The Unlimited Hangout Podcast with Whitney Webb and Mark Goodwin

In the pilot episode of The Unlimited Hangout Podcast, Whitney Webb and Mark Goodwin discuss their latest investigation into Polymarket and how the company was born out of a desire to resurrect the US military's controversial Policy Analysis Market, also known as the Terrorism Futures Market, from 2003.

Also discussed is the largely unknown background of Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan, the role of oligarch Peter Thiel in privatizing failed DARPA programs like the Policy Analysis Market, and how Coinbase helped sunset Polymarket's unofficial predecessor Augur after Coinbase's earliest employees poured money into Polymarket shortly after its founding.

0:00 Intro, Why A New Video Show, and Latest Piece Reactions

7:29 Brief History of Prediction Markets

18:57 DARPA, PAM, and Robin Hanson

32:07 Privatizing the Information Awareness Office

39:30 The Napsterization Model and Sean Parker

48:56 Shayne Coplan Before Polymarket

56:17 Joey Krug, Augur, Thiel Fellow and Founders Fund

1:05:52 Augur = Napster, Polymarket = Spotify

Read Part 1 of UH's Polymarket investigation here: https://unlimitedhangout.com/2026/06/investigative-series/the-secret-history-of-polymarket-part-1/

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Subscribe here, on YouTube, or elsewhere to help us fight AI impersonation of Whitney and other UH writers and to stop the slop! Follow and subscribe to us on other platforms here: https://linktr.ee/whitneywebb

Intro/Outro Music by meanthemusician.bandcamp.com

Iain Davis joins Whitney Webb to discuss his forthcoming book, The Technocratic Dark State, which explores how the so-called “counter-elites” and tech billionaires behind much of the second Trump administration’s policies envisage a world remarkably similar to, and perhaps even worse than, that of the globalist oligarchs long reviled by Trump’s electoral base.

Show notes.

Follow Iain: Pre-Order The Technocratic Dark State : Trump, AI, and Digital Dictatorship, IainDavis.com, Iain Davis, Author at Unlimited Hangout, Substack, and Iain Davis | X.com.

Originally published 12/18/25.

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The PayPal Presidency Part IV: Teaching Technocracy with John Klyczek

Whitney and John Klyczek discuss how Big Tech, led by the PayPal Mafia, and neo-conservative think tanks are converging to influence Trump administration education policy and education financing.

Show notes.

Follow John: Unlimited Hangout, @ProfessorTaoist | X, School World Order.com, TrineDay

Originally published 08/22/25.

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Find previous episodes on all podcast platforms.

Order Whitney’s book One Nation Under Blackmail.

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In this episode, Whitney is joined by Mark Goodwin to discuss how the passage of the GENIUS act is the culmination of decades of the PayPal Mafia's efforts in the digital finance space.

Show notes

Follow Mark: Unlimited Hangout, @markgoodw_in, The Chain Series

Originally published 07/24/25.

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Order Whitney’s book One Nation Under Blackmail.

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In this episode, Whitney is joined by Iain Davis to discuss his recent article series on the philosophy and political theories that motivate the PayPal Mafia and their most prominent members like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.

Show notes

Follow Iain Davis: Iaindavis.com, Substack, OffGuardian, Unlimited Hangout, Geopolitics & Empire, Books by Iain Davis

Originally published 03/31/25.

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Order Whitney’s book One Nation Under Blackmail.

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