Elites Failed the Discernment Test
Elites let their disfavor for cultural change, and a desire to cozy up to edgy ideas, turn into a normalizing and promotion of far-right ideas.
089: AI, Cultural Tools, and Pluralism (w/ Ted Underwood)
The episode explores the impact of artificial intelligence as a cultural technology that can enhance liberal values like pluralism and tolerance, inspired by Ted Underwood’s essay on the topic.
Roy Cooper, Prayer, and the Folly of Anti-Religious Collectivism
Roy Cooper’s Senate campaign announcement, which included a mention of prayer, sparked backlash on social media from people who’d rather be bigots than understand another’s faith.
Boys Are Falling Behind Girls Because Girls Aren't Being Held Back
Let’s not blame boys’ underperformance on women teachers.
Silicon Valley’s “996” Is About Power, not Productivity
The “996” work schedule reflects a troubling belief in sacrificing personal well-being for perceived productivity, driven more by power dynamics than actual efficiency.
AI and the Threat of Nostalgia Culture
The rise of AI-generated content risks overshadowing original creative works, potentially leading to a market collapse for writers and artists if consumers prefer nostalgia-driven remixes over new expressions, but the enduring human desire for innovation suggests that original art and writing will always have value.
An Inconsistent Approach to Viewpoint Diversity
If school choice is the answer to fights over curriculum in K-12 schools, it also needs to be the answer at universities. But culture war supporting libertarians don’t tend to apply the argument that consistently.
If You Want to Win Political Arguments, Stop Being an Asshole
Political persuasion versus the urge to political domination.
Trump Promised Disaster. His Supporters Didn’t Believe Him.
Many Trump supporters underestimated his intentions during his first term, believing he wouldn’t follow through on his campaign promises, but his second term has revealed the dangers of their misjudgment.
Reign of the Competency Cosplayers
American politics suffers from a lack of genuine expertise, as leaders prioritize performative competence and tribal loyalty over actual knowledge and skill.
The GOP is now just grifters grifting each other
The GOP has become a political movement of con artists conning each other without realizing they’re being conned.
Selling Out vs. Just Selling: The Weirdness of "Content" Monetization
A generational divide in the relationship between creators and their creations reflects a shift towards personal branding and content monetization, where the focus increasingly prioritizes selling oneself over creating meaningful art.
The Politics of "Unbiased" Conservative Search Engines
It’s impossible to build a search engine that isn’t biased and doesn’t manipulate results. But it is possible to convince conservatives you can.
The Shaky Future of Trump's Personality Cult
Given Trump’s poor and declining health, we might see the American right dramatically fracture during his second term.
Why, Despite the Numbers, Bluesky Feels Bigger than Threads
Threads has significantly more active users than Bluesky, but feels a lot smaller. Why?
It's Okay if Your Social Media Platform is a Bubble
Is it wrong to have a social media feed primarily of people you agree with?
The Quillette Effect
When echo chambers masquerade as open inquiry.
The GOP's Competence Gap
Republican talent has largely been replaced by amateurs and grifters. That’s a hole the right will have difficulty recovering from.
The Verge’s “Failure” is a Win for Everyone: Talent Networks as Networks
Becca Farsace’s departure from The Verge highlights the dynamic nature of talent development within creative networks, where her growth is a shared success rather than a failure of retention.
Silicon Valley’s Very Online Ideologues are in Model Collapse
Like an AI trained on its own output, they’re growing increasingly divorced from reality, and are reinforcing their own worst habits of thought.