PODCAST

Wisdom of Crowds

Shadi Hamid & Damir Marusic

Agreement is nice. Disagreement is better. wisdomofcrowds.live

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61:27

You Know I'm No Good

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/02/09

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

34:16

Brass Knuckles and Winning

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/02/02

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:*

39:08

Are We The Baddies?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/01/26

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThree months into the Israel-Gaza war, Shadi, Damir, and Sam get philosophical about morality and international relations. Is it realistic to expect states to behave morally? Is the Western concern for human rights real? Or is it merely a mask for self-interest and imperial rule?The American attitude toward the war has caused Shadi to doubt his conviction in the goodness of American power. Damir thinks he sees an

38:52

Apocalyptic Dread, Burnout, and a New Year

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/01/19

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveLongtime member of the Crowd and WoC contributor 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

45:26

Claudine Gay and the Culture Wars

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/01/08

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

42:25

The Rich and the Unhappy

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/12/10

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 returns to the podcast for a one-on-one discussion with 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

37:05

Is Masculinity in Crisis?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/12/03

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

57:12

Can War Be Humane?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/11/21

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

48:46

America's Palestinian Blindspot

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/11/14

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

38:12

How Realistic is a Ceasefire in Gaza?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/11/03

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, and 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

64:01

The End of the World As We Know It

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/10/27

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveIn a charged and often emotional conversation, and 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

39:34

Peter Beinart on Israel, Hamas, and Why Nonviolence...

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/10/20

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, and invite on to discuss. Peter writes at his Substack, and

41:22

Who is Responsible for the War in Gaza?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/10/13

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, and 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…

42:39

How To Regain Your Sense of Wonder

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/09/24

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, and 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

45:45

The Virtue Politics of Mitt Romney

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/09/17

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,

52:21

Is a Better World Possible Without American Power?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/08/25

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week, we’re pulling one of our favorite and most explosive episodes from the archive. This one, from May 2022, with socialist intellectual on the role of America on the world stage. We encourage all of you, especially our newest Substack subscribers, to have a listen and tell us what they think in the comments. And if you aren’t yet a subscriber, …

58:24

The Right-Wing Case for Left-Wing Economics

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/08/18

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveCapitalism is a revolutionary force. It is not conservative. So why have conservatives gone along with market fundamentalism for so long? Sohrab Ahmari, a convert to Catholicism, has been known as a culture warrior. This time he returns to the podcast to make a surprising argument. Ahmari, the founder and editor of Compact magazine, argues in his new book Tyranny, Inc., that it’s the economy, stupid. Private power is

47:35

What's the Meaning of Meaning?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/08/12

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWe’re living in the most prosperous time in human history with more material abundance and comfort — and yet something just feels… off. This week, and take a trip to the heartland to find out what that something is.In this special live recording from the Lyceum Movement’s Tallgrass Ideas Festival in Iowa, Shadi and Sam join political theorist Susan Laehn to grapple with whether a sense of meaning precedes or succeeds

39:36

The Masculine World Is Adrift

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/08/07

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveAt a time of disruption in the workforce, rapidly shifting gender norms, a dearth of role models and declines in mental health, men are facing a distinct set of challenges that are prompting a renewed understanding of masculinity. For the last few years, viral right-of-center personalities have dominated the conversation offering men guidance that much of mainstream media has viewed as radioactive. But as the challenges

60:42

An Illiberal Muslim Secedes from America

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/07/28

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveAre Muslim communities increasingly tilting to the right? After about two decades of being alienated by Republicans, American Muslims continue to align themselves with the Democratic Party. But as the country polarizes and the progressive agenda makes gains, writers like our guest find it increasingly untenable for Muslims to continue nodding along with the left’s conceptions of gender identity, sexuality, and

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