This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week, our in-house philosopher and very own Editor-at-Large Samuel Kimbriel returns to the podcast for a one-on-one discussion with Shadi Hamid about wealth, ambition and whether they are the paths toward happiness.How do societal values, especially those in American culture, influence our sense of fulfillment? The guys probe why those who are perceived as the most successful — like tech entrepreneurs and posh weekend travelers — seem to be the least happy. This opens up questions about how those who face adversity find forms of happiness be it through a craft, a spiritual pursuit, or the broader expectations baked into their life circumstance. This deep and free-wheeling episode opens up rifts between Shadi and Sam’s perspectives on the utility of the happiness literature, the role economics and material success play, and what we sacrifice in the pursuit of what we think will ultimately bring us contentment.In the full episode (for paying subscribers only), Shadi and Sam continue exploring the tension between ambition and spiritual fulfillment. They explore how societal values, rooted in seeing humans as economic entities, lead to existential despair. Shadi calls attention to how religious practices, like Ramadan, compel individuals to break from a regimen of relentless productivity and consumption. This episode is a real treat and we’re excited to share it with you.Required Reading:* Friendship as Sacred Knowing: Overcoming Isolation by Samuel Kimbriel (Amazon).* “Thinking Is Risky” by Samuel Kimbriel (Wisdom of Crowds).* What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael Sandel (Amazon).* The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition For Upbuilding And Awakening by Soren Kierkegaard (Amazon).* More about Aspen Institute’s Society and Philosophy Initiative.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.liveWe’re thrilled to publish the audio from our first major event in collaboration with Aspen Institute’s Philosophy & Society Initiative. P&S and Wisdom of Crowds have grown up together and are both relentlessly focused on getting down to first principle questions. Click the link below and add your email to the mailing list to find out when we’re doing more of these kinds of events.In this episode, we take on the crisis of masculinity. Damir Marusic asks our own Christine Embaand Washington Post nonfiction book criticbecca rothfeld whether the crisis is in fact real, and if so, what can be done about it.Christine argues there is hard evidence that young men are struggling — young men are dropping out of school, their unemployment rates are up, and deaths of despair are rising. Becca is less convinced — she thinks we may be misdiagnosing the problem, and in doing so are entrenching harmful stereotypes and gender norms.In the full episode (for paying subscribers only) the audience chimes in with questions, and the conversation takes some surprising turns. Is modernity making heterosexual relationships more difficult? Is technology making re-evaluating gender roles easier? And who has the advantage on dating apps?Required Reading:* The Aspen Institute’s Philosophy and Society Initiative.* “If attitudes don’t shift, a political dating mismatch will threaten marriage” by Editorial Board (The Washington Post).* “How to be a man? Josh Hawley has the (incoherent) answers” by Becca Rothfeld (Washington Post).* “Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness” by Christine Emba (The Washington Post).* “‘The Two-Parent Privilege’ gets caught in the trap of convention,” by Becca Rothfeld (Washington Post).* “Single moms know marriage would be ideal, but how do they get one?” by Christine Emba (Washington Post).* “An uneasy political marriage... or not” by Christine Emba (Wisdom of Crowds).* The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind by Melissa Kearney (Amazon).* Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi (Amazon).* Rethinking Sex: A Provocation by Christine Emba (Amazon).* Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs (Amazon).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.liveWhat constitutes justifiable warfare—and how should the overall impact of conflicts be evaluated? With the United States being so closely associated with Israel’s war, is it possible to still envision America as a “force for good” in the world? One of America’s leading leftist intellectuals, Samuel Moyn, joins us to debate these questions and much more. Sam is the Chancellor Kent Professor of History at Yale University and the author of Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War and most recently Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times.Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the conversation dives into the potential for humane wars and whether progress, even in war, is possible. While Sam acknowledges that the conduct of war has become more “targeted” and “proportional,” he argues that relatively more humane wars can distract us from more ultimate questions of whether wars are just or moral in the first place. The questions at hand sharply divide Sam, Damir Marusic and Shadi Hamid in this charged conversation. In the post-9/11 era, the U.S. has pioneered a new way of waging war, with lawyers present at various levels of military decisions. But what has resulted is a world where wars are endless in part because they are less lethal. Is this “progress” or is it something more sinister?In the full episode (for paying subscribers only), the three clash over moral warfare in the real world, including whether American hegemony has prevented large-scale conflicts and can continue to do so, including between China and Taiwan. Has American dominance been good for the world, on balance? Yes, less people die and there may be less major wars, but Sam argues that this is an unacceptably minimalist standard for judging progress. What, then, is the alternative? The conversation ends with Sam’s optimistic vision for a narrative of progress that focuses on pivoting the U.S. in a leftward direction that avoids repeating the mistakes of an overly interventionist era.Required Reading: * Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, by Samuel Moyn (Amazon).* Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times, by Samuel Moyn (Amazon).* Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb, by James M. Scott (Amazon).* The Hamid-Moyn cage match on whether America is a force for good in the world, hosted by Intelligence Squared (YouTube).* “The Moral Dilemmas of Total War,” by Tom Barson (Wisdom of Crowds).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.liveWhy do Americans struggle so much to understand Palestinians? A former advisor to the Palestinian leadership and a participant in the doomed 2008 Annapolis peace talks, Khaled Elgindy has written arguably the definitive account of America’s blind spot. In Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump, Khaled chronicles how time and time again the U.S. has failed to see the Palestinians as actors in their own right.But beyond the specifics of policy, there is a question of humanity—specifically, the seeming inability or unwillingness of American politicians to extend any genuine consideration towards Palestinians’ suffering. The White House’s empathy gap has surprised even Khaled. He traces this back to an affinity for Israel’s Western liberal values but also the various and entrenched mythologies that obscure the dispossession of Palestinians. Khaled, Damir, and Shadi clash over whether Cold War geopolitics is what drove America to deprioritize the ethical considerations of Palestinians and whether Israeli consensus sees a distinction between Hamas and Palestinians broadly.In the full episode (for paying subscribers only), the three debate how much blame Hamas deserves for provoking a war whose burden ordinary Palestinians would have to bear. What was Hamas thinking—and when the fighting stops, will Palestinians direct their anger towards Hamas and other militants? Is it possible to envision a future scenario where Hamas, now chastened by its first total war with Israel, fully commits to politics and eschews armed struggle? Finally, the three discuss whether it’s reasonable to expect Israeli officials to care about Palestinian suffering. This is the reality of states, particularly after the other side has been dehumanized: they simply don’t care. Why should Israel care? This leads into a sobering consideration of nightmare scenarios in which tens of thousands of Palestinians may die, including from the “slow death” of hunger and disease. Require Reading:* Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump by Khaled Elgindy (Amazon).* “A cease-fire in Gaza isn’t a fantasy. Here’s how it could work.” by Shadi Hamid (The Washington Post).* “Thinking About Peace” by Damir Marusic. (Wisdom of Crowds).* Khaled’s Twitter page.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.liveAfter nearly a month of being consumed by the Israel-Hamas war, Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic take a step back to evaluate the prospects of an end to the violence, while still probing their own priors.Damir argues that “moral clarity” is often anything but clarifying, but concedes that “realism” can be self-defeating, because people can’t help but think in both emotional and moral terms during a conflict like this. Meanwhile, Shadi opens up about his inner struggles reconciling his sympathy for the plight of Palestinians and his role as an analyst called on to come up with meaningful solutions to intractable problems.The conversation turns to rifts opening up at home. Support for President Biden among Arab Americans has plummeted, and a generational divide is also becoming apparent. But has youth activism on the Palestinian question actually succeeded in shifting U.S. policy and attitudes towards the conflict more broadly?In the full episode (for paying subscribers only) Shadi and Damir discuss their experiences in Israel. As early as 2019 (when both of them last visited), even the left-wingers in Israel sounded pretty right-wing. What will this war mean for the future of Israeli politics? Are Israeli and American interests aligned in any meaningful sense? And is “democracy vs. autocracy” really the best framework for thinking about the world?Required Reading: * “Ceasefire, Plans and Activism” by Shadi Hamid (Wisdom of Crowds).* “Hamas’ Bid for Revolutionary Legitimacy” by Damir Marusic (Wisdom of Crowds).* “Is ISIS rational?” by Shadi Hamid (The Atlantic).* Our previous podcast episode, “The End of the World As We Know It”, with Robert Nicholson.* “Israel’s two wars” by Matt Yglesias (Slow Boring).* “Dick Durbin first U.S. senator to call for Gaza ceasefire, tied to Hamas' release of hostages” (CBS News).* Zack Beauchamp’s tweet about Hamas spokesman’s crappy propaganda.* American attitudes on support for Israel (Matt Yglesias on Twitter).* Americans blaming Hamas for Palestinian casualties (Aaron Astor on Twitter).* Quinnipiac poll of registered voters on sending weapons to Israel.* Data For Progress poll on likely voters support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.* Zogby-Arab American Institute poll, including declining favorability of Biden among Arab Americans.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.liveIn a charged and often emotional conversation, Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic welcome Robert Nicholson, the president of the Philos Project, to discuss the pro-Israel perspective as the war in Gaza intensifies. Many Israeli voices have veered sharply to the right. However much we may disagree with these views, we have to understand them. Robert, a Christian and self-described Zionist, expresses empathy for the Israeli perception of an existential threat next door. Hamas’ attacks have undermined, perhaps fatally, any hope that Israelis might have had that peaceful co-existence is possible not just with Palestinians but with Arabs more broadly. The three consider alternative scenarios, including a reoccupation of Gaza or a policy of complete and total separation. In the United States, meanwhile, Arab Americans are reacting with despair at President Biden’s stalwart support of Israel. Shadi finds himself in the unenviable position of writing a book subtitled “The Case for American Dominance.” If this is what American dominance looks like, Shadi wonders, can he really support it? And how is he supposed to make the case to Arabs and Muslims that America is, on balance, a force for good? In the full episode (for paying subscribers only), Shadi, Damir and Robert delve into tricky territory, debating whether “Islamic exceptionalism” makes it difficult for Muslims to ever really accept a U.S.-led order and to ever accept a world in which Israel is as powerful as it is. Were the religious passions that are now being unleashed across the Arab world inevitable—or could they have been tamed and contained by democracy? Damir and Robert argue that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict isn’t really about Israel or Palestine but is a proxy for a deeper set of religious, cultural, and civilizational fault lines. In this sense, there may be no way out and no room for compromise. And Arabs and Muslims—as well as much of the Global South—may feel compelled to choose between two drastically different visions of world order: one led by the United States and the other led by America’s growing list of adversaries. There is, as they say, no alternative. Required Reading:* “The Death of the Two-State Solution,” by Damir Marusic (The American Interest).* “Eight Steps to Shrink the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” by Micah Goodman (The Atlantic).* “Support for Mass Protest on the Rise in Gaza and the West Bank,” by Catherine Cleveland (The Washington Institute for Near-East Policy).* Public Opinion Poll Number 89 (The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research).* Islamic Exceptionalism, by Shadi Hamid (Amazon).* ‘I Have No Pain Left to Feel,’ by Shadi Hamid (Substack).* Our first episode after Hamas’ attacks in Israel, a classic Damir and Shadi conversation. * Our conversation with Peter Beinart on Israel, Hamas, and why nonviolence failed. 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.liveTwo weeks after Hamas’s brutal attack on Israeli civilians, tensions have skyrocketed as Israel begins an offensive against Gaza from the air and the ground as the area home to over a half million Palestinians is plunged into darkness. What could have been done to avoid this renewed war and what are the best possible paths toward ending violence?This week, Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic invite Peter Beinart on to discuss. Peter writes at his Substack, The Beinart Notebook and is editor-at-large of Jewish Currents as well as professor of journalism and political science at the City University of New York. Peter emphasizes the importance of viewing the conflict in its historical context, one that includes severe violence on either side of the border. After Hamas’ brutal massacre of Israeli civilians and now Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza, how can we speak with moral clarity and consistency about the many lives that have been lost? Hamas is a terrorist group, but that’s all the more reason to try to understand how and why the group has changed since it won the 2006 Palestinian elections. Were opportunities to tame the organization missed? Why did Netanyahu prefer Hamas’ rule over Gaza? As Peter and Shadi note, Israel undermined repeated attempts at Palestinian unity that would have brought the Palestinian Authority back to Gaza with Hamas stepping down from governing responsibilities. Was Hamas’ radicalization inevitable? Why does terrorism happen? Regardless, it’s too late now. After what Hamas has done, there is no going back. Which raises the question: is there any way to move forward? What does a post-Hamas Gaza look like, especially now that Hamas appears to be gaining popularity in the West Bank? All of these questions can only be answered by addressing the question of violence head on. Why do some revolutionary movements turn to brutality while others counsel a principled resistance that takes pains to spare civilians?In the full episode (for paying subscribers only), the three discuss the Biden administration’s approach to the Middle East policy and the role of the media in framing the war. They find historical parallels to the conflict, including the ANC in South Africa after Apartheid. Shadi asks whether it’s possible for the U.S. and the international community to “incentivize” nonviolent resistance, while Peter underscores the role of Arab citizens of Israel as potential mediators for a longer-term solution.Required Reading:* “On Addressing Jews,” by Peter Beinart (Jewish Currents).