Embrace The Void Reconsidering Anti-wokeness with Jonathan Church
Jul 25, 2025
Jonathan Church, a chartered financial analyst and author known for challenging social justice narratives, returns to share his evolving views on wokeness and anti-woke movements. He discusses his disillusionment with the anti-woke sentiment and highlights how once-revered thinkers have veered into conspiracy ideologies. The conversation also explores political identity, economic equity, and the impact of media polarization on societal discourse. Church advocates for engaging dialogue and deliberative democracy as means to bridge divides and foster understanding.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Understanding Wokeness Origin & Theory
- Wokeness originated as a call to awareness about injustice but grew into a militant, intersectional critical social justice movement.
- This movement critiques social hierarchies based on identities like race and gender to decenter oppressive norms.
Militant Wokeness in Action
- During 2020 protests, activists surrounded a woman dining alone, pressuring her to raise a fist sign to signal solidarity.
- Friends in progressive reform fields also report being silenced by accusations of white privilege during meetings.
Anti-Woke Movement's Irony
- The anti-woke movement ironically adopted the same grievance, cancellation, and conspiratorial tactics it originally criticized in the left.
- This right-wing grievance industry intensified after Biden’s election and led to radicalized identity and culture war conflicts.
