Elon Musk and the Rebirth of Company Towns feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips
In Texas, the world’s richest man is bringing back to life one of the worst ideas of the Gilded Age, local Robber Baron-owned dictatorships called company towns. Elon Musk has already established two in Texas and other high-tech oligarchs like Peter Theil hope to create more. In this episode, journalist Steven Monacelli and historian Dr. Michael Phillips explore the history of company towns in the United States and their disturbing rebirth. Sources: Margaret Crawford, Building the Workingman's Paradise: The Design of American Company Towns Alan Dawley, Struggles for Justice: Social Responsibility and the Liberal State Hardy Green, The Company Town: The Industrial Edens and Satanic Mills That Shaped the American Economy Chad Pearson, Capitalism’s Terrorists: Klansmen, Lawmen, and Employers in the Long Nineteenth CenturySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
37:22
--------
37:22
The Federalization of DC Police feat. Bridget Todd
DC resident Bridget Todd talks with Garrison about Trump’s police takeover in Washington DC, the manufacturing of crime panics, and how federal police are effecting the city.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
41:14
--------
41:14
CZM Book Club: Hermetica, by Alan Lea, Part Three
Margaret brings you further along into the tale of Hermetica, the generation ship. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
32:15
--------
32:15
It Could Happen Here Weekly 195
All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. - Infrastructure as Control feat. Andrew - Why Trump is Obsessed with the Autopen - How Tucson Beat Amazon’s Data Center - Tariffs and the Corruption State - Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #29 You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone Sources/Links: Why Trump is Obsessed with the Autopen https://www.shapell.org/behind-the-scenes/the-robot-pen/ https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1908354 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/lead-investigator-james-comer-biden-autopen-digital-signature-rcna216719 https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/05/politics/autopen-trump-biden-analysis https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/us/politics/biden-pardon-autopen-trump.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/us/politics/biden-clemency-interview.html How Tucson Beat Amazon’s Data Center http://nodesertdatacenter.com https://apnews.com/article/electricity-prices-data-centers-artificial-intelligence-fbf213a915fb574a4f3e5baaa7041c3a https://vermaland.com Tariffs and the Corruption State https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/01/economy/tariff-more-expensive https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-hikes-india-tariffs-50-percent-buying-russian-oil-rcna223374 https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/us-tariffs-take-effect-08-07-25 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nvidia-amd-chip-sales-china-15-percent-h20-mi308/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/business/tariffs-switzerland-trump.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/07/trumps-reciprocal-tariffs-come-into-effect-hitting-dozens-of-us-trading-partners.html https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/8/12/trump-extends-china-tariff-deadline-for-the-second-time-what-does-it-mean https://www.tradecomplianceresourcehub.com/2025/08/12/trump-2-0-tariff-tracker/ https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/07/business/trade-exemptions-tariffs-trump https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7jjkvzmkxo https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/us-tariffs-take-effect-08-07-25#cme17o5l400003b6ns7mwdwnv https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/06/tech/apple-investment-us-trump https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-tariffs-latest-round-takes-effect-thursday-august-7-2025-rcna223461 https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/us-tariffs-take-effect-08-07-25 https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-administration-tells-foreign-military-junta-wants-hear-raising-e-rcna221569 https://restofworld.org/2023/foxconn-iphone-factory-china/ https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/06/tech/apple-investment-us-trump https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/i-wont-humiliate-myself-brazils-president-sees-no-point-tariff-talks-with-trump-2025-08-06/ Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #29 https://www.cvesd.org/parents/family-and-community-resourceslausd.org https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/577/Parent%20Resources/ComResourceGuideEng.pdf https://www.kpbs.org/news/border-immigration/2024/11/21/with-trump-back-in-power-advocates-criticize-gloria-for-shuttering-immigrant-affairs-office https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/business/trump-bls-ej-antoni.html https://x.com/AngulusTerrarum/status/1955320816855294169 https://x.com/JosephPolitano/status/1955041060197114136 https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/stephen-miran-federal-reserve-board-e7855877 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-bls-appointment-ej-antoni-alarms-economists-2112440 https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/11/business/bls-nominee-trump https://abcnews.go.com/Business/ej-antoni-trumps-pick-lead-bls/story?id=124579471 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/restoring-law-and-order-in-the-district-of-columbia/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8600x7dnn4o https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/texas-democrats-return-after-governor-ends-special-session/story?id=124592449 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5loldo4Vmno https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspected-gunman-cdc-shooting-fired-500-rounds-officials/story?id=124577732 https://www.scrippsnews.com/health/rfk-jr-in-interview-with-scripps-news-trusting-the-experts-is-not-science https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-formally-asked-overturn-landmark-same-sex/story?id=124465302See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
2:45:33
--------
2:45:33
Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #29
The gang discuss the deployment of National Guard and federalization of police in Washington DC, a Heritage Foundation economist being appointed to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and a shooting targeting the CDC headquarters. Fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-help-for-bukets-asylum-case Sources: https://www.cvesd.org/parents/family-and-community-resourceslausd.org https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/577/Parent%20Resources/ComResourceGuideEng.pdf https://www.kpbs.org/news/border-immigration/2024/11/21/with-trump-back-in-power-advocates-criticize-gloria-for-shuttering-immigrant-affairs-office https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/business/trump-bls-ej-antoni.html https://x.com/AngulusTerrarum/status/1955320816855294169 https://x.com/JosephPolitano/status/1955041060197114136 https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/stephen-miran-federal-reserve-board-e7855877 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-bls-appointment-ej-antoni-alarms-economists-2112440 https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/11/business/bls-nominee-trump https://abcnews.go.com/Business/ej-antoni-trumps-pick-lead-bls/story?id=124579471 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/restoring-law-and-order-in-the-district-of-columbia/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8600x7dnn4o https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/texas-democrats-return-after-governor-ends-special-session/story?id=124592449 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5loldo4Vmno https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspected-gunman-cdc-shooting-fired-500-rounds-officials/story?id=124577732 https://www.scrippsnews.com/health/rfk-jr-in-interview-with-scripps-news-trusting-the-experts-is-not-science https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-formally-asked-overturn-landmark-same-sex/story?id=124465302See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It Could Happen Here started as an exploration of the possibility of a new civil war. Now a daily show, it's evolved into a chronicle of collapse as it happens, and an exploration of how we might build a better future. Every day Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, and James Stout take you on a jaunty walk through the burning ruins of the old world and towards a better one that lays just on the horizon.
Brasil