Uncertain Things

Josh Szeps, Australian broadcaster and the host of the fantastic podcast Uncomfortable Conversations, joins us IRL in a noisy Israeli restaurant in New York City — on the anniversary of October 7 — to discuss the evolution of his thinking on Israel and Anti-Semitism. Come for the reflections on Zionism, stay for the disagreements, interruptions, and cheap shots at Australia.

In this episode :

-Words to retire & our nostalgic media loyalties [0:00-9:19]

-The Culture War and leaving the ABC [9:20-13:09]

-October 7 to Josh’s controversial op-ed [13:10-18:36]

-The Anti-Zionism narrative and the Bondi Beach attack [18:37-25:12]

-The performance of Post-Colonial white Liberal guilt [25:13-36:08]

-The case for a more heterodox Jewry [36:09-54:33]

You might also like:

-John Aziz on Uncertain Things

-Dr. Einat Wilf on Uncertain Things

-Adam Louis-Klein on Uncertain Things

Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. To support us and gain access to exclusive content, consider becoming a paid member of Uncertain on Substack.

Writer, The Dispatch national correspondent, and Econ-turned-English major Kevin D. Williamson joins us to discuss the question: Why does everyone hate capitalism these days (and whether it’s all just middle class whinging)?

-The companies that give capitalism a bad name [2:01-7:59]

-The neat things about capitalism [8:00-15:02]

-Zooming into American culture and inequality [15:03-27:31]

-Why do we care so much about inequality? [27:32-38:04]

-The case for subsidizing healthcare—and not [38:05-50:41]

-Who deserves what—and why? [50:42-01:01:15]

-The problem with capitalism is a middle class problem [01:01:16-1:08:29]

-Gripes about words [1:08:30-1:13:38]

-Observations on accents and politicians [1:13:39-1:24:31]

Mentioned in this episode:

-Wanderland newsletter (The Dispatch)

-I Know Why Everybody Hates Capitalism (The Dispatch)

-The Democracy They Warned Us About (The Dispatch)

-John Aziz on Uncertain Things

You might also like:

-Saving Capitalism From Itself w/ Rebecca Henderson (Uncertain Things)

-Anti-Capitalism, Anti-Abundance, Anti-Chill w/ Ben Dreyfuss (Uncertain Things)

-Yes, In Your Backyard w/ Yoni Appelbaum (Uncertain Things)

Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. To support us and gain access to exclusive content, consider becoming a paid member of Uncertain on Substack.

Yoni Appelbaum — historian and deputy executive editor at The Atlantic — joins us to talk about his latest book, Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity. This is a classic Vanessa & Adaam convo…not only do we cover housing, NIMBYs, and the lunacies of Progressive governance, we also touch on America’s can-move spirit, the Abundance movement, what left-leaning cities get right (yes, there are some things), and what Mayor Mamdani means for New York.

On the agenda:

-What happened since we recorded this episode [00:00-03:59]

-Defining mobility and explaining its decline [4:00-14:30]

-A theory of mind for the NIMBY [14:31-27:41]

-What happens when we empower communities [27:42-33:02]

-The right to stay [33:03-47:39]

-Why the math of mobility no longer works [47:40-52:28]

-Why aren’t Red states winning? [52:29-1:03:58]

-Social safety nets and Mayor Mamdani [01:03:59-1:26:30]

Further listening:

* How Progressives Ruin Cities (Vishaan Chakrabarti on Uncertain Things)

* Progressives are Silly (Nellie Bowles on Uncertain Things)

* The Agony of Abundance (Nick Gillespie on Uncertain Things)

* The City and the Citadel (Michael Kimmelman on Uncertain Things)

* Our Temples of Tragedy (Justin Davidson on Uncertain Things)

Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com.

We’re back! And so is British Palestinian writer/Substacker John Aziz. As we did in our 2023 conversation (“Diaspora Palestinian to Hamas Apologists: Debate Me, Bro”), we discuss the Israel-Palestine conflict — but this time we hone in on all that hasn’t changed since October 7th. At this rate, we’re way closer to an AI-induced utopia of abundance than peace in the Middle East. But at least we can all agree on that?

On the agenda:

-Two-state vs. one-state solution

-The leadership vacuum

-Grassroots peace efforts: Where are they now?

-“Genocide” and the limits of international law

-Why accountability matters

-The communism fallacy — and how AI could change everything

To support us and gain access to exclusive content, consider becoming a paid member of Uncertain on Substack. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.

Mike Pesca — host of the How To! and The Gist podcasts — joins us again! We revisit the topic of nihilism, dive into annihilism (and why it’s different), and dunk on quite a few celebrities along the way. Stay to the end, and we recommend the sweet sweet artworks that may just be the antidotes to our burn-it-to-the-ground times.