* “There is a Jewish Hope for Palestinian Liberation. It Must Survive,” by Peter Beinart (New York Times).* “West Bank Protests Spread Over Gaza War,” by Miriam Berger (Washington Post).* Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance, by Tareq Baconi (Amazon). * The 2017 Hamas charter.* The 1988 Hamas charter. 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.liveAfter Hamas fighters massacred hundreds of Israeli civilians, Israel is now massed on Gaza’s borders ahead of an operation that will likely devastate the Palestinian population. This week, Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic sit down and unpack their complex thoughts and feelings about what is going on. What is the appropriate way to speak about atrocities after the fact? In the imm…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWhat are the most valuable parts of our transient lives and how does our appraisal of them change as we age?This week, Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic take a step back from larger questions around current events to visit a recurring theme at Wisdom of Crowds around meaning. The episode centers around Damir’s recent Monday Note, “A Lost Sense of Wonder”, where he reflects on the pursuit of enchantment including in close relationships but also after witnessing a wondrous meteor shower in the Shenandoah Valley. The guys discuss how to think about the failure to recreate precious memories just as people they know move away and cities they remember visiting change. Should we feel melancholy in our nostalgia or continue finding comfort in the things that bring us happiness now? Meanwhile, Shadi dwells on judgement in the afterlife. He observes how the relationships that make life valuable are not enough for some, including those at ease with their own mortality — a disposition to which Shadi cannot quite relate.In the full episode (for paying subscribers only) the two discuss the balance between pursuing virtue for potential rewards in the afterlife and doing right by people in the present. Shadi, a believer, admits to genuine fear about what happens after death. After all, if there is a heaven, there is also a hell. Damir, a non-believer, places more emphasis on finding purpose in oneself rather than adhering to otherworldly incentives. Is a balance between these two paths possible? Subscribe to the listen to the full episode. Required Reading:* “A Lost Sense of Wonder”, by Damir Marusic (Wisdom of Crowds).* “The Virtue Politics of Mitt Romney” (Wisdom of Crowds).* “The Watusi bull riding shotgun is what makes America great” by David Von Drehle (The Washington Post).* “This Really Is Europe” with Ben Judah, podcast episode (Wisdom of Crowds).* “An Extremely Online Existence” podcast episode (Wisdom of Crowds).* Shadi’s conversation with Sam Harris about meditation and being Muslim on Sam’s podcast, Waking Up.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.liveAs the leaders of the major political parties show stark signs of advanced age, their supporters are bending over backwards to defend their own while criticizing their opponents. Politics at its purest.This week, Shadi and Damir return from summer break to dive into the latest developments in D.C. as the next election looms. They discuss the self-interest and rank hypocrisy of the Republican Party conveyed in a new, fascinating profile of Senator Mitt Romney. Is the GOP irredeemable? The conversation heats up as the guys arrive at the intersection of hypocrisy, politics, and morality. Damir the cynic questions whether Romney’s pieties are all that impressive. Shadi, the moralist, lauds Romney as an exemplar of virtue politics—inextricably linked to Romney’s Mormon faith. Hypocrisy, Shadi argues, entails rather than negates morality. But of course there is such a thing as too much hypocrisy. Where to draw the line? In the full episode (for paying subscribers only) Shadi and Damir grapple with how events shaped by establishment politicians dating back to the nineties ought to be viewed today. The guys discuss how fear of worst-case political outcomes scrambles an adherence to one’s moral and political beliefs. Damir argues that while he sympathizes with anti-Trump Republicans like Romney, their moral posturing doesn’t resolve fraught political questions. Shadi expresses concerns about the situation Democrats find themselves. In their obsession with avoiding a Trump victory, they may be making the the very outcome they fear more likely. Required Reading:* “We Need to Talk About Biden,” by Derek Hudson (Wisdom of Crowds).* “What Mitt Romney Saw in the Senate,” by McKay Coppins (The Atlantic).* “President Biden should not run again in 2024,” by David Ignatius (The Washington Post).* “Democrats are crazy to insist only Biden can beat Trump,” by David Von Drehle (The Washington Post).* "Is ‘Peak Woke’ Behind Us or Ahead?’ by Ross Douthat (The New York Times).* “Mitt Romney Has Given Us A Gift” by David Brooks (The New York Times).* CNN polling showing Trump remaining competitive against Biden.* Political Hypocrisy by David Runciman.* Hypocrisy and Integrity by Ruth Grant.* “Better Man” by Pearl Jam.Wisdom of Crowds is a platform challenging premises and understanding first principles on politics and culture. Join us!