Ben Murnane

Author & editor

[Ben Murnane @ben_murnane]

Today’s the day! TRANSHUMAN CITIZEN is hitting shelves and folks who preordered are getting their copies. Seems like there’s never been a better time to consider a new kind of politics in the US… https://t.co/KVclTxZweL

[Ben Murnane @ben_murnane]

What happens when someone psychologically organizes their life around imminent death… and then survives?
https://t.co/x1q10WYztz

[Ben Murnane @ben_murnane]

I owed men like Wagner my life. Which made it unsettling to realize that the future they’re building might contain fewer people like me. https://t.co/ywcqOYvJMY

[Karl Brophy @KarlBrophy]

I don’t know who this lady is but this is called ‘Monday’ in Ireland.

[Ben Murnane @ben_murnane]

I was supposed to be tragic. Instead I became middle-aged.

I am enormously grateful to be alive. I reserve the right to complain about it:

https://t.co/UAeSLJJBHM

[Kat Rosenfield @katrosenfield]

Is “Michael” the definitive story of Jackson, no, but it is an immersive journey through the music that was his life’s work— and pity the impoverished souls who can’t find enjoyment in it https://t.co/bWNW4CkyFN

[Scott Holleran @ScottHolleran]

Shallow? Deep? Whitewash? Vacuous?

Read my review of the @Lionsgate Michael Jackson movie “MICHAEL” (@michaelmovie): https://t.co/sofDFRahuG

[Joe Vogel @DrJoeVogel]

Fellow journalists, just as a thought experiment:

Consider, for a brief moment, that Michael Jackson is innocent. We can return to regular programming (the default assumption of guilt) soon. But just for a moment….consider it.

From someone who has spent a lot of time researching the artist, interviewing those close to him, trying to approach the subject fairly, there are some legitimate things to consider, among them:

- I’ve personally spoken to some of Jackson’s accusers as adults and they vehemently defended him. This shouldn’t be too surprising as they have also defended him publicly and in some cases on the stand under oath, before later changing their positions.

- MJ, of course, faced an exhaustive criminal trial and was acquitted of all charges in 2005. That case, when removed from salacious headlines, was actually quite weak. The posthumous cases are objectively weaker.

- I’ve always felt the most compelling allegation would be one not attached to millions of dollars. Every posthumous allegation has been tied to changed stories and enormous sums of money, which would seem to at least invite some level of scrutiny.

- The vast majority of people who spent time at Neverland as children continue to assert that nothing sexual took place. That matters when trying to establish patterns of behavior and grooming.

- Multiple unannounced raids on Jackson’s properties revealed nothing incriminating. Not the case obviously for other recent high profile cases (Diddy, Epstein, etc.), where the evidence is clear.

- Nobody was clamoring for “complexity” and the “whole story” when Leaving Neverland came out. The media left its premier at Sundance in complete lockstep even though it intentionally left out hundreds of conflicting accounts.

- MJ was and is a target because of his differences/eccentricities and because of his wealth.

- Race continues to play a role. We can deny it or rationalize it but it’s always been there. James Baldwin saw it as early as 1985. White journalists have always been quicker to judge, malign, and assume his guilt. Even the “Wacko Jacko” tabloid nickname has racist roots.

Is none of this context relevant? If MJ was in fact not guilty as he asserted, as his family and friends believe, as a jury determined, the treatment he received in his lifetime (and still, decades later) would be reprehensible.

It’s at least worth considering…

[Nikos Sotirakopoulos @Nikos_17]

The Palantir Manifesto,
but in Atlas Shrugged villain quotes...
THREAD:

[Zoltan Istvan 🖖 @zoltan_istvan]

Here's a new interview filmed w/ @HeyPeterClarke in a super cool local Sacramento bookstore, Amatoria Fine Art Books: https://t.co/6UZzBmJBub #Zoltan2026

[Zoltan Istvan 🖖 @zoltan_istvan]

If you're new to following my CA Gov campaign, please read my CoinDesk OpEd on what I'm trying to do! https://t.co/opd35eufsI #BasicIncome #Robots #AI #automatedabundanceeconomy

[Foundation for Economic Education @feeonline]

Progress isn’t just possible, it’s personal. @ben_murnane shows how innovation saved his life and could one day help us all live longer, freer lives. #FEEseminar

[Team Futurism @TeamFuturism]

Check out our latest episode with @zoltan_istvan, which focuses on Zoltan's vision for the future economy based on automated labor and universal basic income. He calls it: the Automated Abundance Economy. https://t.co/3URBZWj3eL #Zoltan2026

[Zoltan Istvan 🖖 @zoltan_istvan]

Excited to see Dr. @ben_murnane's biography "Transhuman Citizen: Zoltan Istvan's Hunt for Immortality" named a finalist in the Non-fiction category of the William Shakespeare awards!
https://t.co/afbaMt4Kyr #Zoltan2026

[Foundation for Economic Education @feeonline]

Banning tech won’t save us. @ben_murnane makes the case for unleashing innovation, not regulating it to death.

[Zoltan Istvan 🖖 @zoltan_istvan]

Here's a new major interview I did with Ian Golan at @speakfreelymag, which comes out in print. The mag is powered by Students For Liberty! Check it out! https://t.co/do5xySI6Br

[Peter Clarke @HeyPeterClarke]

The futurist @zoltan_istvan is running for CA governor. His campaign will focus on policies that help people thrive as AI and automation start to really impact the job market.

Here's my interview with Zoltan for @merionwest a few years ago: https://t.co/DEmnyr8jwG #Zoltan2026

[Zoltan Istvan 🖖 @zoltan_istvan]

A big congratulations to Dr. @ben_murnane last night, whose biography on my work "Transhuman Citizen: Zoltan Istvan's Hunt for Immortality" won an award at the NYC Big Book award gala w/ over 250 people! I was excited to be in attendance to support!

[Zoltan Istvan 🖖 @zoltan_istvan]

Excited to arrive to BookCAMP 2025 & meet people this eve at the reception. Looking forward to my closing Keynote tomorrow on AI.

[Gonz @FaceLikeTheSun]

he's back 👀

[Zoltan Istvan 🖖 @zoltan_istvan]

Friends, today I’m officially announcing my campaign for California Governor for the Democratic Party. After years of watching inequality, homelessness, regulation, taxes, lawfare, and crime increase in my home state, I’ve decided to do something about it. But the far deeper reason I’m running has to do with AI and robots. I believe within four years’ time, half of jobs in California will be taken by AI and the millions of humanoid robots companies are already starting to make. When tens of millions of jobs are forever replaced by machines who are as smart and agile as people, the cohesion of society--which is already frail--will be destroyed. Humanity is facing the greatest threat it’s ever faced. And no politician has a plan. However, I have a detailed plan, the same one I’ve talked about to Presidents, at the World Bank, and at Senates around the world. The plan is harnessing the power of AI for the people, not the billionaires. It involves a Universal Basic Income and using robots to work for us, so our lives get far easier and more prosperous. But my Governor campaign can’t succeed without money. So I’m asking supporters to go to my campaign website and chip in a donation, large or small. Together we can face the AI age confidently; together we can make sure instead of humanity destroying itself, it thrives. https://t.co/wl0ijbRAgd