Blocked and Reported

One would not expect an online community devoted to discussion of dragons, vampires, and teenage heroes to be a cesspool of almost unimaginable toxicity. And yet! In this episode, Jesse walks Katie through a recent history of young adult fiction Twitter, aka "YA Twitter," and attempts to explain how it got to be such a Hobbesian hellscape. The latest scandal involves Jessica Cluess, a YA author falsely accused of racism and violent speech, and the opportunistic authors, consultants, and agents rushing to denounce her in as colorful and overwrought a manner as possible.Show notes/Links:Please pre-order Jesse's book, "The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills," if you can: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780374239800?aff=macmillan Or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Fix-Psychology-Cant-Social/dp/0374239800/ Vulture: The Toxic Drama on YA Twitter - https://www.vulture.com/2017/08/the-toxic-drama-of-ya-twitter.html Tablet: How a Twitter Mob Derailed an Immigrant Female Author’s Budding Career - https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/how-a-twitter-mob-destroyed-a-young-immigrant-female-authors-budding-career Reason: Teen Fiction Twitter Is Eating Its Young - https://reason.com/2019/05/05/teen-fiction-twitter-is-eating-its-young/ Reason: He Was Part of a Twitter Mob That Attacked Young Adult Novelists. Then It Turned on Him. Now His Book Is Canceled. - https://reason.com/2019/02/28/he-was-part-of-a-twitter-mob-that-attack/ Reason: A Review of a Book That Will Never Be Published, Thanks to the Young Adult Twitter Mob - https://reason.com/2019/03/15/a-review-of-a-book-will-never-be-publish/ Twitter stuff:Jessica Cluess' apology: https://twitter.com/JessCluess/status/1333906316247457794 Brooks Sherman denouncing Cluess but not dropping her: https://twitter.com/byobrooks/status/1333967020258373632 Brooks Sherman denouncing Cluess, amplifying a false rumor about her, and dropping her: https://twitter.com/byobrooks/status/1334685571449556994 Some tweetstorms by Jesse running down some highlights of the craziness:https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1334156650467520513 https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1334356668273070081 https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1334642155437101058 YA Twitter's Victims and Critics Speak Up (four-part series on Singal-Minded):https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/ya-twitters-victims-and-critics-speak https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/ya-twitters-victims-and-critics-speak-855 https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/ya-twitters-victims-and-critics-speak-4b5 https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/ya-twitters-victims-and-critics-speak-c56 Advertisers:dental products! - https://www.getquip.com/barpod bidets! - https://hellotushy.com/barpod  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 a very tense intro during which Jesse berates Katie for not being there when he needed her most, the hosts discuss a Vice News story about staffers at Penguin Random House Canada so overwhelmed by the existence of Jordan Peterson's new book that they broke down crying, and Guardian staffers so overwhelmed by the existence of a debate over certain claims about sex and gender that they drove columnist Suzanne Moore out. Show notes/Links:Vice World News: Penguin Random House Staff Confront Publisher About New Jordan Peterson Book - https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5bv3x/penguin-random-house-staff-confront-publisher-about-new-jordan-peterson-book UnHerd: Why I had to leave The Guardian - https://unherd.com/2020/11/why-i-had-to-leave-the-guardian/The Guardian: Women must have the right to organise. We will not be silenced - https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2020/mar/02/women-must-have-the-right-to-organise-we-will-not-be-silencedSuzanne Moore's Substack: https://suzannemoore.substack.com/p/pull-up-a-chairThe Guardian: The Guardian view on the Gender Recognition Act: where rights collide - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/17/the-guardian-view-on-the-gender-recognition-act-where-rights-collide  The Guardian U.S.: Why we take issue with the Guardian’s stance on trans rights in the UK - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/02/guardian-editorial-response-transgender-rights-uk Advertisers:Bidets! http://hellotushy.com/barpod Dental stuff! https://www.getquip.com/barpod HR services for your small business! https://www.bambee.com/blockedandreported  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 the hosts celebrate a major achievement and Jesse goes on a little rant that is Super Political, Katie and Jesse delve into three stories of profound internet nonsense involving privileged white people doing antiracism, a Toronto editor VERY mad about a new broth-joint, and some of Twitter's most neurotic people getting super mad about Barack Obama's college conduct.Show notes/Links:The New York Times: G.O.P.-Led Senate Panel Details Ties Between 2016 Trump Campaign and Russia - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/us/politics/senate-intelligence-russian-interference-report.html The Phinney Neighborhood Association: Anti-racism work updates: Eliminating racist symbolism - https://www.phinneycenter.org/eliminating-racist-symbolism/ blogTO: New Toronto clothing store ditches broth bar after cultural appropriation complaints - https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2020/11/toronto-clothing-store-ditches-broth-bar-cultural-appropriation-complaints/ (Update: It's down. Try this cached link: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:p0Tmb1vnPZoJ:https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2020/11/toronto-clothing-store-ditches-broth-bar-cultural-appropriation-complaints/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.)Twitter: "The way Obama writes about women here ... uh. Wow." - https://twitter.com/IBJIYONGI/status/1328900134575480835 Advertising links:http://getquip.com/BARPOD for $15 off dental-product refills with a purchase from the Quip online storehttp://bambee.com/blockedandreported for a free HR-audit for your small business 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 talks about her new dog-testicles-centered newsletter, the hosts discuss the latest events in the ongoing saga of Helen Lewis's voice getting erased by Ubisoft. Now that Rock Paper Shotgun has sacked a 13-year freelancer for the crime of being sympathetic to Lewis in the site's comments section, it's fair to ask: Does it make sense to fire people for expressing majority opinions? (No. No it doesn't.) Then Katie and Jesse discuss an article in New York Magazine about the internal tumult at The New York Times that, like everything else which happens in this crazy world of ours, simply proves the hosts were right all along. Plus: Jesse is triggered by a leaked screenshot from the Times' #diversity slack channel in which he is denounced for wrongthink.Moose Nuggets: https://moosenuggets.substack.com/ Rock Paper Shotgun: Watch Dogs Legion is booting a journalist off its fictional radio - https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2020/11/06/watch-dogs-legion-is-booting-a-journalist-off-its-fictional-radioTim Stone disagrees in the comments: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2020/11/06/watch-dogs-legion-is-booting-a-journalist-off-its-fictional-radio/#comment-3120763RPS announces his sacking: https://twitter.com/rockpapershot/status/1326211540689821698New York Magazine: Inside the New York Times' Heated Reckoning With Itself - https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/11/inside-the-new-york-times-heated-reckoning-with-itself.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

