Blocked and Reported

After Jesse reveals yet another shocking secret about his mysterious life, the hosts discuss the case of Jessica Krug, a George Washington University professor who appears to have admitted to pulling a Rachel Dolezal: she pretended to be black. What a mess! But perhaps not all that shocking in our identity-obsessed age. Then the hosts respond, in depth, to an email from a reader who wants to be talked out of voting for Donald Trump, sparking an uncharacteristically earnest discussion about the upcoming election and why the right choice isn't a close call.Medium: The Truth, and the Anti-Black Violence of My Lies - https://medium.com/@jessakrug/the-truth-and-the-anti-black-violence-of-my-lies-9a9621401f85The Cut: There’s a New Rachel Dolezal - https://www.thecut.com/2020/09/historian-jessica-krug-admits-to-posing-as-a-black-woman.htmlVice: In Rachel Dolezal's Skin - https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gvz79j/rachel-dolezal-profile-interviewThe weird right-wing rally Jesse stumbled upon next to City Hall in Manhattan: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DvdsAiHR1P4bfbED8 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

In today's patrons-only episode, Jesse interviews Justin Tosi, a philosopher at Texas Tech University and the author, with Brandon Warmke, of the new book Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk. After discussing the book, Jesse and Justin move on to a broader conversation about the current, precarious moment for open inquiry in academia, as well as the turn toward activism in philosophy that has Justin worried about his field.Show notes/Links:Amazon: Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk - https://www.amazon.com/Grandstanding-Use-Abuse-Moral-Talk/dp/0190900156/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Twitter: A student gets a meeting with her dean after complaining about a syllabus that doesn't have the right racial breakdown - https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1300126499215937538YouTube: Gender Critical | Daniel Kaufman & Jesse Singal [Sophia] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ9MzhwflI4Ergo: An Open Access Journal of Philosophy: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/ergo/12405314.0005.014?view=text;rgn=mainJesse referenced the wrong NBA player in the episode -- it was Stephen Curry, not Steve Nash. See: "It tacitly communicates that at no point in time is Paige like Hillary Clinton or Catherine McGregor or any other woman (for whom she would be used); and likewise, that at no point in time is Paige like Stephen Curry or John Oliver (for whom he would be used). In short, if we use he or she for anyone, we either risk misgendering Paige with he or she, or we go back to the inegalitarian option of using a third catchall."  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

After an intro in which Jesse impresses Katie deeply with a brilliant, cutting-edge character he has clearly put a lot of time into developing, the hosts discuss a hellish few days in Kenosha, Wisconsin: first, the police shooting of Jacob Blake, and then Kyle Rittenhouse's killing of two protesters. Doesn't there have to be a better way for police to resolve altercations like the one that ensued with Blake? And will the unrest in Kenosha increase the chances Donald Trump is elected (Katie's view), or is there not yet much evidence to suggest it will (Jesse's)? Plus: You will never guess whether or not the hosts think mainstream outlets are doing a good job covering all this.Show notes/Links:The New York Times: Jacob Blake Was Shackled in Hospital Bed After Police Shot Him -  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/us/jacob-blake-shackles-assault.html (lots of details about the overall context)The New York Post: This is why Jacob Blake had a warrant out for his arrest -  https://nypost.com/2020/08/28/this-is-why-jacob-blake-had-a-warrant-out-for-his-arrest/ NYT: Tracking the Suspect in the Fatal Kenosha Shootings -  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/us/kyle-rittenhouse-kenosha-shooting-video.html CNN: Kenosha shooting suspect faces more homicide charges -  https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/27/us/kenosha-wisconsin-shooting-suspect/index.html Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Wisconsin's open-carry laws, self defense and more in Kenosha protest shootings -  https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2020/08/26/wisconsin-open-carry-law-kyle-rittenhouse-legally-have-gun-kenosha-protest-shooting-17-year-old/3444231001/ (though see following links as well)PolitiFact: Did Kyle Rittenhouse break the law by carrying an assault-style rifle in Kenosha? -  https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/aug/28/facebook-posts/did-kyle-rittenhouse-break-law-carrying-assault-st/ (note this from the end, indicating ambiguity: "Whether Rittenhouse violated Wisconsin law by possessing a firearm underage is the subject of ongoing litigation.") On the question of whether the misdemeanor doesn't apply here, the action seems to be in this bit from the Wisconsin state code: "This section applies only to a person under 18 years of age who possesses or is armed with a rifle or a shotgun if the person is in violation of s. 941.28 or is not in compliance with ss. 29.304 and 29.593." The argument is that those other conditions don't apply, Rittenhouse wasn't in violation, but we'll get a clear answer on this when he is or isn't convicted. Simple Justice: Prickett: Update on Kenosha -  https://blog.simplejustice.us/2020/08/28/prickett-update-on-kenosha/ (legal analysis of both the Blake and Rittenhouse cases) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

In this week's episode, Jesse addresses an ugly rumor about him posted to Blocked and Reported's Apple Podcast review page. Then the hosts discuss Conor Friedersdorf's article in The Atlantic, "Anti-racist Arguments Are Tearing People Apart," which centers around the accusation that it was racist for a white man to bounce his friend's black baby on his lap during a Zoom call (really!). In the episode's main segment, Katie unspurls the yearslong battle between Cliff Mass and seemingly every progressive in the Seattle metro area, which recently culminated in his media-gig firing after he made an..................... unfortunate comparison on his personal blog. Also: Jesse does a rim-rocking dunk, the hosts discuss a potential cargo-shorts-related spinoff podcast, racist babies are denounced, and Katie unspurls the story of how she was blacklisted from a Seattle radio station.Show notes/Links:The Atlantic: Anti-racist Arguments Are Tearing People Apart -  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/meta-arguments-about-anti-racism/615424/ The Stranger: Cliff Mass Says Whatever He Wants (2011) -  https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/cliff-mass-says-whatever-he-wants/Content?oid=8309158 KIRO: UW Prof. Cliff Mass called racist for opposing carbon tax initiative (2011) -  https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/cliff-mass-says-whatever-he-wants/Content?oid=8309158 The Stranger: Cliff Mass's Responses to Women Scientists Make Seattle's Climate Change Discussions Toxic - https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/cliff-mass-says-whatever-he-wants/Content?oid=8309158 The Stranger: Cliff Mass Blames Liberals for the Lack of Progress on Climate Change -  https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/10/06/25457183/cliff-mass-blames-liberals-for-the-lack-of-progress-on-climate-change The Stranger: The Culture of Harassing and Demeaning Women Scientists -  https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/11/17/25572044/the-culture-of-harassing-and-demeaning-women-scientists Cliff Mass Weather Blog: The University of Washington Should Not Censor Faculty Social Media -  https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-university-of-washington-should-not.html KNKX: KNKX Public Editor report: science, politics, and Weather with Cliff Mass -  https://www.knkx.org/post/knkx-public-editor-report-science-politics-and-weather-cliff-mass Cliff Mass Weather Blog: A City in Fear Can Be Restored -  https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2020/08/seattle-city-in-fear-can-be-restored.html KNKX: KNKX to stop airing Weather with Cliff Mass, effective immediately -  https://www.knkx.org/post/knkx-stop-airing-weather-cliff-mass-effective-immediately Cliff Mass Weather Blog: My Firing at KNKX - https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2020/08/my-firing-at-knkx.html Petition trying to get Mass fired from his job as a professor -  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WIZgiqt1wkyOdx369sSJeIPFoQ8Wr-RA3wKZzJ5uxHU/edit  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

In this week's threesome of an episode, which was recorded with enthusiastic consent by everyone involved, Katie and Jesse talk to Dan Savage about the strange case of Alex Morse, the young, gay, Democratic congressional candidate and Massachusetts mayor accused of... well, it isn't quite clear. But what is quickly becoming clear is that Morse appears to have been set up by college kids loyal to his opponent, the incumbent establishment candidate, Richard Neal. What can this episode teach us about power, consent, and the schizophrenic attitude some lefty zoomers have toward sex? Also: Has the queer community lost its sense of humor? Why does everyone forget what it's like to be 20 by the time they are 30? And how hot would president-on-president porn be? (Please do not send this episode to anyone who isn't explicitly asking for it.) (Update, 8/16/2020: Changing the title from "Dan Savage Deciphers Morse Code" to "Introducing Mount Holey Oak" because the latter is funnier and better and we want to use it for the public version dropping tomorrow. Re-uploading identical file with new title. Consider the old one a collector's item!)The Intercept's coverage of this whole mess:College Democrat at Center of Attack on Alex Morse Hoped to Launch Career Through Richard Neal -  https://theintercept.com/2020/08/11/college-democrats-alex-morse-richard-neal/ Chats Reveal Plan to Engineer and Leak Alex Morse Accusation -  https://theintercept.com/2020/08/12/alex-morse-college-democrats-chats/ Party Leaders Investigating Anti-Morse Campaign Helped Orchestrate It -  https://theintercept.com/2020/08/14/alex-morse-richie-neal-state-party/ Dan Savage's stuff:Savage Love -  https://www.thestranger.com/savage-love/2020/08/11/44269654/savage-love Savage Lovecast - https://www.savagelovecast.com/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

