The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 154

It is upon us: the fight against Woke is now a two-front war. On our Left, we have Woke Marxism that hasn't gone away. Arising rapidly from our Right, we now also have a Woke Fascism that threatens to ruin everything we've accomplished. Those of us who love America now have to fight the battle against Woke on two fronts: Woke Left and Woke Right. In this free-ranging episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay discusses the current landscape in the civilizational fight against Woke in all its manifestations. Join him for an uncomfortable update on the state of the union.

The Queering of the American Child: https://queeringbook.com/

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 109

There are many ways we could conceive of Leftism, and one of the best is that it is a covetous relationship with power. It's easy to understand how toxic and bad that is, if not evil. Yet here we are at a crossroads in world history, and we're being led toward precisely that pit. There's a popular line out there now that goes something like this: "the Left wants power, and conservatives don't. That's why conservatives always lose." The implication is that conservatives should also desire (or covet) power. This line adopts the Left's relationship to power and fails to articulate the healthier relationship to power embraced by conservatives: that of faithful service to others, which conservatives often gladly shoulder. In this important episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay covers this line and a healthier way to move forward into the responsibility we have to shoulder. Join him for the discussion, then chew on it.

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 108

America is at a crossroads, and how it chooses may affect the fate of the entire world. Though there are different ways to conceive of the choice that lies before us, one is that we will have to choose between catharsis and civilization. It's unlikely we can have both, so this choice is incredibly important and deadly serious. If we choose catharsis, a sweet release of all our anger and frustration from the oppression and chaos of Woke Marxism, we will likely upset the balance required to maintain our civilization. If we choose civilization, we will have a real chance of climbing out of this, but we'll also have to swallow many of our feelings and restrain ourselves against our passions. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay offers a short introduction to this choice. Join him in choosing well.

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 107

Queer Theory, which is to say Queer Marxism, is a religious cult, as discussed at length in The Queering of the American Child (https://amzn.to/40GX0i5). So what's the role of the drag queen in this cult? While much has been said on this issue to clarify for people that the drag queen in the presence of children is meant to be the purveyor of an initiation rite into Queer Marxism for the kids, a clear explanation of why they're chosen would be of use. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay provides the explanation as it is rooted in Judith Butler's Queer Theory: drag queens are the enlightened priest class who understand that gender is an oppressive performance that can be parodied, disrupted, and deconstructed. Join him to gain greater depth of understanding of this grotesque cult activity.

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 106

Socialism, Communism, and Marxism are clearly related ideas, but they're not identical. What's the difference? People ask all the time. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay explains each of these concepts and how they differ from one another while offering some insights into other related concepts like Fabian Socialism and Fascism. Join him to increase your clarity on these issues.

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The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 153

Did you know the Soviet Union ran a DEI program exactly like the Woke Marxist one of today? How about Mao's China? As it turns out, DEI isn't an American invention. It's a Soviet invention and Soviet export, designed, outlined, and implemented by Josef Stalin and Vladimir Lenin in the USSR in the 1920s. The results were predictable, of course: massively increasing ethnic strife arising from within the world's most widespread Affirmative Action program in history. Russians, then later Han Chinese, then later straight, white, Christian, males in the West, were invited to subjugate themselves to ethnic minorities to accomplish "actual equality," which we today call "equity." The full program was called korenizatsiya (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korenizatsiia), and its "diversity" program was called raznoobrazsiya, and its lever was called "Great Russian chauvinism" in the USSR, "Han chauvinism" in the PRC, "white supremacy culture" in today's West, and "great-power chauvinism" in general. In this groundbreaking episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay explains the korenizatsiya program of Stalin's USSR and reads excerpts from two of Stalin's works to flesh it out. Join him to understand how DEI is nothing more than a Bolshevik Communist program we've implemented on ourselves. You don't want to miss it.

Sources:

Stalin, Marxism and the National Question, 1913 (https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1913/03a.htm)

Stalin, from the Twelfth Party Congress, 1923 (https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1923/04/17.htm)

Mao, Criticize Han Chauvinism (https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-5/mswv5_25.htm)

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 105

We all know Communism is perhaps the world's deadliest ideology, but what makes it that way? As it turns out, there's a simple reason Communism leads to mass murder, starvation, and death, and it's this: Communists believe Communism can never be wrong. What this amounts to in practice is that when Communist programs start to fail, it cannot be that they were bad ideas in the first place. It can only be that someone failed to do them right, and, as it always happens, that hidden enemies are causing the problems. The result of this self-aggrandizing and paranoid belief is always a witch hunt and violent purge of the people who get scapegoated for the Communist failures. In this important episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay explains this catastrophic feature (not bug) of Communism. Don't miss it!

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In the Panel: Why We Need New Discourses, held on October 13, 2019, in London, panelists Peter Boghossian, Andrew Doyle, James Lindsay, Helen Pluckrose, and Mike Nayna, moderated by Michael O'Fallon, came together to critique the influence of social justice ideology on academia and public discourse. Each speaker addressed the effects of ideological capture, particularly in social institutions and education, arguing that social justice’s rigid worldview distorts reality and suppresses open conversation.

Lindsay and the panel discussed how critical theory has infiltrated educational and social systems, creating an environment where questioning or debating its assumptions can be socially and professionally costly. Boghossian highlighted the importance of engaging others in genuine dialogue rather than retreating into polarized camps, despite the reputational risks involved. O’Fallon noted that "New Discourses" should reclaim the principles of classical liberalism, where diverse viewpoints are encouraged and respected, offering a much-needed alternative to the current divisive climate.

Throughout the discussion, the panel stressed that fostering open, honest dialogue across ideological divides is crucial. They called for a renewed commitment to evidence-based, compassionate conversation, empowering individuals to resist ideological conformity and to support a society that values free inquiry over dogma.

Viewers will find this panel interesting not just for its contents but also for the glimpse back in time by five years, which allows them to see how the views expressed have matured and developed over the intervening time.

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 104

"Safe spaces" on college campuses are not new. In fact, they're now a very old, very tired topic. So is all of the "Coddling of the American Mind" (https://amzn.to/3O6nEtl) infantilization like we recently saw on campuses across America in the wake of President Trump's second electoral victory. The thing is, these obviously pathetic phenomena serve an educational purpose. That is, they're pedagogical. Their real purpose is to convince young minds that it is traumatic when politics don't go Left and then to "structure the environment to resolve that [trauma] productively" for Woke causes. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay explains the twisted pedagogical purpose of safe spaces, coloring books, puppies, and bubbles as a response to politics that rejects Marxism. Join him for an important lesson.

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In her talk, Doing Social Justice Responsibly on October 13, 2019 at the 'Speaking Truth to Social Justice' conference in London, Helen Pluckrose tackled the ideological excesses within social justice activism, offering a way to address genuine social justice issues without abandoning reason or liberal principles. She argued that the dominant framework in social justice today—rooted in critical theory and postmodernism—has transformed genuine concerns about power and privilege into a rigid worldview. This ideology, she explained, rejects objective truth and promotes “strategic knowledge,” constructed to serve specific identity-based agendas rather than being tested against reality.

Pluckrose acknowledged that while social justice concepts like bias, cultural narratives, and the power of language have validity, the radicalized methods often used within social justice turn productive critiques into dogma. Instead of engaging in open dialogue, activists demand conformity, condemning dissenting views as tools of privilege. She urged liberals and conservatives alike to stand for a balanced approach to social justice—one that promotes fairness without sacrificing truth and the ideals of secular liberalism.

Viewers will find this talk interesting not just for its contents but also for the glimpse back in time by five years, which allows them to see how the views expressed have matured and developed over the intervening time.

New book! The Queering of the American Child: https://queeringbook.com/

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