Uncertain Things

Tablet Magazine senior writer and irresistible baritone Jacob Siegel finds it impossible to be in America and write about America. He gave up on New York, his former haven, and moved to the provinces of the Empire (namely, Israel). What changed? We talk about fancy buzzwords — from gentrification to critical race theory — and how they all played a role in his disillusionment. Adaam and Jake also fly into a tangent argument about parenthood, child-rearing, and anti-natalism. Oh, yeah, and Afghanistan. Plenty of gloom and existential angst to go around.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:-Why not have kids? (Intro)-Why have kids? (Jake’s argument)-The ubiquitous Brooklyn-Guilt, race, and elementary schools-Who does CRT benefit?-Goodbye, Afghanistan-Hello, bad mediaUncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

In honor of our one year anniversary, our first ever guest, religious scholar Tomer Persico, returns to the pod for another intellectually and spiritually satisfying conversation — this time IRL. (Check out our original convo first if you haven't already). This time Tomer, author of Man in God’s Image, dives right into the ancient concept of the self, jumps to the creation of interiority/individuality, expounds on the isolation of America, and comes for a landing on the old, new, and ugly of Israeli politics.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:-Happy anniversary, us! (Adaam’s Ishiguro essay)-Two Jews. One mic.-Recap: The Image of God-The birth of the inner world-But, science! (My physics friend dissents)-Bye bye, Empire-Loneliness and totalitarianism-So what did I miss (in Israel)?-The flattening of our politics-Arthur KoestlerUncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

The tables are turned! Kyle Huber of the Adventure Creator Podcast interviews your jaded journo hosts, Adaam and Vanessa, to learn more about our backgrounds, the origins of Uncertain Things, and to pick our brains on (what else) the fall of liberal democracy. Enjoy and, if you want to hear more creatives talking about their passion projects, subscribe to the Adventure Creator Podcast. Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Vanessa's back story [7:22] -Adaam's back story [15:55] -The Uncertain Things story [27:01] -The issues with media & media consumption [33:40] -Liberal democracy: why it matters, what's at stake [53:13] -Blindspots on the left, blindspots on the right [1:05:19] -On Covid, freedom, and human connection [1:10:38]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Vertigo survivor Rob Long has been writing and producing for the small screen for decades. With some prompting from an entertainment-fatigued Adaam, Rob bemoans the death of truth on TV, the wisdom and folly of Disney, the content catatonia we've slid into, and the strange politics that all this has brought into our private lives.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-We’ve got a Patreon!-What is content?-Content catatonia (or: scrolling through the opium den)-We don’t know what you want to watch-Netflix won’t save us-Hollywood’s fear of truth-Arrogance of the present redux-Beware The ZeroistsUncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI) was three days into the job when rioters broke into the Capitol building. A week later, he was one of the few members of the Republican party to vote to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the riot. Seven months later, Meijer would love to focus on policy — but in his day-to-day life and work he's still dealing with the fallout from the "original sin" of election denialism and the dual realities dividing our country.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Why we wanted to talk to Peter Meijer (despite his being a politician) [0:00-6:50]-From a politics of persuasion, to a politics of coercion [8:01-20:33]-January 6: The wake-up call that wasn't [20:34-34:11]-The future of American Imperialism [34:12-39:15]-Blindspots on the left and right [39:16-40:51]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Sorkin-character-come-to-life Sarah Isgur joins us to talk courts, law, and culture war. Sarah co-hosts the (much beloved) Advisory Opinions podcast, has managed multiple political campaigns and worked as DOJ spokesperson during the early days of the Trump administration. We talk about political bravery and cowardice; about the illusion of progress and the “vanity of the present”; and about Sarah’s second-guessing her logic for joining the Trump administration. Then at last we get good and wonky, exploring the Supreme Court's 3:3:3 make-up, what it means for the court’s legitimacy, and how everything is made dumber by the culture war.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:-Real-life Aaron Sorkin character [0:00-6:11]-Justices: they're people, too [6:51 - 13:46]-A Political Awakening Rooted in Chaos and Recounts [14:01 - 20:25]-The World of Campaigning [20:26 - 24:01]-When Trump Won [24:02 - 31:23]-Polling Problems [31:24 - 35:12]-Joining, and leaving, the Trump Administration [35:13 - 45:13]-The 3:3:3 Court (In Scalia and Kennedy's wakes) [45:14 - 1:01:29]-The Dilemmas facing the Swinging Three [1:01:30 - 1:10:48]-The Culture War in the Court [1:10:49 - 1:26:36]-Blindspots on each side [1:26:37 - 1:33:04]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

It’s time for some freestyle theodicy: programmer, voting nerd, flatmate, and domestic spouse Zev Goldstein joins us to put some of our household debates on the record. On the agenda: the word evil (and whether it does more harm or good), cancel culture (is it as bad as Adaam claims?), and voting theory (including an explainer on why the way we vote now is by far the worst voting system there is).Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

R-Street Institute fellow and head of digital media Shoshana Weissmann joins us to talk big tech, monopolies, and regulation. Yes, we get wonky discussing Section 230 and trust busting, but we also carved out time for Shoshana and Adaam to nerd out about Torah law. She also explains why she's so passionate about unenumerated rights and even reminds us that online living has an upside.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda: -Only intro and already off-the-rails [00:00-9:00]-Regulation, what is it good for? [10:16-27:20]-Shoshana's libertarian origin and the Federalist Society blood rituals [27:00-35:11]-I <3 Unenumerated rights [35:12-41:01]-Section 230 and the dementor's kiss of content moderation [41:02-56:33]-Big Tech: punching bags, soft power, and censorship [56:34-1:10:12]-Corrosive conversations vs. supportive communities [1:09:34-1:31:19]-Privilege and personal responsibility [1:31:20-1:38:55]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Self-described "classic Scottish enlightenment liberal" and prolific historian Niall Ferguson — author of The Square and the Tower, The Great Degeneration, and, most recently, Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe — graced the pod with his keen mind and sexy Scottish tones. Niall explained why we are so fixated on the end times, and yet so woefully unprepared for catastrophe when it strikes. He also shared his theory on why historical thinking (beyond your go-to Hitler comparisons, thank you very much) would actually better prepare us for disasters. And by the end of the conversation, we even got his takes on a few hot topics: big tech, section 230, and the Cold War II we're already living in.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* -Remembering Norman Stone [11:39]* -The nexus of economics and everything else [15:52]* -Doom & cataloguing catastrophes [23:03]* -We'd love history to be cyclical (and torture data to make it so) [31:48]* -Seeing the tigers in the grass - and responding rapidly [40:02]* -Diagnosing the pathologies of pseudo-preparedness [49:25]* -We need to teach history differently (and forget about the frickin mid-20th century) [58:23]* -Networks, ideological contagions, and section 230 [1:06:25]* -In defense of uncertainty [1:23:25]* -Cold War II and the cumbersome West [1:30:45]Niall’s recommended read on Israel/Palestine.Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Stark inequality. A planet on the brink of destruction. Communities decimated. For many in 2021, capitalism is not looking so hot. But Professor Rebecca Henderson thinks all is not lost. In her book, Reimagining Capitalism In A World On Fire, Rebecca makes the case that capitalism can indeed address the challenges we face — and that companies are already making the switch to a new, more conscientious way of working.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* -What capitalism hath wrought and not [2:32]* -A degree of inequality is a feature, not a bug [11:02]* -Inclusive capitalism, with guardrails [23:20] * -There's money to be made in transforming the system [33:20]* -The instability of self-regulation, the appeal of regulation [47:22]* -Turning off social media and turning on corporations [51:27]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe