Max Chafkin is the author of “The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power”.  Max is a technology reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek.  “The Contrarian” isn’t just about Thiel.  It’s about that, too, of course -- from PayPal to his Facebook investment to his failed hedge fund, etc.  But it’s also about “Silicon Valley’s political coming-of-age”, as the New York Times describes it. We discuss how Peter Thiel came to wealth, and the many controversies surrounding him.  We also discuss the calculations that led him to back Donald Trump’s presidency, and ultimately take a role in Trump’s transition campaign. Max Chafkin on Twitter Something Ventured The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power