In one of the weirdest online controversies yet covered by Blocked and Reported, Katie walks Jesse through the wild, twisting tale of @Sciencing_Bi, a young anthropologist who just wanted to do good work, but who was tragically hindered from achieving this goal by the vicious anti-bisexual currents that dominate academic anthropology -- and by a university hell-bent on LITERALLY working her to death (and cutting her salary 15%). (Apologies for the weird underwater thing going on with Katie's audio for part of the episode -- it was a hardware issue and [probably] won't happen again.)Show notes/Links:(If you're unfamiliar with this story, note that a couple of the below headlines will likely spoil it, so scroll downward at your own peril.)........The New York Times: The Anonymous Professor Who Wasn't -  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/style/college-coronavirus-hoax.html BuzzFeed: At First It Looked Like A Scientist Died From COVID. Then People Started Taking Her Story Apart. -  https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/bethann-mclaughlin-twitter-suspension-fake-covid-death Science: This neuroscientist is fighting sexual harassment in science—but her own job is in peril -  https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/neuroscientist-fighting-sexual-harassment-science-her-own-job-peril  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Things are not going so great in Portland, where months of rowdy and sometimes destructive protests have been met with a federal response that has understandably scared and infuriated residents. But what's really going on there? Have we reached a point where it's basically impossible to find credible, contextualized accounts of complicated situations like this one? Will the Wall of Moms be undone by jackbooted government thugs and/or its own alleged racism? As one of America's whitest cities speeds down the road to Crazyville, there's a lot to unpack.Show notes/Links:The New York Times: The Showdown in Portland (from The Daily) -  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/podcasts/the-daily/portland-protests.html The New York Times: Times Videos Show How Federal Officers Escalated Violence in Portland (video) -  https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000007243995/portland-protests-federal-government.html Reason: What It's Like To Work in the Portland Jail During the George Floyd Protests -  https://reason.com/2020/07/23/what-its-like-to-work-in-the-portland-jail-during-the-george-floyd-protests/ Michael Tracey: Two months since the riots, and still no “National Conversation” -  https://medium.com/@mtracey/two-months-since-the-riots-and-still-no-national-conversation-12a7e3e4e006 The New York Times: Federal Officers Deployed in Portland Didn’t Have Proper Training, D.H.S. Memo Said -  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/portland-protests.html ACLU: The Constitution in the 100-Mile Border Zone -  https://www.aclu.org/other/constitution-100-mile-border-zone On the Media: What We Know About the Border -  https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/what-we-know-about-border  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

After Katie recounts a listener complaint and the cohosts announce a new focus for the podcast, the bulk of the episode consists of an interview Jesse conducted with Freddie deBoer, a brilliant thinker and writer whose first book, "The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice," is a searing indictment of the American education system's most entrenched orthodoxy: the idea that just about any child can succeed academically. The second, patrons-only portion of the interview, a wider-ranging conversations about social media, online leftism, mental health, and other subjects, will be posted by the end of the day on Saturday, 7/25/2020 at the latest, and when it's ready this text will be replaced with a link.Show notes/Links:"The Cult of Smart" (yes, it is that good, and yes, you should pre-order it) -  https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250224491 Freddie's website -  https://fredrikdeboer.com/ FdB: the educational standardization trap -  https://medium.com/@freddiedeboer/the-educational-standardization-trap-25aca6c0121 FdB: disentangling race from intelligence and genetics, or how to rescue behavioral genetics from racists -  https://fredrikdeboer.com/2017/04/10/disentangling-race-from-intelligence-and-genetics/ FdB: addressing some complaints -  https://fredrikdeboer.com/2017/04/11/addressing-some-complaints/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

After Jesse reluctantly reveals some incredibly embarrassing and personal details about his love life in the opening segment, the hosts discuss the week's two big media stories: Bari Weiss's resignation from The New York Times and Andrew Sullivan's firing from New York Magazine. Is this a sign that these outlets are narrowing their windows of acceptable opinion? Was Weiss's treatment in her workplace genuinely unfair, or is she reacting with the same 'safetyism' she has so forcefully criticized? If Jesse and Katie were trapped on a desert island, who would eat who? These and other questions, answered.Show notes/Links:-Bari Weiss's resignation letter: https://www.bariweiss.com/resignation-letter  -"See You Next Friday: A Farewell Letter" by Andrew Sullivan:  https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/07/andrew-sullivan-see-you-next-friday.html -"When Racism Is Fit to Print" by Andrew Sullivan:  https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/sarah-jeong-new-york-times-anti-white-racism.html -"How Did I Get Iraq Wrong?" by Andrew Sullivan:  https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2008/03/i-committed-four-cardinal-sins-around-the-iraq-war.html  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

After Jesse bravely expresses an opinion that is likely to get him cancelled by Cancel Culture, and to potentially destroy the podcast entirely, the hosts, who are clearly hated by God Himself (of maybe... HERself??), devote almost the entire episode to Letter Discourse and Counter-Letter Discourse. The discussion mostly concerns the harassment of a Vox staffer, which Jesse contributed to and feels bad about, even as he is aggrieved at the unhinged-in-light-of-the-evidence Jesse Did It narrative that took over bluecheck Twitter earlier this week. What are individuals' responsibilities during online pileons? Will journalists ever stop being full of s**t with regard to which acts -- screencapping, quote-retweeting, mocking -- are and aren't considered harassment? In the closing segment, the hosts briefly discuss President Trump's interesting strategy of fighting for free speech and open academic inquiry by unleashing the federal government to investigate universities, as one does.Show notes/Links:Rough week for Jesse on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/search?q=jesse%20singal&src=typed_query (We said we would include links to the right-wing pieces and tweets bashing the Vox staffer mentioned in the podcast, but whoever wrote this summary began feeling guilty about doing so. If you search for her name and the name of the outlets mentioned, you will find it all -- we promise.) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe