Angel Eduardo, author and co-host of the Fair Perspectives podcast, insists that we can rise above this polarized moment and have real – difficult but vitriol-free – debates with each other. Steelmaning is for beginners. We’re talking starmanning! How to do that is what we try to figure on this episode. Adaam and Angel argue about the merits of compassion versus cognitive dissonance and how best to make people more comfortable about being wrong. Meanwhile, Vanessa worries that too much open-mindedness could lead to inaction – or even apathy. She also gets a good laugh from Angel’s diatribe about the word LatinX.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our ‘Inscrutable’ newsletter for thoughts and rants. To support us and gain access to exclusive content, consider becoming a paid member of Uncertain on Substack. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Seeing through the Matrix-Compassion and humility or just cognitive dissonance?-Censorship is in the air and the Harper’s Letter-The art of being wrong (or: it’s ok to fight… verbally)-Who’s this ‘We’ we keep talking about?-Engineering language and Stalin’s hyphenation fascinationUncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

We’ve been wanting to have political theorist, writer, and podcaster Yascha Mounk on the show for a while now, and the wait was so worth it: his new book, The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure, is not only timely, it’s quite Uncertain Thingsy. He explains the three main ways that diverse democracies fall apart — and to what extent the U.S. is already under their influence. Plus, we dunk on elites, bemoan our political status quo, and ask: could oppression be good for us?Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our ‘Inscrutable’ newsletter for thoughts and rants. To support us and gain access to exclusive content, consider becoming a paid member of Uncertain on Substack. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda: - Intro to Yascha [0:00-9:56]- Shout out to IRL pod encounters [9:57-11:38]- Humans: Naturally predisposed to difference [11:39-25:50]- How to Make Diverse Democracies Work [25:51-33:12]- The Problem of Fragmentation [33:13-45:29]- The Danger of Elites [45:30-54:30] - The Gerrymandering Arms Race [54:31-1:01:51]- The Secret Sauce of Oppression [1:01:52-1:19:41]- On Patriotism & Blindspots [1:19:42-1:25:18]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

When writer and podcaster Meghan Daum released her book The Problem with Everything: My Journey Through the New Culture Wars in 2019, she didn’t get canceled, per se. But its reception among her liberal friends was… frosty. Readers charged that Meghan had been captured by the IDW; reviewers painted her as out of touch; event organizers sent nary an email. Meghan has since made a new media home for herself, interviewing people and broaching topics on her “Unspeakable” podcast. Her fellow “heterodox” listeners love her for it. And we loved chatting with Meghan about some of her (and our!) favorite topics: what the left and right won’t talk about, feminism, book clubs, podcasts, humor, self-censorship, and more.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our ‘Inscrutable’ newsletter for thoughts and rants. To support us and gain access to exclusive content, consider becoming a paid member of Uncertain on Substack. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Feminism and the problem with everything [7:25-14:44]-Victim narratives and the “injustice” of biology [14:45-24:12]-“The most miserable writing experience of my life” [24:13-31:17]-Not canceled [31:18-39:07]-Unspeakable topics [39:08-43:57]-What the left and right control [43:58-48:40]-Media Divides [48:41-53:19]-Closing ranks around ideologies [53:20-59:46]-Loneliness, book clubs, and the women of the IDW [59:47-1:12:40]-A tangent on peace privilege [1:12:41-1:16:03]-Meghan’s journey into the heterodox universe [1:16:04-1:25:51]-Funny in the backchannels [1:25:52-1:34:15]-Blindspots. Stereotypes, and self-censorship [1:34:16-1:42:10]-Heterodoxy 2.0 [1:42:11-1:45:50]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

After covering the 2016 elections, podcaster and journalist Jody Avirgan (FiveThirtyEight, 30 for 30) was tired. Damn tired. Of the news cycle, the click bait, the politics. He felt pulled to history as a way of making sense of the present in a more complex, thoughtful way — and so he reached out to Nicole Hemmer, a historian who studies right wing media and occasional opinion writer/cable. The two created the podcast “This Esoteric Day in History,” and eventually recruited Kellie Carter Jackson, a historian who studies the abolitionist era and the theme of violence, to round out their trio. We invited all three on the pod (an Uncertain Things record) to dig into the upsides of bringing history into public discourse, the perils of pushing historians onto social media, and the possibility that podcasts could save us all. Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our Patreon for behind-the-pod updates. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Three journos and two historians walk into a pod [0:00-9:35]-How the podcast came to be [9:36 -12:05]-Intellectual first responders [12:06 - 18:56]-Progress isn’t Inevitable [18:57-22:44]-How progressives and conservatives use history [22:45-29:59]-Out of the ivory tower, into the tweet storms [30:00-52:04]-Media: making the world worse, every day (podcasts exempted) [52:05-1:00:35]-The CRT Monkey’s paw [1:00:36-1:05:16]-An honest conversation about violence [1:05:17-1:24:00]-On democracy and our fundamental values [1:24:01-1:34:47]By the way… We, Jody, Kellie, Nicole, and a bunch of other podcasters have joined the Pro-Democracy Podcast Coalition, in partnership with a nonpartisan organization called RepresentUs, to raise awareness and preserve, bolster, and protect democracy. Get informed and get active at represent.us/podcastUncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Jacob Mchangama — author of Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media, lawyer, and founder and director of the Copenhagen-based think tank Justitia — has uncovered an unfortunate, though not too surprising, historical pattern, across cultures and societies: the second we feel under threat in a society, free speech (that supposedly sacrosanct value) goes swiftly by the wayside. In this conversation, Jacob takes us back in time and traces the history of free speech all the way from Ancient Greece to the EU’s recent banning of Russian propaganda — and we unpack a whole lot of hypocrisy along the way. Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our Patreon for behind-the-pod updates. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Adaam’s big mistake [0:00-7:44]-Self-censorship and its consequences [7:45-14:51]-The pro-democracy podcast coalition [14:52-20:15]-On cartoons and Milton’s curse [20:16-25:13]-Free speech through the ages: Greece & Rome [25:14-37:51]-Free speech through the ages: the Middle Ages [37:52-44:18]-Free speech through the ages: from Reformation to Revolution (stopping on Spinoza along the way) [44:19-55:47]-American culture vs. American law [55:48-1:09:21]-A golden age or a free speech recession? [1:09:22-1:13:26]-Banning Russian propaganda [1:13:27-1:22:22]-Liberal democracy: why does it matter? [1:22:23-1:29:30]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

After studying neurobiology in college, Daniel Roy became a professional sleight-of-hand artist slash YouTube magician. He joined us to explore how illusionists exploit our innate psychological and social tendencies in order to make us unwillingly suspend our disbelief. In this in-person conversation, we dive into the topics of misdirection, deception, and illusion — and the ways they resonate with politics, tech, and media today. But it wasn’t all intellectual debate: Daniel also graced us with some real life magic, which you can visually enjoy on our YouTube page.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our Patreon for behind-the-pod updates. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Getting seriously into magic [5:20-14:12]-Inattentional blindness and the illusion of impossibility [14:13- 27:21]-The magician as social manipulator [27:22-40:56]-When mistakes (and hecklers) happen [40:57-47:10]-The conflict of psychological surrender [47:11-54:44]-Attention capture and the media parallel [54:45-1:05:38]-Magic in the YouTube era [1:05:39-1:24:01]-The mental and ethical challenges of magic [1:24:02-1:53:33]-An audio magic trick! [1:55:29-2:15:31]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Author and political philosophy professor Mark Lilla joined us to debate morality (what makes something good, and how much of it is enough?), innocence vs. ignorance, reactionary passions and nostalgia, the importance of maintaining a private sphere of moral inquiry, and the psychoses of current American politics. We usually ask our “blindspots” question at the end. This time, it captured the entire talk.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our Patreon for behind-the-pod updates. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Wisely choosing Vico [5:06-6:49]-Losing faith, gaining skepticism, and seeking the goodness of knowledge [6:50-7:56]-Ignorance and bliss [11:59-17:32]-The pros and cons of American populism and dogmatism [17:33-29:12]-How much morality is enough? [29:13-30:06] -Why our government's so dysfunctional [30:07-37:58]-Elitism and activism in the academe [37:59-46:09]-The productive anxieties of American life [46:10-49:36]-The nostalgia party of the right [49:37-1:01:39]-The unserious, crusading left [1:01:40-1:10:54]-The case for indifference [1:10:55-1:15:24]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

You’d think author and speaker Helen Russell — whose professional obsession for the past few years has been happiness — would be loathe to discuss the topic of sadness. Au contraire. As she’s learned more about what it takes to be happy, she’s discovered it relies on perfecting the lost (at least in America) art of being sad. We talk with Helen about her book How to be Sad, discuss why American culture is particularly bad at embracing melancholy, and discover what we could all learn from those strapping Danes.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our Patreon for behind-the-pod updates. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Making Space for Sadness, in all its flavors [3:51-9:14]-Cross-Cultural Comparisons [9:15-12:54]-Gender and the emotions we're allowed to access [12:55-17:54]-The emotional burden of an artless life [17:55-23:48]-Our atrophied social connections [23:49-29:24]-Inequality, addiction, and social media [29:25-36:54]-Raising kids and deciding to have them in the first place [36:55-44:21]-Sadness taboos and rituals [44:22-48:33]-Diagnosing Brexit (and other dark times) [48:34-53:58]-Sadness Post-Script [54:28-1:24:32]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

People Love Dead Jews. That's the title of novelist and literary scholar Dara Horn's provocative book, which explores the ways in which non-Jewish societies exploit Jewish histories and atrocities to "flatter" themselves and erase Jewish realities. In an episode filled with more ghoulish humor than usual, we follow Dara’s journey of uncovering a troubling (and often truly absurd) history. We also can’t help ourselves and go meta: not only raking on the media (as we’re wont to do) but also nerding out about the difference between Jewish and Western literary narratives.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our Patreon for behind-the-pod updates. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Memorializing dead Jews, erasing living Jews [9:44-26:35]-Why does empathy require similarity? [26:36-30:33] -Jews disrupting historical narratives [30:34-34:54] -Anti-semitism, assimilation, and Jewish agents of erasure [34:55-42:38] -"I spent 20 years not writing this book" [42:39-49:29] -How I'm Supposed to Respond to Anti-Semitism [49:30-53:23] -Victim Blaming to Feel Good [53:24-58:46]-Holocaust museums have failed [58:47- 1:05:56]-What Readers Want (Resolution not Ambiguity) [1:05:57-1:20:00]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Matt Taibbi thrives on the absurd. He used to revel in journalism's culture: caustic, independent, collaborative, and adversarial to those in power. Now, the former Rolling Stone writer and author of Hate Inc. sees little to love in the toxic, "credentialist" media world. We discuss Matt's transition to Substack (the future!), the psychotic break Trump inspired in "mainstream" media, and the future of our broken industry.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our Patreon for behind-the-pod updates. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Journalism cultures, past and present* [3:38-20:22] -Protest subscriptions, absurdism, and economic anxiety [20:33-37:14]-Gerrymandering hate and victimhood [37:15-45:39]-The pernicious chaos of totalitarianism [45:40-50:01]-A Trump-induced psychotic break [50:02-1:01:54]-Tech troubles [1:01:55-1:05:35]-What's Next for Media? [1:05:36-1:09:05]-The Blindspots Q [1:09:06-1:14:25]For more media musings……check out our conversations with Batya Ungar-Sargon, Nancy Rommelmann, Matt Welch, and Katie Herzog.Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe