PODCAST

Wisdom of Crowds

Shadi Hamid & Damir Marusic

Agreement is nice. Disagreement is better. wisdomofcrowds.live

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All Episodes

51:37

Is Spirituality Possible Without God?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/05/26

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveAs organized religion declines, particularly among younger Americans, a constellation of spiritual and sense-making phenomena appear to be taking its place. This week, and Editor-at-Large are joined by the author whose upcoming book Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians, chronicles how our sense of self has evolved over time alongside political, religious and societal change.Damir and

43:52

Are Big Ideas Still Possible? With Ross Douthat

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/05/21

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveAre big ideas still possible? Are there any “new” ideas left—and what makes an idea new in the first place? If we need new ideas to shake ourselves out of decadence, we should be careful what we wish for. Wokeness is one such “comprehensive framework.” Others might prove similarly frightening.This week, Shadi is joined by New York Times columnist and author of The Decadent Society and the political philosopher

51:43

Looking for Happiness in All the Wrong Places

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/05/12

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week, Damir stages an intervention for Shadi.Lately, Shadi’s become gradually detached from the world of current events and political media. Damir probes to understand why, therein unraveling an episode that goes off the beaten path to discuss progress, happiness and meaning at a time when everything feels existential.Shadi maintains that while he isn’t divorcing himself from the commentariat, he’s recognizing the

47:53

The Modern Nation Messed Everything Up

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/05/05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveCan a cohesive nation survive without a common identity or shared values? That question is at the heart of this week’s podcast with political theorist . Last week, David’s essay in Wisdom of Crowds rebutted the claim that the Israelites can be understood as a modern nation. Throughout history, various peoples, David argues, have coalesced around a shared sense of “peoplehood” without a claim to a nation. From here, a

65:57

The Charm of Anti-Competence

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/04/28

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWhy is Trump such a formidable candidate, despite everything? How can someone who lies so readily be seen as authentic? With the Republican presidential campaign heating up, —co-host of “Know Your Enemy” and one of the most fascinating leftist writers around today—returns to the podcast to argue that Trump has something special that Ron DeSantis doesn’t have and likely never will. Pundits often argue that DeSantis

51:05

What's There To Live For If You Only Live Online?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/04/21

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveAn anti-natalist subculture has flourished for years online. These days, it feels like it’s taking hold in the real world.This week, writer and internet historian Katherine Dee and Editor-at-Large Christine Emba join Shadi and Damir to make sense of this underground phenomenon—and its broader implications for how we live today.Do people really believe that suffering makes life not worth experiencing? And what is the

49:36

Dare To Cross The Red Line

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/04/14

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWith the world feeling increasingly unstable, Damir and Shadi turn to foreign policy. Can the United States can back its bluster abroad, including in defense of Taiwan? All of this is happening as Donald Trump re-enters the national spotlight. The guys contrast the former president's manic approach to deterrence with the current and preceding administrations. Shadi is comforted the White House is staffed by vaguely

46:53

ChatGPT and the Consciousness Trap

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/03/20

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWith artificial intelligence threatening to take over our imaginations, Shadi and Damir this week decided to talk through some of the philosophical quandaries with none other than political philosopher and Wisdom of Crowds contributing writer Samuel Kimbriel. The Crowd takes on ChatGPT, existential risk, "the simulation", navigating uncertainty and whether we can know what is real.After a recent encounter with ChatGPT,

55:01

Is the GOP Irredeemable?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/03/10

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.live With Ron DeSantis embracing an aggressively illiberal agenda of cultural reaction, how worried should we be? This week on the podcast, The New Republic's Osita Nwanevu—one of the most original leftist thinkers working today—joined us to debate the future of the Republican Party and the dangers of 2024. Very quickly, the conversation morphed into a spirited exchange on whether it's American institutions—or the madness

119:56

Live In Pittsburgh: The Problem of Democracy

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/03/03

This week, we're bringing you something special: our first recording with a live audience! Hosted by the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Governance and Markets and moderated by the center's director, Jen Murtazashvili (a friend of the Crowd), we had a freewheeling discussion about Shadi's new book, The Problem of Democracy.Shadi made his case for decoupling democracy and liberalism—what he calls "democratic minimalism." Instead of viewing democracy as a means to other ends, it should be seen

