Culturally Determined

Aryeh Cohen-Wade

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Society & Culture
Every two weeks

Aryeh Cohen-Wade speaks with a variety of guests about culture, politics, and American society in general. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 hr ago

Woke 1 Was Crazy. Is Woke 2 Antisemitic? with Phoebe Maltz Bovy

Phoebe discusses her recent essay, "Woke 2, antisemitism by another name." Did Oct. 7 and the Gaza war create a common foe for the broad left to unify against—namely, the Jews? Or has the second Trump administration supplanted Israel as the American left's enemy number one? What does the John Galliano Met Gala disaster reveal about the acceptability of antisemitism? Aryeh also discusses his recent essay on how to quit Twitter/X in three easy steps. Recorded August 31, 2026 LINKS Phoebe's piece, "Woke 2, antisemitism by another name" https://thecjn.ca/opinion/woke-2-antisemitism-by-another-name/ Phoebe and Aryeh's previous podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-last-straight-woman-with-phoebe-maltz-bovy/id981282353?i=1000771840036 New York Magazine's "Habibi City" package https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/swana-new-york.html David Polansky's piece, "‘New York Magazine’ food feature leaves a bad taste" https://thecjn.ca/opinion/new-york-magazine-food-feature-leaves-a-bad-taste/ NYT on Galliano's spa faux pas https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/style/galliano-met-gala-critics.html Phoebe on the Cornell antisemitic student https://thecjn.ca/opinion/why-calling-antisemites-weird-doesnt-cut-it-anymore/ Aryeh on quitting Twitter https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2026/08/28/how-delete-x-twitter-sign-up-bluesky/91447669007/ Phoebe's new book, "The Last Straight Woman: On Desiring Men" https://www.amazon.com/Last-Straight-Woman-Desiring-Men/dp/0771013027 Phoebe's Substack, Close-reading the reruns https://phoebemaltzbovy.substack.com/ Aryeh's Substack, Culturally Determined: Links I Like https://aryehcw.substack.com/ Follow Phoebe on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/phoebebovy.bsky.social Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
21 Aug

Artificial Intelligence and the "God Test," with Robert Wright

Bob talks about his new book, "The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning." He describes how using AI to research treatment options when he had cancer convinced him of the technology's power. How seriously should we take "doomer" predictions that AI could lead to global catastrophe? Aryeh thinks average people are revolting against the technology, while Bob believes there are ways to use AI to overcome the cognitive biases that plague humanity. Recorded August 4, 2026 LINKS Bob's new book, "The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning" https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-God-Test/Robert-Wright/9781668061657 Aryeh's new Substack newsletter, "Culturally Determined: Links I Like" https://aryehcw.substack.com/ Aryeh and Bob discuss the legacy of Bloggingheads https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/20-years-ago-bloggingheads-was-a-trailblazer-with/id981282353?i=1000735793526 "Pacing the Frontier" letter https://www.pacingthefrontier.com/ New Yorker profile of Sam Altman https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted The NonZero Newsletter https://www.nonzero.org/ Nonzero podcast https://www.nonzero.org/podcast Follow Bob on Twitter: https://x.com/robertwrighter Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12 Aug

"The Responsible Party," a Novel, with Claire Carusillo

Claire Carusillo discusses her debut novel, "The Responsible Party," which just received a rave review in the New York Times. Claire uses bizarre real events from her family history to tell a comic multigenerational story of shipwrecks, the Chicago suburbs, humidity, and murder. She also discusses Storyboard, her new bookstore/skate shop/coffee shop in Midway, Utah — and the famous "tradwife" influencer who opened a store in the same town. Recorded August 5, 2026 LINKS Claire's novel, "The Responsible Party" https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250408631/theresponsibleparty/ Claire's new store, Storyboard https://www.storyboardmidway.com/ NYT on tourists in Midway, Utah https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/us/tradwife-ballerina-farm-utah.html Storyboard on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/storyboardmidway/ Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
9 Jun

The Last Straight Woman, with Phoebe Maltz Bovy

Phoebe discusses her new nonfiction book, "The Last Straight Woman: On Desiring Men," which critiques the contemporary discourse about female heterosexuality. Recorded June 4, 2026 LINKS Phoebe's new book, "The Last Straight Woman: On Desiring Men" https://www.amazon.com/Last-Straight-Woman-Desiring-Men/dp/0771013027 Phoebe on what she didn't want the cover to be https://phoebemaltzbovy.substack.com/p/everything-i-learned-and-didnt-learn The audiobook https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Last-Straight-Woman-Audiobook/B0G24L7BV4?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp Phoebe's post, "Men and women are exactly the same" https://phoebemaltzbovy.substack.com/p/men-and-women-are-exactly-the-same Kristen Roupenian's 2017 short story, "Cat Person" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/cat-person Phoebe's Substack, Close-reading the reruns https://phoebemaltzbovy.substack.com/ Follow Phoebe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoebe.maltz.bovy Follow Phoebe on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/phoebebovy.bsky.social Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
14 May

"New Skin," a Novel, with Sarah Wang

Sarah Wang discusses her debut novel, "New Skin," a dark comedy about a young woman whose mother is addicted to plastic surgery. After a bad nose job ruins the mother's face, she becomes a contestant on a reality show where people with botched plastic surgery compete to win reconstructive surgery. The novel explores class, immigrant lives, the labor of marginalized women, Los Angeles — and is also very funny. Recorded May 8, 2026 LINKS Sarah's new book, "New Skin" https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sarah-wang/new-skin/9780316594523/ Sarah's Instagram account, @daikonoclast https://www.instagram.com/daikonoclast/ Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30 Mar

Creating a Voluntary State Guard, with Adrian Bonenberger

Adrian Bonenberger, a writer and Army veteran, is running for governor of Connecticut on a platform of establishing a voluntary state guard. He explains how a state guard would decentralize power to the local level, and how his experience training military volunteers during the Ukraine War informed his view on threats to America and possibilities for a different kind of civic engagement. Recorded March 24, 2026 LINKS Adrian's campaign site https://www.bonenbergerforgovernor.com/ Adrian's 2023 piece on "Civil War" https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4374348-a-second-american-civil-war-wouldnt-look-like-a-movie/ Follow Adrian on Twitter: https://x.com/AdrianBonenber1 Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
10 Mar

Epstein and the Jews, with David Klion

On an episode that surely will not make anyone mad, Dave discusses his recent essay on how Jeffrey Epstein used his Jewishness to further his crimes. Aryeh and Dave then debate the merits of staying on Musk's Twitter/X vs. fleeing to cringey Bluesky. Recorded March 6, 2026 LINKS Dave's piece, "The Line Between Affinity and Conspiracy" https://jewishcurrents.org/the-line-between-affinity-and-conspiracy NYT: "Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/magazine/jeffrey-epstein-money-scams-investigation.html Times of Israel on antisemitic heckler in California https://www.timesofisrael.com/san-francisco-mayor-daniel-lurie-denounces-tax-the-jews-chant-heard-during-protest/ Dave's 2108 piece on Woody Allen https://jewishcurrents.org/unlearning-woody-allen Aryeh and Dave's 2018 conversation about the NYT https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/51348 Follow Dave on Twitter: https://x.com/DavidKlion Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
23 Jan

Sex in 2026, with Magdalene J. Taylor

Magdalene Taylor, a senior editor at Playboy Magazine who writes about sexuality and culture, talks about whether we are finally sick of dating apps, whether AI will change social interactions, the forces encouraging men and women to hate each other, the decline of the manosphere, and Trump's strange performance of masculinity. Recorded January 20, 2026 LINKS Magdalene's newsletter, "Many Such Cases" https://www.sexual-culture.com/ Aryeh and Magdalene's 2021 conversation https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/juggalos-simps-and-cat-guys-with-magdalene-taylor/id981282353?i=1000517814150 NYT on a woman who fell in love with a chatbot https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/technology/ai-boyfriend-chatgpt.html Magdalene's piece, "Do Men Even Like Women Anymore?" https://www.sexual-culture.com/p/do-men-even-like-women-anymore Magdalene's piece, "Do Women Even Like Men Anymore?" https://www.sexual-culture.com/p/do-women-even-like-men-anymore Puck on young men and Trump https://puck.news/why-young-men-are-souring-on-trump/ Follow @magdajtaylor Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Aryeh Cohen-Wade speaks with a variety of guests about culture, politics, and American society in general. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.