
TechStuff Redux: The Secret Stanford Off-Campus Class for Tech’s Next Titans
About this episode
Did your college have a secret society? Well, Stanford has a secret off-campus class training the next generation of Silicon Valley billionaires. And it's literally called "How to Rule the World."
Theo Baker arrived at Stanford as an aspiring coder with dreams of building the future. Instead, he stumbled into the "Stanford-within-Stanford" — a hidden pipeline connecting a select few students directly to Silicon Valley CEOs, yacht parties, and venture capitalists offering millions before you even have an idea. Then he decided to write a book about it.
In How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University, Theo traces his freshman year transformation from tech idealist to award-winning investigative journalist — including the reporting that brought down Stanford's own president. He joins us to talk power, secrecy, and what Silicon Valley is really teaching the next generation.
Additional Reading:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Get every episode summarized
Each time TechStuff publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from TechStuff

The AI Uprising Will Be Anthropomorphized - Week in Tech
TechStuff

When She Lost Both Her Parents, She Turned to AI - The Story
TechStuff

Shell Game: Keep 'Em Coming
TechStuff

TechStuff Redux: We've Been Sold a Bad Bill of Goods About the Future
TechStuff