Quillette Narrated

Last week’s TED Talks in Vancouver featured dozens of brilliant speakers. But the earnest belief that big new ideas can save humanity from itself now feels painfully dated.

Five decades after its release, Wake in Fright remains a brutally captivating reminder that modernity is just a thin veneer over the darker recesses of the human heart.

The environmental havoc is justified as needed for the economy, but the evidence does not support this claim.

Dive into the enduring allure of Marxism as it shapes modern thought amidst capitalist dominance. Explore theories around economic crises and class struggle, critically assessing Marx's predictions. The podcast dissects traditional views on labor and value, highlighting the complexities beyond simplistic interpretations. Delve into philosophical concepts like reification and commodity fetishism, revealing how market forces impact personal relationships. Unpack the critiques of Marxism while discovering contemporary adaptations that keep his insights alive in today's world.

The media’s obsessive focus on the Israel–Palestine conflict obscures the broader picture of the ubiquity of jihadism in the Middle East, and the crucial role it plays in stoking and perpetuating turmoil and strife.

My best friend had a psychotic break—our criss-crossing journeys through facts and fictions in thirteen chapters.

Arguments that patriarchy exists in the West today are largely dependent on reinventions of the concept that would be better dispensed with. 

Jay Anson’s haunted-house yarn was a highly lucrative hoax, but it struck a popular chord amid the financial precarity of 1970s America.

Exploring Karl Popper's critique of historicism, the discussion emphasizes the importance of reason and individual rights in defending open societies. It contrasts successful democratic advancements post-World War II with the complexities in China, where economic growth has not led to democracy. The decline of global democratic momentum is alarming, highlighting the rise of authoritarianism. Economic progress in open societies is celebrated, while the enduring value of democracy is stressed, calling for active engagement to safeguard freedoms from emerging threats.

The state should not assume the right to end the lives of its citizens at will.