Quillette Podcast
339 episodes — Page 4 of 7
S1 Ep 190Rob Montz on Harvard University’s Campaign Against One of Its Most Famous (and Politically Incorrect) Black Professors
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with documentary filmmaker Rob Montz about self-made education expert Roland G. Fryer Jr.—who bucked Harvard’s progressive party line on race and education, and then got targeted with dubious harassment claims. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 189Frances Widdowson on the Questions Canadians Aren't Supposed to Ask About Unmarked Graves
Former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson describes the political, academic, and journalistic taboos surrounding the fate of Indigenous residential-school students in western Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 188Shmuel Bar on the War in Ukraine, and the Failure of Western Deterrence
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to intelligence expert Shmuel Bar about why Putin bungled the war in Ukraine, why NATO didn't do enough to deter the Russians, and what happens next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 187Sam Harris on Islam, Dropping Acid, Joe Rogan, Vaccine Pseudoscience, the Wonders of Meditation, Collaborating with Ricky Gervais, and the Myth of Free Will
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay asks neuroscientist, philosopher, best-selling author, and celebrity podcaster Sam Harris about the key to living a fulfilling and satisfying life (and whether it‘s okay to tell your children they’re bad at sports) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 186Russia's Surprising Military Blunders in Ukraine: A Strategic Analysis
Royal Military College professor Scott Maloney and Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay discuss the state of the war in Ukraine, and consider what Vladimir Putin will do to salvage his widely denounced invasion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 185Jacob Mchangama on His New Book, "Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media"
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Copenhagen-based think-tank scholar and podcaster Jacob Mchangama about why so many human societies have a difficult time tolerating dissent and heresy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 184Chris Best on Substack's Commitment to Free Speech
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to Substack's founder and CEO about empowering writers through free expression (and his company's new, foosball-table-free San Francisco offices) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 183Canada's 'Freedom Convoy' Protesters, in Their Own Words
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with David Paisley and Jay VanderWier, two of the many ordinary working-class Canadians who’ve assembled in Ottawa to protest restrictive government COVID policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 182Christopher J. Ferguson on Racist Orcs, Ableist Adventures, and Non-Binary Monsters: Can 'Dungeons & Dragons' Survive Wokeness?
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to psychology professor Christopher J. Ferguson about his newly published academic paper, "Are Orcs Racist? Dungeons and Dragons, Ethnocentrism, Anxiety, and the Depiction of 'Evil' Monsters" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 181Michael Shermer: Watching 'Scientific American' Go Woke
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to book author and Skeptic editor Michael Shermer about why scientific media, professional organizations, and academic departments are increasingly succumbing to progressive ideological fads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 180New York Times Columnist Ross Douthat on His Hellish Experience with Lyme Disease
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat about how his new book—which explores both his own fight against chronic Lyme disease, and the controversy surrounding the condition within the medical community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 179Jonathan Kay on Middle Age, Watch Collecting, Sports Cars, Board Games, and Disc Golf
Quillette's Jonathan Kay ends 2021 by speaking to Bob Tarantino about the things he does when he isn't hosting the Quillette podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 178Paul Lockhart on How Guns Transformed Western Civilization
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Wright State University professor Paul Lockhart about the enormous military and political upheavals set in motion by the adoption of gunpowder-based weapons from the 13th Century onward—including the demise of the medieval castle, the empowerment of large centralized states, and the deployment of permanent standing armies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 177Trent Colbert Turns the Tables on Yale Law School's Kafkaesque Diversity Department
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks with second-year law student Trent Colbert, who recorded YLS Diversity Director Yaseen Eldik and Associate Dean Ellen Cosgrove as they tried to strongarm him into a public confession. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 176Batya Ungar-Sargon on the Growing Gulf Between Ordinary Americans and the Progressive Journalists Who Cover Them
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to Newsweek editor Batya Ungar-Sargon about her new book, "Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy"—and her political voyage from doctrinaire progressive to self-described "left-wing populist" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 175Nancy Segal on Lessons in Human Nature Revealed by Identical Twins
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with California State University professor Nancy Segal about her career spent studying twins, and her new book, Deliberately Divided. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 174Michael Shellenberger on How Progressive Activists Are Making American Cities Poorer, Dirtier, and More Dangerous
Author Michael Shellenberger speaks with Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay about his new book, San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 173Will Storr on Our Insatiable Appetite for Status
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with author Will Storr about his new book detailing the profound role of status-seeking in shaping human societies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 172Harvard Professor Steven Pinker on How to Think Rationally, the Monty Hall Problem, Kurt Gödel, and the Case for Objective Truth
'Enlightenment Now' author Steven Pinker speaks with Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay about his newly published book, 'Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 171Jonathan Haidt on Instagram’s Mental Health Emergency
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with NYU professor and “Coddling of the American Mind” Co-Author Jonathan Haidt about the emotionally destructive effect of social media on many young users Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 170Vivek Ramaswamy on the 'Woke Smoke' Blown by Corporate America
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with 36-year-old biotech entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy about how corporate elites burnish their progressive bona fides (and distract their critics) with anti-racism slogans and hashtags—instead of taking concrete steps to address real inequalities within their organizations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 169Josh Szeps on the Myth of Australia's COVID 'Concentration Camps'
Jonathan Kay interviews TV host and podcaster Josh Szeps about Australia's unique experience in managing the COVID pandemic—and the urban legends the country's quarantine system has spawned among right-wing pundits on the other side of the world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 168'Grievance Studies' Hoaxster Peter Boghossian on Quitting Portland State, and His Mission to Bring Intellectual Pluralism Back to Universtiy Education
Philosopher Peter Boghossian tells Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay why he no longer felt he could provide his students with a proper education in the current ideological climate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 167Comedian and Podcaster Jamie Kilstein on His COVID-Era Struggles
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Jamie Kilstein about the challenges he's faced since his excommunication from California's progressive entertainment circles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 166Satirist Simon Edge on His New Novel, 'The End of the World Is Flat,' a Send-up of Radical Gender Politics
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to author Simon Edge about his new book, in which a fictional flat-earth advocacy group campaigns against the idea of a spherical earth (not to mention the 'globularist' 'TERGs' who oppose the new 'True Earth' orthodoxy) in the name of social justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 165Journalist and Book Author Terry Glavin on the Fall of Kabul and the Fate of Afghanistan
Host Jonathan Kay interviews Afghanistan expert Terry Glavin about the complex mix of warlords and foreign players who may seek to undo the country’s takeover by Taliban forces Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 164Comedian Jessica Pigeau on 'Safe Space' Performers, Progressive Mobbing, and Anxiety Overload in the World of Stand-Up
Host Jonathan Kay interviews Vancouver-based queer comedian Jessica Pigeau about her recent Quillette essay describing the clash between good comedy and strident social-justice activism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 163Author Milli Hill on the Growth of Social Justice Mobs Among Birthing Activists, Dhoullas, and Midwives
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with British writer Milli Hill about the online mob that accused her of transphobia in late 2020—and why she still refuses to describe women as "birthing people." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 162Jonathan Kay on Life at Quillette, The New York Times, FOX News, Seth Rogen, Dog Shampoo, His New Book, and Childhood Vacations at Del Boca Vista
Quillette editor and podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with David Bernstein, founder of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, about his life as a journalist and self-described “lapsed Jew” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 161Glenn Loury on America's Political Polarization and the 2020 Election
Veteran professor and public intellectual Glenn Loury is interviewed by Australia's Josh Szeps for Quillette's Free Thought Live series. Professor Loury discusses America's political polarization, black voters, American history, and the 2020 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 160Christopher Rufo’s Whirlwind Campaign Against Critical Race Theory
Quillette’s Jonathan Kay talks to activist Christopher Rufo about his new status as conservative intellectual celebrity—and asks whether the rising opposition to progressive ideological radicalism can go too far Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 159Christian Toto on Progressive Ideological Inroads Into Children’s Shows, Anti-Racist Baby Books, And… Breakfast Cereal
Quillette’s Jonathan Kay speaks to film writer Christian Toro about the increasingly direct identity-politics messaging that now is being pushed on North American toddlers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 158Heather Mac Donald on The Juilliard School's Strange Anti-Racist Meltdown
Quillette's Jonathan Kay speaks to City Journal writer Heather Mac Donald about how a single drama workshop caused Juilliard students to feel "traumatized"—sparking an activist campaign aimed at undermining the elite performing-arts school's famously rigorous standards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 157Jonathan Rauch on the importance of free speech in an age of misinformation
Quillette's Toby Young talks to free speech advocate and Brookings Institution Fellow Jonathan Rauch about his new book The Constitution of Knowledge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 156Michael Shermer on Our Enduring Fascination with UFOs
Quillette’s Jonathan Kay talks to UFO expert Michael Shermer about why we keep searching the skies for signs of alien visitors (and why we always come away disappointed) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 155Nicholas Wade Explains Why It’s No Longer Taboo to Ask Whether COVID-19 Was Caused by a Chinese Lab Leak
Quillette’s Razib Khan speaks with veteran science writer Nicholas Wade about why so many scientists and journalists are now exploring theories about the origins of COVID-19 that, not so long, ago, were being dismissed as conspiracy theories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 154Kenny Xu on Asian-Americans' Success, And Their Complicated Placement in the Progressive ‘Intersectional’ Hierarchy
Host Jonathan Kay speaks with conservative activist, book author, and Quillette contributor Kenny Xu about the pressures that Asian-Americans now face to toe the line on progressive race orthodoxies—including acquiescing to their own unfavorable treatment in elite school admissions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 153Author Helen Pluckrose on the Role of Postmodernism in the Construction of Modern Social-Justice Dogmas
Quillette founder Claire Lehmann speaks with “Cynical Theories” co-author (and Grievance Studies Hoax collaborator) Helen Pluckrose about the influence of postmodern ideas in the formulation of the latest iterations of Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, and other “intersectional” doctrines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 152Lingnan University scholar Peter Baehr on Academic Life Within Hong Kong’s Increasingly Repressive Political Atmosphere
Quillette’s Jonathan Kay speaks with Hong Kong-based professor Peter Baehr about the many ways in which free speech and democratic politics are being suppressed by China’s mainland communist government, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 151A Short Message From Quillette: Here's How to Help Us Make Our Podcast Better
Want to suggest a topic or guest, critique a segment, or just let us know what you think? We want to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 150Bernard Lane on the Fight for a More Balanced Approach Toward Children and Teens Seeking Medicalized Gender Change
Quillette Editor-in-Chief Claire Lehmann talks to The Australian writer Bernard Lane about the severe risks associated with rushing gender dysphoric children into puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery—and the rising tide of concerned parents who are pushing back against the campaign to reflexively ‘affirm’ children’s beliefs about their inner identity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 149Richard Hanania on the Real Reason Progressives Are Winning the Culture War: They Just Want It More
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to Richard Hanania, President of the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, about his much-discussed essay, “Why is Everything Liberal? Cardinal Preferences Explain Why All Institutions are Woke” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 148Michael Shellenberger on the Case for Nuclear Power, Progressive Hypocrisy on Energy Policy, and His New book, ‘Apocalypse Never’
Quillette founder Claire Lehmann talks to author and activist Michael Shellenberger about how environmental alarmism and ideological blind spots often prevent us from having a rational discussion about the best way to address climate change while growing national economies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 147Sean McMeekin on ‘Stalin’s War: A New History of World War II’
Quillette’s Jonathan Kay speaks with Bard University history professor Sean McMeekin about his new book, which describes how the fears and ambitions of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin shaped the course of the Second World War Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 146James Kirchick on 'The Disintegration of the ACLU'
Quillette's Jonathan Kay talks to author James Kirchick about his recent Tablet article documenting how the American Civil Liberties Union abandoned its core mission in favor of doctrinaire progressive politics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 145Daphne Merkin on the Baseless Abuse Claims Against Woody Allen—And Why The Media Refuses to Let Them Die
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks to journalist Daphne Merkin, author of a widely discussed 2018 New York Magazine article on Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn, about HBO’s highly torqued documentary, 'Allen v. Farrow,' and the dubious claims it contains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 144Nancy Rommelmann and Michael Totten on Portland's Descent Into Violence—And Why They Finally Decided to Flee
Quillette's Jonathan Kay talks to two ex-Portlanders about how the COVID-19 pandemic and a year of violent protests turned their once beloved city into a fractured, downwardly mobile arena for America's culture war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 143Psychiatrist Andrew Lustig on the Conspiracist Internet Subculture of ‘Gangstalking’
Quillette’s Jonathan Kay speaks to Canadian researcher Andrew Lustig about his research on the web-based communities of individuals who believe they are surrounded by evidence of an enormous “gangstalking” conspiracy, involving dozens or even hundreds of individuals, aimed at causing them to become insane or commit suicide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 142Evolutionary Psychologist (and Twitter Hit Man) Gad Saad on the ‘Cesspool’ in Academia, Hollywood’s Man-Children, and His New Book, ‘The Parasitic Mind’
Quillette’s Jonathan Kay speaks with Concordia University marketing professor Gad Saad about his take-no-prisoners social-media style, Lebanese politics, and the inner ideological life of Seth Rogen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 Ep 141Andrew Doyle—The Brain Behind Titania McGrath—on His New (And Very Serious) Book, ‘Free Speech And Why It Matters’
Jonathan Kay interviews comedian, social critic, and book author Andrew Doyle on why he thinks government censors are a bigger threat to a free society than the bigots they’re seeking to cancel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices