Anti-Tech Extremism, or Populism? | China-Data Center Conspiracy Theory | New Zealand’s Military Trap | Bernie’s A.I. Proposal | Hegseth’s Shangri-La Primacy Fantasy | Ep. 305

Anti-Tech Extremism, or Populism? | China-Data Center Conspiracy Theory | New Zealand’s Military Trap | Bernie’s A.I. Proposal | Hegseth’s Shangri-La Primacy Fantasy | Ep. 305

From The Un-Diplomatic Podcast by Van Jackson

June 5, 2026 · 45 min · Episode 307

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of anti-tech extremism, military spending in New Zealand, and U.S. foreign policy, alongside Bernie Sanders' A.I. proposal and conspiracy theories surrounding data centers.

The government is now going after regular people who oppose data centers and are calling it "anti-tech extremist violence.” Congress's anti-China data center conspiracy theory is a very real farce. Bernie Sanders is in the New York Times with a new proposal to seize the means of A.I. production, sort of. New Zealand is allowing itself to follow into a militarist trap of its own making--what's at stake in the debate about New Zealand military spending and its anti-nuclear stance. Pete Hegseth's speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue confirms one thing: The US is still pursuing global primacy, only under conditions where it's neither possible nor justified, and that means violence. What makes opposition to A.I. data centers a strategically useful site for both people-power struggle and state repression. And the U.S. has illegally killed more than 200 people in over 60 strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific--that's what the Monroe Doctrine looks like.

People in this episode

Host: Van Jackson

Topics covered

  • anti-tech extremism
  • data centers
  • military spending
  • A.I. production
  • U.S. global primacy
  • state repression
  • conspiracy theories

Keywords

  • anti-tech extremism
  • data centers
  • Bernie Sanders
  • New Zealand military
  • A.I. production
  • U.S. foreign policy
  • Shangri-La Dialogue
  • Monroe Doctrine

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Times, U.S.

Places: New Zealand, Caribbean, eastern Pacific

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