Dragging Matt Yglesias with Nathan Robinson

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With guest Nathan Robinson, Editor of Current Affairs, we dive into the career and ideology of Matt Yglesias and his confidently wrong opinions about everything. Yglesias has helped shift mainstream liberalism toward a colder, more cynical worldview that prioritizes elite consensus and data-driven “pragmatism” over solidarity and human dignity. From Sam Bankman-Fried and crypto, to housing, to Palestine, he’s the voice of technocratic centrism beloved by Silicon Valley elites. His views reflect a shallow utilitarianism that strips politics of moral urgency and empathy, and we are here to drag that shit.

We explore how Yglesias has become a key ideological bridge between neoliberal Democrats and the techno-libertarian right.

Nathan J. Robinson – Articles & Book

• The Opinions of Matt Yglesias Should Be Ignored – Current Affairs
• Why Effective Altruism and Longtermism Are Toxic Ideologies – Current Affairs
• We Should Be Neither Anti-Natalist Nor Pro-Natalist – Current Affairs
• The Dangerous Ideas of Longtermism and Existential Risk – Current Affairs
• The Myth of American Idealism – Book by Noam Chomsky & Nathan J. Robinson

Articles Mentioned in Intro:

• Democrats, Influencers, and Trump – NYT
• Charity for Shrimps? Ronny Chieng Explores the Limits of Effective Altruism | The Daily Show
• Biden’s PSA Test and Political Fallout – NYT

Matt Yglesias – Writings & Critiques

• The Troubling Rise of Hitler Revisionism – Slow Boring
• Some Thoughts on the FTX Implosion – Slow Boring
• Reds in the Family – Slow Boring
• Matt Yglesias’s Crypto Opinions – Revolving Door Project
• Matt Yglesias in Biden’s Washington – Washington Post
• Embarrassing Fans of the Super Rich – Jeet Heer
• Silicon Valley Patronage – Citations Needed
• Group Chats That Changed America – Semafor

Sam Bankman-Fried & Effective Altruism

• FTX’s Collapse and Media Fallout – Semafor
• How SBF Sweet-Talked the Media – NY Mag
• Inside the Crazy World of FTX – The Guardian
• SBF Guilty Verdict – Semafor
• EA Group Debated SBF’s Ethics in 2018 – Semafor

Breakthrough Institute

• Homelessness Meets Cluelessness – Prospect on Michael Shellenberger
• Ted Nordhaus – The Breakthrough Institute
• Bad Science in Apocalypse Never – Yale Climate Connections

Empathy, Musk

• Elon Musk on Empathy – CNN
• The Christian Right’s War on Empathy

Additional Resources

• Solidarity – Book by Leah Hunt-Hendrix & Astra Taylor (N+1)
• International Factory Safety – Slate