Editor’s note: We haven’t done an episode quite like this before. I absolutely loved this conversation with the novelist Jordan Castro, one of the most exciting young American authors writing today. Because it was such a rich conversation, we’re leaving out the paywall so that everyone can have a listen. —Shadi Hamid, co-founder, Wisdom of CrowdsWhat’s it actually like to be a novelist? And how does literary success—and some amount of fame and notoriety—change how people think of you? Special guest Jordan Castro joins Shadi and Santiago to talk about his novel, The Novelist, internet culture, converting to Christianity, his heroin addiction, love and, of course, literature. At nearly two hours it’s a rich and, dare we say it, epic chat on the stuff of life. If you’ve ever wanted to get in the brain of a writer, you won’t want to miss this. Really. Required Reading:* The Novelist by Jordan Castro* Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on René Girard* New anthology of Girard’s essential writings* Varieties of Religious Experience by William James* The Present Age: On the Death of Rebellion by Søren Kierkegaard* Dante: “I found myself within a forest dark …”* Plato’s Myth of the Cave in the Republic* Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert* The Perpetual Orgy: Flaubert and Madame Bovary by Mario Vargas Llosa* Maxime du Camp* Substance Abuse National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveIn a late-night confab, Damir and Sam explore the meaning of experiences of wonder, which they each have written about for Wisdom of Crowds.For Sam, these unique experiences are the foundation for his beliefs about the nature of the world and human life. Damir, on the other hand, does not believe that the experience of wonder necessarily leads to metaphysical questions. This freewheeling, stay-up-all-night fever dream of a conversation covers the pitfalls of therapy, the science of happiness, and lots of ancient Greek literature.Required Reading:* Damir’s piece, “A Lost Sense of Wonder,” Wisdom of Crowds* Sam’s piece, “Desire, Sadness, and the World,” Wisdom of Crowds* Oliver Traldi, “Do You Know What You Want?”, Wisdom of Crowds* Charles Taylor, Sources of the Self* Charles Taylor, A Secular Age* Parmenides’ fragments

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveA recently-published memoir making headlines suggests a trend: Polyamory is going mainstream among high-status Americans. Culture critic and environmental studies professor Tyler Austin Harper joins Christine and Shadi to make sense of this fad, and explain why it’s both an upper-class luxury and a raw deal. Along the way they discuss happiness, self-expression, race, love, self-immolation, parenting, and a better way to live. Required Reading:* Tyler Austin Harper, “Polyamory, the Ruling Class’s Latest Fad.”* Tyler Austin Harper, “I’m a Black Professor. You Don’t Need to Bring That Up.”* Tyler Austin Harper, “The 100-Year Extinction Panic Is Back, Right on Schedule.”* Shadi Hamid, “Is Polyamory the Future?”* Molly Roden Winter, More: A Memoir of Open Marriage.* Janet W. Hardy and Dossie Easton, The Ethical Slut.* Philip Rieff, The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith after Freud.* Christine Emba, Rethinking Sex: A Provocation.This post is part of our collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets.Wisdom of Crowds is a platform challenging premises and understanding first principles on politics and culture. Join us!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveChristine and Damir discuss two personal essays from New York magazine that went viral last week. The first deals with divorce, the second with getting scammed. A flabbergasted Damir can’t believe they were published; he wonders if anyone outside New York would care to read them. Christine finds ironic wisdom buried in both essays. The conversation ends on a high note, with Christine explaining how one of the essays breaks new ground in the media monoculture. Required Reading:* Emily Gould, “The Lure of Divorce,” New York magazine.* Charlotte Cowls, “The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger,” New York magazine. * Christine’s three theories about the above essays.* Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation.* Kristen Roupenian, “Cat Person”.* Ross Douthat, The Decadent Society.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveJason Blakely of Pepperdine University joins Shadi and Damir to discuss his new book, Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life. A professor of political science, Jason claims that everyone has an ideology. The point is to be aware of it, and to remember that there’s always more to reality than your ideology can explain. Damir doesn’t buy it. The quest for power, he thinks, is what ultimately drives politics, not ideas. Meanwhile, Shadi tries to figure out Jason’s ideology. Required Reading:* Jason’s new book, Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life* Jason’s controversial Harper’s essay, “Doctor’s Orders”* Jason’s old book, We Built Reality: How Social Science Infiltrated Culture, Politics, and Power* Jorge Luis Borges, “On Exactitude in Science”* Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan* Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince* Thomas More, Utopia* Desiderius Erasmus, In Praise of Folly* Anthony Fauci, “I represent science” statement and backlashThis post is part of our collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets.Wisdom of Crowds is a platform challenging premises and understanding first principles on politics and culture. Join us!