Thanks to everyone who joined Brad Polumbo and me on Substack Live, where we discussed right-wing infighting, the Turning Point USA reality TV conference, drama at CBS News, and more. (Just for the record, that thumbnail is not AI. We really look like that.)

This week, Saint Helen Lewis joins us to discuss Jesse’s shortcomings, the state of publishing, the state of social media, the Riyadh Comedy Festival, the Olivia Nuzzi scandal, and more. Plus, our annual end-of-year extremely online pub quiz. Note: This is our last free episode of the year. Primos have more coming, but for everyone else, see you next year.

Helen’s book

Katie’s book

Jesse’s Austin event

Katie’s Duke event

Opinion | The Shifting Politics of Transgender Rights - The New York Times

I Watched Stand-Up in Saudi Arabia - The Atlantic

Olivia Nuzzi’s Tell-Nothing Memoir - The Atlantic

This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss the fallout from chess world champ Vladimir Kramnik’s obsessive campaign against alleged cheaters, including grandmaster Danya Naroditsky. Plus, AI comes for podcasters.

Washington Post’s AI-generated podcasts rife with errors, fictional quotes | Semafor

Hikaru hits out at grandmaster Kramnik over cheating accusations | indy100

Chess GM Vladimir Kramnik suspended for impersonating another player - Dexerto

Kramnik’s Controversial Cheating Allegations in Titled Tuesdays: | NSS.cz

Fair Play Report Estimates Low Cheating Rate In Titled Tuesday, New Public Closure Policy - Chess.com

Vladimir Kramnik’s YouTube channel

Martínez beats Kramnik in controversial match | ChessBase

Danya’s YouTube channel

Chess: Fide to ‘discipline’ Kramnik over Naroditsky cheating allegations | Chess | The Guardian

This week on the Primo show, Jesse and Katie discuss Turning Point USA’s attempts to get a University of Oklahoma instructor canceled over claims of anti-Christian discrimination. Plus, Candace Owens’s ongoing investigation into who really killed Charlie Kirk (bees).

Candace Owens on bees

Inside Candace Owens’ media empire and the Macron lawsuit threaten…

This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss the politics of poetry and a controversy surrounding an indie lit magazine. Plus, a Chuck Johnson update.

Katie’s Duke event

Jesse’s Austin event

Investor sues Chuck Johnson for “falsely presenting ... as intelligence agent” | Semafor

Where Wokeness Went Wrong | Susan Neiman | The New York Review of Books

A MeToo Mob Tried to Destroy My Life as a Poet. This Is How I Survived

Open Letter to Open-Minded Progressives

Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets

Curtis Yarvin’s Plot Against America

‘The Interview’: Curtis Yarvin Says Democracy is Done - The New York Times

Spectra Poets

Group Think

For William and Kristine

A Close Reading of Curtis Yarvin

This week on the Primo show, Jesse and Katie discuss the latest revelations from Ryan Lizza about Vanity Fair’s new West Coast editor and his personal ex-girlfriend, Olivia Nuzzi. Plus, a rigorous debate on the definition of “felching.” (We forgot to do a content w…

This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie break down a DoorDasher’s viral sexual assault that turned out to be a little more complicated. Meanwhile, a MAGA aide survives a brutal attack.

Austin event: https://forms.gle/Dq5RPDR6yz5XpwVJ8

HENDERSON PRESS RELEASE | DocumentCloud

United States of America V. NATALIE GREENE

Lawmaker’s former staffer staged violent political attack, police sa

This week on the Primo show, Jesse and Katie discuss AI friends and lovers. Plus, Jesse reads some sexts.

Friend.com

This week on Blocked and Reported, Katie is joined by our fantastic researcher Jessica the ‘80s Baby to discuss the rise and fall of one of the UK’s most notorious forums.

Mumsnet

Tattle Life

BBC Audio | File on 4 | Me and my Trolls

Caroline Flack: ‘Be kind,’ social-media users urge

The full story of how the operator of gossip site Tattle Life was unmasked in an Irish court

The internet’s nastiest gossipmonger has been exposed and guess what – he wants his privacy | Marina Hyde | The Guardian

Thanks to everyone who joined our live chat today. Discussed: Olivia Nuzzi, Ryan Lizza, and Jesse and Katie play a round of Cancel Culture vs Consequence Culture: Dasha Nekrasova Edition.

Olivia Nuzzi on the Scandal With RFK Jr. that Upended Her Career - The New York Times

The Long, Thorny Path to Dasha Nekrasova’s Hollywood Shunning