PODCAST

Wisdom of Crowds

Shadi Hamid & Damir Marusic

Agreement is nice. Disagreement is better. wisdomofcrowds.live

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All Episodes

92:59

Is Christianity Opposed to Liberalism?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/09/02

We did something a little unusual for this week: a crossover episode. We sat down with Susannah Black Roberts and Peter Mommsen—the hosts of Ploughcast, from Plough Quarterly, a Christian magazine of ideas and culture—for a conversation about the "post-liberal" movement as well as broader questions of the "common good" (does it exist?). All four of us are coming from vastly different perspectives and backgrounds, and that came out in our spirited conversation.Our conversation about the common good

60:05

Does Liberalism Have a Future? A Conversation with...

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/08/26

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.live Just as it has a past, liberalism has a future. The only question is whether this future will be compelling enough for those who have lost faith. We have our doubts. Which is why we wanted to talk to Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man and perhaps the foremost thinker on the development of modern political order. In his new book, Liberalism and Its Discontents, Fukuyama mounts a

54:07

Trump and Fascism: A Conversation with Jason Stanley

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/08/21

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.live This week's episode features one of Twitter's more controversial figures: Jason Stanley, a professor of philosophy at Yale and author of How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. In true Wisdom of Crowds fashion, we wanted a more measured and wide-ranging exchange of views than Twitter could provide, so we invited Stanley onto the podcast to discuss Trumpism and the Republican Party, the use of the word

52:53

Can Democracy Survive (the) Trump (Raid)?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/08/11

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThe FBI's surprise "raid" on Donald Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago this week has been hailed in some quarters as a triumph for the rule of law, and seen in others as signs of a slide into banana-republic status. We invited Jason Willick, a Washington Post columnist who writes on legal issues, to sit down with us and discuss the deeper implications of the event.True to the Crowd's ethos, we focused on fundamental

56:31

Decline Helps To Propel Us Forward

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/08/05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWe welcomed a truly important thinker onto the podcast this week. Walter Russell Mead joined us to discuss his latest book The Arc of a Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish People.Many critics of American foreign policy have long pointed to our long-standing relationship with Israel as proof of the power of the "Israel Lobby" to influence American politics. Mead's latest book shows that

53:43

America the Restless

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/07/29

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week, we had writer Nick Burns on the podcast. Nick's recent essay, "Why Live in America?" prompted Shadi to write his Monday Note for July 4th. We delve into the ways America is different than Europe, for good and for ill. Size, geography, culture, dynamism—all these twist and disfigure many European imports when they land on our shores.When educated Americans pine for a more European lifestyle, are they simply

58:08

How To Change the World

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/07/21

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWe return to a question that the Crowd has been chewing over for the last month or so: why do things– political systems, regimes, parties– change? Do ideas really change the world? And can individual actions really have any effect on larger systems?Climate change, and whether we think world governments can mend their ways in time to avert the worst of the crisis, begins the discussion. We discuss whether governments

51:11

Is There Any Room For Compromise on Abortion?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/07/15

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week was a first for the podcast– we welcomed two guests, Michael Wear and Jane Coaston. Michael is a rare fish, an Evangelical Christian and a Democratic political strategist who worked as President Obama's director of faith outreach in the 2012 campaign, going on to lead Evangelical outreach for the Obama White House's faith based initiative. An article he recently wrote for his Substack, "This is How to End

41:01

Never Bet Against America

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/07/08

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week we sat down to debate America's greatness—or lack thereof. Somewhat to our surprise, we found a source of agreement between us: our belief in American exceptionalism, even if we have very different conceptions of the role of morality and "progress" in forging the American idea.Countries in Europe may have a more leisurely pace of life and higher levels of reported happiness, but is that really what Americans

48:12

The Secrets and Sorrows of Gay Washington

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/06/24

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveJamie Kirchick joins us to discuss the triumph and sorrow of the gay experience in the nation's capitol. This is the story of The Secret City, Kirchick's genre-defining and panoramic history of the gay men and women who served in the halls of power, all the while in constant fear that they would lose their jobs and perhaps even their lives.It got worse before it got better. We discuss how the national security

