Uncertain Things

Reason Magazine senior editor Robby Soave is known for exposing the biases and blindspots of the media. In his book Panic Attack: Young Radicals at the Age of Trump he follows the growing trends of illiberalism in America. In preparation for Nov. 3 madness, we talked about media bias, monopolies, the dangers of revoking Section 230, and — of course — the nightmare that is the 2020 elections…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:[0:37] Libertarians: we abhor both sides![2:58] The case for journalists telegraphing their political views[5:57] “Everything about the Trump years wants you to commit to a team… with the media in the non-Trump team.”[10:12] “You can be objective without being unbiased.”[11:03] The Covington incident[13:32] Why didn’t you vote for Biden?[15:47] What makes Trump appalling to you?[18:45] On the excesses of the left and what they might mean for the election[25:21] If Trump loses, what happens on the right?[27:47] If Trump is re-elected…[28:59] Young Radicals and the new understanding of “safety”[32:07] Where do they draw the line?[34:40] The hard sciences have been more resistant[36:08] The injustice of a humanities degree[36:48] It’s filtering into K12 education too[38:30] The underlying institutional issues at play[43:33] The misaligned incentives of Higher Education[51:38] Are we drawing too much or too little attention to this issue?[56:14] On Section 230 and social media[1:02:15] The Monopoly (non)argument[1:08:52] How do you solve crony capitalism? Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Our favorite ex-evangelical Misha Thomas returns to the pod to talk pre-election jitters — and drops a bombshell on us unsuspecting hosts. What follows is perhaps our most honest (and hopefully disarming) conversation yet.If you haven’t already, please subscribe to Uncertain Things wherever you get your podcasts or here: uncertain.substack.com. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Ten years ago, NYU political scientists Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith wrote "The Dictator's Handbook," which posited that all political leaders — from autocrats to democratically-elected officials — are governed by an uncomfortably similar set of rules and incentives. We thought now’s the perfect time to take a fresh look at their model and re-learn the dos and don’ts of political power. We discuss the Trump presidency, the Electoral College, voter fraud, jolly old Putin, and a variety of delectable topics to get you revved up and ready for election day.If you haven’t already, please join our coalition of essentials by subscribing to Uncertain Things here (or wherever you get your podcasts).[5:55] The basic principles of the theory[13:00] Democracies & Dictatorships, a sliding scale[19:56] It’s a mess, but we’re course-correcting [23:05] The problem with the Electoral College (it’s not what you think)[29: 21] All leaders want to shrink their coalition (on gerrymandering, sore loser laws, and Tanzania)[33:05] The people push back[35:25] How vote fraud actually happens[37:45] On social media (the information/disinformation arms race)[49:21] Universities are not democracies[54:46] Which companies win, which commit fraud[1:00:31] What we get wrong about foreign aid (the Petro-State Problem}[1:006:31] The liberalizing myth[1:08:44] The issue with inequity in democracy[1:14:00] A Yang gang post-script Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal brings an outsider’s eye to American politics (or as he puts it, a perspective from” an outpost of the empire”). Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa Quirk ask about his new book, Revolt (out in Hebrew here, out in English soon); about what Trump got right and the media got wrong; and what it means to live in a radical moment.If you haven’t already — please subscribe here (or wherever you get your podcast).[0:40] An unsolicited window into Adaam & Vanessa’s domestic life[3:30] Nadav’s career in a nutshell[4:40] Into Trumpland [6:00] The first (and weakest) horseman of the apocalypse[10:40] Standing up to China[13:30] Amateur Hour at the White House[16:00] Obama-phoria & the pendulum swing[17:00] Nick Griffin, a dreadful man with a grasp on reality[22:50] The failures of the Obama administration[24:20] Back into Trumpland[26:20] What a globalist is[34:02] Nationalism and an empire in retreat[36:30] The revolt is a sentiment, not an ideology (Or Molotov cocktails in Athens)[42:00] “The America that we dreaded, we feared, we hoped for is gone.” What’s to be born?[45:42] Living through a radical moment[52:10] No progress without struggle[54:50] The natural order is change, we were just born in a pause[55:40] The responsibility of journalists[1:00:20] The journalist’s dilemma [1:07:00] The advantage of being Israeli (On chutzpah and frank conversations) Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

We talk to one of the most (to quote Adaam) inexplicably hated people in media: Katie Herzog. She helps us understand the controversy that's hounded her for the past three years, why you can't escape the culture war (even if you really, really try), and why Americans just can't take/make a joke anymore. We also talk about sex. If you like what you hear, check out Katie's podcast with Jesse Singal, Blocked and Reported (and maybe revisit her old pieces on The Stranger).If you haven’t already, sign up to Uncertain Things wherever you get your podcasts.On the agenda:* Everything is a Culture War Thing - [6:46]* Why are you so loathed? [9:39]* Why it’s dangerous to talk to de-transitioners [13:11]* What “platforming” means [17:23]* “What’s wrong with the moment right now.” / Katie’s take on Jordan Peterson [21:20]* The backlash “sparked this change in me.” [24:50]* The right’s strength? Picking up on the left’s weaknesses [28:17]* A liberal in a Navy town [32:01]* Is there wokeness in Israel and is it anti-Israel? [35:37]* People are desperate for community [39:20]* The secrets of podcasting success [44:04] * On humor and the lack thereof [46:46] * “Cuties” and puritanical panic [48:52]* Sex and hysteria on both sides [52:37]* The biggest blindspot on the left and the right [57:19]* The equal and opposite reactions of Trump [1:00:05]* Experimenting with sobriety [1:02:36] Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Michael Smerconish, host of eponymous shows on CNN and SiriusXM P.O.T.U.S., joins us to talk about why everything is so rotten in political media. We talk about surviving as an independent in a partisan world, about the bad incentives of the news industry, and of course about the Notorious RBG.On the agenda:* RBG & Scalia - RIP [1:59]* Smitten with media [10:53]* Ronald Reagan among the sausages [11:36]* Becoming an independent (“I wasn’t suited for the party or the party wasn’t suited for me.”) [15:30]* The hunt for the hunt for Bin Laden [16:52]* “I end up pissing off everybody.” [19:43]* Pennsylvania proud [25:00]* RBG’s passing and the fall-out [27:24]* “The polarization of the media has led to a polarization of society.” [32:19]* Trying to prove that you need not be an ideologue [39:28]* All the choices, no decisions [46:42] * “What isn’t keeping me up at night?” [50:25] * Cringe-worthy columns of yore [56:56] Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Tom Holland, historian and bestselling author of Rubicon and In the Shadow of the Sword, joins us to discuss his latest book, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind. A certified atheist, Tom puts his own liberal, secular worldview to scrutiny and asks, why do we Westerners believe what we believe? (Turns out we’ve been “breathing in liberal values like radiation from Chernobyl.”) This question embraces everything from human rights to sexuality, from separation of church and state to Black Lives Matters.This also completes our “Christianity and the West” trilogy. Warning: Adaam fan-boys hard (and perhaps by the end of the conversation, you, too, will be a convert).Oh, and if you haven’t already, subscribe: On the agenda:* Tom joins [3:44]* Rome is the T-Rex of Antiquity [5:24]* Bush’s America: The New Rome? [6:49]* The trouble with understanding the Classical world [10:09]* The stories that shape our worlds [16:35]* On BLM [19:57]* Sex & Power in Rome —> Me Too [22:58]* The Enlightenment Cycle [29:09]* The Great Awokening [32:19]* “The single most pointed and justified criticism that I’ve had.” / Breathing in liberal values like radiation in Chernobyl [36:02]* Atheism is the logical end point (Here we Paul again) [41:14]* “We are creatures of our historical DNA” [44:22]* To have no privilege = privilege (hat tip to one neurotic Nietzsches) [51:54] * What would Hitler NOT do? [54:49]* Why Human Rights don’t exist [56:31]* Secularism in retreat [1:01:11]* Undoing our Protestant brainwashing (“I’m a Liberal Who Lost his Faith”) [1:08:28]* 3 Scenarios for the Future [1:16:43]* A world of multiple civilizations [1:20:00]* The myths that will haunt us [1:22:56] Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

To celebrate the release of the first episode of Uncertain Things, Vanessa and Adaam got together (virtually) with house expert on all things Christian Misha Thomas to drill further into some of the topics brought up by Tomer Perisco. Consider this part 2 of our “Christianity and the West” trilogy. Stay tuned — the epic finale is coming soon. And if you haven’t already, subscribe:On the agenda:* Introducing Misha, our expert on all things evangelical [1:10]* On religion as a literary expression [8:00]* On ritual [12:41]* Attending the college of contradictory ideals [15:35]* How Paul gave us the concept of religion (with a hat tip to Plato, too) [24:30]* Metaphorical tea time with Richard Dawkins [37:30]* Revelation nation [41:00]* God is dead, we’re all Gods [44:00]* Surviving a chaotic universe, 1st century B.C. style [55:35] * On identity, trauma, and resilience [1:00:49]* Primed for compassion, a Misha fable for the future [1:09:15] Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe

Tomer Persico, religious scholar and Israeli intellectual, talks to us (in our inaugural podcast — woohoo!) about what he considers to be one of the most impactful ideas in the modern world: The Image of God.On the agenda:* How Tomer found religion [5:16]* What is “The Image of God”? [14:38]* How St. Paul broke Judaism. [29:27]* Let there be atheism. [48:30]* The cult of authenticity and Donald Trump. [56:20]* Identity politics is just another strand of Christianity. [1:14:46]* What’s going on in Israel? [1:31:10]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