September 13, 2026
By Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor

An unholy alliance is working toward an apocalyptic future from which only a chosen few will emerge unscathed. It’s becoming clear how we stop them.

When Jeff Bezos announced his plan for an opulent Venetian wedding in early 2025, many locals found the idea offensive, even obscene. A growing number of residents were struggling to find secure and affordable housing in a city overrun by tourists and Airbnb, and the billionaire was planning to, in effect, rent out the municipality for three days, forking over an estimated $50m for festivities that would clog central canals and block well-trafficked streets. Worse, Amazon’s carbon emissions were soaring, thanks to artificial intelligence and the data centre build out – and that’s personal in Venice, where the streets already flood dozens of times a year.