60:48

How To Be a Caliph

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/06/17

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveA few weeks back, a book title caught our eye. It was called Two Billion Caliphs, written by Haroon Moghul. Mixing personal narrative and theological ruminations, it promised to offer a bold new vision for Muslims living in the 21st century. Being that we frequently talk about the importance of religion in the modern world, inviting Haroon on was a no-brainer.A rich episode ensued. We talked about how 9/11 did (and

51:47

The Rise and Fall of the Expert Class

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/06/12

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week we invited the author Oliver Traldi on the podcast to talk about the role of experts in society and how we assess different kinds of skill, talent, and truth. Oliver, a writing fellow at Heterodox Academy and a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, is one of the most exciting young thinkers and writers around today—as evidenced by his recent tour-de-force of an essay titled "With

44:38

Episode 100: One Hundred Years of American Conservatism

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/06/05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveIdeas have consequences. From the early 2000s Matt Continetti, the author of the fascinating new book The Right, has worked at some of the leading institutions of American conservatism. He has seen firsthand how many of them fallen or lost their way. But where conservatism's critics see a movement that has become unrecognizable and even dangerous, Continetti sees instead a rich, vibrant, and messy war of ideas,

40:49

After Uvalde, a Reckoning

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/05/30

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week Shadi and Damir sat down to discuss the Uvalde mass shooting and its aftermath. Tragedy has struck the American psyche once again. The murder of innocent children has Americans groping for answers but the seemingly scripted discourse in the wake of such tragedies provides anything but solid answers. Are there really any viable legislative paths to prevent such terrible shootings? Must everyone “read the room”

51:59

Is a Better World Possible Without American Power?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/05/15

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveShadi has been curious about whether he has diverged from the left since Bernie Sanders' campaign, so he invited the socialist thinker Daniel Bessner onto the podcast this week for a spirited discussion of first principles. Bessner is one of the most influential and important leftist intellectuals writing on foreign policy today. He is the Joff Hanauer Honors Professor in Western Civilization at the University of

51:38

Will Overturning Roe v. Wade Change Everything?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/05/08

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week we were joined by Molly Ball, bestselling author of Pelosi, to talk about how the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade will (or won't) change American politics for decades to come. Until a few days ago, Americans could act politically under the assumption that Roe was permanent. But it may not be.Ending Roe v. Wade would mean abortion would be decided by states, presumably according to the whims, desires—and

41:23

Does it Matter if Elon Musk Ruins Twitter?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/05/01

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveMuch of the freakout about Elon Musk buying Twitter is based on an assumption that social media is integral to democracies and a critical tool for dissidents living in repressive regimes. But what if that assumption is overblown? Are the dustups over Twitter's new ownership really just a proxy war for the broader freedom of speech debate that has been ratcheting up recently?Just as Elon was talking up Twitter, Barack

45:23

France Has a Problem

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/04/22

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week, Elisabeth Zerofsky of The New York Times Magazine joins us after recent reporting trips in Paris and Berlin. In Part 1, we talked about the upcoming French election and the rise of the far-right in France. The West is looking on nervously as President Macron tries to fend off a challenge from Marine Le Pen, a populist with ties to Putin. Regardless of the outcome, French voters have veered to the right—with

48:44

Is Liberalism Coming Alive?

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/04/16

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week, Shadi and Damir debate whether the war in Ukraine is breathing new life into the liberal idea. It seemed like liberalism might stage a comeback, but Putin-adjacent rightwing populists are still going strong in France and Hungary. Shadi insists he's a liberal who's critical of liberalism, which pushes Damir to question what exactly that means in practice. When is too much illiberalism too much? Also: Damir

69:35

Our Twisted Sexual Culture

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2022/04/05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week we were joined by Christine Emba, a columnist at the Washington Post and author of the fascinating new book Rethinking Sex: A Provocation. What resulted was the longest episode in Wisdom of Crowds history, delving into some uncharted territory. We discuss a lot of big topics—the perils of modern dating, the sex recession, consent, incels, marriage, porn, and Tinder hookup culture. If we have so much freedom,

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