Blocked and Reported

After Katie tells the story of her 12-hour banishment from Twitter for a biting piece of political commentary, the hosts discus "TFW No GF," a controversial documentary about losers who post too much online, some of whom are so-called incels, or involuntary celibates. When should we have empathy for people who disgust us (like podcasters)? Then they turn their attention to the controversy over J.K. Rowling's newest mystery novel, which, depending on who you ask, is either horrifically transphobic or not transphobic at all. As usual, the only two moral arbiters with enough integrity to cut through the online noise are on the case, telling you exactly what to think. (Minor correction: In the episode, Jesse refers to Ray Blanchard as 'Canadian,' but he was born in New Jersey and settled in Canada later on.)TFW No GF: https://www.amazon.com/TFW-No-Alex-Lee-Moyer/dp/B087N4632QJacobin: A Portrait of the Breakdown of Hope and Meaning in America - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/09/tfw-no-gf-incel-moyer-documentaryJill Filipovic's tweet: https://twitter.com/JillFilipovic/status/1307725535561293824Glenn Greenwald's rejoinder: https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1307761101979910145 The Telegraph: Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith, review: JK Rowling fails to Strike again - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/troubled-blood-robert-galbraith-review-jk-rowling-fails-strike/The Daily Beast: How Transphobic Is J.K. Rowling’s New Novel, ‘Troubled Blood?’ Very. - https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-transphobic-is-jk-rowlings-new-novel-troubled-blood-veryThe Spectator: JK Rowling’s latest novel isn’t ‘transphobic’ - https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/j-k-rowling-s-latest-novel-isn-t-transphobic- 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 online outrage surrounding the French film 'Cuties,' which has slightly more underage twerking than most 2020 cinematic releases. How did this film come to unite such a broad swath of people in disgust? What is Ted Cruz's strategy for getting the American government to investigate a French filmmaker? Then the hosts speak with Reason's Elizabeth Nolan Brown about the broader American sex-trafficking panic that seems to partly explain the reaction to 'Cuties.' Plus: the science of pedophilia. It's a light episode, top to bottom.YouTube: Cuties | Official Trailer | Netflix - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0O7lLe4SmA&ab_channel=NetflixKXXV: Sen. Ted Cruz calls for a criminal investigation into Netflix film 'Cuties' - https://www.abcactionnews.com/entertainment/sen-ted-cruz-calls-for-a-criminal-investigation-into-netflix-film-cutiesYouTube: 'Cuties' Movie: Deconstructing The Culture w/Ben Shapiro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asxBUrx-Wfg&ab_channel=TheDailyWireReason: The War on Sex Trafficking Is the New War on Drugs - https://reason.com/2015/09/30/the-war-on-sex-trafficking-is/Reason: Enough Stranger Danger! Children Rarely Abducted by Those They Don't Know - https://reason.com/2017/03/31/kidnapping-stats/Reason (on YouTube): Ashton Kutcher Helped Promote a Bogus Sex Trafficking Claim. Will We Ever Shake It? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKnWByMs4DQ&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=ReasonTVReason: Secret Memos Show the Government Has Been Lying About Backpage All Along - https://reason.com/2019/08/26/secret-memos-show-the-government-has-been-lying-about-backpage/ 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

The hosts discuss Donald Trump's sudden fixation on ostensibly "un-American" critical race theory in government diversity trainings. What does a good-faith critique of these trainings look like that doesn't slide into fearmongering or red-scare-esque grandstanding and witch-hunting? Will the politicization of everything prevent people from focusing on what matters, which is whether these trainings work or cause harm? Also: A Vice story about an allegedly satanic Airbnb is super, duper racist, or so we hear.New York Magazine: Psychology’s Favorite Tool for Measuring Racism Isn’t Up to the Job - https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/psychologys-racism-measuring-tool-isnt-up-to-the-job.htmlNPR: NYPD Study: Implicit Bias Training Changes Minds, Not Necessarily Behavior - https://www.npr.org/2020/09/10/909380525/nypd-study-implicit-bias-training-changes-minds-not-necessarily-behaviorTake the Implicit Association Test: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.htmlOur episode on Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility": https://barpodcast.fireside.fm/17Our episode interviewing the victim of a DiAngelo training: https://barpodcast.fireside.fm/bonus2Scott O. Lilienfeld: Psychological Treatments That Cause Harm - http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=FC896FFD11373F2E8A80CB54A8D316C6?doi=10.1.1.531.9405&rep=rep1&type=pdfJezebel: 'Is the UVA Rape Story a Gigantic Hoax?' Asks Idiot - https://jezebel.com/is-the-uva-rape-story-a-gigantic-hoax-asks-idiot-1665233387Vice New: We Talked to the Host Accused of Doing “Satanic Rituals” In His Airbnb - https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/m7jnmb/we-talked-to-the-host-accused-of-doing-satanic-rituals-in-his-airbnbThe very serious racism accusation against Vice News: https://twitter.com/FredTJoseph/status/1304051476466073601 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 reveals yet another shocking secret about his mysterious life, the hosts discuss the case of Jessica Krug, a George Washington University professor who appears to have admitted to pulling a Rachel Dolezal: she pretended to be black. What a mess! But perhaps not all that shocking in our identity-obsessed age. Then the hosts respond, in depth, to an email from a reader who wants to be talked out of voting for Donald Trump, sparking an uncharacteristically earnest discussion about the upcoming election and why the right choice isn't a close call.Medium: The Truth, and the Anti-Black Violence of My Lies - https://medium.com/@jessakrug/the-truth-and-the-anti-black-violence-of-my-lies-9a9621401f85The Cut: There’s a New Rachel Dolezal - https://www.thecut.com/2020/09/historian-jessica-krug-admits-to-posing-as-a-black-woman.htmlVice: In Rachel Dolezal's Skin - https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gvz79j/rachel-dolezal-profile-interviewThe weird right-wing rally Jesse stumbled upon next to City Hall in Manhattan: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DvdsAiHR1P4bfbED8 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 today's patrons-only episode, Jesse interviews Justin Tosi, a philosopher at Texas Tech University and the author, with Brandon Warmke, of the new book Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk. After discussing the book, Jesse and Justin move on to a broader conversation about the current, precarious moment for open inquiry in academia, as well as the turn toward activism in philosophy that has Justin worried about his field.Show notes/Links:Amazon: Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk - https://www.amazon.com/Grandstanding-Use-Abuse-Moral-Talk/dp/0190900156/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Twitter: A student gets a meeting with her dean after complaining about a syllabus that doesn't have the right racial breakdown - https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1300126499215937538YouTube: Gender Critical | Daniel Kaufman & Jesse Singal [Sophia] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ9MzhwflI4Ergo: An Open Access Journal of Philosophy: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/ergo/12405314.0005.014?view=text;rgn=mainJesse referenced the wrong NBA player in the episode -- it was Stephen Curry, not Steve Nash. See: "It tacitly communicates that at no point in time is Paige like Hillary Clinton or Catherine McGregor or any other woman (for whom she would be used); and likewise, that at no point in time is Paige like Stephen Curry or John Oliver (for whom he would be used). In short, if we use he or she for anyone, we either risk misgendering Paige with he or she, or we go back to the inegalitarian option of using a third catchall." 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 an intro in which Jesse impresses Katie deeply with a brilliant, cutting-edge character he has clearly put a lot of time into developing, the hosts discuss a hellish few days in Kenosha, Wisconsin: first, the police shooting of Jacob Blake, and then Kyle Rittenhouse's killing of two protesters. Doesn't there have to be a better way for police to resolve altercations like the one that ensued with Blake? And will the unrest in Kenosha increase the chances Donald Trump is elected (Katie's view), or is there not yet much evidence to suggest it will (Jesse's)? Plus: You will never guess whether or not the hosts think mainstream outlets are doing a good job covering all this.Show notes/Links:The New York Times: Jacob Blake Was Shackled in Hospital Bed After Police Shot Him - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/us/jacob-blake-shackles-assault.html (lots of details about the overall context)The New York Post: This is why Jacob Blake had a warrant out for his arrest - https://nypost.com/2020/08/28/this-is-why-jacob-blake-had-a-warrant-out-for-his-arrest/ NYT: Tracking the Suspect in the Fatal Kenosha Shootings - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/us/kyle-rittenhouse-kenosha-shooting-video.html CNN: Kenosha shooting suspect faces more homicide charges - https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/27/us/kenosha-wisconsin-shooting-suspect/index.html Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Wisconsin's open-carry laws, self defense and more in Kenosha protest shootings - https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2020/08/26/wisconsin-open-carry-law-kyle-rittenhouse-legally-have-gun-kenosha-protest-shooting-17-year-old/3444231001/ (though see following links as well)PolitiFact: Did Kyle Rittenhouse break the law by carrying an assault-style rifle in Kenosha? - https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/aug/28/facebook-posts/did-kyle-rittenhouse-break-law-carrying-assault-st/ (note this from the end, indicating ambiguity: "Whether Rittenhouse violated Wisconsin law by possessing a firearm underage is the subject of ongoing litigation.") On the question of whether the misdemeanor doesn't apply here, the action seems to be in this bit from the Wisconsin state code: "This section applies only to a person under 18 years of age who possesses or is armed with a rifle or a shotgun if the person is in violation of s. 941.28 or is not in compliance with ss. 29.304 and 29.593." The argument is that those other conditions don't apply, Rittenhouse wasn't in violation, but we'll get a clear answer on this when he is or isn't convicted. Simple Justice: Prickett: Update on Kenosha - https://blog.simplejustice.us/2020/08/28/prickett-update-on-kenosha/ (legal analysis of both the Blake and Rittenhouse cases) 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 this week's episode, Jesse addresses an ugly rumor about him posted to Blocked and Reported's Apple Podcast review page. Then the hosts discuss Conor Friedersdorf's article in The Atlantic, "Anti-racist Arguments Are Tearing People Apart," which centers around the accusation that it was racist for a white man to bounce his friend's black baby on his lap during a Zoom call (really!). In the episode's main segment, Katie unspurls the yearslong battle between Cliff Mass and seemingly every progressive in the Seattle metro area, which recently culminated in his media-gig firing after he made an..................... unfortunate comparison on his personal blog. Also: Jesse does a rim-rocking dunk, the hosts discuss a potential cargo-shorts-related spinoff podcast, racist babies are denounced, and Katie unspurls the story of how she was blacklisted from a Seattle radio station.Show notes/Links:The Atlantic: Anti-racist Arguments Are Tearing People Apart - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/meta-arguments-about-anti-racism/615424/ The Stranger: Cliff Mass Says Whatever He Wants (2011) - https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/cliff-mass-says-whatever-he-wants/Content?oid=8309158 KIRO: UW Prof. Cliff Mass called racist for opposing carbon tax initiative (2011) - https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/cliff-mass-says-whatever-he-wants/Content?oid=8309158 The Stranger: Cliff Mass's Responses to Women Scientists Make Seattle's Climate Change Discussions Toxic - https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/cliff-mass-says-whatever-he-wants/Content?oid=8309158 The Stranger: Cliff Mass Blames Liberals for the Lack of Progress on Climate Change - https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/10/06/25457183/cliff-mass-blames-liberals-for-the-lack-of-progress-on-climate-change The Stranger: The Culture of Harassing and Demeaning Women Scientists - https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/11/17/25572044/the-culture-of-harassing-and-demeaning-women-scientists Cliff Mass Weather Blog: The University of Washington Should Not Censor Faculty Social Media - https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-university-of-washington-should-not.html KNKX: KNKX Public Editor report: science, politics, and Weather with Cliff Mass - https://www.knkx.org/post/knkx-public-editor-report-science-politics-and-weather-cliff-mass Cliff Mass Weather Blog: A City in Fear Can Be Restored - https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2020/08/seattle-city-in-fear-can-be-restored.html KNKX: KNKX to stop airing Weather with Cliff Mass, effective immediately - https://www.knkx.org/post/knkx-stop-airing-weather-cliff-mass-effective-immediately Cliff Mass Weather Blog: My Firing at KNKX - https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2020/08/my-firing-at-knkx.html Petition trying to get Mass fired from his job as a professor - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WIZgiqt1wkyOdx369sSJeIPFoQ8Wr-RA3wKZzJ5uxHU/edit 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 this week's threesome of an episode, which was recorded with enthusiastic consent by everyone involved, Katie and Jesse talk to Dan Savage about the strange case of Alex Morse, the young, gay, Democratic congressional candidate and Massachusetts mayor accused of... well, it isn't quite clear. But what is quickly becoming clear is that Morse appears to have been set up by college kids loyal to his opponent, the incumbent establishment candidate, Richard Neal. What can this episode teach us about power, consent, and the schizophrenic attitude some lefty zoomers have toward sex? Also: Has the queer community lost its sense of humor? Why does everyone forget what it's like to be 20 by the time they are 30? And how hot would president-on-president porn be? (Please do not send this episode to anyone who isn't explicitly asking for it.) (Update, 8/16/2020: Changing the title from "Dan Savage Deciphers Morse Code" to "Introducing Mount Holey Oak" because the latter is funnier and better and we want to use it for the public version dropping tomorrow. Re-uploading identical file with new title. Consider the old one a collector's item!)The Intercept's coverage of this whole mess:College Democrat at Center of Attack on Alex Morse Hoped to Launch Career Through Richard Neal - https://theintercept.com/2020/08/11/college-democrats-alex-morse-richard-neal/ Chats Reveal Plan to Engineer and Leak Alex Morse Accusation - https://theintercept.com/2020/08/12/alex-morse-college-democrats-chats/ Party Leaders Investigating Anti-Morse Campaign Helped Orchestrate It - https://theintercept.com/2020/08/14/alex-morse-richie-neal-state-party/ Dan Savage's stuff:Savage Love - https://www.thestranger.com/savage-love/2020/08/11/44269654/savage-love Savage Lovecast - https://www.savagelovecast.com/ 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 one of the weirdest online controversies yet covered by Blocked and Reported, Katie walks Jesse through the wild, twisting tale of @Sciencing_Bi, a young anthropologist who just wanted to do good work, but who was tragically hindered from achieving this goal by the vicious anti-bisexual currents that dominate academic anthropology -- and by a university hell-bent on LITERALLY working her to death (and cutting her salary 15%). (Apologies for the weird underwater thing going on with Katie's audio for part of the episode -- it was a hardware issue and [probably] won't happen again.)Show notes/Links:(If you're unfamiliar with this story, note that a couple of the below headlines will likely spoil it, so scroll downward at your own peril.)........The New York Times: The Anonymous Professor Who Wasn't - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/style/college-coronavirus-hoax.html BuzzFeed: At First It Looked Like A Scientist Died From COVID. Then People Started Taking Her Story Apart. - https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/bethann-mclaughlin-twitter-suspension-fake-covid-death Science: This neuroscientist is fighting sexual harassment in science—but her own job is in peril - https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/neuroscientist-fighting-sexual-harassment-science-her-own-job-peril 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

Things are not going so great in Portland, where months of rowdy and sometimes destructive protests have been met with a federal response that has understandably scared and infuriated residents. But what's really going on there? Have we reached a point where it's basically impossible to find credible, contextualized accounts of complicated situations like this one? Will the Wall of Moms be undone by jackbooted government thugs and/or its own alleged racism? As one of America's whitest cities speeds down the road to Crazyville, there's a lot to unpack.Show notes/Links:The New York Times: The Showdown in Portland (from The Daily) - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/podcasts/the-daily/portland-protests.html The New York Times: Times Videos Show How Federal Officers Escalated Violence in Portland (video) - https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000007243995/portland-protests-federal-government.html Reason: What It's Like To Work in the Portland Jail During the George Floyd Protests - https://reason.com/2020/07/23/what-its-like-to-work-in-the-portland-jail-during-the-george-floyd-protests/ Michael Tracey: Two months since the riots, and still no “National Conversation” - https://medium.com/@mtracey/two-months-since-the-riots-and-still-no-national-conversation-12a7e3e4e006 The New York Times: Federal Officers Deployed in Portland Didn’t Have Proper Training, D.H.S. Memo Said - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/portland-protests.html ACLU: The Constitution in the 100-Mile Border Zone - https://www.aclu.org/other/constitution-100-mile-border-zone On the Media: What We Know About the Border - https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/what-we-know-about-border 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 recounts a listener complaint and the cohosts announce a new focus for the podcast, the bulk of the episode consists of an interview Jesse conducted with Freddie deBoer, a brilliant thinker and writer whose first book, "The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice," is a searing indictment of the American education system's most entrenched orthodoxy: the idea that just about any child can succeed academically. The second, patrons-only portion of the interview, a wider-ranging conversations about social media, online leftism, mental health, and other subjects, will be posted by the end of the day on Saturday, 7/25/2020 at the latest, and when it's ready this text will be replaced with a link.Show notes/Links:"The Cult of Smart" (yes, it is that good, and yes, you should pre-order it) - https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250224491 Freddie's website - https://fredrikdeboer.com/ FdB: the educational standardization trap - https://medium.com/@freddiedeboer/the-educational-standardization-trap-25aca6c0121 FdB: disentangling race from intelligence and genetics, or how to rescue behavioral genetics from racists - https://fredrikdeboer.com/2017/04/10/disentangling-race-from-intelligence-and-genetics/ FdB: addressing some complaints - https://fredrikdeboer.com/2017/04/11/addressing-some-complaints/ 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 reluctantly reveals some incredibly embarrassing and personal details about his love life in the opening segment, the hosts discuss the week's two big media stories: Bari Weiss's resignation from The New York Times and Andrew Sullivan's firing from New York Magazine. Is this a sign that these outlets are narrowing their windows of acceptable opinion? Was Weiss's treatment in her workplace genuinely unfair, or is she reacting with the same 'safetyism' she has so forcefully criticized? If Jesse and Katie were trapped on a desert island, who would eat who? These and other questions, answered.Show notes/Links:-Bari Weiss's resignation letter: https://www.bariweiss.com/resignation-letter -"See You Next Friday: A Farewell Letter" by Andrew Sullivan: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/07/andrew-sullivan-see-you-next-friday.html -"When Racism Is Fit to Print" by Andrew Sullivan: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/sarah-jeong-new-york-times-anti-white-racism.html -"How Did I Get Iraq Wrong?" by Andrew Sullivan: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2008/03/i-committed-four-cardinal-sins-around-the-iraq-war.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

After Jesse bravely expresses an opinion that is likely to get him cancelled by Cancel Culture, and to potentially destroy the podcast entirely, the hosts, who are clearly hated by God Himself (of maybe... HERself??), devote almost the entire episode to Letter Discourse and Counter-Letter Discourse. The discussion mostly concerns the harassment of a Vox staffer, which Jesse contributed to and feels bad about, even as he is aggrieved at the unhinged-in-light-of-the-evidence Jesse Did It narrative that took over bluecheck Twitter earlier this week. What are individuals' responsibilities during online pileons? Will journalists ever stop being full of s**t with regard to which acts -- screencapping, quote-retweeting, mocking -- are and aren't considered harassment? In the closing segment, the hosts briefly discuss President Trump's interesting strategy of fighting for free speech and open academic inquiry by unleashing the federal government to investigate universities, as one does.Show notes/Links:Rough week for Jesse on Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=jesse%20singal&src=typed_query (We said we would include links to the right-wing pieces and tweets bashing the Vox staffer mentioned in the podcast, but whoever wrote this summary began feeling guilty about doing so. If you search for her name and the name of the outlets mentioned, you will find it all -- we promise.) 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 signed a letter that was published in Harper's! It's pretty basic but given Twitter's reaction you would have thought it was an excerpt from Mein Kampf. In today's episode, the hosts discuss why they signed the letter and run through some of the most unhinged and disingenuous reactions to it, discovering, in the process, that one of the letter's loudest critics tried to get them both fired. Katie also asks Jesse about the time he reported a fellow journalist to her boss, and the two hosts work through whether this is different from the behavior they themselves are complaining about. Also: Jesse's trajectory on the even more emotionally charged question of cargo shorts.Show notes/Links:Harper's: A Letter on Justice and Open Debate - https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/ Jesse's too numerous and Mad Online tweets about the response to the letter:-on Matt Yglesias getting reported by a colleague for wrongthink: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1280603481531912192 -on one of the letter critics publicly calling for him to get fired: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1280577317421625346 -on someone literally editing the letter to make it offensive: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1280666236754579458 Medium: Katelyn Burns Fabricated Several Exchanges With Me That Never Occurred (archived version) - http://archive.is/UEsMj(current version, without screenshot-proof for reasons explained at the top, here: https://medium.com/@jesse.singal/so-about-that-katelyn-burns-thread-58c736647bc9)Medium: A (Hopefully) Final Update On This Katelyn Burns Thing (Updated) - https://medium.com/@jesse.singal/a-hopefully-final-update-on-this-katelyn-burns-thing-da17730e13aa 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

The gang celebrates July 4th by barely mentioning it. Instead, Jesse and Katie talk about Blocked and Reported's arguably FIRST EVER beef, which involves a very sensitive staffer at The New Republic. Then they relay two real corrections and one fake one from previous episodes, talk about the increasing possibility, in light of a new court decision, that at least one contributor to the Shitty Media Men list will be 'unmasked,' and discuss a thoughtful essay on what it feels like to be at the bottom of a Twitter pileon. Plus: Jesse finally addresses the rumors that have been haunting him about his relationship with certain New England horses. Soundcloud: The offending clip from our segment on Online Validiy Discourse - https://soundcloud.com/josephine-livingstone/blocked-reported-clipBlocked and Reported: Episode 5 - Katie And Jesse Decide Who Is Valid - https://barpodcast.fireside.fm/5 Snopes: Did Merriam-Webster Update Its Definition of ‘Racism’ To Say Only White People Are Racist? - https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/merriam-webster-definition-racism/The Volokh Conspiracy: “Shitty Media Men” List Libel Lawsuit Can Go Forward - https://reason.com/2020/07/02/shitty-media-men-list-libel-lawsuit-can-go-forward/The Stranger: Anonymous UW Students Publish Rape Accusations Online. What Could Go Wrong? - https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/10/09/33615110/anonymous-uw-students-publish-rape-accusations-online-what-could-go-wrongQuillette: How An Anonymous Accusation Derailed My Life - https://quillette.com/2018/09/25/how-an-anonymous-accusation-derailed-my-life/ Medium: Hi, I’m on the Shitty Media Men list, but maybe you already knew that - https://medium.com/@mike_tunison/hi-im-on-the-shitty-media-men-list-but-maybe-you-already-knew-that-f446aed1f93bMedium: Katelyn Burns Fabricated Several Exchanges With Me That Never Occurred (archived version) - http://archive.is/UEsMj(current version, without screenshot-proof for reasons explained at the top, here: https://medium.com/@jesse.singal/so-about-that-katelyn-burns-thread-58c736647bc9)Medium: A (Hopefully) Final Update On This Katelyn Burns Thing (Updated) - https://medium.com/@jesse.singal/a-hopefully-final-update-on-this-katelyn-burns-thing-da17730e13aaSingal-Minded: Nicole Cliffe Is A Poor Choice Of #MeToo Moral Guardian - https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/nicole-cliffe-is-a-poor-choice-ofThe Critic: The eye of the storm: https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/july-august-2020/the-eye-of-the-storm/ 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

Jesse interviews Yascha Mounk about the threats liberalism is facing from both the left and the right, and Yascha introduces a new platform he is launching to help stem the tide. The duo also discuss Yascha's great but infuriating article in The Atlantic, "Stop Firing the Innocent," the origins of the gender wage gap, antifa, the racial politics of police reform, and more. Make sure to check out persuasion.community, which should be live by the time you read this. 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

A reckoning is afoot, as Jesse finally confronts Katie over her abusive managerial style. After the hosts get that out of the way, they proceed into a discussion about The New York Times' decision to publish the famed rationalist blogger Scott Alexander's full name -- and the rather effective-seeming countermeasure Alexander pulled in response. Then they move onto a broader conversation about journalistic ethics with regard to naming subjects against their will, and Katie talks about the time she was publicly shamed for trying to defend someone against a public shaming. In the second segment, the hosts discuss a New York Times story about a Minneapolis neighborhood's difficulties living up to its stated values, and, by working through about their own views about when to call the police, establish the podcast's formal Cop Policy. Show notes/Links:Amazon: The AI Does Not Hate You: Superintelligence, Rationality and the Race to Save the World by Tom Chivers - https://www.amazon.com/Does-Not-Hate-You-Superintelligence-ebook/dp/B07K258VCV Slate Star Codex: NYT Is Threatening My Safety By Revealing My Real Name, So I Am Deleting The Blog - https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/22/nyt-is-threatening-my-safety-by-revealing-my-real-name-so-i-am-deleting-the-blog/ Slate Star Codex (archive): I Can Tolerate Anything Except For The Outgroup - http://archive.is/https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything-except-the-outgroup/ Twitter: @keikoinboston on Karlos Dillard's scam: https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1276780086545592320 The New York Times: A Minneapolis Neighborhood Vowed to Check Its Privilege. It’s Already Being Tested. - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/us/minneapolis-george-floyd-police.html Slate Star Codex (archive): Sort by Controversial - http://archive.is/https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/10/30/sort-by-controversial/ The Stranger: A Slur, a Suicide Attempt, and Guns Akimbo - https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/02/25/42967202/a-slur-a-suicide-attempt-and-guns-akimbo Amazon: Self-Care: A Novel by Leigh Stein - https://www.amazon.com/Self-Care-Novel-Leigh-Stein/dp/0143135198/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Eventbrite: EXTREMELY ONLINE conversation for SELF CARE - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/extremely-online-conversation-for-self-care-tickets-109886766276 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

If you develop severe physical symptoms whenever you go more than a day without hearing fresh content that includes Katie's and Jesse's voices, you're in luck: Here's an interview the hosts did with Jeremiah Johnson of The Neoliberal Project (here's his Twitter account) which Johnson generously shared (it's also up on his own organization's Patreon page). It was a pretty wide-ranging discussion -- in addition to covering the David Shor firing and Washington Post blackface article, the trio also discussed cancel culture more broadly, the difference between real activism and online slacktivism, and the question of what standards tech companies should use for determining who to deplatform. 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

If hearing Jesse and Katie dig around in the strange innards of "White Fragility" wasn't enough Robin DiAngelo for you, have we got the thing: an interview Katie conducted with a woman whose former company, throw into disarray by a racial microaggression, brought in DiAngelo to conduct a full year's worth of antiracism training, complete with (unpaid) homework. It went.... strangely, and at one point involved allegations of subconscious swastikas. 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, 6/21/2020: Replaced the original file with one that has a new intro from Katie about some violence that took place in the CHAZ. This is the version we'll be posting on the free feed tomorrow, but everything is otherwise identical. -Jesse)In the intro, Katie regales Jesse with tales from the CHAZ. Then, in part because Jesse is obsessed and desperately needs to get a lot of vitriol surrounding this subject out of his system, the deeply masochistic hosts devote the entire rest of the episode to a dissection of one of the strangest books you will ever read about race, Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility." Does Robin DiAngelo know any black people who aren't antiracist educators? Or any other humans in general? What are the details of her segregated-crying policy? Are there better explanations than "white fragility" for why someone dragged into a mandatory training at work and called racist by a weird lady might respond negatively to such an experience? So many questions! (CORRECTION: In this episode we wrongly state that a definition of 'racism' favored by DiAngelo was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. As Snopes explains, this is not the case: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/merriam-webster-definition-racism/.)New Yorker: The Fight To Redefine Racism - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/19/the-fight-to-redefine-racism Chapo Trap House: No Crying In Raceball - https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/428-no-crying-in-raceball-feat-jen-pan-61520 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

The roiling tremors on the left continue, as a young progressive data analyst gets fired for... it's honestly too ridiculous to even type, and the Poetry Foundation shows us what a truly hysterical meltdown looks like. The hosts use their intellect and savvy to try to understand the difference between two 'violent' acts: "kneeling on someone's neck until they die horrifically" and "issuing a statement that isn't quite strong enough." Everything is insane right now. And violent.NOTE: Since you are a patron, you already have access to a longer cut of the Ben Burgis interview that plays after the outro music of this episode. And the J.K. Rowling patrons-only episode will be up by noon, Eastern time on Sunday, June 14th.Jonathan Chait: The Still-Vital Case for Liberalism in a Radical Age (NY Mag) - https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/case-for-liberalism-tom-cotton-new-york-times-james-bennet.html Kyle Smith: Insanity at the Poetry Foundation (National Review) - https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/06/insanity-at-the-poetry-foundation/ Ben Burgis: Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left - https://www.amazon.com/Give-Them-Argument-Logic-Left/dp/1789042100/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= 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

Bari Weiss did some tweets about how there is a generational divide at The New York Times that is, in her view, hampering the paper's ability to publish quality commentary and journalism. In response, a sizable cohort of her colleagues LITERALLY devoured her (metaphorically, on Twitter). In their most frustrated episode yet, Katie and Jesse explain why Bari was fundamentally right. That doesn't mean her framing was perfect ('safetyism' isn't exactly the problem here), but, as the hosts argue, the fact that so many journalists think Bari is making this up is pretty insane given the rampant evidence for it. The problem is that the people who don't think there's a problem are the same people no one affected by these dynamics would ever, ever confide in. Along the way the hosts talk about their own experiences with an issue that is getting worse by the day: the most hysterical and dishonest journalists on Twitter effectively dictating editors' decisions about what stories to assign and what subjects to cover. Also, Katie talks about her struggle session at a Seattle rooftop bar and Jesse makes the case for converting Blocked and Reported into a full-blown scammy cult. Bari Weiss's tweetstorm - https://twitter.com/bariweiss/status/1268628680797978625 Katie's article "The Detransitioners: They Were Transgender, Until They Weren't" - https://www.thestranger.com/features/2017/06/28/25252342/the-detransitioners-they-were-transgender-until-they-werent Jesse's article "When Children Say They're Transgender" - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/when-a-child-says-shes-trans/561749/ 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

For this, the first-ever patrons-only Blocked and Reported interview, Jesse interviewed Ben Burgis, a philosopher, prolific writer for Jacobin and other outlets, and the author of Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left. Among other subjects, the duo discussed self-sabotaging messaging on the left, the flaws in Jordan Peterson's conception of 'post-modernism,' and the class element missing from the police-reform discussion. At the end, Jesse tried to get Ben to turn him into a socialist. Did it work? Only one way to find out. A few articles by Ben: "Socialism and Human Nature," "Capitalism Isn’t Working. But What Would a Viable Socialist System Look Like?," and "Why Jordan Peterson Is Always Wrong." Below you'll find a guide to what is discussed at which points in the podcast. Enjoy!12:15 - Ben on the problem with Oxford-style debate20:30 - Jesse and Ben discuss the dangers of assuming people who make ‘bad’ political choices are fundamentally evil or broken26:15 - on “if you criticize U.S. foreign policy, you are pro-al-Qaeda” - style argumentation, and the frustrating extent to which the left is now adopting it29:00 - online, staying chill is the best revenge31:45 - IT’S JORDAN PETERSON TIME49:20 - the silliness of the fight over ‘platforming’52:38 - the problem with making maximalist positions like “abolish the police” the face of leftist movements56:50 - “DURING PRIDE?????”1:02:00 - NYC DSA’s deplatforming of Adolph Reed, who stands accused of “class reductionism”1:04:45 - another DSA controversy, this one over “white saviorism”1:08:00 - Ben on the overlooked class element of the police-reform debate1:15:20 - you don’t want to broadcast the myth that white people, particularly poor ones, have nothing at stake in police reform1:19:55 - Jesse wraps things up by saying, “It’s better to be a wussy liberal than a socialist — CHANGE MY MIND” 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 today's episode, the hosts zero in on an obscure, under-covered newspaper known as "The New York Times." Specifically, they discuss an explosion of employee anger over the paper's decision to publish a column by Sen. Tom Cotton, and what it can (maybe) tell everyone about internal dynamics in some media companies at the moment. Then, they shift gears to a Times article about a nonbinary 7-year-old and discuss the ways in which a certain subgenre of storytelling could be obscuring the nature of gender-identity development. In the show's final, patrons-only segment, Katie tells Jesse about an Instagram controversy involving white liberals trying to show how much they care about racial injustice, but digging themselves into a deeper and deeper hole as a result.Show notes and links (* denotes stuff that happened after our episode went up):"Tom Cotton: Send In the Troops" - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html * "Senator’s ‘Send In the Troops’ Op-Ed in The Times Draws Online Ire" - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/business/tom-cotton-op-ed.html * "New York Times Says Senator’s Op-Ed Did Not Meet Standards" - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/business/new-york-times-op-ed-cotton.html * "The Inside Story of the Tom Cotton Op-Ed that Rocked the New York Times" - https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/06/tom-cotton-new-york-times-op-ed-inside-story/(An article in which Cotton's camp strongly denies the idea of an unusual editorial process)* "Yesterday two dozen of us who make @nytimes publishing tools called out sick in solidarity with our Black colleagues & in protest of the Cotton op-ed. I was harassed on Twitter all day for it." - https://twitter.com/nzle/status/1268906487377801218 * "The civil war inside The New York Times between the (mostly young) wokes the (mostly 40+) liberals is the same one raging inside other publications and companies across the country. The dynamic is always the same. (Thread.)" - https://twitter.com/bariweiss/status/1268628680797978625 "The Hardest Part of Having a Nonbinary Kid Is Other People" - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/parenting/non-binary-children-support.html "What Is Gender Identity?" - https://arcdigital.media/what-is-gender-identity-10ce0da71999 "Attention white people: Your #BLM memes are not enough" - https://www.kuow.org/stories/a-letter-to-her-white-friends-on-their-blm-memes "Blackout Tuesday posts are drowning out vital information shared under the BLM hashtag" - https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/2/21277852/blackout-tuesday-posts-hiding-information-blm-black-lives-matter-hashtag 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

There's so much going on that Katie and Jesse are back again, already. In this episode they discuss the protests and riots popping off all over the country in response to George Floyd's horrific death, the media's predictably sloppy handling of some of the complexities of police reform, and the difference between meaningful and performative activism. Should they appoint themselves leaders of the nationwide movement for criminal justice reform? Hard to say. In the patrons-only segment starting at 41:00, the hosts discuss everyone's antifa obsession and why Jesse is so frustrated with the bougie liberal antiracism that is exploding in popularity during this crisis. (CORRECTION: In this episode we wrongly state that Richard Nixon won the 1968 presidential race in a landslide. It was the 1972 race he won quite easily.)-"The Case for Black Optimism" (Quillette) -"Police Are Killing Fewer People In Big Cities, But More In Suburban And Rural America" (FiveThirtyEight) -Samuel Sinyangwe on legislation that might help (Twitter) -The Fight to Redefine Racism (New Yorker) 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 this week's episode, Katie and Jesse discuss the Amy Cooper/Christian Cooper incident in Central Park. Is this different from other instances of online shaming? Do we lose something when, in trying to understand a complicated problem like police shootings and other abuses, we focus in on individuals rather than institutions and structures? Why are white women so often pilloried these days when white men, like Jesse in particular, are obviously so much worse? Program notes/links:-"White People Behaving Badly" (Arc Digital)-"Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America" (Amazon)-"Black Silent Majority: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment" (Amazon)-"From Power to Prejudice: The Rise of Racial Individualism in Midcentury America" (Amazon) [not mentioned in the episode but Jesse is a fan] 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

Before jumping into a truly brutal week for media news involving journalists who are younger and more attractive and successful than they are, Jesse and Katie are interrupted by their newly installed Alison Roman Controversy Alarm, forcing them to briefly update listeners on the latest twist in that eternal tale. Then they turn their attention to a PinkNews article positing a global conspiracy of lesbians who are sexual abusers and human traffickers and explain how that ties into the broader, white-hot culture wars involving gender-critical feminists and so-called TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists). In the final two segments, the hosts discuss Ben Smith's claims about Ronan Farrow's lackluster fact-checking and Jia Tolentino's blog post about her parents' guilty plea in a human-trafficking case, as well as the telling and arguably disingenuous responses from major media figures to both stories.Show notes/links:-Alison Roman’s NY Times Column ‘On Temporary Leave’ After Chrissy Teigen Feud (The Daily Beast)-The ‘gender critical’ feminist movement is a cult that grooms, controls and abuses, according to a lesbian who managed to escape (PinkNews[!])-Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True? (New York Times)-Ronan Farrow admits he ‘misspoke’ about his Weinstein reporting. How many times? (Washington Post)-Is Ben Smith’s Column About Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True? (Slate) -Jia Tolentino's blog post and tweet about the controversy 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 their first-ever edition of "🥱 or 🔥," a game in which one cohost tries to convince the other that a given internet controversy is interesting, Jesse regales Katie with the tale of a leftist African-American studies professor who decides to kick off his new lecturer gig at Auburn University by insulting one of the university's football traditions over Twitter. Spoiler alert: His opinions are not well-received! Also in this episode: Jesse's touts the efficacy of "Irish goodbyes" and Katie gives an update about her island hideaway. 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

Here's Blocked and Reported, Episode 9: Layoffs And Teigen And Roman And Kondo And Feel-Bad Liberalism.Our week-to-week schedule varies a great deal. Sometimes the free weekly episode isn't ready until Sunday night. Sometimes, like this week, it's ready significantly earlier. As an extra perk to you, our trusty patrons, we're going to give you early access to the weekly free episodes when our schedules and other obligations allow us to. Enjoy!Summary:Katie leads off the show by discussing her layoff from The Stranger and reflecting on her mixed feelings about her time there. This some broader commiseration about just how deeply, profoundly screwed journalism is right now. To lighten things up Jesse reads Katie a poem he wrote for her (it's really good). Then the hosts tie up some loose ends about that whole Chrissy Teigen/Alison Roman/Marie Kondo thing, including the weird, flattening language of "woman of color" and Roman's apology. After that, Jesse unpacks a viral tweetstorm that seems geared at antagonizing sympathetic would-be white anti-racists and explains why he views it as an example of what he calls "feel-bad liberalism." In the final segment, the hosts unveil the show's new Patreon page and ask listeners to empty their banks accounts to support Blocked and Reported.Show notes/links:-An email from a listener suggesting we were too dismissive of the race angle of Teigenghazi (Twitter)-Alison Roman's apology (Twitter)-Ally Henny's tweetstorm about would-be white allies (Twitter)-Jesse's original ranty tweetstorm defining feel-bad liberalism (Twitter)-Feel-Bad Liberalism at the Victoria, BC women's march (Singal-Minded) 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 our first-ever Patrons-only episode, we break down an NBC News Article about the latest diversity brouhaha at Google, which leads into a broader discussion about what we expect of diversity programs, whether conservative complaints about the wackier ones have some merit, and the media's coverage of James Damore's memo (which argued, if memory serves, that female employees at Google should be kept in pens like livestock). Plus: What to do when your in-laws think you're hellbound, and a promising left-versus-right format for future eps.Other lnks: Jesse's article on the IAT, Katie's article on Starbucks' implicit bias trainings, Jesse's newsletter about New York City's controversial Department of Education diversity trainings, Jesse's article about the Damore memo, and the Guardian article in which Cordelia Fine appears unconvinced of said memo's Hitlerianishnessitude. 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 gets things off to a fantastic start with an uplifting story about dog feces, the hosts finally relent and discuss the Joe Biden/Tara Reade situation. Does this case reveal the limits of "believe women"? Of trying to pretend long-ago accusations can be hashed out apolitically? Is anyone acting in good faith here? Then the hosts move on to Candace Owens and her censored-by-Twitter tweet calling for her Michigan followers to defy the government. What is the proper role for a private but exceptionally inlfuential institution like Twitter in a situation like this? The episode finishes with another story from Jesse, this one about his extremely unpleasant online run-in with Owens in 2016.Show notes:-The agonizing story of Tara Reade (https://www.vox.com/2020/5/7/21248713/tara-reade-joe-biden-sexual-assault-accusation) (Vox)-UPDATED: 'Governor-turned-dictator': Candace Owens suspended from Twitter for encouraging Michiganders to go to work (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/governor-turned-dictator-candace-owens-suspended-from-twitter-for-encouraging-michiganders-to-go-to-work) (Washington Examiner)-What Should Twitter Do About People Like Candace Owens? (https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/what-should-twitter-do-about-people) (Singal-Minded, paywalled)-The Strange Tale of Social Autopsy, the Anti-Harassment Start-up That Descended Into Gamergate Trutherism (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/04/how-social-autopsy-fell-for-gamergate-trutherism.html) (NY Mag)-New York Magazine's Jesse Singal Commits Fraud: Article In Question Should Be Recalled (https://www.change.org/p/new-york-magazine-new-york-magazine-s-jesse-singal-commits-fraud-article-in-question-should-be-recalled) (Change.org) 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

During an emergency session of Blocked and Reported, Katie and Jesse discuss the controversy sparked by Alison Roman's decision to go hard at Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo. Just how racist is Alison Roman? Just how woman-of-color is Chrissy Teigen? Is the phrase "please to buy" anti-Asian or anti-Eastern-European? These and other highly sensitive questions, answered definitively! Plus: Katie and Jesse reveal their favorite appropriated foods.Show notes:What Alison Roman wants (https://newconsumer.com/2020/05/alison-roman-interview/) (The New Consumer)-You can email the hosts at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]), or follow the show on Twitter at @thebarpod (https://mobile.twitter.com/thebarpod). 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

The show gets off to what feels like its 100th consecutive turbulent start, with Katie seeking solace over a super-personal medical issue. Then the hosts discuss Bill de Blasio's tweet about the Jewish community not following social-distancing rules: Just how meshuga was it? After that, they move on to a conversation over a popular narrative about Boomers and coronavirus, and finish things up by addressing the question on everyone's mind: Is it racist to portray orcs (the fantasy creatures, which aren't real) as uncivilizable? You can follow us on Twitter at @thebarpod (https://mobile.twitter.com/thebarpod) or email us at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])Show notes:-Bill de Blasio's problematic tweet (https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1255309615883063297)-Baby Boomers Were Blasé About the Coronavirus? Why Did We Believe That? (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-baby-boomers.html) (New York Times)-The Orc Tweet (https://twitter.com/MonkipiQuinn/status/1254197453957459968) 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 pod gets off to yet another rough start thanks to a vicious anti-bread tirade Katie levels at Jesse, the cohosts heat up some leftovers from the last episode by disentangling Karens and Beckys (sorry, Karens and Beckys!) and further explaining their views on expertise. Then they discuss "Why Won't Woke Boys Pay For Sex?," the MEL Magazine article that lit Twitter on fire last week: Is Progressive Sex-Worker Discourse in line with most people's intuitions about the nature of prostitution? Is it politically problematic to not want to pay your friends for sex? In the final segment, the cohosts move on to "I Left New York for Greener Pastures — and a Puppy," a controversial Meghan Daum article in GEN. Is it wrong to leave New York for other, less-infected parts of the country, potentially bringing the virus with you? Along the way Jesse and Katie are joined by a special guest, who may or may not be Meghan herself. You'll just have to listen and/or look at the title of the episode to find out.Show notes:-"Why Won't Woke Boys Pay For Sex?" (https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/why-wont-woke-boys-pay-for-sex) (MEL Magazine)-Chris Kavanagh's Twitter thread about Blocked and Reported and expertise (https://twitter.com/C_Kavanagh/status/1252366126450802688) -"I Left New York for Greener Pastures — and a Puppy" (https://gen.medium.com/i-left-new-york-for-greener-pastures-and-a-puppy-c58d895dcabf) (GEN) 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 shocking moment that definitely wasn't scripted, Katie almost singlehandedly immolates the podcast by dropping a horrific slur just seconds into the episode. After the cohosts recover their composure, they discuss an outrage story about Canadian military pronouns, Alex Berenson's coronavirus contrarianism, and the fairly nonsensical process people follow to decide what they believe. Jesse then tries to unpack Online Validity Discourse, leading the cohosts to discuss fascinating and provocative questions like "What does it even mean to be valid?," "How many people can you have sex with before you're not asexual anymore?," and "Would Jesse dress better if he were gay?" The cohosts close out the show with a brief chat about Blocked and Reported's possible Patreon future, and a request for listeners to email in to let them know what sorts of perks they'd be interested in.Show notes:-EXCLUSIVE: Canadian Armed Forces requires all personnel to stop using gendered pronouns (https://thepostmillennial.com/canadian-armed-forces-requires-all-personnel-to-stop-using-gendered-pronouns) (The Post Millennial)-Alex Berenson's Twitter account (https://twitter.com/AlexBerenson)-Here Are the Questions the Right's Favorite Coronavirus Truther Isn't Willing to Answer (https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jge7g4/here-are-the-question-the-rights-favorite-coronavirus-truther-isnt-willing-to-answer) (Vice)-Does the King of the COVID-19 Contrarians Have a Case? (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/does-the-king-of-the-covid-19-contrarians-have-a-case) (Vanity Fair)-We feel too bad spotlighting any specific tweets about people "being valid" so here just click this link to take you to a search for that phrase instead (https://twitter.com/search?q=%22you%20are%20valid%22&src=typed_query)-When A Child Says She's Trans (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/when-a-child-says-shes-trans/561749/) (Jesse's article in The Atlantic)-Slate, Pete Buttigieg, And The Limited Market For Left-Wing Identitarianism (https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/slate-pete-buttigieg-and-the-limited) (Singal-Minded)-The Weirdly Enduring Appeal of Weird Al Yankovic (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/magazine/weird-al-yankovic.html) (The New York Times Magazine) (and the audio version from The Daily (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/podcasts/the-daily/weird-al-yankovic-coronavirus-music.html))-The Family Featured in the NYT Article About Queer Families Looks Awfully Straight (https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/04/30/26113961/the-family-featured-in-the-nyt-article-about-queer-families-looks-awfully-straight) (The Stranger)-If you have questions, comments, or -- especially -- opinions about what our Patreon efforts should look like, please email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) 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

Jesse tries to gaslight Katie into believing she's Jewish. After he succeeds, the cohosts move on to the meat of the show: a discussion of three Problematic Men. First they talk about Joe Rogan, who has been found guilty of having offensive opinions. What does the controversy over his endorsement of Bernie Sanders, and his more recent turn toward Trump-curiousness, tell us about how pundits misunderstand the average voter? Then they move on to noted masturbator Louis C.K. Has he been punished enough? If not, what is anyone supposed to do about it? (Also, does dropping the second 'R' in the R-word make it any more acceptable?) The cohosts close out the show by debating Bill Maher's most recent dip into hot water: his argument that the coronavirus should, in fact, be called The Oriental Menace (or something).Show notes:-The Bernie Sanders tweet that set off Roganzhi (https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1220445820505546755)-Bernie Sanders’s Joe Rogan experience (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/24/21080234/bernie-sanders-joe-rogan-experience-endorsement-controversy) (Vox)-Joe Rogan would 'rather vote for Trump than Biden' after endorsing Sanders (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/04/joe-rogan-donald-trump-joe-biden-bernie-sanders) (The Guardian)-Louis C.K. Is Accused by 5 Women of Sexual Misconduct (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/arts/television/louis-ck-sexual-misconduct.html) (The New York Times)-Louis C.K.’s Newest Fans Deserve Louis C.K.’s Newest Special (https://slate.com/culture/2020/04/louis-ck-new-stand-up-special-sincerely-review.html) (Slate)-What Should We Do About The Fact That Louis C.K. Is Still Very Good At What He Does? (https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/what-should-we-do-about-the-fact) (Jesse's newsletter, Singal-Minded Conversations) (paywalled)-Bill Maher Goes on Despicably Racist Rant Against China Over Coronavirus (https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-maher-goes-on-despicably-racist-rant-against-china-over-coronavirus) (Daily Beast) 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

Jesse has a bad cough. Is it coronavirus, or just Jewishness? Katie, meanwhile, isn't quite sure what plant she turned into tea last week. Will either cohost outlive April? We'll see soon enough. In the meantime, the hosts debate whether coronavirus will kill the online culture wars, then segue accidentally into a discussion of gender identity and the complicated ways in which attempts to reduce misgendering can lead, as Katie has experienced, to yet more misgendering. Then Jesse complains about the Twitter cops who came at Jill Filipovic for her perfectly accurate tweet about the Spanish Legion (being hot), and both cohosts struggle to wrap their minds around the phenomenon of nice white ladies paying Sairo Rao and Regina Jackson to come to dinner at their houses and call them racist.Show notes:-How This Nonbinary Woman Created the Queerest Cartoon on Television (https://www.them.us/story/rebecca-sugar-steven-universe-interview) (them)-Rebecca Sugar Opens Up About Being Non-binary (https://www.pride.com/comingout/2018/7/18/rebecca-sugar-opens-about-being-non-binary) (Pride)-"They" Is a Fine Pronoun, But It Ain't Mine (https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/09/06/31903785/they-is-a-fine-pronoun-but-it-aint-mine/) (The Stranger)-ContraPoints and the Scandal That Shouldn’t Be (https://arcdigital.media/contrapoints-and-the-scandal-that-shouldnt-be-15ac97f330d4) (Arc Digital)-Jill Filipovic on the Spanish Legion (https://twitter.com/JillFilipovic/status/1241857598778900481) (Twitter)-Zoé Samudzi on (God help us) Jill Filipovic on the Spanish Legion (https://twitter.com/ztsamudzi/status/1242099153435582471) (Twitter)-Why liberal white women pay a lot of money to learn over dinner how they're racist (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/03/race-to-dinner-party-racism-women) (The Guardian)-White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo (https://www.amazon.com/White-Fragility-People-About-Racism/dp/0807047414) (Amazon)-Race Experts: How Racial Etiquette, Sensitivity Training, and New Age Therapy Hijacked the Civil Rights Revolution (https://www.amazon.com/Race-Experts-Etiquette-Sensitivity-Revolution-dp-039304873X/dp/039304873X/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=) by Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn (Amazon) 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

Less than a week post-launch, Blocked and Reported faces a profoundly serious threat to its existence: an accusation of Grand Theft Audio from one of the hosts of Blocked Party, an obscure upstart podcast that may have copied Blocked and Reported's name. After reflecting on their transgressions, looking deeply inward, and promising to do better (not really), Katie and Jesse move to on a discussion about Katie's pandemic shotgun wedding. Then they talk about right-wing coronavirus misinformation on social media and debate whether networks should stop airing Donald Trump's press conferences live. During the show's final two segments, they respond to a reader question about Elizabeth Warren fans — are Bernie Bros and Liz Lasses really so different, after all? — and dissect a Washington Post article about some random dude's very offensive tweet, in the process laying out Blocked and Reported's Official Stance on whether old people should be converted to food.Show notes:-As Trump signals readiness to break with experts, his online base assails Fauci (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-trump-signals-readiness-to-break-with-experts-his-online-base-assails-fauci/2020/03/26/3802de14-6df6-11ea-aa80-c2470c6b2034_story.html) (Washington Post)-Seattle NPR Station Says It Will No Longer Carry Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Briefings Live Because Of Misinformation (https://deadline.com/2020/03/coronavirus-donald-trump-nor-station-kuow-1202892198/) (Deadline)-Sexism Didn't Kill the Warren Campaign. The Warren Campaign Killed the Warren Campaign (https://reason.com/2020/03/06/sexism-didnt-kill-the-warren-campaign-the-warren-campaign-killed-the-warren-campaign/) (Herzog in Reason)-He urged saving the economy over protecting those who are ‘not productive’ from the coronavirus. Then he faced America’s wrath. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/coronavirus-tweet-economy-elderly/2020/03/25/25a3581e-6e11-11ea-b148-e4ce3fbd85b5_story.html) (Washington Post)-It wasn't mentioned in the podcast itself, but Jesse recently wrote an article for 1843 (https://www.1843magazine.com/features/the-rise-of-ptsd) that touches on PTSD and psychologist Nicholas Haslam's idea of concept creep-Questions? Comments? Accusations of podcast theft? Hit us up: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) 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

IT'S HERE. In the pilot episode of Blocked and Reported, hosts Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal explain what the podcast is, and Katie reveals a very special Pandemic Announcement. The hosts also discuss the "Why I Am Leaving The Left" subgenre, debate whether insanely irresponsible pandemic behavior has changed their views on internet shaming, and offer some suggestions of wonderful Old Internet relics that can help listeners ride out the end of the world in an entertaining manner.Show notes:-I'm A Lesbian Woman & I'm Leaving The INSANE "Progressive" Left (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzYHBPTfXCI) (YouTube)-Welcome To My Home: Part 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQokp6UvYwk) (YouTube)-Yatta! Irrational Exuberance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZJIpTIPnRs) (YouTube) 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