- In the pilot episode of The Unlimited Hangout Podcast, Whitney Webb and Mark Goodwin discuss their latest investigation into Polymarket and how the company was born out of a desire to resurrect the US military's controversial Policy Analysis Market, also known as the Terrorism Futures Market, from 2003. Also discussed is the largely unknown background[...]
In the pilot episode of The Unlimited Hangout Podcast, Whitney Webb and Mark Goodwin discuss their latest investigation into Polymarket and how the company was born out of a desire to resurrect the US military’s controversial Policy Analysis Market, also known as the Terrorism Futures Market, from 2003.
Also discussed is the largely unknown background of Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan, the role of oligarch Peter Thiel in privatizing failed DARPA programs like the Policy Analysis Market, and how Coinbase helped sunset Polymarket’s unofficial predecessor Augur after Coinbase’s earliest employees poured money into Polymarket shortly after its founding.
0:00 Intro, Why A New Video Show, and Latest Piece Reactions
7:29 Brief History of Prediction Markets
18:57 DARPA, PAM, and Robin Hanson
32:07 Privatizing the Information Awareness Office
39:30 The Napsterization Model and Sean Parker
48:56 Shayne Coplan Before Polymarket
56:17 Joey Krug, Augur, Thiel Fellow and Founders Fund
1:05:52 Augur = Napster, Polymarket = Spotify
Read Part 1 of UH’s Polymarket investigation here: https://unlimitedhangout.com/2026/06/investigative-series/the-secret-history-of-polymarket-part-1/
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Intro/Outro Music by meanthemusician.bandcamp.com