58:02

Who Decides Our Desires?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/02/10

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week, we were excited to have author Luke Burgis on the pod, to talk about a hot topic: desire. Specifically, mimetic desire—the idea that desires are often generated through our human propensity to copy each other. He's written an excellent book, Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, that affected both of us deeply.First theorized by the French philosopher Rene Girard, and present in everything

54:36

How to Get Normal Politics Back

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2023/01/13

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveIn recent months, Shadi has drawn a lot of online ire for saying that liberals were needlessly (and harmfully) catastrophizing ahead of the November midterms. We decided to talk to one of Shadi's smartest and most eloquent critics on this count—our friend Damon Linker, a former columnist at The Week and current author of the excellent Substack, Eyes on the Right.We argue about what's "normal" polarization, and what

59:41

Is Israel a Democratic Success Story?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/12/18

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis was one of the richest conversations we've recorded in a while. Our guest this week is Robert Nicholson, the founder of The Philos Project, an organization that promotes Christian engagement with the Middle East, and host of The Deep Map, a new podcast that explores the religious and historical roots of conflict in the region.We asked Robert about what he thinks Westerners misunderstand the most about Middle

46:10

An Extremely Online Existence

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/12/09

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThe boys are back in town! Damir is back from yet another globetrotting trip, so the Crowd is returning to podcasting after a brief hiatus. Beginning with Kanye West's recent antisemitic interview with Alex Jones and dinner with Donald Trump, we discussed the success Democrats have had with pinning crazy candidates and viewpoints on the GOP. Shadi is concerned that overheated rhetoric about the death of democracy may be

54:38

Does the Voice of the People Even Exist?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/11/18

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.live The Crowd returns triumphantly this week, for a rollicking conversation with one of Twitter's brightest and most iconoclastic personalities, Phillippe Lemoine. Phillippe writes the War on Science newsletter for the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, and is also working on a book on the recent history of Russo-American foreign policy. We begin the show talking about direct democracy, and whether "the

51:18

Will Twitter Go Insane?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/11/02

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.live The Crowd is back to two members this week, as we sat down to talk about Elon Musk's recent takeover of Twitter and what, if anything, it means. One of Musk's first posts as the owner of Twitter was retweeting a conspiracy theory about the recent attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband— is this a sign that Twitter will become more like Parler, or significantly less-censored corners of the internet? Liberals are furious about

46:39

The Boys Aren't Alright

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/10/14

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.live American men are struggling across the board. Falling behind in school, rapidly shrinking as a share of students in higher education, overwhelmingly the victims of violent crime, males in the United States are increasingly alienated and disconnected from our economy and society. That's the argument of Richard Reeves, a scholar at the Brookings Institution and author of the acclaimed new book, Of Boys and Men: Why the

51:01

Down-and-Out in London

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/10/04

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.live It’s been a turbulent few months for the United Kingdom: the scandal-ridden departure of a prime minister, the death of a beloved queen, economic woes, and the accession of a less-beloved king. We decided it would be best to have an actual British person on the podcast to discuss it all with, so we invited Josh Glancy, columnist for The Sunday Times. We began by highlighting the strange contrast between the recent

44:31

Where Does the Desire to Kill Come From?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/09/26

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.live The Crowd is flying solo (duo?) again for this week's episode, focusing on recent developments in the war in Ukraine, Iranian protests, and Europe's under-the-radar political upheavals. The Russian government recently declared a "partial mobilization" to aid in the war effort, and Vladimir Putin threatened to defend Russia's gains with nuclear weapons. How much affect will mobilization have on the course of the war

55:31

The Problem With Dogs, Rights, and Monarchs

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/09/16

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis podcast came after a whirlwind few weeks for the Crowd– Damir returned from his odyssey through the Balkans, and Shadi was the recipient of several Twitter pile-ons. Oh, and the Queen died.Before getting to all that, though, we ramble through a potpourri of other subjects. Damir gives relationship advice. Shadi tells us why he's against pets and hiking. A conversation about whether animals have souls turns into a

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