Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Join investigative reporter Theo Baker — the youngest-ever recipient of the prestigious George Polk Award and a Stanford University senior graduating this June — for a conversation with DealBook founder Andrew Ross Sorkin about greed and hubris in Silicon Valley, and Baker’s new book, How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University.
Seventeen-year-old Theo Baker showed up for freshman year at Stanford University as a tech-obsessed coder. It seemed like paradise. But Baker soon discovered a culture that embraced corner-cutting, that vested infinite excess and access in the hands of kids with few safeguards to catch bad behavior. When he began poking around in the business practices of the school, his subsequent reporting ultimately forced the Stanford’s then-president Marc Tessier-Lavigne to resign. How to Rule the World — already in development to become a major film project with Warner Bros. — is the poignant and hilarious journey of a teenage reporter who uncovered a story that became front-page news across the country.
In conversation with Sorkin, hear Baker discuss his remarkable story — a revelatory and gripping account of Silicon Valley hubris and corruption, and what it means for a nation more ensconced in tech culture than ever before.
Recorded May 18, 2026 at The 92nd Street Y, New York.
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Join investigative reporter Theo Baker — the youngest-ever recipient of the prestigious George Polk Award and a Stanford University senior graduating this June — for a conversation with DealBook founder Andrew Ross Sorkin about greed and hubris in Silicon Valley, and Baker’s new book, How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University.
Seventeen-year-old Theo Baker showed up for freshman year at Stanford University as a tech-obsessed coder. It seemed like paradise. But Baker soon discovered a culture that embraced corner-cutting, that vested infinite excess and access in the hands of kids with few safeguards to catch bad behavior. When he began poking around in the business practices of the school, his subsequent reporting ultimately forced the Stanford’s then-president Marc Tessier-Lavigne to resign. How to Rule the World — already in development to become a major film project with Warner Bros. — is the poignant and hilarious journey of a teenage reporter who uncovered a story that became front-page news across the country.
In conversation with Sorkin, hear Baker discuss his remarkable story — a revelatory and gripping account of Silicon Valley hubris and corruption, and what it means for a nation more ensconced in tech culture than ever before.
Recorded May 18, 2026 at The 92nd Street Y, New York.
Your support helps us continue creating online content for our community. Donate now: 92NY.org/Donate
Facebook: facebook.com/92ndStreetY
Instagram: Instagram.com/92ndStreetY
TikTok: tiktok.com/@92ndstreety
Archives: 92ny.org/archives
