#441 - DARPA Insider: Steve Jobs CIA Deal, Stargate Argentina & Facebook Weapon | Sharon Weinberger

Episode of Danny Jones Podcast · October 19, 2026 · 2 h 47 min

Danny Jones talks with journalist Sharon Weinberger about DARPA's strange projects, microwave weapons, nuclear risk, and Silicon Valley's growing role in the defense industry.

Summary

Journalist Sharon Weinberger described how she moved from defense research consulting into journalism, and talked through odd Pentagon and DARPA projects she has covered. These included the hafnium isomer bomb, a post-9/11 Army session that brought in Hollywood screenwriters, the LifeLog and Total Information Awareness programs, Project Seesaw's plan to drain the Great Lakes with a nuclear blast, and the so-called gay bomb. She said DARPA's brain-computer interface work led directly to Neuralink. She also described her Freedom of Information Act lawsuits over the classified microwave weapons programs code-named Hello, Goodbye and Goodnight. While seeking those records, she said she remains skeptical that microwave weapons caused Havana syndrome.

The conversation turned to nuclear risk. Weinberger drew on her nuclear tourism book, including a visit to Iran's Isfahan facility. She argued that a US–Russia nuclear exchange is less likely than during the Cold War, but that regional nuclear risks and lapsed arms control agreements remain serious. She doubted that strikes had set Iran's program back 25 years, and said missile defenses such as Golden Dome face a basic imbalance in which defense costs far more than offense. On UFOs and the Tic Tac sightings, she favored explanations involving classified US programs over exotic theories.

Much of the episode covered her book The Valley of Death. In it she reports that a CIA contract for NeXT workstations rescued Steve Jobs's company, and argues that Silicon Valley always grew out of military funding. Weinberger criticized Alex Karp and Palantir for hypocrisy and for playing to retail investors. She described how Palantir took over Project Maven after Google withdrew, recounted the Pentagon's break with Anthropic, and questioned Anduril's record and Palmer Luckey's actual role at the company. Jones raised concerns about surveillance through Satellogic and Palantir, financial interests behind wars, and media capture by intelligence agencies. Weinberger discussed Israeli and Ukrainian defense industries, CIA pressure on editors, and her worries about concentrated power. She ended by saying she was optimistic about cross-partisan public engagement with these issues.

Chapters

1:14
Weinberger's path into defense reporting
Weinberger explained how a job at a defense consultancy led her to journalism and to the DARPA-funded hafnium bomb story.
8:17
Screenwriters, 9/11 scenarios and network science
They discussed the Army convening Hollywood screenwriters after 9/11, Vince Gilligan's Lone Gunmen pilot, and Pentagon network-science efforts in Afghanistan.
18:44
Black projects and continuity of government
Weinberger explained why failed classified programs stay hidden and described the Greenbrier congressional fallout shelter.
21:53
LifeLog, Total Information Awareness and surveillance
They examined claimed links between DARPA programs, Facebook and Palantir, then Satellogic's Merlin satellites and SpaceX's first DARPA contract.
34:40
Brain interfaces, psychedelics and super soldiers
Weinberger traced Neuralink to DARPA's 1970s brain-computer interface work and discussed military interest in psychedelics.
42:35
Microwave weapons and Havana syndrome
Weinberger described the Hello, Goodbye and Goodnight programs, the Frey effect, her FOIA lawsuit, and her skepticism about Havana syndrome.
52:12
Privatized defense, odd ideas and AI backlash
They discussed venture capital moving into defense, the gay bomb, Palmer Luckey's oxytocin clip, AI doom rhetoric, and Project Seesaw.
1:05:11
Nuclear tourism, Iran and missile defense
Weinberger recounted visiting nuclear sites including Isfahan, assessed current nuclear risks and Iran's program, and critiqued missile defense and Golden Dome.
1:27:00
UFOs and the drone revolution
Weinberger favored classified-program explanations for UAP sightings and described Ukrainian firms and autonomous drones at a Paris arms show.
1:43:15
Steve Jobs, Palantir and Alex Karp
Weinberger told the story of the CIA's NeXT computer contract and criticized Alex Karp's politics and Palantir's appeal to retail investors.
2:00:55
Google, Project Maven, Anthropic and Anduril
They covered Google's Maven walkout, Palantir's takeover of the contract, the Pentagon–Anthropic dispute, and doubts about Anduril.
2:13:32
Silicon Valley's military roots, China, Israel and Ukraine
Weinberger argued Silicon Valley turned to defense after its China ambitions failed, and discussed Israeli and Ukrainian defense industries.
2:33:47
CIA pressure on journalists and concentration of power
They discussed the CIA persuading editors to kill stories, the Snowden–New York Times history, declining trust in institutions, and tech consolidation.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger argues that science and technology change warfare but rarely solve its underlying problems.
“science and technology can be the answer for a lot of things, but it rarely solves our problems”
Listen from 13:53 · DARPA
Danny Jones
Jones contends the US appears to be losing the Iran war despite expensive equipment, while being outgunned by cheap drones.
“it seems like we're losing this war using conventional and super advanced, extremely expensive military equipment”
Listen from 17:24 · United States war with Iran
Linked moment · 19:07Skip to 19:07 using a listen link in the info box.
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger says successful black projects tend to be revealed once they are used, so the canceled failures are the ones the public never hears about.
“a successful classified program, like a successful black project is hard to keep secret forever because you use it”
Listen from 19:07 · DARPA
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger reports that John Poindexter told her Palantir did not grow out of Total Information Awareness.
“is it true that Palantir grew out of Total Information Awareness? He's like, it's absolutely not true”
Listen from 24:34 · Total Information Awareness
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger says the technology in Neuralink descends directly from DARPA's early brain-computer interface work.
“the science and technology that is today in Elon Musk's Neuralink that he is now implanting in people came directly lineage-wise out of that DARPA work”
Listen from 35:09 · Brain-machine interfaces
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger says the classified Goodbye program became the declassified Active Denial System.
“We know what goodbye was because goodbye became the goodbye weapon and was declassified. And it's today called the active denial system”
Listen from 44:34 · Microwave weapons
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger says government secrecy about classified microwave weapons research is what breeds conspiracy theories.
“I am obsessed by the classified work in microwave weapons because I think conspiracy theories come when governments keep things hidden”
Listen from 48:48 · Microwave weapons
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger says she has long doubted that microwave weapons caused Havana syndrome, while remaining open to evidence.
“I have long been a skeptic that it's microwave weapons. I am open to proof to the contrary”
Listen from 50:48 · Havana syndrome
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger argues that defense work is being privatized mainly because venture capital sees large profits in it.
“I think the reason it's being privatized is because Silicon Valley Venture Capital is realizing there is a whole ton of money to be made in defense”
Listen from 52:24 · Anduril Industries
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger contrasts nuclear weapons, a well-understood threat to civilization, with AI, for which she has not yet seen a convincing extinction scenario.
“I'm not sure I see yet the scenario for AI killing us all”
Listen from 1:06:22 · Nuclear weapons and missile defense
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger believes an all-out US–Russia nuclear exchange is less likely now than during the Cold War, with regional nuclear powers the bigger concern.
“the threat of an all out nuclear exchange between the United States and Russia is less now than during the Cold War”
Listen from 1:10:11 · Nuclear weapons and missile defense
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger doubts US strikes set Iran's nuclear program back 25 years and expects Iran's leadership to want a weapon after the war.
“I don't know how long it'll be. You'll probably need another national intelligence assessment to come to that conclusion, but it's not, I don't think it's going to be 25 years”
Listen from 1:18:08 · United States war with Iran
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger argues missile defense systems can be overwhelmed cheaply because defending costs far more than attacking.
“Like the cost of defense is so much more than the cost of offense”
Listen from 1:18:48 · Nuclear weapons and missile defense
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger says the Pentagon is often content to let people believe sightings are UFOs rather than reveal its classified programs.
“They'd rather have people believe it's a UFO or something far fetched than like, oh my God, they saw our actual classified program”
Listen from 1:29:02 · Unidentified flying objects and government disclosure
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger predicts Ukraine will become a major European weapons-making power if it gets through the war.
“it is going to become a defense, like a weapons-making powerhouse of Europe”
Listen from 1:35:22 · Russian invasion of Ukraine
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger argues that venture capitalists in defense are driven by returns rather than patriotism.
“But I think that's the point that when it comes down to it, venture capital is not here to save America”
Listen from 1:40:39 · Palantir Technologies
Danny Jones
Jones argues that financial firms such as BlackRock profit from wars and reconstruction, and that following the money explains events better than government decisions do.
“if you follow the money with these companies like Vanguard and BlackRock and StageStreet, you can lay out the path and track everything that's happening”
Listen from 1:42:12 · Russian invasion of Ukraine
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger reports that sources told her the CIA contract for NeXT computers saved the company and helped Steve Jobs return to Apple.
“this contract saved the company. It gave him runway. It proved him as an entrepreneur and the operating system”
Listen from 1:47:45 · NeXT CIA contract
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger objects to defense company leaders such as Alex Karp weighing in on domestic political controversies.
“I don't think you want the head of a defense company commenting on protests on American college campuses”
Listen from 1:53:10 · Palantir Technologies
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger suggests Palantir's tough-guy messaging to retail investors may have an expiration date that would put the company in peril.
“But I think there could be an expiration date to that. And then the company is in real peril”
Listen from 1:55:05 · Palantir Technologies
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger reads the Pentagon–Anthropic dispute as showing the Pentagon's alarm at losing control over key technologies to private companies.
“the Pentagon is very, very freaked out about the fact that they don't have control over technologies that they once had”
Listen from 2:05:21 · Anthropic
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger notes that Palmer Luckey is Anduril's founder and public face but not its CEO or president.
“he's a founder of Anduril, but he actually, he's not the CEO. He's not the president. He's basically the public face of it”
Listen from 2:10:03 · Anduril Industries
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger believes the economy is in a bubble that includes defense tech companies.
“I think we are in a bubble and the defense tech companies are part of it”
Listen from 2:12:14 · Anduril Industries
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger argues the image of Silicon Valley as anti-military was always largely a myth, since the region grew out of military funding.
“So there's this image that we have of Silicon Valley of like the anti-military. And what I argue is that was always a bit of a myth”
Listen from 2:14:09 · DARPA
Sharon Weinberger
Weinberger says Edward Snowden avoided The New York Times because it had held its warrantless surveillance story at the government's request.
“And that was the reason that Edward Snowden decided not to go to the New York Times”
Listen from 2:38:00

People

In the conversation

Danny JonesAmerican podcaster and host of the Danny Jones Podcast
Sharon WeinbergerNational security journalist and author of books on DARPA, nuclear sites, and Silicon Valley's role in warfare

Discussed

Steve JobsCo-founder of Apple
Alex KarpCEO of Palantir Technologies
Peter ThielInvestor and author of Zero to One
Palmer LuckeyFounder of Anduril Industries, referenced regarding the EagleEye helmet
Elon MuskEntrepreneur behind X, xAI and SpaceX, discussed in AI competition
John PoindexterFormer Reagan national security advisor who ran DARPA's Total Information Awareness program
Victor ReisFormer DARPA director who told Weinberger about DARPA's NeXT purchase
Tony TetherDARPA director who awarded SpaceX its first government contract
Nicholas ChristofilosGreek-born physicist behind Project Seesaw and Project Argus
Allan FreyBiophysicist who described the microwave auditory effect
Jack MurphyInvestigative journalist who reported on Havana syndrome and CIA operations
Vince GilliganCreator and showrunner of Breaking Bad
Mark ZuckerbergCo-founder of Facebook
Edward SnowdenFormer NSA contractor cited as an example of a creative disruptor
Howard LutnickCantor Fitzgerald executive who was absent from the World Trade Center on 9/11
Whitney WebbInvestigative journalist who has written on Epstein

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From the publisher

Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Sharon Weinberger is a journalist & author who has spent more than 25 years covering national security, military technology, DARPA research, and Silicon Valley’s growing influence over warfare. SPONSORS https://ethos.com/danny - Take 10 minutes to get covered today. https://www.amentara.com/go/dj - Use code DJP22 for 22% off first order. https://hims.com/danny - Ready to regrow your hair? Start your free online visit today. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off. EPISODE LINKS https://www.sharonweinberger.com https://x.com/weinbergersa *NEW* DJP MERCH https://dannyjonespodcast.com Get paid to make clips from the show: https://discord.com/invite/dannyjones FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - National Security Defense Labs & Secret Pentagon Weapons 07:12 - Hollywood predicted 9/11 12:37 - Using FaceBook as a Weapon & Financial Incentives to War 17:37 - Classified Weapons Programs & Continuity of Government Operations 20:52 - Lifelog: FaceBook as a DARPA Program & Total Information Awareness 29:08 - Merlin Project & SpaceX's DARPA Funding 33:31 - Craziest DARPA Project of All 37:29 - Psychedelic Research for Super Soldiers 41:30 - Microwave Weapons Programs: "Hello, Goodbye, Goodnight" 51:08 - Why National Defense Programs are Going Private 55:57 - The Gay Bomb & AI Backlash 01:01:43 - Particle Beam Weapons & Project Seesaw 01:04:04 - Visiting Nuclear Sites & Threat of AI Ending Civilization 01:08:43 - Current Threat of Nuclear War 01:11:26 - Visiting Iran's Nuclear Facilities 01:17:09 - Nuke Interceptor Capabilities & Nukes in the Atmosphere 01:25:53 - TicTac UFOs Spotted by Military Radar 01:31:55 - AI Drone Revolution & Ukraine's Weapons Powerhouse 01:42:09 - Steve Jobs' DARPA Contract & Silicon Valley's Role in National Defense 01:48:38 - The Hypocrisy of Alex Karp 01:53:52 - Dystopian Inv…

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on November 7, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Technology·Politics·History