Public, Private and DOGE: Hybrid Sovereignty with Swati Srivastava
The news feels unending and relentless—so if you want to take a break and think about the historic entanglements between public and private power, do we have an Anti-Dystopians episode for you.
This week, I talked to Swati Srivastava, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Purdue University and a Faculty Associate at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. She’s also the author of the fantastic book Hybrid Sovereignty in World Politics. We discussed why the classic distinctions between public and private power is much messier than we think, what discussions of sovereignty can tell us about corporate power, and what might be new about these new technology companies and algorithmic governance. And, yes, of course — we also talked about Elon Musk.
Be sure to take a listen!
As always, you can listen to it here or subscribe here (Spotify) or here (Apple Podcasts). If you like us, please rate, review and share the Anti-Dystopians to help us get new listeners.
Leaving Twitter? Follow me on Bluesky at @alinau27.bsky.social.
From the Episode
By Swati Srivastava
What I’m Reading
Apple pulls end-to-end encryption in UK, spurning backdoors for gov’t spying
Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row
Judge Who Made Life Hell for Trump Will Oversee Case on Elon Musk
Federal workers launch a new site to share inside information about DOGE
No, 150-Year-Olds Aren’t Collecting Social Security Benefits
A team from SpaceX is being brought in to overhaul the FAA’s air traffic control system
The future of the government depends on how far the DOGE dynamo spins
What Elon Musk Got Wrong About Why Federal Retirement Is Still Managed out of a Limestone Mine
DOGE’s Millions: As Musk and Trump Gut Government, Their Ax-Cutting Agency Gets Cash Infusion