Episode 7 of my video and podcast series, Salon of the Refused, is now available. I talk with an old friend, Bob Garmong, who spent most of the past decade as a lecturer at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics in Dalian, China, about his experiences there and the prospects for the country’s future. The […]
A Guide to Surviving the Trumpocalypse
The big story over the holidays, in the transition from 2018 to 2019, is the first beginnings of the Trumpocalypse. When Donald Trump was elected, a lot of us predicted disaster, and so far it seems that the disaster has not come. But the consequences of this presidency are still unfolding, and in the last […]
Social Media Was a Mistake
Top Stories of the Year: #1 I’ve been counting down the top stories of the year, looking back at the big events of 2018 and reviewing my coverage of them. At the top of the list this year is what we have discovered about the impact of digital media on our public debate—particularly the second […]
Culture Is Downstream of Politics
Top Stories of the Year: #2 I’ve been counting down the top stories of the year, looking back at the big events of 2018 and reviewing my coverage of them. Andrew Breitbart famously said that politics is downstream of culture. But if he had lived to see the art and entertainment in 2018, he might […]
Are We All Colluding with the Russians?
Top Stories of the Year: #3 I’ve been counting down the top stories of the year, looking back at the big events of 2018 and reviewing my coverage of them. I have been unenthusiastic about covering the still-unfolding set of scandals, or possible scandals, involving Donald Trump and his various associates. There’s an awful lot […]
Workingmen and Reformers
Top Stories of the Year: #4 Yesterday, I concluded that genuine political reforms have to be pursued almost in secret, outside of normal partisan lines. Actual activity certainly does not correlate with the degree of press coverage. The biggest non-story of the year, in that regard, was gun control. Shooting incidents are rare and—contrary to […]
Into the Grey Areas
Top Stories of the Year: #5 It’s time to count down the top five stories of the year, looking back at the big events of 2018 and reviewing my coverage of them. Last year, one of the top stories was the Great Sexual Harassment Awakening, which was rapidly turning into the Great Sexual Harassment panic. […]
Salon of the Refused, Episode 6
Episode 6 of my video and podcast series, Salon of the Refused, is now available. I talk with Tom Nichols, professor at the Harvard Extension School and author of The Death of Expertise, about the future of NeverTrump. The conversation includes: how Trump actually shifts power to “zombie” bureaucrats, Trump and Russia, and the key to […]
Salon of the Refused, Episode 5
Episode 5 of my video and podcast series, Salon of the Refused, is now available. I talk with Tom Nichols, professor at the Naval War College and Harvard Extension School, about the “death of expertise.” The conversation includes: what happens when experts get it wrong, how both left and right have contributed to contempt for expertise, and […]
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- Salon of the Refused, Episode 10 February 13, 2019
- Fauxcahontas’s Last Stand February 11, 2019
- The Democratic Party’s Psychotic Break February 10, 2019
- That Noise the Kids Are Listening to These Days January 30, 2019
- Salon of the Refused, Episode 9 January 25, 2019
- The Parasite That Kills Its Hostess November 18, 2012
- Radical New York City Democrats December 31, 2013
- Confessions of a Reluctant Culture Warrior December 20, 2014
- Pathological Altruism July 3, 2013
- The 25 Craziest Things Said at the Democratic Debate October 14, 2015
The War on the Brains of the Right
Five Things You Need to Read Today 1. The War on the Brains of the Right At the very beginning of the Trump phenomenon, I warned about a war on the brains of the right. Along with many friends and colleagues, I have found it grimly amusing to find myself dismissed as an “establishment” “elitist” […]