Sad Francisco

Home Sweet Surveillance State with Ian Firstenberg

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Description

Ian covers local oligarchs and the surveillance state for 48Hills and The Phoenix Project. We talk about FLOCK adding microphones to their camera network, state repression after the anti-cop protests of summer 2020, and how crypto oligarch Chris Larsen bought off the Trump regime.

Ian in 48Hills: "Flock keeps spying on us all, and state and local officials aren't protecting us": https://48hills.org/2026/05/flock-keeps-spying-on-us-all-and-state-and-local-officials-arent-protecting-us/
 
And previously: "Inside SF's private surveillance state": https://48hills.org/2025/10/sfs-private-surveillance-state/
Ian at the Phoenix Project on Chris Larsen and his billionaire friends' latest mission: to kill attempts at a billionaire tax https://www.phoenixprojectnow.com/phoenix-review/blog/special-report-the-billionaire-tax-revolt

Episodes:

Erin McElroy on landlord surveillance tech: https://www.patreon.com/posts/landlord-tech-f-109663054

Jeremy Mack on The Phoenix Project's report on the rightwing rascals behind San Francisco's Doom Loop: https://www.patreon.com/posts/rise-and-fall-of-147853607

Get tickets to our live podcast show in San Francisco on 6/25: QUEERS AGAINST ZIONISM with Judith Butler, Mama Ganuush, and more (a benefit for Bay2Gaza Mutual Aid)
https://buytickets.at/heritageactivistsliberationartists/2224123

Support the show and get new episodes early on Patreon: https://patreon.com/sadfrancisco