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveOur brand new Executive Editor, Santiago Ramos, joins Shadi and Damir to discuss his first-ever essay for Wisdom of Crowds, “Empathy for the Devil.” The essay is about the need for cognitive empathy in politics. But Damir wants to discuss something slightly different: Whether “the Good,” as a category, is something real, out in the world, or whether it is completely contingent on tribal allegiances. Santiago comes to the Good’s defense, and Shadi joins him in a good cop/also good cop situation.Required Reading & Listening:* Shadi’s big announcement* Santiago’s writing* Santiago’s debut Wisdom of Crowds essay, “Empathy for the Devil”* Robert Wright’s Nonzero Newsletter* The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil”* Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and the Margarita* Maurice Blondel, in the International Encyclopedia of Philosophy* Amy Winehouse, “You Know I’m No Good”Wisdom of Crowds is a platform challenging premises and understanding first principles on politics and culture. Join us!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveAre ideas overrated? Shadi’s recent column (and controversial tweet) exploring the reasons behind Trump’s popularity launches a discussion about what exactly drives politics. Are politicians motivated by winning more than ideology? Do voters respond to strong personalities, rather than policies and promises?As expected, Damir makes a case for “materialism” over ideas. Shadi isn’t totally convinced.Required Reading:* Shadi, “The Peculiar Moderation of Donald Trump,” Washington Post, 1/25/2024* Shadi’s tweet* Bruno Maçães’ tweet* David Ignatius, “The Midwest Tacks Hard Toward a Mideast ‘Moment of Truth’,” Washington Post, 2/1/2024* Eduardo Porter, “Republicans’ Immigration Bill is Not Serious Legislation,” Washington Post, 2/2/2024* Thomas Friedman, “A Biden Doctrine for the Middle East is Forming. And it’s Big,” New York Times, 1/31/2024* Bruno Maçães on Wisdom of Crowds

The podcast discusses the morality of states in international relations, questioning the Western concern for human rights. They debate whether America is just another empire or an agent of democracy and moral progress. The speakers explore the pressure to maintain interesting views as public intellectuals and discuss America's treatment of Arab and Muslim life. They also examine America's history of violence and the contradictions of democracy and American hegemony. The chapter on surprising casualties analyzes the high number of civilian deaths in the conflict.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveLongtime member of the Crowd and WoC contributor Tom Barson once called episodes when Shadi and Damir just chew over stuff “train wrecks”. (He meant it in an affectionate way — we think.) Well that’s what this episode is: a classic back and forth that ranges far and wide.Shadi asks Damir how his year ended. Damir admits he’s feeling properly burned out. Does following two bloody wars all too closely contribute to a feeling of helplessness? And isn’t feeling drained by reading about war itself a product of extreme privilege and luxury? With signs of wider conflict spreading in the Middle East, we still can’t properly wrap our heads around what a world-changing war might look like.In the full episode (for paying subscribers only), Shadi reveals how the rise of urban violence — DC surpassed Baltimore in murders last year — has him thinking about zombie movies, and the gnawing uncertainty that was the hallmark of the early days of COVID.Required Reading:* “The Unserious Generation,” by Damir Marusic (WoC).* “Unconstructive Ambiguity,” by Damir Marusic (WoC).Wisdom of Crowds is a platform challenging premises and understanding first principles on politics and culture. Join us!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveAaron Sibarium, a star reporter over at the Washington Free Beacon covering the campus culture wars, joined us this week to talk about Claudine Gay’s resignation. Aaron’s reporting on Gay’s plagiarism was instrumental in her eventual downfall.We start the episode discussing the merits of the case, but quickly switch gears to talk about first principles. What does it mean for our society if culture war becomes a war of personal destruction? Will it lead to a better world, in universities and more broadly, or have we just descended into another level of vengeful retribution?In the full episode (for paying subscribers only), we discuss the parallel with the Supreme Court, and the railroading of Robert Bork in 1987. The Court has never been the same since, and is arguably quite degraded since its mid-century heyday. Maybe this is all just the product of the inherent, glorious messiness of democracy? Or are we going the way of Weimar Germany?Required Reading:* “Fresh Allegations of Plagiarism Unearthed in Official Academic Complaint Against Claudine Gay,” by Aaron Sibarium (Washington Free Beacon).* “Harvard Itself Unearthed New Case of Plagiarism,” by Aaron Sibarium (Washington Free Beacon).* “Harvard President Claudine Gay Hit by Six New Charges of Plagiarism,” by Aaron Sibarium (Washington Free Beacon).* “Harvard’s President Claudine Gay Should Resign,” by Ruth Marcus (Washington Post).* “The Rise and Fall of Claudine Gay,” by Shadi Hamid (WoC).* “The Weimarization of the American Republic,” by Aaron Sibarium (American Purpose).