Uncertain Things

On Inauguration Day, with J.Lo's oddball rendition of America's favorite commie song still ringing in our ears, Matt Welch graced our uncertain pod with his virtual presence and cathartic rants. Matt — author, Reason Magazine’s editor-at-large, co-host of The Fifth Column podcast, master of "atrocious analogies," and Adaam's touchstone of sanity (among other roles) — joined us for a wide-ranging conversation about Biden, the truth, free speech, podcasts, and the consequences of so-called cancel culture.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* Inauguration Day: "I'm not the target audience." [6:42]* Living in truth and holding politicians to account [14:11]* Journalists, do your job better [18:44]* Consumers, consume better, too [25:37]* A techno-hippie in the free speech loop hole (Podcasts v. Mass media) [35:03]* Cancel culture and its tattle tales [47:45]* In defense of common sense [1:19:49]* The elephant in the country: the deficit [1:24:56]* Trump and the right's delusional disarray [1:28:04]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Adam Winkler, constitutional law professor at UCLA School of Law, joined us mere hours after Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol. We talk (fittingly) about our history of law and disorder, dive deep into his book We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights (Adam even spins some delightful yarns about Supreme Court high jinks of yore), and unpack all the ways in which corporations have consistently won (and in all likelihood will continue to win) more rights than the rest of us. At least America's future is bright for somebody...Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* Nation of law and disorder (5:33)* Intro to corporate Rights and Personhood (13:45)* Our corporate origin story (On, Jamestown, Charters, and the founding fathers) (17:40)* Corporations and race (25:20)* The narrative of the corrupt corporation (29:52)* The landmark case of 1809 (37:45)* Railroad (& supreme court justice) high jinks (42:05)* The power of a personality (58:00)* Citizens United, the capstone of a 200-year battle (1:04:27)* "The future of corporate Rights is rosy" (1:07:02)Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Tamler Sommers, philosopher and co-host of Very Bad Wizards, joins us just a few days after the insurrection on the Capitol to explain how we got here (spoiler alert: liberalism's over-emphasis on individualism and dignity seriously failed us). He also walks us through some of the controversial arguments in his book — Why Honor Matters — and describes the ways in which honor cultures actually have a lot to teach us (especially in these crazy Covid times) about courage, community, and responsibility.On the agenda:* Diagnosing Trump's army* Honor: What is it? * Honor v. Religion (see: our interviews w/ Tom Holland and Tomer Persico)* Anti-Maskers: Freedom fighters or Trump tribalists?* Honor's bad rap* What Liberalism Has Wrought — Mass Incarceration* Conflict Resolution in Honor Cultures* Restorative Justice in Theory (See “Can Forgiveness Play A Role in Criminal Justice?” and “Conflicts as Property”)* Vaccine envy, just desserts, and other American depravities* Restorative Justice in Action (Tamler’s inspirations: ”Forgiveness in Justice” & “Conflicts as Property”)* Interrupting violence with honor (and a cameo from The Godfather)* Safety, risk, and damned bicycle helmets * On Covid theater and authoritarian control * Tamler's beef with philosophy 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 thoughts, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Columbia University Law Professor Zohar Goshen joins to discuss his provocative new theory about the root causes of American income inequality. His upcoming publication (co-authored with Prof. Doron Levit) goes beyond the traditional explanations — globalization, automation, taxation — and pushes against a few of Wall Street’s sacred bulls. He also puts forth a pretty nifty solution — one that will never, ever happen, of course.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* Corporate Governance 101 [6:29]* Born in the 80s: shareholder primacy and income inequality [13:25]* The conventional inequality explanations [19:10]* What went wrong: the pension problem [27:56]* Strong governance is good [37:25]* Strong governance is bad (the Steve Jobs story) [39:38]* The consequences: Capital gains, workers' loss [46:25]* Why changing corporations won't work [1:01:01]* The big break up we need - and is never gonna happen [1:07:42]* The 2008 financial crisis vs today's [1:16:03]* On ESG - Let's rethink that G [1:25:50] Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Indian journalist Yashica Dutt joins us to talk about her memoir, Coming out as Dalit, where she details her journey from rejecting and hiding her "lower-caste" status to embracing it and advocating for Dalit rights. Weaving between Yashica's personal story and India's political history, we cover everything from pre-colonial inequalities, colonial atrocities, post-colonial absurdities, and current-day injustices (from India to Silicon Valley). Oh, and we get Yashica's not-hot take on Isabel Wilkerson's book, too.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* Hiding my caste and "passing" [7:17]* Reservation and its discontents [21:42]* The absurdities of post-colonial studies [29:13]* Gandhi, not a great guy [39:34]* The backlash to progressive values [52:30]* The conversation about caste vs. race [1:09:09]* Casteism in Silicon Valley [1:22:43]* Isabel Wilkerson's Americanized lens [1:29:09]* Coming out as Dalit [1:35:38]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Chloé Valdary is a paragon of paradox — an identity she relishes in. She gained notoriety for creating The Theory of Enchantment (originally a curriculum for young students, now an alternative to corporate Anti-Racism trainings) and for her heroic (yes, heroic!) ability to maintain nuance and compassion on Twitter (yes, it is possible). Chloé tells Adaam and Vanessa how she pivoted her company in the wake of George Floyd's murder this summer, describes her complicated relationship to critical race theory, and tries to convince Adaam that the human spirit will, indeed, endure this dumpster fire of a moment.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.For more sanity, follow Chloé on Twitter: @CValdary. If you’re interested in diving into the human condition, consider enrolling in The Theory of Enchantment, or visit her homepage to learn more.On the agenda:* Born and raised in a state of paradox [7:10]* The Enlightenment and its promise [12:01]* Disenchantment v. Enchantment [15:17]* The pivot to anti-racism training (and becoming oppositional to critical race theory) [21:09]* Power corrupts, twitter power corrupts absolutely [45:39']* When Biden won, the conversation changed [56:10]* On empathy [1:06:50]* The inevitable ends of CRT and cancel culture [1:14:57]* Israel through the American lens [1:27:21]* Massive convergence [1:33:30]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Nothing says Christmas is coming like a conversation about dehumanization, moral fuzziness, and the evils of empathy! Moral psychologist Paul Bloom joins us for a fascinating conversation on the above — and even gives us a sneak peek of his new book (coming out next year). And, because this is Uncertain Things after all, there are some fun tangents on Trump, Hitler, and atheism, too.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* Suffering — and why we like it [6:12]* On morals, atheists, and envy [19:48]* Cognitive empathy and the future schools of Trump studies [30:51]* The perils of emotional empathy [35:37]* Journalism: a fundamentally immoral pursuit? [44:01]* Stigma wanted [52:53]* The Empathy defense [59:00]* Inside the dehumanizer's mind [1:06:25]* The objective objection [1:18:15]* Moral fuzziness, clear polarization [1:28:58]* Adam Smith, wise virgin [1:34:09]Paul Bloom’s books Against Empathy and Just Babies are widely available and highly recommended. You can also follow him on Twitter: @PaulBloomAtYal.Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

To celebrate Thanksgiving weekend, we talk to classical artist, art educator, and friend of the pod Ken Goshen. We go deep into art history, tracing where it all started to go so terribly wrong, spend too much time hating on Koontz (but loving on Warhol), and discuss how Instagram and social media is changing the art world — potentially for the better. Oh! And because our word pictures can only do so much, follow @KenGoshen and see his incredible art for yourself — and get more Ken rants on his pod, Art’s Cool.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* The classical art resurgence on Instagram [5:33]* In defense of beauty [12:25]* The origins of the struggle against beauty (On Romanticism, Rationalism, and Goya) [18:22]* The point of no return (On Duchamp, Rothko, Pollock, and Warhol) [32:42]* Truth bombing Koons [35:48]* What’s wrong with Contemporary Art: Taste [52:02]* What’s wrong with Contemporary Art: Concept [57:17]* The rebellion isn’t justified (except when it is) [1:04:56]* A classical artist in a contemporary world [1:09:17]* How to win at Instagram [1:13:01]* The power of a teacher [1:29:28]* The power of a pandemic [1:36:22]* Is art school worth it? [1:42:20]* Passion on pause[1:48:35]Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Vanessa M. Quirk and Adaam James Levin-Areddy. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to uncertain.substack.com Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

YouTube music educator Adam Neely joins us for an oh so welcome respite from politics (sorta). We talk about the importance of storytelling (and click-bait) in YouTube creation; music theory's relationship to white supremacy; the relationship between music, language, and culture; and the absurdity of copyright. And make sure to listen to the end, when Adam takes us along on a mini journey of music creation.If you haven’t already, please subscribe to Uncertain Things wherever you get your podcasts.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* Demystifying music — or what quantum theory and polyrhythms have in common [7:12]* On film scores and storytelling [13:00]* Live music lost [15:02]* Living the YouTube life (and serving the Algorithm God) [18:55]* “There’s always a patron” [32:22]* “Music Theory & White Supremacy,” the backlash, and the “critical mistake” [34:44]* Music as language, music as language-like — and a hat tip to Victor Wooten [47:14]* Chomsky chuntering [56:24]* The metaphor of pitch [58:13]* America’s obsession with copyright [1:08:50]* When labels attack [1:20:23]* Putting Adam on the spot [1:30:25]You can follow Adam on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Vanessa M. Quirk and Adaam James Levin-Areddy. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to uncertain.substack.com Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

David French — senior editor of The Dispatch, conservative evangelical, never Trumper, and really nice guy — joins us the day after the election to discuss his new book "Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation." We discuss the reasons why we're so painfully divided, unpack how secessions of yore unfolded, and speculate on the chilling scenarios that could lead to secessions in the not-so-distant future. And as a bonus (because we’ve all be through a lot this week) we check in on a few past guests — Katie Herzog, Robby Soave, Tomer Persico, and Misha Thomas — to get their post-election day thoughts.If you haven’t already, please subscribe to Uncertain Things wherever you get your podcasts.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:[4:47] Why David’s mad at himself today [8:22] The SCOTUS election pattern[11:00] David French in a nutshell[13:00] “I went to Iraq, and then I saw what a real enemy was.”[17:00] The power of testimony[21:30] Never on the Trump train [24:33] The Big Sort[29:02] How gun rights took off[32:55] Mind the Overton window gap[33:54] The path to secession (Fake news, 1861 style)[37:42] Offensive language vs. Dysentery blankets [38:09] The different demographics of illiberal tendencies [41:50] What fundamentalists and the radical left have in common[45:06] A Tale of Two Secessions [49:52] Each side’s competing narratives of grievance[53:43] Our doom spiral of escalation[55:10] Some familiar characters[56:22] How to embrace pluralism[1:00:18] An Election Day montageUncertain Things is hosted and produced by Vanessa M. Quirk and Adaam James Levin-Areddy. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to uncertain.substack.com Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe