PODCAST

Wisdom of Crowds

Shadi Hamid & Damir Marusic

Agreement is nice. Disagreement is better. wisdomofcrowds.live

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51:19

Liberalism is not Neutral

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/05/31

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveConservatives often argue that liberalism is not a neutral political system. Liberalism, they say, has values of its own. It sneakily promotes these values as normative, and even good, for the citizens of liberal societies — whether those citizens like it or not.The philosopher and self-proclaimed liberal Alexandre Lefebvre believes that, empirically speaking, this conservative critique is pretty much true. As the title

54:25

What the Israelis are Thinking

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/05/24

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThe war in Gaza is dividing Israeli opinion, but not along the same lines that it divides American opinion. What are Israeli priorities? How important is the return of hostages relative to total victory? What is Netanyahu thinking? What is the Israeli Left thinking? Is there an anti-war movement in Israel? Do American categories make any sense within the Israeli political context?Washington Post political columnist

63:57

Martha Nussbaum on Justice for Animals

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/05/17

What does justice mean for animals? Is justice for animals the same as justice for human beings? Why should we care more about the rights of animals when the rights of humans are so often neglected? Martha Nussbaum teaches philosophy, ethics, and law at the University of Chicago, and is one of the most influential and cited philosophers of our time. She’s written dozens of books on Greek philosophy, the importance of emotions in politics, justice, feminism, and many other topics. She joins the

82:24

Matt Yglesias on How Gaza Scrambled Identity Politics

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/05/10

Do Arab Americans support pro-Palestine protests because of identity politics? What about American Jewish support for Israel? Are both groups being “tribal” or are they fighting for universal values — as they understand them?Recently, policy guru and Ur-Blogger Matt Yglesias pointed out that some of the political thinkers who, just a couple years ago, were aligned in opposition to identity politics today find themselves on opposite sides over Palestine. One of the names Matt mentioned was our own

43:20

Samuel Moyn Prefers Voters to Judges

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/05/05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveLast December, the highest court in the State of Colorado ruled that Donald Trump’s involvement with January 6 disqualified him from holding the office of president. On May 4, the Supreme Court voted unanimously to overturn this decision, clearing the way for Trump to appear on the ballot in all fifty states. Naturally, at Wisdom of Crowds these events got us thinking about the big questions. When it comes to

46:35

Protests and Solidarity

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/04/27

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.livePro-Palestine protests have spread to college campuses across the country. Our social media feeds are flooded with images of chanting students and clashes with police. Meanwhile, Congress has passed a bill to deliver more aid to Israel, and there’s signs that the IDF is about to move on Rafah. In this episode, Shadi explores what it means to stand in solidarity with the protests, while Damir teases out their effect on

57:11

A Debate about American Power

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/04/19

This week’s episode is a special collaboration with The Disagreement, a new platform that aims to “celebrate and normalize healthy disagreement.” (Check them out!) Wisdom of Crowds is 100% behind that mission statement, and so it was natural for us to agree to record an episode together. Fans of Wisdom of Crowds will know that Shadi has recently completed a book about American power, tentatively titled, “On Power.” Fans will also know that he debated the socialist writer Dan Bessner of the podcast

72:40

In Search of New Political Ideas

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/04/12

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveChristine and Damir kick things off by discussing a memoir about the fall of Communism in Albania. Damir reflects on his own post-Communist background, and ponders why Communist nostalgia affects only some countries, while others are not looking back. He wonders whether Christine is becoming a Communist herself after reading her essay about “Limitarianism,” a school of political thought that favors a cap on extreme

37:28

Parenthood at the End of the World

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/04/06

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week’s podcast is a recording of a live event. Rachel M. Cohen, a senior policy reporter for Vox, recently published an essay where she asks: “To our generation, being a mom looks thankless, exhausting, and lonely. Can we change the story?” As listeners know, this question speaks right to the heart of Wisdom of Crowds. Christine and Shadi invited Rachel to discuss her piece before a live audience in Washington, DC

87:20

How to Disagree Without Compromise

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/03/30

America is badly polarized. It’s a fact so pervasively acknowledged that pointing it out starts to feel like saying the sky is blue. Unlike a blue sky, however, growing polarization in America presents a difficult challenge. Because America is both incredibly diverse and a vibrant democracy, polarization starts to eat away at our politics.Many attempts have been made to deal with polarization. A lot of it has to do with putting people with diverging perspectives face-to-face in an attempt to try to

108:34

The World According to Jordan Castro

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/03/22

Special guest Jordan Castro joins Shadi and Santiago to talk about his novel, The Novelist, internet culture, his religious conversion, drug addiction, love and, of course, literature. It’s a rich conversation and we are leaving out the paywall, so that everyone can have a listen.Required Reading:* The Novelist by Jordan Castro* Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on René Girard* New anthology of Girard’s essential writings* Varieties of Religious Experience by William James* The Present Age:

57:56

"Doing the Work" May Be Hazardous to Your Soul

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/03/15

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveIn a late-night confab, Damir and Sam explore the meaning of experiences of wonder, which they each have written about for Wisdom of Crowds.For Sam, these unique experiences are the foundation for his beliefs about the nature of the world and human life. Damir, on the other hand, does not believe that the experience of wonder necessarily leads to metaphysical questions. This freewheeling, stay-up-all-night fever dream

52:19

”More” is Less

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/03/02

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveA recently-published memoir making headlines suggests a trend: Polyamory is going mainstream among high-status Americans. Culture critic and environmental studies professor Tyler Austin Harper joins Christine and Shadi to make sense of this fad, and explain why it’s both an upper-class luxury and a raw deal. Along the way they discuss happiness, self-expression, race, love, self-immolation, parenting, and a better way

51:03

The Lure of the Scam

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/02/23

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveChristine and Damir discuss two personal essays from New York magazine that went viral last week. The first deals with divorce, the second with getting scammed. A flabbergasted Damir can’t believe they were published; he wonders if anyone outside New York would care to read them. Christine finds ironic wisdom buried in both essays. The conversation ends on a high note, with Christine explaining how one of the essays

50:20

The Map and the Territory

Wisdom of Crowds ·

2024/02/16

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveJason Blakely of Pepperdine University joins Shadi and Damir to discuss his new book, Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life. A professor of political science, Jason claims that everyone has an ideology. The point is to be aware of it, and to remember that there’s always more to reality than your ideology can explain. Damir doesn’t buy it. The quest for power, he thinks, is what ultimately drives politics,

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

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