Merchant dissect the stories that matter, break news of their own, offer expert commentary, and interview journalists, whistleblowers, authors, and tech workers and ordinary people fighting back.

Publisher

System Crash

Category

news · society & culture · technology

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

19 Nov 2024

Latest episode

17 Jul 2025

Latest episodes

34 of 39 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   17 Jul 2025TRANSCRIPT

   System Crash Is Paused

   Some news, as they say: System Crash is going on hiatus as Brian and Paris are overloaded with other projects they need to take care of. Thanks for plugging in, and stay tuned to this feed for updates on what's next. Until then, subscribe to Brian’s newsletter Blood in the Machine, check out Paris’ newsletter Disconnect, and go listen to Tech Won’t Save Us. Support the show

2. 

   11 Jul 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Palmer Luckey Wants to Arm the West With AI Weapons

   Brian is out this week, so we’re dropping one of our bonus episodes to give you a preview of the benefits of supporting the show over on Patreon. In the episode, Brian and Paris dig into Anduril CEO Palmer Luckey’s scary vision for the future of warfare — and how he plans to profit off the whole thing. Arming countries to the teeth with automated weapons, to the degree they’re considered “porcupines,” might sound bad to some people, but to Luckey it’s the obvious goal of the Western “warrior ...

3. 

   4 Jul 2025TRANSCRIPT

   The Ban on State AI Laws is Dead, Canada Bows to Trump and Big Tech, and the AI Backlash Grows

   Industry experts discuss the end of the ban on state AI laws, Canada's response to Trump regarding digital services tax, and the increasing backlash against generative AI.

Who has been a guest on System Crash

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Palmer Luckey
• Industry experts
• Geoff Dembicki
• Annalee Newitz
• Charlie Jane Anders

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

17,194

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

71 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

101 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 67 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

69

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

85

Contact System Crash

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about System Crash