Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Musa al-Gharbi about the new elite, “wokeness,” and symbolic capitalism. They discuss why we should still care about “wokeness” and cancel culture, history of the four great “awokenings,” and sincerity of those that have “woke” beliefs. They define and discuss symbolic capitalism, people denying their new elite status, defining “woke” and the history of the word. They talk about “wokeness” as a new religion, the anti-woke, DEI, and many more topics.Musa al-Gharbi is a sociologist and Assistant Professor in the School of Communication and Journalism and Fellow in Sociology at Columbia University. He has a Bachelors in Near Eastern Studies, Masters in Philosophy, Masters in Sociology, MPhil in Sociology, and PhD in Sociology. His work focuses on various social phenomena such as race relations, inequality, social movements, foreign policy and domestic U.S. political interests. He is the author of the latest book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions Of A New Elite. Website: https://musaalgharbi.com/Substack: Musa al-Gharbi Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Chaffetz about the history of the horse and impact with empires. They discuss the origins of the horse and living alongside humans, herding and horse milk, domesticating the horse and riding horses. They talk about the Steppe environment, rise of chariots, the Scythians and mounted combat, horses used within empires, and China’s relationship with horses. They talk about the Kushans, Turks, Chinggis Khan, Timur, WWI, and many more topics.David Chaffetz is a regular Asian Review of Books contributor, member of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, and author of A Journey through Afghanistan, Three Asian Divas, and Raiders, Rulers, and Traders. He has traveled extensively in Asia for more than forty years. He divides his time between Lisbon and Paris. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Mark Updegrove about the Presidency of Lyndon Johnson. They discuss the elusive figure of LBJ, his intuition for politics, and ascending to the Presidency. They talk about the “Johnson treatment,” Civil Rights, Lady Bird, and his war on poverty. They discuss his foreign policy, not running for re-election in 1968, legacy, and many more topics. Mark Updegrove is the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and serves as Presidential Historian for ABC News. From 2009 to 2017, he was the director of the LBJ Presidential Library, where in 2014 he hosted the Civil Rights Summit which included Presidents Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Carter. He is the author of five books on the presidency including, Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency, and the executive producer of the CNN Original Series, “LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy.” He has written for the New York Times, Politico, Time, National Geographic, the Daily Beast, and USA Today, and has conducted exclusive interviews with seven U.S. presidents.Website: https://www.lbjlibrary.org/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Bruce Gordon about a history of the Bible. They discuss the origins of how the Bible formed in the 2nd Century, original audience of the Bible, Codex and canonization and how we got 66 books. They talk about original languages, the Bible as an icon and symbol, different ways of reading and interpreting the Bible, and the impact of the Gutenberg Press. They talk about the King James Bible (KJV), missions, global legacy, and many other topics. Bruce Gordon is the Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School at Yale University. He previously taught at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where he was professor of modern history and deputy director of the St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute. His research and teaching focus on European religious cultures of the late-medieval and early modern periods, with a particular interest in the Reformation and its reception. He is the author of numerous books including the most recent, The Bible: A Global History. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Renée DiResta about misinformation and digital delusions. They define misinformation and disinformation, rise of influencers, and incentive structures. They discuss audience capture, online ethical responsibilities, the Twitter files, election interference, and many other topics. Renée DiResta is the former technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, a cross-disciplinary program of research, teaching, and policy engagement for the study of abuse in information technologies. Her work examines rumors and propaganda in the digital age. She has analyzed geopolitical campaigns created by foreign powers such as Russia, China, and Iran; voting‑ related rumors that led to the January 6 insurrection; and health misinformation and conspiracy theories pushed by domestic influencers. She is a contributor at The Atlantic. Her writing has appeared in Wired, Foreign Affairs, New York Times, Washington Post, Yale Review, The Guardian, POLITICO, as well as many academic journals. She is the author of the latest book, Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality. Website: https://www.reneediresta.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Alice Driver about immigrants working at meatpacking factories. They discuss moral beauty in immigrants work, immigrants who work in meatpacking factories, and how the factories operate. They talk about onsite medical clinics, the Clintons relationship with Tyson Foods, and challenges during the pandemic. They discuss the class action lawsuit against Tyson Foods, future of the industry, and many more topics. Alice Driver is a writer and author. She has her Masters and PhD in Hispanic Studies from the University of Kentucky. She has won many awards for her journalism and, in 2025, will be a Resident at the Bellagio Center. She is the author of the award-winning book, The Life and Death of the American Worker: The immigrants taking on America’s largest meatpacking company. Website: https://www.alicedriver.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Paul North and Paul Reitter about their new English translation of Karl Marx’s Capital I. They discuss their process editing and translation Capital I, the 2nd German edition and various English and French translations, and the motivations for Marx. They discuss Marx’s thought and Marx’s impact, his main thesis in Capital I, and some of the interactions with Hegel’s thought. They also talk about Marx’s labor theory of value, the enduring legacy of Marx, and many other topics.Paul North is Chair and Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Yale University. He has his PhD in comparative literary studies (German Concentration) from Northwestern University. His main research areas are on Critical Theory, History of Philosophy, and European literature. Paul Reitter is Professor in Germanic Languages and Literatures at The Ohio State University. He has his PhD in German Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. His main research areas are on Critical Theory, German-Jewish culture, and History of Higher Education. They are the editors and translators of the new English translation of Karl Marx’s Capital I. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Marlene Laruelle about the rise of Illiberalism. They talk about liberalism, illiberalism, impact of immigration and socioeconomic issues, and the current and future state of the EU. They discuss Le Pen and far-right in France, Orban in Hungary, the AFD in Germany, and state of Central Eurasian countries. They talk about the Russian-Ukrainian war, motivations of Putin, propaganda, peace in Ukraine, illiberalism in the United States, and many other topics. Marlene Laruelle is Research Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at The George Washington University, and Director of GW's Illiberalism Studies Program. Her main research interests are in populist and illiberal movements in post-Soviet Eurasia, Europe, and the US. Her research explores the transformations of nationalist and conservative ideologies in Russia and nationhood construction in Central Asia, as well as the development of Russia’s Arctic regions.Website: https://marlene-laruelle.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Josephine Quinn about a 4,000 year history of the world. They discuss why “the West” is not an accurate or helpful framing, civilizational thinking, importance of sailing, and different people groups in one region. They also talked about the importance of ancient/isolated languages (i.e., Sumerian, Ugaritic), the Iberian regions absorbing elements of the Levant in the 2nd Millennium, invention of Greece, Rome and Byzantium, Crusades, the idea of “Europe,” moving away from civilizational thinking, and many more topics. Josephine Quinn is currently Professor of Ancient History at Oxford University, and Martin Frederiksen Fellow and Tutor of Ancient History at Worcester College, Oxford. In January 2025, she will be Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge. She has her BA in Classics from Oxford, and an MA and PhD in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology from the University of California, Berkeley. Her main interests are in Mediterranean history and archaeology, with a particular interest in ancient North Africa. She is the author of, In Search of the Phoenicians and her latest book, How the World Made the West: A 4,000 Year History. Website: https://josephinecrawleyquinn.wordpress.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lindsay Chervinsky about the presidency of John Adams. They provide an overview of Adams’s presidency, maintaining the cabinet, the XYZ affair, Alien and Sedition Acts, Fries Rebellion, replacing Pickering and McHenry, Election of 1800, legacy of Adams, and many more topics. Lindsay M. Chervinsky a historian of the presidency, political culture, and the government. She is the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library. She obtained her PhD in history from the University of California, Davis and has been a fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. She has also been a professor at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. She is the author of The Cabinet: George Washington and The Creation of An American Institution, co-editor (with Matthew R. Costello) of Mourning The Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture, and her latest, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic. Website: https://www.lindsaychervinsky.com/Substack: Imperfect Union Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe