The Santiago Boys

History #181

The Santiago Boys is a nine-part podcast about a group of radical utopians around Salvador Allende, Chile's socialist president. Undeterred by the Cold War and machinations of their enemies and aided by an eccentric British consultant, they try to wrestle control over technology from multinationals and intelligence agencies and use it to create a more egalitarian economy. As their dream gets crushed by Pinochet's bloody coup, the Santiago Boys find an unexpected afterlife - and in Silicon Valley of all places.The series is written and presented by Evgeny Morozov, a leading technology critic.

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Recent Reviews

telephag

Absolutely riveting

An incredible telling of a geopolitical macrocosm through a microcosm of details about a utopian cybernetic project. The details are what make this story so compelling, situated in a well-researched history of Chile before, during, and after the Allende presidency.
Jason E L.

Full Spectrum Context

Although telling the stories of the individual people involved with the project and the political situation and the technological details may seem overkill, the series does an excellent job of weaving them together so you get a full understanding of what Cybersin meant to the various factions; nothing exists in a vacuum. Also, kudos for an in-depth explanation of the treacherous subject of Chilean politics of the time which most histories slant to make a point rather than provide knowledge.
emily's nickname is emily

He speaks English 🙄

I disagree with the other (and currently only) written review complaining that the narrator’s accent is too thick to understand. Yes he has an accent, and perhaps that’s challenging if English isn’t your native language. I suggest you slow down the listening speed in that case. Otherwise, great podcast production and very interesting story that I don’t think many people know much about even if they’re familiar with the broader story of the coup and Cold War shenanigans.
Lorenzo di Lodi

Narrator can barely speak English

This podcast reminds me of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Apparently no one was willing to tell the narrator that he can barely speak English. Listen to his pronunciation of “seat” or “least” or “health.” Practically unintelligible.