
Gil Duran on Trump, Tech and “The Nerd Reich”
In-person TicketsOnline-only Tickets
Not a member yet? Now is the time to join. Members get ticket discounts, free events, special programs, early notice of big events, travel opportunities, and more; plus, your membership helps sustain our work as a nonprofit. You can become a monthly sustaining member for just $13 a month.
The Bay Area is typically known as an incubator of left-of-center ideas. But in recent years, it has become known as the source of an ideology influencing the Trump administration, a belief system journalist Gil Duran describes as “tech facism.” In his newsletter “The Nerd Reich,” Duran looks at how controversial writers such as Curtis Yarvin—who has argued that the United States should be a “monarchy” run by a “CEO”—have shaped the views of some of Trump’s top advisors, like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, as well as vice-president J.D. Vance.
Duran, who formerly served as spokesman and political strategist for Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, joins us to talk about his reporting on this distinctive strain of Silicon Valley conservatism and its influence on local and national politics.
This program has 2 types of tickets available: in-person and online-only. Please pre-register to receive a link to the live-stream event.
If you have symptoms of illness (coughing, fever, etc.), we ask that you either stay home or wear a mask. Our front desk has complimentary masks for members and guests who would like one.
Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming.
Photos courtesy the speakers.
Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs.
All ticket sales are final and nonrefundable.
Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California
110 The Embarcadero
Taube Family Auditorium
San Francisco, CA 94105
United States

Gil Duran
San Francisco Journalist, Author, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War on Democracy (Forthcoming, Avid Reader); Former Editorial Page Editor, The Sacramento Bee and The San Francisco Examiner

Moderator TBA
5:30 p.m. doors open & check-in
6–7 p.m. program
(all times Pacific Time)
COST
Members receive 30–50 percent discounts (not a member? Join)
In person:
$25
Free for Leadership Circle members and students
Online:
$10
Free for Leadership Circle members and students