Jill Lepore on Elon Musk's imaginary world

Sean Illing talks with historian Jill Lepore about her new podcast: The Evening Rocket explores Elon Musk and the new form of extravagant, extreme capitalism — which Lepore dubs "Muskism" — that he has ushered in. They discuss the formative role played by science fiction stories, why the super-wealthy are drawn to space travel, and why, according to Lepore, Elon Musk is not much of a futurist after all. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), Interviews Writer, Vox Guest: Jill Lepore, podcast host; professor, Harvard University References:  • Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket by Jill Lepore (Pushkin/BBC; Nov. 2021) • Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World, dir. Werner Herzog (2016) • The Mars Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars) by Kim Stanley Robinson (Del Ray; 1992, 1993, 1996; re-issue 2021) • Technocracy Digest issues on the Internet Archive • "Science Fiction and Mrs. Brown" by Ursula K. Le Guin (1976) • Elon Musk on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Sept. 10, 2015) • Elon Musk's Neuralink demonstration (Aug. 28, 2020) • "Newt Gingrich trying to sell Trump on a cheap moon plan" by Bryan Bender (Politico; Aug. 19, 2019) Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations  and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts This episode was made by:  • Producer: Erikk Geannikis • Editor: Amy Drozdowska • Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey • Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall • Vox Audio Fellow: Victoria Dominguez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices