Uncertain Things Uncertain Things

William Deresiewicz — author of (the newly updated) Excellent Sheep, The Death of the Artist, and The End of Solitude — returns to the pod! This time we dive into one of the institutions we love to hate: elite universities. We dwell on and debate the protests at Columbia (et al.), the reasons why it’s all gone so wrong, and whether or not the solution is just to raze them to the ground.
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On the agenda:
-The context for Excellent Sheep, c. 2014 [2:39-12:21]
-The student as customer / PC police officer [12:22-27:32]
- The emptiness inside [27:33-40:02]
-To fix or ruin the elite reputation? [40:03-49:54]
-Getting into the protests & elite failure [49:55-58:58]
- What exactly went wrong [58:59-1:08:08]
-The answer isn’t yoga [1:08:09-1:29:36]
Mentioned in this conversation: 
-Our last conversation with Bill
-Vanessa’s newsletter on solitude/friendship
Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com.


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Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, author, and former Columbia Journalism School dean (to us!), Steve Coll, takes us deep into the conspiracy-plagued mind of Saddam Hussein, the subject of his latest book The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq. We go deep into the wonky journalism weeds — including what it took for Coll to get his hands on the Saddam tapes. And we ask our former dean the eternal question: Is J-School worth it?
-What it takes to put a book like this together [0:00-19:15]
-The Saddam tapes [19:16 -23:46]
-Inside the conspiracy rabbit hole [23:47-29:52
-Behind the conflicting perceptions [29:53-41:12]
-Oil, Israel, and failed policies [41:13-49:46]
-The U.S.-Israel relationship [49:47--53:32]
-How the media is covering the conflict [53:33-57:43]
-Objectivity and the rifts in journalism today [57:44-1:06:44]
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With Vanessa off for the weekend to explore the world of psychedelics, the podcast has been hijacked by a cabal of furious, loud, and lubricated Jews. Adaam, 3 martinis and a Laphroaig in, is joined by Newsweek opinion editor and author of Second Class Batya Ungar-Sargon, and Free Press reporter and host of The Re-Education podcast Eli Lake. The three have gathered to refute Jonathan Glazer’s Jewishness being worth hijacking by anyone. In proper Talmudic engagement, Batya spits fire, Eli plays devil's advocate, and Adaam speaks up for the grammar Nazis. Be warned, this may be our most petty, potted, parochial, and problematic episode yet.
Check out our ‘Inscrutable’ blog and ‘Uncertainty’ newsletter for thoughts and rants. 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.


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Authors and co-hosts of the Cut the Bull podcast, Charles Love (Race Crazy) and Wilfred Reilly (Taboo, Hate Crime Hoax) join us for a lively conversation/debate about race, history, and K-12 education — and Vanessa gets put in the hot seat. Questions covered include: Should Black history be separate from American history? Are we over-indexing on sex and gender in the classroom? Is social media an “environmental toxin” — or just another misdirection from the left? And, of course, what are the biggest blindspots on the left and the right?  
-Where we’ve been [0:00-4:47]
-Eric Adams, “environmental toxins,” and the Left [4:48-10:43] 
-1619 and documenting history [10:44-30:54] 
-Black history vs. American history [30:55-42:43] 
-Sex and gender in the classroom [42:44-59:29] 
-Diagnosing the misdirection [59:30-1:03:36] 
-The failings of integration [1:03:37-1:09:20] 
-How to fix education [1:09:50-1:13:18] 
-Blindspots on the Left and the Right [1:13:19-1:18:39]
Check out our ‘Inscrutable’ blog and ‘Uncertainty’ newsletter for thoughts and rants. 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.


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Dr. Einat Wilf is an Israeli writer, speaker, former (and future?) politician, podcaster (We Should All be Zionisists), and co-author of The War of Return. In this episode, we dive into some historical context for the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Vanessa asking all the ignorant questions you were too afraid to ask: What/who was there in Israel before 1948? Was displacement a part of the Zionist vision? Why did displacement happen? Then we pivot to the subject of Dr. Wilf’s book: The right of return, and the fundamental reason why peace, until this day, has been impossible. We conclude with a deep dive into UNRWA — the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees — and explain the role it’s played in perpetuating the conflict, to this day. 
On the agenda: 
-Zionism’s Parents and the Land of Israel [3:22-11:33]
-The Disappointment of Emancipation/The Possibility of Self-Determination [11:34-21:21]
-On Sovereignty and Displacement [21:22-53:29]
-The Refugee Question [53:30-1:02:37]
-UNRWA & Palestinian Identity [1:02:38-1:33:58]
-Where do we go from here? [1:33:59-1:42:30]
Check out our ‘Inscrutable’ blog and ‘Uncertainty’ newsletter for thoughts and rants. 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.


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Iranian historian and writer Arash Azizi comes on the pod to share his perspective on the Israel-Hamas conflict today — and why he believes ceasefire is the only viable path forward for Israel’s war with Hamas. Along the way, Azizi gives us on an overview of Iran’s politics since the Revolution of 1979 (i.e. how Soleimani became The Shadow Commander) and explains the country’s current stance toward Israel (which stands in contrast to the position of many Iranians). His second book about the country’s recent protest movements — What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom — will be out next year.
On the Agenda:
-Unpacking the Iranian Revolution (and the Left’s participation)
-Arash’s background
-Soleimani’s appeal (How we consolidated supreme power)
-Iran’s stance on Israel vs. Iranians’ sentiments
-Debating ceasefire
Check out our ‘Inscrutable’ blog and ‘Uncertainty’ newsletter for thoughts and rants. 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.


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