Anti-Capitalism, Anti-Abundance, Anti-Chill (w/ Ben Dreyfuss)
About this episode
Ben Dreyfuss joins the hosts to discuss various political and social topics, emphasizing the importance of humor and calmness amidst cynicism.
Journalist Ben Dreyfuss (writer of Calm Down and co-host of Central Air ) joins us for a conversational grab bag: Zohran Mamdani’s agenda; the Left’s ideologues (and how to distinguish them from the cosplayers); the challenge of maintaining personal relationships across political divides; Luigi Mangione’s appeal; the dearth of humor amongst Millennials; and more. If these topics leave you spinning down a dark apocalyptic hole of cynicism, remember (as Ben reminds us at the end of this episode): calm the f*ck down. And consider telling a joke or two. On the agenda: -Mamdani, the DSA, and the Left’s ideologues [00:00-21:31] -Keeping friends after October 7th [21:32-29:30] -Fake, lying social media and the “noticers” [29:31-35:54] -Playing footsie with murders (the Luigi Mangione story) [35:55-45:21] -Changing people’s minds — and finding common ground [45:22-1:01:22] -NIMBYism, Abundance, and back to New York City [1:01:23-1:10:27] -Why it’s hard to be funny [1:10:28-1:14:31] -Blindspots on the Left & Right [1:14:32-1:22:00] Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe. Get full access to Uncertain…
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