Jonah the Globetrotter has once again scattered to the four winds, temporarily leaving The Remnant once more in the capable hands of David French. Today, David speaks with his good friend Yascha Mounk, contributor to The Atlantic and founder of Persuasion. Mounk talks us through the current conditions within mainstream media outlets and how those institutions have the opportunity to lower the temperature of American discourse now that Trump is leaving office. David also talks about how a Biden administration might be expected to behave, and Yascha mentions that much of the conventional wisdom about the presidential election results are not only misguided, but that they often “underestimate the intelligence of the American people.”
Show Notes:
-David’s newsletter, The French Press
-Yascha’s new publication, Persuasion
-The earliest mention of “nutpicking” that the Remnant crew could find
-Jonathan Haidt’s Heterodox Academy
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Regarding the flawed, to put it mildly, notion that AOC is the voice of the future, I'm sure I'm not the only person here who listened to this fawning interview by the NYT.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/podcasts/the-daily/house-democrats-election.html
Her solution for the white voters who voted for Trump: they need to be educated about anti-racism.
Despite voting for Obama twice, and not regarding immigrants as a problem, *I* chafed at having friends and strangers on social media "educate" me about my obvious implicit biases and literal-minded understanding of "defund the police." (Any slogan you gotta explain is bound to be the wrong one.) So, good luck educating Trump voters.
It's generally not a good idea to assume that people who fundamentally disagree with you simply aren't living the examined life, or just need some educating. I've been guilty of that approach myself, certainly, but I learned.
Good stuff. Yascha is a real mensch. As is David, of course... even if he did decline to say "promo code... DINGO!!!" in the customary tone of ritual incantation.
I enjoy these occasional instances in which we hear the Book of Jonah read in French.