On the agenda:

-On ghosts, demons, and podcasts [0:00-7:50]

-Adaam’s theory of Annihilism [7:51-14:24]

-Annihilistic artists and the end of truth [14:25-30:36]

-Joy and pitchforks! [30:37-47:32]

-Artistic antidotes to Annihilism [47:33 - 1:04:00]

Mentioned in this episode:

-How to Ghostbust the Old-Fashioned Way (How To!)

-Vibes of Nihilism (Uncertain Things)

-“The Jacobin Seduction” (Uncertain Newsletter)

Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com.

Eli Lake — staff writer at The Free Press, contributing editor at Commentary Magazine, and host of the Breaking History podcast — returns to the podcast to discuss the state of neoconservatism; the war with Iran (and why all the pundits are wrong about); and the enduring mystery (but not-so-enduring importance) of Tucker Carlson.

On the agenda:

- Neocons, Redux

-The war in Iran

-The “geopolitics” of Europe

-The conversation about the conversation

-Tucker Carlson, the modern day Father Coughlin?

Mentioned in this episode:

* How Israel is helping Iran’s opposition (The Free Press)

* Eli Lake and Andrew Sullivan debate the Iran War (Breaking History)

More Eli on Uncertain Things

* The Decapitation of Hezbollah

* How the World Learned to Love the Butchery of Jews

* The Art of Being Offended

Jesse Brown — journalist and founder of the Canadaland podcast company — joins us IRL in New York City to talk about his latest project: What is happening here? The audio doc, hosted by Jesse, dives into the ways Anti-Zionism and antisemitism have taken root in Canada since October 7th.

On the agenda

* What is happening here? and the red triangle [0:00-22:38]

* Why the Canada example matters [22:39-35:35]

* Revisiting Anti-Racism and protecting liberalism [35:36-1:04:27]

* Jon enters the chat [1:04:28-1:26:59]

Mentioned in this episode:

* What is happening here? (Canadaland)

* Anti-Zionism, Explained (w/ Adam Louis Klein)

Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. To support us and gain access to exclusive content, consider becoming a paid member of Uncertain on Substack.

Dr. Einat Wilf — Israeli writer, podcaster, and now founder of the political party Oz — returns to the pod to tell us a tale of two wars: the physical war fought (and technically won) in Gaza and the global war for Jewish sovereignty (that’s far from over). If you’re a curious layman on this subject, like Vanessa, make sure to revisit our first conversation with Dr. Wilf before listening, to make sure you have the context you need.

On the agenda:

-The weaponization of Gaza [0:00-15:03]

-The “terrible” truth of Palestinian identity and ideology [15:04-22:42]

-The “disappearing” border/alliance with Egypt [22:43-29:17]

-Starvation in Gaza [29:18-34:36]

-Speaking loudly and carrying a small stick [34:37-39:41]

-Defining Palestinianism [39:42-46:39]

-A tangent on hippies [46:40-49:24]

-Netanyahu’s interference in the “real” war [49:25-59:27]

-Anti-Zionism and America’s role [59:28-1:14:22]

-A ministry of trolling [1:14:23-1:1:16:32]

Mentioned in this episode:

* The War of Return

* Zionism and the Refugee Machine (w/ Dr. Einat Wilf)

* Unraveling UNRWA

* Anti-Zionism, Explained (w/ Adam Louis Klein)

* Hooked on Dead Jews (w/ Dara Horn)

Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. To support us and gain access to exclusive content, consider becoming a paid member of Uncertain on Substack.

New York Times columnist, co-host of Advisory Opinions and The Dispatch Podcast, and Nashville-based evangelical, David French, returns to the pod once again. This time, we had one big question on our minds: What’s with all the Christianity cosplaying taking over politics right now? But an Uncertain Things episode wouldn’t be an Uncertain Things episode if we stuck to just one topic! We ended up discussing, among other topics, Jesus Christ, the American Civil War, the likelihood of the dissolution of the union today, Venezuela, C.S. Lewis, and more. As always with Mr. French, it was a delightful, thought-provoking, and nerdy conversation.

On the agenda:

-A quick question about Jesus Christ [0:00-3:50]

-Countdown to our country’s dissolution [3:51-22:57]

-A tangent on Venezuela [22:58-27:15]

-America, the Fundamentalist [27:16-1:09:50]

-Advice to a burgeoning Christian [1:09:51-1:20:00]

Further reading/listening:

* Time to Talk about Secession? (David French on Uncertain Things)

* America, The Lonely (David French on Uncertain Things)

* ‘I’m a Liberal Who Lost His Faith’ (Tom Holland on Uncertain Things)

* Divided We Fall (David French)

* Attack Upon Christendom (Søren Kierkegaard)

* The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis)

Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com.

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.