Read Max

[PODCAST] A guide to the new annoying A.I. influencer guy

Read Max

Show Notes

Greetings from Read Max HQ! Today’s Read Max Experimental Audio Product is a reading of this week’s newsletter, covering: * Who is “Leopold Aschenbrenner,” and why is he suddenly a top A.I. influencer?; and * A short history of the anti-woke finance grift, starring Bill Ackman and Vivek Ramaswamy. A reminder: The Read Max Experimental Audio Product is supported entirely by paying readers. I’m able to spend time recording this podcast (and eventually moving it out of the “experimental” designation) because of the generosity of paying subscribers. If you enjoy having the newsletter read aloud every week, and you would price your enjoyment at $5 a month (one draft beer or Big Mac, roughly) or more, please consider signing up as a paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maxread.substack.com

More from Read Max

Apr 23, 2026

Greetings from Read Max HQ! For this week’s edition of my intermittment podcast with John Ganz (author of When the Clock Broke and proprietor of the Unpopular Front Substack) we were pleased to host Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of the new book Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed, an exploration of Elon Musk’s ideology (such as it is) and power through the system of production and accumulation he seems intent on inaugurating. I highly recommend the book, which you can purchase here; we also discussed, among other things: * this excellent essay on Muskism and Fordism from Quinn and Ben at the Law and Political Economy blog; * Musk’s relationship to apartheid South Africa; * some interesting objections to the Muskism thesis; * how Neon Genesis: Evangelion can help us explain and understand Elon Musk. This one is free for all to listen--enjoy!--but if you find it enlightening or entertaining, please consider paying to subscribe. Only with the support of paying subscribers can I put in all the work it takes to be an independent critic and journalist--to read, research, write, edit, record, etc. etc. If you value that work, consider paying about the price of one beer a month ($5) to help it continue.

Apr 7, 2026

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit maxread.substack.com

Mar 19, 2026

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit maxread.substack.com

Mar 5, 2026

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit maxread.substack.com

Feb 19, 2026

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit maxread.substack.com

See all episodes →