Want to get past the hype and boosterism to learn how the tech industry really works? You’ve come to the right place.
I'm Paris Marx and this is Disconnect — your source for a critical perspective on what’s happening in Silicon Valley and beyond. For nearly a decade, I’ve been calling out the tech industry, its snake-oil billionaires, and the harmful realities they hide behind futures that never arrive. As their power grows, seeing through their deceptive narratives is essential.
In this newsletter, I explore the ideologies of tech’s increasing radicalized titans, the economic incentives that drive its top companies, and the movements pushing back on Silicon Valley’s power — all without the tech jargon that can leave your head spinning.
“If laissez-faire became one manifesto of capitalism, laissez-innover became the other.”
— David F. Noble
Disconnect has already dug into a wide range of important topics that have enlightened readers and kicked off important conversations. Here are some recent stories:
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My goal with Disconnect is to help you understand what’s happening in the tech industry with a critical perspective you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. There’s a long history of tech criticism that’s often forgotten, and I’m trying to bring it back.
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Plus, you’ll also support my ability to keep holding the industry and its billionaires to account, and trying to push the conversation around Silicon Valley in a more critical direction. What’s not to like about that?
About Paris
Paris hosts the award-winning Tech Won’t Save Us podcast and is the author of Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation. His work has appeared in Time, Wired, Business Insider, NBC News, and CBC News, and he’s regularly interviewed by major media like the Financial Times, The Guardian, and The Washington Post.
Paris is based in Canada, far from the heart of Silicon Valley, but speaks about tech around the world. Find out more about him here.
[Paris is] part of the Luddite vanguard, and I think ultimately, we’re all better for that.
— Brian Merchant, LA Times
Marx is not only a dynamic interviewer of other critics, but a vital critic in their own right.
— Zachary Loeb
The left’s leading Muskologist.
— Leo Hollis, Verso Books
Too cynical. Far, far too cynical.
— Jason Calacanis, tech millionaire 😢