

392. This Podcast Will Polarize You – And It Should | Matt Taibbi
Uzbek Baseball and Mongolian Basketball
- Matt Taibbi played baseball for the Uzbek national team while trying to be a freelance reporter.
- He later played basketball in the Mongolian Basketball Association after leaving a job in Moscow.
Learning Russian
- Matt Taibbi's love for Russian comic fiction led him to study at Leningrad Polytechnic in the Soviet Union.
- He aimed to read his favorite authors, like Gogol and Bulgakov, in their original language.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict Nuances
- The Russia-Ukraine conflict has a complex history, including US support of questionable elements in Ukraine.
- Americans often misunderstand Russia's historical nervousness about NATO expansion.









































Dr. Jordan B Peterson sits down with author and journalist Matt Taibbi. They discuss his early career both in journalism and professional basketball, his time in the U.S.S.R. learning Russian and publishing a successful gonzo-inspired newspaper, and his breaking coverage of the subprime mortgage bubble. They also examine the state of the world today with Russia and the U.S. military industrial complex, the upcoming presidential election, and the dire necessity for alternative news sources.
Matt Taibbi is an award-winning investigative reporter and one of America’s more recognizable literary voices. In 2002, Taibbi began work as a contributing editor for Rolling Stone. There he won the National Magazine Award for commentary. He is best known for his coverage of four presidential campaigns, of the 2008 financial crisis, and the criminal justice system. He has written ten books, including four New York Times bestsellers: The Great Derangement, Griftopia, The Divide, and Insane Clown President. His book, I Can’t Breathe, about the police killing of Eric Garner, was named one of the year’s ten best books by the Washington Post. His latest book about media division, Hate Inc., has been hailed by everyone from Joe Rogan to Publishers Weekly, and called “The best explanation of media behavior since Manufacturing Consent” by Glenn Greenwald.
- Links -
For Matt Taibbi:
Racket News https://www.racket.news/
On X https://twitter.com/mtaibbi?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor