Ben Judah joins Shadi and Damir for a first attempt at digesting what happened this week in Washington. Was it a coup attempt? Are we at a moment of catharsis where the country can start to rebuild? Or are we in for even more darkness?

Reading List:

• "Japanese Lessons for the American Coup," by Noah Smith
• "The Weimarization of the American Republic," by Aaron Sibarium

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A wide-ranging episode: a day or so after Damir's birthday, Shadi discusses his longest bout of self-isolation ever, Damir talks about Teddy Roosevelt and how enlightened views on slavery were completely compatible with that old-timey colonial racism. Plus national stereotypes, arranged marriages, and Domino's Pizza!

Reading List:

• A tweet by (Captain) David Ryan.
• Shadi on Riada Akyol's podcast.
• Damir on Michael Weiss' podcast.

 

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Andrew Sullivan joins Shadi and Damir to try to put the last four years of Trump into some kind of perspective. Was he stopped or did he succeed? Is he a symptom or a source of decay—or both? Is our republic doomed, or will things just go back to normal? And what's the proper role of a writer and intellectual in troubled times: to analyze or be engaged?

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On Friday, December 4, 2020, Shadi and Damir went live on Periscope—Damir from Croatia, Shadi from DC. On their minds: how different cultures react, deal with, and adapt to COVID, how even vaccination is becoming a partisan issue in the United States, and how to think about the state of exception in democratic societies.

Check out the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/l8elM2Bq7TM

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A glitchy episode (apologies), as Shadi and Damir record across the Atlantic, with Damir in self-isolation and with shaky internet in Croatia. Damir talks about his run-in with the law, and Shadi admits Republicans' rejection of democratic outcomes is bringing out his uncompromising inner partisan.

Reading List:

• Democrats calling for "deprogramming."
• Shadi's "raw power" first draft.
• Shadi getting back on-side with the Left (members only).

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Shadi and Damir get together after a long night of watching the results come in from the 2020 Presidential elections and take stock of where they stand. You'll never guess who's the optimist.

Reading List:

• "Everything in its Right Place," by Radiohead (Kid A)

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Who poses the biggest danger to our country aside from Trump: the wokes, the integralists—or the Never Trumpers themselves? Aaron Sibarium of the Washington Free Beacon joins Shadi and Damir to talk about his new essay about Weimar Germany, polarization, and the allures and dangers of moral certitude. 

Reading List

• "The Weimarization of the American Republic," by Aaron Sibarium (American Purpose)

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What is dissolving the social bonds that tie us together in America? Is liberalism decaying? And is there a "successor ideology" waiting in the wings? Special guest Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, joins Shadi and Damir to talk about Jewish identity and American politics in the waning moments of 2020.

Reading List:

• "Brooklyn's Anti-masking Protests Betray a Broken Culture," Yehuda Kurtzer (The Atlantic)
• "Memory Malpractice," Yehuda Kurtzer (Tablet)
• "Stop Being Shocked," Bari Weiss (Tablet)

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Why so angry? Shadi and Damir talk about useful idiocy, neoconservatism, and the dangerous temptation of righteousness in politics. Come for Shadi musing about U2 and stay for Damir rhapsodizing about Guy Debord.

Reading List:

• Not the Coen Brothers.
• "On Romance and Being in a Constant State of Alarm," Shadi Hamid (WoC)
• "The Biggest Risk to This Election Is Not Russia. It’s Us." Fiona Hill (NYT)

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Does rhetorical escalation among our elites belie the stability of the nation today? With Amy Coney Barrett nominated for the Supreme Court and partisan rancor at an all-time high, Shadi and Damir pick apart their doubts about the health of our democracy.

Reading List:

• Shadi's prescient tweet
• "Resisting the Juristocracy," Samuel Moyn (Boston Review)

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