Parallel Polis Podcast
A “Parallel Polis” is an independent society built outside the control of corrupt institutions where truth, faith, and freedom can thrive. Join Andrew Torba, founder and CEO of Gab, for raw, unfiltered, stream-of-consciousness reflections on technology, culture, and building parallel systems for the glory of God.
The Parallel Polis Podcast isn’t scripted or polished, it’s real. It’s one man thinking out loud about where the world is headed, what we’re building to resist it, and how faith shapes it all. From Silicon Valley to the digital wilderness, Andrew shares insights from the front lines of the fight for free speech, Christian technology, and cultural renewal.
Think of it as a weekly fireside chat for builders, believers, and anyone tired of the noise.
Parallel Polis Podcast
Why Gab Rebuilt: Speed, Scale, And Free Speech
Change isn’t comfortable, but brittle systems fail when people need them most. We share why we rebuilt our interface and core code to move from an aging, loyal “old truck” to a foundation designed for speed, stability, and rapid iteration. The goal is simple and bold: keep the doors open when the world comes knocking and welcome a potential wave of users who refuse to trade their voice for convenience.
We walk through the engineering logic behind the overhaul—cleaner architecture, maintainable components, and a stack that scales horizontally without blinking. That means faster load times, smoother navigation on both desktop and mobile, fewer regressions, and a platform that can handle major traffic spikes tied to real-world events. Under the hood, it’s about logistics: capacity planning, observability, caching, database performance, and the discipline to release quickly while keeping quality high.
Beyond the tech, we reaffirm the non-negotiables. The look may evolve, but the core is immovable: a commitment to free speech, free minds, and a parallel digital economy that can withstand pressure. We’ve weathered big changes before and come out stronger; this is another step in that lineage. We ask for patience while we squash bugs, tune the UI, and refine workflows, and we invite returning users to test the speed and feel the difference. If a new wave of censorship pushes more people to seek a home for honest speech, we intend to be ready.
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Building Gab for the future. I want to speak directly to the Gab community about the recent overhaul of our interface. I know that for many of you this transition feels jarring. Change is never comfortable, especially when you've grown accustomed to a certain way of doing things. It's human nature to seek stability, to want things to remain exactly where we left them, and I hear your frustrations, and I don't take them lightly. However, I want you to understand that we did not make this decision on a whim, nor do we do it for the sake of mere aesthetics. This was a calculated, strategic move essential for the survival and expansion of our digital, sovereign territory. We're not just painting the walls here, we're pouring a new foundation of reinforced concrete because we know the weight of the structure we are destined to carry. The reality of software development is much like the reality of farming or manufacturing. If you do not upgrade your tools and maintain your machinery, the harvest rots and the assembly line breaks. The old front end of Gab Social served us faithfully, like an old truck that got us where we needed to go, but technology moves with a relentless velocity. To rely on outdated architecture is to invite stagnation and vulnerability. This new code base is our transition to industrial grade infrastructure. It's faster, more resilient, and far easier for our engineers to maintain. It gives us the agility to deploy new features rapidly and the stability to ensure that when the world comes knocking, our doors stay open. We are clearing out the brush to build a fortress that can stand for many years to come. We're preparing Gab for a storm that I see forming on the horizon. I hold a deep conviction that censorship is going to make a massive draconian comeback in the years to come, specifically surrounding the topics of Israel and foreign influence in our country. The powers that be are tightening their grip on the narrative, and they will not tolerate dissent when their geopolitical interests are on the line. When that hammer drops, millions of people are going to find themselves exiled from Silicon Valley again. They will be looking for a home. They will be looking for a place where they can speak the truth without fear. We must be ready to receive them, not with a platform that buckles under the pressure, but with one that scales effortlessly. This update is about ensuring that when the digital refugees arrive, we have the capacity to house them. This is not just about a new coat of paint. This is about logistics and supply lines. It's about building an infrastructure capable of handling millions of new users overnight without blinking. It's about ensuring that Gab remains lightning fast and rock solid when it matters most, like we were during COVID or in the aftermath of the 2020 election, which I know is when many of you join for the first time. We're building a parallel economy and a parallel society, and that requires professional grade tools. We cannot claim to be a serious alternative to the regime's platforms if we are running on legacy systems that cannot handle the heat of battle. We're preparing to be the primary refuge for free speech in the West, and that preparation happens now, in the quiet before the storm and not when the rain is falling. So I want to be crystal clear with every single one of you. The look of the site may evolve, but the soul of this company and of this platform is immovable. Our values are carved in stone. We remain unapologetically committed to free speech and free minds as we have for the past decade. No interface update will ever change that. The furniture has been rearranged, but the house is still built on that same rock. We are still the only platform where you can speak freely about the things that actually matter, and we will protect that right with every resource that we have. Gab has been here before, we've undergone several major overhauls in our history, and every time there was resistance, of course. This is the nature of growth. But every time we weathered the transition together as a community and we came out stronger, faster, and more capable on the other side. We adapted, we learned, and we kept building. This time is no different. I'm asking for your patience and your grace as we refine this new system. We are listening to your feedback, we're squashing bugs, and we're making adjustments day and night. We are in the trenches with you, ensuring that this tool serves the people who use it. If you have been away from Gab for a while, I invite you to come back and see what we have built. I believe you'll be impressed by the speed and responsiveness of the new experience, whether you're on desktop or mobile device. This is a platform built for the future, designed to compete at the highest level while maintaining our uncompromising moral stance. I want to thank you for standing with us and thank you for your patience as we continue to build, improve, and fortify this digital homeland. Together, we are creating something that will outlast us all a sanctuary for truth in an age of lies. Let us keep building, let us keep fighting, and let us keep gab free.
