Wisdom of Crowds

Shadi talks through his inner conflicts. Damir responds by minimizing the reality of what is happening. Also: why Americans are all fundamentalists (whether secular or religious), the appropriateness of activist-journalism, the empty symbolism of woke politics, and whether the New York Times should(n’t) be our lodestar. Reading List: “Our Deathwish” by Jacob Siegel (Tablet) “The Coronavirus Killed the Revolution”, by Shadi Hamid (The Atlantic) Waverley, by Sir Walter Scott 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

The former President of Georgia joins Shadi and Damir to talk about how tricky reforms—such as police reforms—can succeed (and fail), about how identity is a slippery thing in the post-Soviet space, about liberalism, illiberalism, and Western haughtiness, and about his encounters with Donald Trump when he was just another rich guy with a political itch. 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

Very special guest Michael Signer joins the podcast to talk about his new book recounting his time serving as mayor of Charlottesville during the violence of August 2017. With America in upheaval, it's an appropriate time to revisit that sad bit of recent history, but also an opportunity to think about what's gone wrong with our politics, and what, if anything, can be done to fix it. A rich discussion. Reading List: Cry Havoc: Charlottesville and American Democracy Under Siege, by Michael Signer 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 live-streamed an episode as a weekend of violent protests around the country wound to a close. Our episodes are never scripted or prepared, but in this case we are interacting with our audience on Twitter's Periscope in real time to help guide the conversation. Also, please excuse the audio quality. 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 discuss how Trump's unabashed contempt for expertise has encouraged his opponents to latch onto expert opinion—and how this could boost Trump if the economic opening goes even tolerably well. Reading List: "What a Maskless Trump Says About His Re-Election Strategy" by Henry Olsen (WaPo) "In Search of Lost Time" by Peter Pomerantsev (The American Interest) "Pandemics Kill Compassion, Too" by David Brooks (New York Times) 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 talk about their conflicted feelings about recording the previous episode in a room together, the dangers of optimism about the recovery, what the "new normal" in successful South Korea looks like, why America in all likelihood won't ever be able to get there, and why that might or might not be OK. Reading List: Shadi's tweet thread about why America can't be like South Korea. Michael Kim's tweet thread about the reality in South Korea. Man lectures BoJo in a park. 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

The Atlantic Council's Benjamin Haddad joins Shadi and Damir to talk social distancing, the coronavirus response on both sides of the Atlantic, and how elites' ever more fervent love of experts could lead them to political disaster. Reading List: Le paradis perdu: L'Amérique de Trump et la fin des illusions européennes, by Benjamin Haddad (Grasset) "The Coronavirus Killed the Revolution," by Shadi Hamid (The Atlantic) "Social Distancing Isn't Going To End Soon. So How Do We Live With It?" by Gaby Hinsliff (The Guardian) 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

In the third week of lockdown, Shadi and Damir talk about the Beatles versus the Stones, how the 1960s represent a kind of dangerous idealism grounded in universal values, and how there’s no escaping politics. Reading List: “The Coronavirus Killed the Revolution,” by Shadi Hamid “It’s imperative for the U.S. and China to work together on the coronavirus pandemic,” by Michael McFaul Jennifer Rubin’s Political Mathematics “National Identity is Made Up,” by Max Fisher and Amanda Taub 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

Catastrophe and resilience, human and economic costs, and the future of democratic politics: Shadi and Damir hunker down for an intense coronavirus podcast (while of course observing appropriate social distancing protocols). Reading List: “Pandemics Kill Compassion, Too,” by David Brooks “The Wuhan Virus and the Imperative of Hard Decoupling,” by Andrew Michta “The Coronavirus Called America’s Bluff,” by Anne Applebaum 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

In the shadow of Bernie Sanders’ underperforming on Super Tuesday, Shadi and Damir welcome author Ben Judah to the podcast to talk about the enduring promise of left-populism in an Age of Trump. Relevant Reading: “Left Populism and the Rediscovery of Agonistic Politics,” by Shadi Hamid “Traditional ‘foreign policy’ no longer exists. Democrats are the last to know,” by David Adler and Ben Judah “Hawks say Sanders will be weak on Russia. But Putin should fear a President Bernie,” by Ben Judah and David Adler “Is Joe Biden the American Brezhnev?” by Ben Judah “The Emergence of Foreign Policy,” by Halvard Leira 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