Ireland is a very small country within 60 seconds of having met another Irish person. You probably have figured out who that person's family are, where they come from. And so you have a much greater opportunity to make yourself and to decide who you are in the United States than in Ireland. Why did Ireland seem to secularize faster than just about any other country in world history? It used to be one of the most religious Catholic places.
The one concept most valuable for understanding the news today might be Henry Farrell’s theory of weaponized interdependence. Whether it’s China’s influence over the NBA, the US ban of Huawei, or whether social media should be regulated on a global scale, Henry Farrell has played a key role articulating how global economic networks can enable state coercion.
Tyler and Henry discuss these issues and more, including what a big tech breakup would mean for security and privacy, why political economics suggests Facebook’s Oversight Board won’t work, what Italy might reveal about China’s future, his family connection to Joyce, his undying affection for My Bloody Valentine, why Philip K. Dick would have reveled in QAnon, why Twitter seems left-wing, and being a first generation academic blogger.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
Recorded October 7th, 2019 Other ways to connect