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Sep 2025
2m 47s

Introducing Understood: The Making of El...

CBC
About this episode

What explains Elon Musk? Could his most outlandish ambitions and most toxic qualities trace back to his youth in Apartheid South Africa? Understood: The Making of Musk explores his seemingly insatiable drive for dominance, which connects everything from his birthrate obsession (and fourteen children) to his fixation with colonizing Mars.  


This four-part series, hosted by Jacob Silverman, reveals a little known side of the polarizing billionaire. Silverman tells the vital beginnings of this story — because the Elon era is far from over.


New episodes drop weekly, starting October 7, wherever you get your podcasts.

Up next
Oct 2025
The Making of Elon Musk | E1: Escape from Pretoria
Where did Elon Musk’s epic ambitions begin? In search of clues we return to his sheltered youth in apartheid South Africa, a world engineered for white supremacy. Along the way, we connect the dots between a bizarre White House ambush of South African president Cyril Ramaphosa to ... Show More
38m 30s
Oct 2025
The Making of Elon Musk | E2: Technocracy, Inc.
Could Musk’s authoritarian streak trace back to his Canadian grandfather? Before Joshua Haldeman brought his family to South Africa, he made waves as part of the radical 1930s Technocracy movement. And while the two men’s lives only overlapped for three years, we find echoes of E ... Show More
48m 3s
Oct 2025
The Making of Elon Musk | E3: The Legion
What does Musk, father of 14, expect from his “legion” of children? We unravel his quest for genetic optimization, including alleged embryo screening, and his pronatalist views. And we hear from his estranged daughter, Vivian. Voices in this episode include:Julia Black, journalis ... Show More
49m 31s
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