In a very special episode, Katie and Jesse discuss a long, stupid week in which democracy had its way with the American people, vigorously and repeatedly. What should we make of the fact that, while Joe Biden is on the brink of victory, the election was closer than many expected and the Democrats were denied their "blue wave"? Is it because of the patriarchy? White supremacy? Wokeness? Minorities who cling annoyingly to 'agency' and "interpreting the world through their own values, rather than the media's?" Also: Jesse dissects Donald Trump's incredibly lazy, half-assed meltdown, and the hosts debate whether "Voter fraud stole the election for Biden!" is the new "The Russians stole the election for Trump!"(Quick note to patrons: This is the first episode we're doing with an ad break in the middle. Near the top, you'll hear us explain our general ad policy, just so it's clear, but you won't hear the ad itself, during this or any other episode. At the very, very bottom of the Patreon show notes of every episode with an ad, we'll put a one-line link to any applicable promo codes, simply because this is an easy way to support the podcast if you're already in the market for (to take this week's example) dental products. But other than that, you'll be completely unmolested by ads.)Show notes/Links:Katie's new newsletter: http://moosenuggets.substack.comThe Week: The left just got crushed - https://theweek.com/articles/947824/left-just-got-crushedChaos and recriminations on a Democratic caucus conference call: https://twitter.com/ericawerner/status/1324439295847968768The New York Times: Exit Polls Point to the Power of White Patriarchy - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/04/opinion/election-2020-exit-polls.htmlAdvertising link:http://getquip.com/BARPOD for $15 off dental-product refills with a purchase from the Quip online store   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 tells Katie a harrowing story about his recent journey into the heart of 'Manhattan,' the hosts discuss Glenn Greenwald's departure from The Intercept, an outlet he helped found back in 2014. Was this a case of censorship, as Greenwald argues, or did he overreact to standard editorial input? Then they turn their attention to Section 230, a law that made the internet what it is today (for better and for worse), and which seems to be attracting bipartisan ire of late, especially among people who don't really understand technology.Greenwald's posts on this controversy:My Resignation From The Intercept - https://greenwald.substack.com/p/my-resignation-from-the-interceptArticle on Joe and Hunter Biden Censored By The Intercept - https://greenwald.substack.com/p/article-on-joe-and-hunter-biden-censoredEmails With Intercept Editors Showing Censorship of My Joe Biden Article - https://greenwald.substack.com/p/emails-with-intercept-editors-showingThe Intercept: Glenn Greenwald Resigns From The Intercept (pushing back on some of GG's claims) - https://theintercept.com/2020/10/29/glenn-greenwald-resigns-the-intercept/Reason's coverage of Section 230: https://reason.com/tag/section-230/Slate: Revising the Law That Lets Platforms Moderate Content Will Silence Marginalized Voices - https://slate.com/technology/2020/10/section-230-marignalized-groups-speech.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

Lotta dicks this week. After addressing some reader reactions to their The 1619 Project segment last week, Katie and Jesse critique the idea of "involuntary conservatives" so enraged by wokeness that they have to vote for Donald Trump. Then the hosts turn their attention to a salacious media story involving a certain New Yorker staff writer and, well, there's no more polite way to put this, but, um, his penis.James Lindsay: "Frankly going to unhappily vote Republican, including Trump, until the left walks this s**t all the way back." - https://twitter.com/ConceptualJames/status/1318412252903604226Eric Weinstein: "InCons are a force this year.  Involuntary conservatives are real. As I’ve told you: the failure to condemn @MayorJenny & @tedwheeler, acknowledge ANTIFA, admit to media bias or to level about cognitive issues etc. in a near octogenarian has created the Never-Trump Trump voter."https://twitter.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1318590052511854594Dave Rubin: "Tyranny is here. Vote every Democrat out of office at every level everywhere. That is the only way to get things to start turning around.  Or live like sheep going to slaughter, your call." - https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/1318743358911574017Vice: New Yorker Suspends Jeffrey Toobin for Masturbating on Zoom Call - https://www.vice.com/en/article/epdgm4/new-yorker-suspends-jeffrey-toobin-for-zoom-dick-incidentThe Stranger: Seattle Times Reporter Mike Rosenberg Suspended over Twitter Messages - https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2019/05/06/40121238/seattle-times-reporter-mike-rosenberg-suspended-over-twitter-messages 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

Well? Is he? Katie and Jesse discuss The Bone Man's recent, controversial tweet, revisit his glorious recent internet-history, talk about their own experiences with left- versus-right-wing haters and obsessives, and -- God help us all -- revisit certain aspects of GamerGate.Ken Bone: "All morning the Trump supporters have been nice to me even though I don't like Trump. The Biden camp has been shitting all over me because I don't like Biden. Do these people really not see how much this behavior pushes bystanders toward the right?" - https://twitter.com/kenbone18/status/1313858537991401475 INSIDE JOKE CLUE: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/inside-the-near-meltdown-of-the-feminist-tour-in-australia.html NY Mag: Gamergate May Have Just Won Its Most Disgraceful Scalp Yet (Updated) - https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/03/this-looks-like-a-disgraceful-gamergate-win.htmlJesse "behaves like a predator" because he tried to get comment for a story: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/724818516189261824/photo/1 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

Katie and Jesse discuss the recent and not-so-recent controversy over The 1619 project, the reputational perils of getting in constant fights with idiots on Twitter, and the tangled story of Hunter Biden, a blind guy at a laptop-repair shop, and a controversial New York Post story. Along the way, Jesse engages in some shockingly casual anti-Ukrainianism.The New York Times: The 1619 Project - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.htmlThe New York Times: The 1619 Chronicles - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/opinion/nyt-1619-project-criticisms.htmlThe Washington Post: How the 1619 Project took over 2020 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/1619-project-took-over-2020-inside-story/2020/10/13/af537092-00df-11eb-897d-3a6201d6643f_story.htmlThe World Socialist Web Site's coverage of the controversy: https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awsws.org+%221619+project%22&oq=site%3Awsws.org+%221619+project%22&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i58.5606j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8The New York Times: On Recent Criticism of The 1619 Project- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/magazine/criticism-1619-project.html (note: this one went up after we recorded the episode)New York Post: Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad - https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/PolitiFact: A look behind the NY Post headline about Joe Biden and a Ukraine meeting - https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/oct/15/look-behind-ny-post-headline-about-joe-biden-and-u/ 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

[Update, 12:10 a.m.: For some reason the version I initially uploaded cut off before the actual ending. Apologies, but everything is fixed now. -J] The hosts discuss the Katie Hill revenge-porn/throuple scandal, which has gotten yet more scandalous in light of a tweetstorm supposedly authored by her former staffers (who are not fans), as well as Facebook's decision to ban QAnon from that platform and Instagram.The tweetstorm: https://twitter.com/RepKatieHill/status/1313703826646466562Politico: Anonymous ‘former staff’ of Katie Hill slam film adaptation of ex-congresswoman’s book - https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/07/anonymous-former-katie-hill-staff-film-adaptation-427038The New York Times: Facebook Amps Up Its Crackdown on QAnon - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/technology/facebook-qanon-crackdown.htmlThe New York Times: QAnon Believers Say Being Banned From Facebook Is Proof of the Conspiracy - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/07/technology/qanon-believers-say-being-banned-from-facebook-is-proof-of-the-conspiracy.htmlReply All: County of Liars - https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/llhe5nm 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