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I thought it was cool too but then I found Brand's response to Joi Ito/Epstein to be super bizarre and inappropriate, so I started looking into him more and fou

by hypeit 3y ago

I thought it was cool too but then I found Brand's response to Joi Ito/Epstein to be super bizarre and inappropriate, so I started looking into him more and found a lot of info like this. From the article: > As for politics, Markoff notes that leftists who met Brand assumed he was working with the CIA, an accusation that could be rated as indirectly to literally true, depending on the circumstances (later in life Brand would work alongside the CIA doing scenario planning). When he did take an unusual shine to someone political, as he did later in life with the environmentalist Wendell Berry and the cartoonist R. Crumb, Brand quickly turned them off. At a time when revolution gripped the country, the Whole Earth Catalog reflected his right-wing thought by omission. After one young staffer suggested ways to make the catalog more political, Stewart vetoed the notion with a surprising set of rules: “No politics, no religion, and no art.” What was left? Computers and shopping. As a futurist, he had that much right. The Whole Earth Catalog was an underground hit, and with the help of John Brockman

mistrial9 3y ago
the Whole Earth Review offices near Sausalito in Marin County were a social hub, and mixing ground. By the early 80s, an edition of the Whole Earth Catalog was an established process, with volunteers of every kind showing up in small groups, and plowing through the hundreds of pounds of printed materials supplied in large shipping boxes, writing reviews of whatever struck their interest. Occasionally a tall, bossy guy with grey hair and strong athletic build would walk through without comment. Usually some aspirants of some kind would corner him for a comment or punditry. Thriving on the "commander" presence, Brand would deliver whatever it was they were asking for and then move on. Brand's past military experience and demeanor were obvious, but not in contradiction to the "all views considered" atmosphere, including prominently, his own. Did counter-culture people work "for the CIA" ? hard to say, certainly not at the level of Eric Schmidt founder of Google, that is for certain! Lots of lips moved freely with gossip or ideas. Some of that gossip or ideas were repeated, maybe written down. Media was in a different age. Famously certain other LSD-oriented individuals did seek out and inform for money. Stewart Brand probably informed for the same reasons he did other things, because he decided it was interesting, that it made him more important, and continued his personal mission of whatever it was he was thinking about. The role of the "secret mole" is not consistent with the presence of that man, in that project. source: was there in the 80s in Marin, California
- hypeit 3y ago
  Thank you for this, it's super interesting! My admittedly much less informed view was that Brand and people like Leary weren't so much informing, more so shaping culture. Probably along the lines of their personal ideas but also possibly in conjunction with the US government to defang the anti-war and civil rights movements. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that if you have any.

by hypeit 3y ago

mistrial9 3y ago

the Whole Earth Review offices near Sausalito in Marin County were a social hub, and mixing ground. By the early 80s, an edition of the Whole Earth Catalog was an established process, with volunteers of every kind showing up in small groups, and plowing through the hundreds of pounds of printed materials supplied in large shipping boxes, writing reviews of whatever struck their interest. Occasionally a tall, bossy guy with grey hair and strong athletic build would walk through without comment. Usually some aspirants of some kind would corner him for a comment or punditry. Thriving on the "commander" presence, Brand would deliver whatever it was they were asking for and then move on. Brand's past military experience and demeanor were obvious, but not in contradiction to the "all views considered" atmosphere, including prominently, his own. Did counter-culture people work "for the CIA" ? hard to say, certainly not at the level of Eric Schmidt founder of Google, that is for certain! Lots of lips moved freely with gossip or ideas. Some of that gossip or ideas were repeated, maybe written down. Media was in a different age. Famously certain other LSD-oriented individuals did seek out and inform for money. Stewart Brand probably informed for the same reasons he did other things, because he decided it was interesting, that it made him more important, and continued his personal mission of whatever it was he was thinking about. The role of the "secret mole" is not consistent with the presence of that man, in that project. source: was there in the 80s in Marin, California

hypeit 3y ago
Thank you for this, it's super interesting! My admittedly much less informed view was that Brand and people like Leary weren't so much informing, more so shaping culture. Probably along the lines of their personal ideas but also possibly in conjunction with the US government to defang the anti-war and civil rights movements. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that if you have any.