Culturally Determined

Raina Lipsitz discusses her new book, "The Rise of a New Left: How Young Radicals Are Shaping the Future of American Politics." Are charismatic figures like AOC and Bernie responsible for the resurgence of socialism in the US? Or did structural/economic forces make a left revival inevitable? What lessons have organizers learned from the failures of past generations? Is "defund the police" a good policy? Plus: How do leftists evaluate President Biden's first two years in office? Recorded January 26, 2023LINKSRaina's book, "The Rise of a New Left: How Young Radicals Are Shaping the Future of American Politics"https://www.versobooks.com/books/3979-the-rise-of-a-new-leftRaina's websitehttps://rainalipsitz.com/Follow @rainalipsFollow @aryehcw

Writer and "BookTok" expert Leigh Stein tries to assuage Aryeh's fears about the wildly popular video app. Should we be worried about TikTok's Chinese origins? Is the app poisoning the minds of America's youth—or is that idea just the sign of a xenophobic moral panic? Could Gen Zers teach Millennials how to stop looking at their phones? Plus: The two self-confessed Twitter addicts discuss whether Elon Musk has killed the site for good.Recorded January 18, 2023LINKSNYT: "Auburn Banned TikTok, and Students Can’t Stop Talking About It"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/business/auburn-tiktok-ban-students.htmlLeigh's novel, "Self Care"https://www.amazon.com/Self-Care-Novel-Leigh-Stein/dp/0143135198Leigh's TikTok accounthttps://www.tiktok.com/@leighstein?lang=enFollow @rhymeswithbeeFollow @AryehCW

Comedian Sophie Zucker talks about her new one-woman musical, "Sophie Sucks Face," which tells the story of a young Jewish woman who makes out with her cousin at their grandfather's funeral.Recorded November 21, 2022LINKSSophie Sucks Facehttps://www.sophiezucker.com/sophie-sucks-faceSophie's Instagram @stringcheesezuckerhttps://www.instagram.com/stringcheesezucker/?hl=enFollow @sophierzuckerFollow @AryehCW

Josh Barnard, a software engineer and tech-industry veteran who worked at Twitter during and after the 2016 election, discusses Elon Musk's chaotic changes at the company. Were Twitter's employees a bunch of woke leftists? Does Musk understand how to code? Could the site suffer a massive technical failure? Plus: Can the moderation dilemma ever be solved?Recorded November 18, 2022Follow @barndawgieFollow @AryehCW

Kat discusses her recent essay in National Review, "Why I Keep Getting Mistaken for a Conservative." Has online political life swallowed offline political life? Has technology made concerns about book bans a thing of the past? Plus: Is Aryeh a Twitter bully?Recorded November 9, 2022LINKS:Kat's essay, "Why I Keep Getting Mistaken for a Conservative"https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2022/11/07/why-i-keep-getting-mistaken-for-a-conservative/Kat's forthcoming novel, "You Must Remember This"https://www.amazon.com/You-Must-Remember-This-Novel-ebook/dp/B09Y92QQQPKat's previous novel, "No One Will Miss Her"https://www.amazon.com/No-One-Will-Miss-Her/dp/0063057018Follow @katrosenfield Follow @AryehCW

Aryeh and Dave Karpf, an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, discuss Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter. Is he going to run the company into the ground—and would that be good for America? Is Twitter in fact the online public square? What would a non-toxic version of the site look like? Plus: Why does Mark Zuckerberg think we all want to join him in the metaverse?Recorded November 4, 2022LINKS:Dave's post, "Elon's Twitter-Tilt"https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/elons-twitter-tilt?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=auto_shareNYT: "The Tech Bubble That Never Burst"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/19/technology/tech-startup-bubble.htmlDave's Wired piece on virtual realityhttps://www.wired.com/story/virtual-reality-rich-white-kid-of-technology/Dave's post, "So how's the Metaverse going?"https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/so-hows-the-metaverse-goingDave's post, "Tech futurism's blind spot"https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/tech-futurisms-blind-spotFollow @davekarpf Follow @AryehCW

Laura Mayer talks about "Shameless Acquisition Target," her new podcast series about how market forces and bad choices have changed the podcast industry. Mayer has worked as a radio and podcast editor, producer, and executive—but this is her first time hosting her own show.Recorded October 27, 2022LINKSShameless Acquisition Target websitehttps://www.shameless.biz/Shameless Acquisition Target on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shameless-acquisition-target/id1630806641Follow @lrmayer Follow @AryehCW

Aryeh and Joanna analyze Nathan Fielder's HBO series "The Rehearsal." What is the show actually about? Can the viewer separate reality from "reality"? Is Nathan the show's villain, hero, or something else? How sympathetic should we feel toward Angela? And what does the final scene actually mean?Recorded September 11, 2022LINKSTrailer for "The Rehearsal"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fjPFt8cpicFollow @JoannaMang Follow @AryehCW

William Deresiewicz, author of the new book "The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society," discusses how technology is changing our sense of self, how every aspect of higher education is failing, the late Harold Bloom, Great Books courses, and more!Recorded August 18, 2022LINKS:Bill's new book, "The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society"https://www.amazon.com/End-Solitude-Selected-Culture-Society/dp/125085864XBill's essay, "Why I Left Academia (Since You're Wondering)"https://quillette.com/2022/08/17/why-i-left-academia-since-youre-wondering/Bill's essay in Liberties, "Soul-Making Studies"https://libertiesjournal.com/articles/soul-making-studies/Louis Menand on Great Books courseshttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/20/whats-so-great-about-great-books-courses-roosevelt-montas-rescuing-socratesBill's personal websitehttps://billderesiewicz.com/Follow @WDeresiewiczFollow @AryehCW