Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? Just asking questions.
We’re told modern surveillance tech will track criminals, illegal aliens, and terrorists while protecting the privacy of innocent Americans. You’ve got nothing to worry about if you’ve got nothing bad to hide.
Today’s guest says that’s not true. His latest book, The Triumph of Fear, documents the history of the modern surveillance state and the ways in which it’s been leveraged since its inception to target not just terrorists and criminals, but political dissidents.
Patrick Eddington was a CIA analyst from 1988 to 1996, but resigned and wrote Gassed in the Gulf, a book alleging that the agency helped cover up the existence of Gulf War syndrome, caused by exposure to chemical weapons.
He joins Just Asking Questions today to talk about the power and reach of the modern surveillance state, the growing influence of the AI-powered data firm Palantir—cofounded by Peter Thiel—in the Trump administration, and what can be done to “tyranny-proof” America.
Mentioned in this episode:
“Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos,” The White House
Palantir contract modification with ICE
“The Scouring of the Shire,” an open letter by a Palantir ex-employee
“Palantir Is Not a Data Company,” by Palantir
“American Big Brother,” by the Cato Institute
“The Triumph of Fear: Domestic Surveillance and Political Repression From McKinley to Eisenhower,” by Patrick Eddington
Alex Karp, director of Palantir, address to the Economic Club of Chicago on May 22, 2025
“Why This Palantir Cofounder Left California for Texas,” The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
“Purpose-Based Access Controls at Palantir (Part 1),” by Palantir
Davos 2023: A conversation with Palantir’s Alex Karp
Chapters:
0:00—Introduction
2:20—President Donald Trump’s executive order “eliminating information silos” is paving the way for a national, unified surveillance database
3:58—Did the Department of Government Efficiency have a “hidden motive”?
12:08—Why the surveillance bureaucracy keeps expanding with little resistance
14:04—Ex-employees have signed an open letter against Palantir. What does it mean?
25:34—What does Palantir actually do?
27:55—Could Palantir actually protect civil liberties?
29:02—What could happen if Palantir’s tools fall into the wrong hands?
37:52—Why creating a centralized database is a civil liberties nightmare
42:53—Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp on why they defend the West
47:00—Why Eddington wants to take federal law enforcement out of the executive branch
50:32 – Why federal law enforcement has always been politicized
55:17 – The lessons of COINTELPRO’s surveillance of activists
55:17 – What was “total information awareness”?
1:10:28 – What is a question Patrick Eddington thinks more people should be asking?
- Producer: John Osterhoudt
