Episode

4/9 Bill Gates’s Philanthropic Giving Is a Racket w/ Rob Larson

April 9, 2020

Michael Brooks hosts Rob Larson  (@IronicProfessor), professor of economics and author of Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley, to discuss his piece in Jacobin, “Bill Gates’s Philanthropic Giving Is a Racket” and why billionaire-fueled philanthropic endeavors amount to flashy public relations stunts.

On today’s show: Brian Kilmeade fears that Bernie holding onto delegates means socialism will live on.

Michael Brooks hosts Rob Larson  (@IronicProfessor), professor of economics and author of Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley, to discuss his piece in Jacobin, “Bill Gates’s Philanthropic Giving Is a Racket.” Bill Gates’ Jeffrey Epstein connection. How Bill Gates used philanthropy to improve his reputation at a time when he was on trial for monopolistic activities. How bad did you have to be to get the attention of the Clinton Justice Dept? The reasons the super-rich seek to influence public education. Why “philanthropy” in developing nations is not all it’s cracked up to be. What steps can we take to democratize the tech industry?

On the fun half: Lula says Bolsonaro must change his dismissive corona virus response.  Tucker Carlson asks if Biden is prepared to run for president. Pompeo says US will reevaluate US funding to WHO. AG Bill Barrl aments Covid-19 partisanship, says media has a “jihad” against hydroxychloroquin. Trump pivots to general election mode, asks “Where is Obama? Why hasn’t he endorsed Sleepy Joe?” Jamie and Michael debate the merits of economic protectionism. Paul Broun campaign ad in Georgia says times like these you need your 2A rights, starts an AR15 giveaway.

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com

And subscribe to the AM Quickie here.

Make the AMQ part of your Alexa Flash Briefing too!

You can now watch the livestream on Twitch

Check Out Today’s Sponsor:

Blinkist takes the best, key takeaways – the need-to-know information – from thousands of nonfiction books and condenses them down into just 15 minutes that you can read or listen to on your phone, tablet, or web browser. For a limited time Blinkist has a special offer just for our audience: Go to Blinkist.com/majorityreport try it FREE for 7 days AND save 25% off your new subscription.

Check out FlattenTheCurve.com and Havard Medical School’s Corona Virus Research Center for extensive information on how to deal with Covid19 and a potential quarantine. Plus, recommendations for mask alternatives if you are in short supply.

Check out Jamie on Street Fight Radio’s Instagram live stream tonight at 7pm! Visit @StreetFightWCRS on Instagram to watch

Subscribe to AM Quickie writer Corey Pein’s newsletter at theend.substack.com

Check out The Michael Brooks Show at patreon.com/tmbs and Michael Brooks Show on YouTube and the new TMBS website, TMBS.FM

Check out The Nomiki Show at patreon.com/thenomikishow

Check out Matt’s podcast, Literary Hangover, at Patreon.com/LiteraryHangover, or on iTunes.

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada, at patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or the new Antifada Youtube channel

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

@SamSeder

@_michaelbrooks

@MattLech

@jamie_elizabeth

@BF1nn

Past Episodes

It's our last Best of 2025 episode. We will be back live on Monday. Live-streamed on May 12, 2025 Sam speaks to Mark Blyth to help unpack Trump’s topsy turvy tariff policy and how it relates to inflation. Blyth is the Director of The William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and ...
It's another Best of 2025 episode On today's program: Live-streamed on April 17, 2025 Emma is joined by writer, activist and professor Naomi Klein about her new essay The rise of end times fascism. Naomi points out the new form that right wing authoritarianism has taken in finding ways to ...
On today's Best of 2025, Sam and Emma speak with Kellie Carter Jackson, associate professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, to discuss her recent book We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance.   The Congress switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. You can use this ...