Who hosts Dystopia Now?

Dystopia Now is hosted by Kate Willett and Emile Torres. They have published 73 episodes. The show covers society, with a culture focus.

What has Dystopia Now covered recently?

Recent episodes include "AI Safety Hits the Mainstream", "The Heir to SBF: Leopold Aschenbrenner and the collapse of Situational Awareness ft. Mary Houlihan", and "Medical Skepticism & More with Alaina Bamfield". The latest went out on 24 Sep 2026 and ran about 48 minutes. Reading two or three of these before pitching is the fastest way to see what the show actually books.

How often does Dystopia Now publish?

Dystopia Now publishes weekly, a median of 7 days between episodes. Episodes average about 51 minutes. The back catalogue stands at 73 episodes. A show on this cadence plans ahead, so pitch earlier rather than closer to the date you want.

How hard is it to get booked on Dystopia Now?

For Dystopia Now, Booking Probability sits at 33/100, Listen Score at 26/100, and the guest bar is around 80/100. The show has not signalled guest openness recently, which raises the bar on relevance. A verified contact is on file.

Who should pitch Dystopia Now?

Dystopia Now covers ai, ai safety, ai ethics, effective altruism, so guests who can speak to those specifically fit best. Lead with a specific result you can describe in numbers rather than a job title, and tie it to something the show has already covered.

society

Dystopia Now

Hosted by Kate Willett and Emile Torres · society · EN · 73 episodes

Apple Podcasts Website

About this Podcast:

Dystopia Now is a show where a comedian (Kate Willett) and an academic (Emile Torres) explore the philosophies and religions of Silicon Valley and tech billionaires shaping our country, our world, and our future.

Pitch Analysis

Required Pod Score for this show. PitchCentric checks your profile against host openness, topical fit, and audience signals before you generate a pitch.

Contact path

Verified email

Booking probability

33%

Guest openness

Selective

Verified email on file

80/100

Required Score

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What is Dystopia Now?

Dystopia Now is a society podcast hosted by Kate Willett and Emile Torres, with 73 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

About the host

Kate Willett and Emile Torres hosts Dystopia Now, a society show with 73 episodes published.

Verified host email: ████████@████.comSign in to unlock →

Recent episodes

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

Dystopia Now
AI Safety Hits the Mainstream
Sep 24, 202648 min
Émile and Kate comment on the recent flurry of news about AI safety. Further Reading Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna and Decca Muldowney, What To Read To Stay Grounded Amidst AI Doomerism, 2026 https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/what-to-read-to-stay-grounded-amidst-ai-doomerism/ Timnit Gebru, Effective Altruism Is Pushing a Dangerous Brand of 'AI Safety', 2022, https://www.wired.com/story/effective-altruism-artificial-intelligence-sam-bankman-fried/
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Dystopia Now
The Heir to SBF: Leopold Aschenbrenner and the collapse of Situational Awareness ft. Mary Houlihan
Sep 14, 20261h 2m
Subscribe to our Patreon for more bonus content at patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow ! This week, we're joined by comedian Mary Houlihan: we talk about Leopold Aschenbrenner, the 'wunderkind' in charge of Situational Awareness, a hedge fund named for his 2024 essay speculating on AGI and which recently lost $35 billion. We trace the networks of connections and massive amounts of money in the AI, tech, and Effective Altruism scenes. Find Mary's podcast on YouTube and more at linktr.ee/maryhoulie . This episode was informed by David Morris's article "Son of Sam: Aschenbrenner was SBF 2.0," found on his Substack Dark Markets. Further Reading - The original Situational Awareness essay by Leopold Aschenbrenner: https://situational-awareness.ai/ - David Morris, "Son of Sam: Aschenbrenner was SBF 2.0," davidzmorris.substack.com/p/son-of-sam-aschenbrenner-was-sbf - Jeff Brown, "Situationally Unaware," https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/31/why-leopold-aschenbrenner-situational-awareness-hedge-fund-imploded.html
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Dystopia Now
Medical Skepticism & More with Alaina Bamfield
Aug 28, 202649 min
This week with comedian Alaina Bamfield, we check in on ChatGPT's joke-writing capabilities, Émile's former anarchoprimitivist sympathies, medical skepticism, and whether we might have made enough technological advances. Alaina Bamfield is a New York based stand up comedian from Williamston, Michigan. Check out Alaina @alainabamfield on social media and her comedy special "Untouchable" on YouTube . Editor's note : This episode was recorded August 3 — toward the end of the episode, we reference DSA endorsee Francesca Hong's lead in the polls for the gubernatorial primary run in Wisconsin, but this was based on falsified information and on August 11, Hong lost by a margin of 0.5%. Tech dystopia continues!
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Dystopia Now
Enshittification and Reverse Centaurs: Cory Doctorow on How Tech Platforms Took Over the Economy
Aug 21, 202653 min
In this episode, we chat with Cory Doctorow, science fiction author, journalist, and commentator on technology. We discuss the phenomenon of platform enshittification, its relationship to an unregulated tech industry and unorganized workers, monopsony power of platforms, centaurs and reverse centaurs, and his take on AI superintelligence and recursive self-improvement. Find Cory Doctorow at the Electronic Frontier Foundation eff.org , his blog https://pluralistic.net/ and check out his latest two books The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI and Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It. The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI, June 2026, https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621575/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It, October 2025, https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/
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Dystopia Now
Technology and Palestinian Liberation with Stanford SJP
Aug 15, 202643 min
This week we're joined by Vu, an undergraduate at Stanford University and representative of Stanford SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) to discuss the role of technology in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians, student activism at Stanford including the recent commencement walkout, and the experience of students looking toward careers in tech. Find more about Stanford SJP on Instagram @stanfordsjp. Further Reading Stanford SJP Link In Bio: https://lnk.bio/stanfordsjp Stanford Daily, June 2026, Google CEO addresses graduates amid student walkout Bay Area Current, Feb 2026, Pro-Palestine Stanford Students Await Trial Verdict NYT, August 2026, Gen Z Fell Out of Love With Work. I Don't Blame Them .
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Guest Appearances

Recent guests on Dystopia Now. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Oliver Larkin

Ableton

Ben Tarnoff

writer and technologist

Quinn Slobodian

Professor of International History at Boston University, Boston University

Alex Hanna

Director of Research, Distributed AI Research Institute

Advertisers on this show

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Best industries to pitch Dystopia Now for

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

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Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.

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Every question we get asked before
someone starts their trial.

If you have a concern about deliverability, AI quality, data privacy, or whether this will actually work for your specific situation, it's probably answered below.

What is the difference between Founder Solo and Founder Pro?

How do agency tiers work?

What is a talent profile?

Can I switch plans later?

Yes, at any time. Upgrades take effect immediately; downgrades apply at the end of the current billing period. Contact support if you need help migrating between plan families.

Do you offer a free trial?

Every paid plan includes a 15-day free trial. Your card is saved at signup but you will not be charged until day 16. Cancel any time from your dashboard.

What happens if I cancel?

You keep access until the end of your current billing period. No charges after that. Your data is retained for 30 days in case you reactivate.

Is the 20% annual discount automatic?

Yes. Select Annual on the pricing toggle and the discounted price is applied automatically at checkout. The annual price shown is the full year cost.

What if I have more than 50 profiles or 20 clients?

That is our Enterprise tier. Contact our sales team and we will build a custom plan with volume pricing, a dedicated account manager, and SLA guarantees.

Dystopia Now

About this Podcast:

Pitch Analysis

What is Dystopia Now?

About the host

Recent episodes

AI Safety Hits the Mainstream

The Heir to SBF: Leopold Aschenbrenner and the collapse of Situational Awareness ft. Mary Houlihan

Medical Skepticism & More with Alaina Bamfield

Enshittification and Reverse Centaurs: Cory Doctorow on How Tech Platforms Took Over the Economy

Technology and Palestinian Liberation with Stanford SJP

Guest Appearances

Oliver Larkin

Ben Tarnoff

Quinn Slobodian

Alex Hanna

Advertisers on this show

Best industries to pitch Dystopia Now for

Podcasts like Dystopia Now

Every question we get asked beforesomeone starts their trial.

Dystopia Now

About this Podcast:

Pitch Analysis

What is Dystopia Now?

About the host

Recent episodes

AI Safety Hits the Mainstream

The Heir to SBF: Leopold Aschenbrenner and the collapse of Situational Awareness ft. Mary Houlihan

Medical Skepticism & More with Alaina Bamfield

Enshittification and Reverse Centaurs: Cory Doctorow on How Tech Platforms Took Over the Economy

Technology and Palestinian Liberation with Stanford SJP

Guest Appearances

Oliver Larkin

Ben Tarnoff

Quinn Slobodian

Alex Hanna

Advertisers on this show

Best industries to pitch Dystopia Now for

Podcasts like Dystopia Now

Every question we get asked beforesomeone starts their trial.

Every question we get asked before
someone starts their trial.

Every question we get asked before
someone starts their trial.