Reject Modernity Embrace Tradition

Clayton Becker and Megan Cox
  • 5.0 (5)
  • SOCIAL SCIENCES
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Two UCLA Political Science PhD Students, Comparativist Megan Cox and Americanist Clayton Becker take you through the ways that previous generations have made the world worse by dismantling the legacy of things like the New Deal and the Great Society. From car dependency to political polarization to our over-reliance on dating apps to helicopter parenting, come along to learn about the many different ways that we should Reject Modernity and Embrace Tradition.

  1. FEB 2

    Episode 45: Reject X, Embrace Twitter (with Jake Christie)

    Elon has ruined Twitter. Just about every element of the user experience has gotten worse since he took over, and he fundamentally seems to misunderstand the platform. We talked to Jake Christie, the curator of the Museum of Twitter, to understand a bit more about the Twitter of Yore, and what we might've lost now that it's gone.

    1h 5m

  2. JAN 19

    Episode 44: Reject Random State Violence, Embrace Accountability

    Over the past year of the Trump administration, ICE agents have been running around the country acting with utter impunity. Without the threat of being help accountable for their actions, they have been running roughshod over anyone who they perceive as getting in their way. The only way to fix this situation, and to restore some measure of public trust in the justice system, is to make sure that those responsible are held accountable in the future.

    1h 15m

  3. 12/29/2025

    Episode 43: Reject Isolation, Embrace Celebration

    Just about every culture in the Northern Hemisphere has a festival of lights around this time of year, from Diwali to Christmas to Hanukkah to the Lantern Festival to Yule . It speaks to a deep need for humans to connect at this time of year, yet we constantly hear and read about isolation and loneliness in the depths of winter. It's up to us to be villagers and celebrate with our friends and family.

    51 min

  4. 12/15/2025

    Episode 42: Reject Tax Cuts, Embrace Civic Commitment

    That top tax rates and general tax burdens have decreased has been much reported on, but an equally important, if less well known, trend is that American states and cities maintain deeply regressive tax systems. Yet, wealthy people in the most regressive places continue to push for further tax cuts for themselves. This is, to put it frankly, precisely backwards and the exact opposite of what we should be doing.

    1h 12m

  5. 12/01/2025

    Episode 41: Reject the 50-year Mortgage, Embrace Building Housing

    Trump's recent "proposal", if we can call it that, for a 50-year mortgage, is one of the worst ideas his administration has ever had that wasn't actively intending to hurt someone or some group. Megan and Clayton take you through why it is such a terrible idea and what we ought to do instead.

    1h 9m

  6. 11/17/2025

    Episode 40: Reject the Shadow Docket, Embrace Decisions

    Recently, the Supreme Court has been making much greater use of the emergency, or "shadow", docket to make rulings which have real substantive impacts - even though the emergency docket is supposed to be used only for procedural rulings. Listen along as Megan and Clayton talk about why this is such a problem and what we could potentially do to help fix it.

    1h 2m

  7. 10/13/2025

    Episode 39: Reject Mere Cancellation, Embrace Cultural Change

    A few episodes ago, Megan and Clayton talked themselves into the position that the MeToo movement hadn't actually been very successful in achieving many of its goals. Listen along as they discuss the need to move beyond cancellation into a genuine framework of cultural change.

    55 min

  8. 09/22/2025

    Episode 38: Reject "Born and Raised", Embrace Transplants

    Everybody seems to hate it when new people move to the city. Transplants are held responsible for everything from traffic to displacement. But this image of transplants as some kind of uniquely malicious force doesn't hold up to scrutiny - nor do the protestations of those who want to pull the ladder up behind them. Megan and Clayton discuss why vilifying transplants has the whole situation backwards and why passing policies that allow people to live where they want should be preferred.

    1h 9m
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About

Two UCLA Political Science PhD Students, Comparativist Megan Cox and Americanist Clayton Becker take you through the ways that previous generations have made the world worse by dismantling the legacy of things like the New Deal and the Great Society. From car dependency to political polarization to our over-reliance on dating apps to helicopter parenting, come along to learn about the many different ways that we should Reject Modernity and Embrace Tradition.

Information

  • Creator
    Clayton Becker and Megan Cox
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Clayton Becker and Megan Cox
  • Show Website
    Reject Modernity Embrace Tradition