Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Mike Judge on His “Silicon Valley”: “You Can’t Call It Satire When You Are Showing It Like It Is.” (Video)

Maybe it takes a nerd to make fun of nerds. Here’s our Q&A with the man behind HBO’s new show.

Vjeran Pavic, Re/code
Peter Kafka
Peter Kafka covered media and technology, and their intersection, at Vox. Many of his stories can be found in his Kafka on Media newsletter, and he also hosts the Recode Media podcast.

Hey, Mike Judge! Why did you decide to make a TV show that makes fun of the tech business?

Easy, says the guy who brought us “Beavis and Butt-Head,” “King of the Hill” and “Office Space”: Tech billionaires are “introverted and socially awkward and no one is saying no to them. It’s kind of perfect for comedy.”

Judge’s “Silicon Valley” premieres this weekend on HBO, though the pay TV network has cleverly made sure that everyone in techland who wants to see a preview has gotten a peek.

And last week he sat down with me and the crowd at Code/Media for an interview about the show, his career and why Beavis and Butt-Head were the original Tweeters.*

You can watch the whole thing — minus a really fun clip from episode five that we showed at the beginning of our chat — below:

* Okay, that’s really my would-be insight, which Judge didn’t think much of. But it was fun to talk to him about it.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel