Is 1/6 our new 9/11? Are we in danger of making decisions in the heat of the moment that we will come to regret? Is the United States splitting apart fatally? And what will there after COVID be like? Megan McArdle, the person most responsible for the invention of Wisdom of Crowds, joins Shadi and Damir to chew over our post-insurrection reality. Reading List: "Why we should be frightened by tech companies’ censoring of conservatives," Megan McArdle (Washington Post) "Trump fed off the establishment’s moral outrage. So did his followers," Megan McArdle (Washington Post) "Trump's Exit," Heather MacDonald (City Journal) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

Ben Judah joins Shadi and Damir for a first attempt at digesting what happened this week in Washington. Was it a coup attempt? Are we at a moment of catharsis where the country can start to rebuild? Or are we in for even more darkness? Reading List: "Japanese Lessons for the American Coup," by Noah Smith "The Weimarization of the American Republic," by Aaron Sibarium This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

A wide-ranging episode: a day or so after Damir's birthday, Shadi discusses his longest bout of self-isolation ever, Damir talks about Teddy Roosevelt and how enlightened views on slavery were completely compatible with that old-timey colonial racism. Plus national stereotypes, arranged marriages, and Domino's Pizza! Reading List: A tweet by (Captain) David Ryan. Shadi on Riada Akyol's podcast. Damir on Michael Weiss' podcast.   This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

Andrew Sullivan joins Shadi and Damir to try to put the last four years of Trump into some kind of perspective. Was he stopped or did he succeed? Is he a symptom or a source of decay—or both? Is our republic doomed, or will things just go back to normal? And what's the proper role of a writer and intellectual in troubled times: to analyze or be engaged? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

On Friday, December 4, 2020, Shadi and Damir went live on Periscope—Damir from Croatia, Shadi from DC. On their minds: how different cultures react, deal with, and adapt to COVID, how even vaccination is becoming a partisan issue in the United States, and how to think about the state of exception in democratic societies. Check out the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/l8elM2Bq7TM This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

A glitchy episode (apologies), as Shadi and Damir record across the Atlantic, with Damir in self-isolation and with shaky internet in Croatia. Damir talks about his run-in with the law, and Shadi admits Republicans' rejection of democratic outcomes is bringing out his uncompromising inner partisan. Reading List: Democrats calling for "deprogramming." Shadi's "raw power" first draft. Shadi getting back on-side with the Left (members only). This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

Shadi and Damir get together after a long night of watching the results come in from the 2020 Presidential elections and take stock of where they stand. You'll never guess who's the optimist. Reading List: "Everything in its Right Place," by Radiohead (Kid A) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

Who poses the biggest danger to our country aside from Trump: the wokes, the integralists—or the Never Trumpers themselves? Aaron Sibarium of the Washington Free Beacon joins Shadi and Damir to talk about his new essay about Weimar Germany, polarization, and the allures and dangers of moral certitude.  Reading List "The Weimarization of the American Republic," by Aaron Sibarium (American Purpose) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

What is dissolving the social bonds that tie us together in America? Is liberalism decaying? And is there a "successor ideology" waiting in the wings? Special guest Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, joins Shadi and Damir to talk about Jewish identity and American politics in the waning moments of 2020. Reading List: "Brooklyn's Anti-masking Protests Betray a Broken Culture," Yehuda Kurtzer (The Atlantic) "Memory Malpractice," Yehuda Kurtzer (Tablet) "Stop Being Shocked," Bari Weiss (Tablet) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

Why so angry? Shadi and Damir talk about useful idiocy, neoconservatism, and the dangerous temptation of righteousness in politics. Come for Shadi musing about U2 and stay for Damir rhapsodizing about Guy Debord. Reading List: Not the Coen Brothers. "On Romance and Being in a Constant State of Alarm," Shadi Hamid (WoC) "The Biggest Risk to This Election Is Not Russia. It’s Us." Fiona Hill (NYT) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe