Hello!

Today we take a break from Trump to bring back one of our favorite guests, Andrew Boryga, the novelist behind the brilliant book Victim, and the author of a funny and incisive substack. We talk about the latest compain-fest in the literary world about white millennial men and how they’re supposedly shut out of the fruits of culture like the NYPL Young Lions Award or whatever. Then we talk a little bit about the Pulitzer controversy surrounding James and Andrew’s own thoughts on who gets to write novels and who does not.

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Hello!

Today we have on Bridget Read, the author of a great new book called “Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America.” (Out today!) We talk about the history of the MLM (multi-level marketing) from its alleged origins with the Yankee peddler and the frontier and the more insidious real story of eugenicists, scammers, and quackery. A lot of questions you might have about pyramid schemes and MLMs will be answered here: Why do they all do vitamins and supplements? Why did AmWay and the DeVos family have such a hold on Trump? Great book. Take a listen.

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Hello!

Today we’re talking about a new essay in the New Yorker that asks how we might think about knowledge, learning, and the meaning of life in a world where Chat GPT replaces a lot of our core knowledge functions. To discuss this piece and its implications (and to argue back on it) we brought on Zena Hitz, a philosopher, a tutor at St. John’s College, and a founder of the Catherine Project. We talked about great books, luddism, overblown AI doomerism and how to think. We really enjoyed this conversation and honestly was hoping it would never end bc Zena was such a fun and compelling guest. Enjoy!

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Hello!

Today we’re talking Pope and the odds for each of the contenders. If you want a quick way to catch up with who the choices might be and what they represent politically, please tune in! Who is the continuation candidate? Who is the lib? And who is the arch right winger who only talks like an Elon Musk reply guy?

And we talk a bit about the Trump coalition and whether or not it might be feeling a bit shaky after all this chaos. Enjoy!

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Hello!

This week we have on Zephyr Teachout, Professor at Law at Fordham University and columnist at the Nation, for a long talk about protectionism, neoliberalism, and how to capture the spirit of the country. Can liberals just sell free market capitalism and off-shoring to an angry public? Or will there have to be seem change in messaging that will allow the left to define the future of work in this country? We also talk a lot about corruption — Zephyr wrote a book about it — and the unprecedented corruption that we’re seeing now in the White House.

Enjoy!

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Hello!

Today we talk about what the supporters of the tariffs might actually be thinking and why we might take the latest Trump gambit a little more seriously as a lasting movement/idea. What is it about the vision of a manufacturing/factory town America that seems like its so appealing to a portion of the population and how does nativism and “anti globalism” fit into the vision? Are we about to see a terrible horseshoe take hold of part of the country? All this and more this week!

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Hello!

Today we have on Saikat Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff for AOC and one of the formers leaders of the Justice Democrats. Saikat is currently running for Congress against Nancy Pelosi. We talk about the possibilities of a Democratic Tea Party, how progressives need to think about actually doing stuff, and a lot about housing. This was a great episode and one that I think should inform you on what the political landscape could look like if the Democratic Party actually has a full-on rebuild.

Enjoy!

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We talk about SignalGate, Trump’s clown show problem, and a little bit about Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life” and why the Alex Jones from 25 years ago might have been ahead of his time. What does “combative centrism” mean? Does anyone actually care? All these topics and more discussed in this here episode.

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Hello!

This week we talk about the growing tea party vibes around the Democratic party, Schumer’s shame, the anti-establishment energy that’s emanating from the Blue MAGA base, and the new attempts to rebrand old ideas into new ones. Will anyone in the Democratic establishment survive the next decade? Or is it all over but the crying? Also we talk about Columbia University and the cowardice of elite private colleges.

Enjoy!

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Hello!

Today we talk with the authors of “In Covid’s Wake: How our Politics Failed Us” by Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee. We talk about what we got wrong during the pandemic, how to battle groupthink, especially when it comes to science, and why so many people were willing to accept one version of public health without proper debate or questioning. This was an informative and thought-provoking episode, one that made us rethink a lot of what we knew about what was happening in the early months of 2020.

Thanks!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe