Doomscroll 39: Ro Khanna

We explore World of Warcraft’s influence on crypto libertarianism, the Habermasian digital public sphere, and US private ownership of social media. Where does democratic legitimacy come from?

My guest is Ro Khanna, a congressional representative from California’s 17th district. We discuss Khanna's political and philosophical vision for American democracy, the crisis of runaway inequality and tech’s fair share in the social contract.You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella

David Adler, co-general director of the Progressive International, joins me to unpack the complex history of corporate colonialism in Latin America.The United States has a long history of intervention into the affairs of Latin American countries. After the recent abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, Trump openly invoked the Monroe Doctrine, or as he calls it “the Donroe Doctrine”, to signal further hostility to other nations in the region.In this episode we focus on the strange case of Prospera — a libertarian city-state that promises to create a free market utopia. Beginning in 2017, Prospera Inc purchased land within the sovereign territory of Honduras. At the time, Honduras was under the narco-dictatorship of Juan Orlando Hernandez. (In a stroke of poetic injustice, JOH was convicted of drug trafficking in 2024 and pardoned by Donald Trump in 2025.) After the dictatorship, the Honduran congress overturned this unconstitutional decision with a unanimous vote across all parties. In retaliation, Prospera Inc is now suing the state of Honduras for a staggering 10.8 billion dollars, nearly 100x their investment and roughly 2/3rds of the annual state budget. Unsurprisingly, Prospera Inc is funded by Pronomos Capital whose investors include familiar characters such as Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen and Balaji Srinivasan.

Liz and I discuss the early accelerationist blogosphere that overlapped with certain music scenes of the 2000s - 2010s. We touch on the work of Simon Reynolds, Mark Fisher, Nick Srnicek and an uncertain meth addicted psychopath who spends too much time on Twitter.You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella

My guest is Liz Franzcak, a co-host of TrueAnon. We discuss conspiracy theory, Lacan’s psychoanalytic insights and the influence of the early blogosphere. Is techno-capitalism a rogue AI retroactively assembling itself from the future? No, this will not be explained later.You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella

Vivek and I get in the weeds about strategy and economy. We discuss how the Marxist theory of declining rates of profit will impact the 21st century struggle for social democracy. Our conversation touches upon voucher systems, nationalization and state-led investment programs. Most importantly, we compare the right and left populist visions to tackle American inequality and explore why only one of them can work. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella

My returning guest is Vivek Chibber, a professor of sociology at New York University. He is the author of several books including Confronting Capitalism. What do we mean by the word “socialism” in 2025? Vivek Chibber answers foundational questions for political struggle in the 21st century.Unlock the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella

We discuss the legacy of the Gravel Institute, the “Felix Biederman to Marc Andreessen pipeline” and the “Bernie to New Right” culture of Dimes Square (RIP). Later, we explore Felix’s background in internet culture and online politics. I laugh so hard I spit.

My guest is Felix Biederman, a co-host of Chapo Trap House. We discuss Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in NYC. After the 2024 presidential election, progressive media focused on the rightward swing of young men. However, in 2025, Zohran carried young men (ages 18 - 29) with an overwhelming +40 margin. These historic outcomes shatter many previous interpretations and force us to reframe certain narratives. Can the center of the US political establishment hold?You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella

Grimes and I map the possible future horizons for a politics beyond western-style liberal democracy and explore the deep philosophical impacts of AI. We discuss post-enlightenment thinking, the crisis of digital art, artist compensation and the aesthetic stagnation of creative work today.