MTracey podcast

Michael Tracey
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  • NEWS
MTracey podcast

Independent journalism, analysis, and interviews from Michael Tracey. www.mtracey.net

  1. 05/19/2021

    Some Kind Of Heaven

    Bit of a break from regular programming here — sorry if you were expecting another scintillating essay on Israel/Palestine. But for the first time, watching a movie motivated me to track down the director and interview him about it, in hopes that I could encourage more people to watch. The movie is called Some Kind of Heaven and it’s a documentary that defies any easy description. Ostensibly, it’s about The Villages, a massive retirement community in Florida that’s become well-known as a political flashpoint given the strident support for Trump there. But the movie isn’t overtly political, thank God — which is actually a good way to gain genuine insight into the political/cultural dynamics of The Villages. I really recommend watching the documentary, which is available on Video On Demand and most recently, Hulu. In this occasional edition of my Substack-hosted podcast, I chatted with the director, Lance Oppenheim. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mtracey.net/subscribe

    47 min

  2. 04/09/2021

    How To Spot Psychobabble Fads

    Notwithstanding the comically intense online vitriol he often seems to provoke, Jesse Singal is a fairly laid-back guy. He also has a new book out this week, The Quick Fix, which I’ve read and can recommend. Upon its publication Singal has been greeted with a new wave of attempts to stigmatize both him and the book, primarily on the ground that he is allegedly “transphobic”—even though the book has nothing to do with Trans issues, and by no conceivable standard of reasonability could he be deemed “transphobic.” But that hasn’t stopped the LGBTQ advocacy organization “GLAAD” from placing him on their scary-sounding “Accountability List,” with the precise mechanism of “accountability” they are aiming for left suspiciously unspecified. The book provides a helpful framework to understand how bogus, evidence-devoid pop psychology concepts get transmitted through the academia —> journalism pipeline, and how the uncritical acceptance of those concepts encourages poor reasoning and bad political outcomes. So if you notice any questionable “fads” gaining prominence today, the book will give you a methodology to process them with some critical distance—which, as Singal demonstrates, the media is often uninterested in doing. Reminder that in addition to listening directly on Substack, you can subscribe to the podcast on all the typical platforms, as well as YouTube where I post video versions. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mtracey.net/subscribe

    49 min

  3. 03/23/2021

    How Boomers Ruined Everything

    Helen Andrews’ fabulously acidic book Boomers has earned a rousing enough recommendation from me that I decided to feature her as the first guest in the newly revived M. Tracey podcast series, now hosted on Substack. Previously I’d been averse to demarcating political conflict by generational lines, but this book has spicily dispelled any lingering apprehension I had in that regard. There’s plenty of cancellable material in here if you’re inclined to be scandalized — an apologia for the virtues of old-style European empire, a counter-intuitive ode to the savvy of Al Sharpton, numerous bitter pills to swallow on the failures of American imperial hegemony and modern feminism, etc. Mysteriously though, Helen reports not yet having been canceled — which raises the question of whether she’s immunized by dint of already being a hardened conservative, and therefore not susceptible to demands for her to grovelingly repudiate herself. Or maybe it’s just because the potentially-scandalized lack the attention span to get through the book, which would be in keeping with her general thesis of boomer violence upon our collective cognitive faculties. Hope you enjoy the conversation. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mtracey.net/subscribe

    58 min
  4. Tulsi Gabbard on the Red Scare podcast!

    02/03/2020

    Tulsi Gabbard on the Red Scare podcast!

    Subscribe to Red Scare! https://www.patreon.com/posts/33684113 Support MT on Patreon and PayPal! https://www.patreon.com/mtracey paypal.me/mctracey Subscribe to MT on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaLn4FMU_Fp-LBcdbYgYWow This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mtracey.net/subscribe

    41 min
  5. The Democratic candidates and foreign policy

    10/10/2019

    The Democratic candidates and foreign policy

    I talked to Branko Marcetic, writer for Jacobin and In These Times, about the foreign policy positioning of the Democratic primary candidates (or lack thereof). Support/subscribe on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mtracey Support via PayPal: https://paypal.me/mctracey This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mtracey.net/subscribe

    1h 39m
  6. Russiagate redux? Aaron Maté on Ukraine/impeachment

    09/26/2019

    Russiagate redux? Aaron Maté on Ukraine/impeachment

    I talked to Aaron Maté about the latest Ukraine/impeachment developments. This is derived from a YouTube livestream recorded September 25. Support MT on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mtracey Support via PayPal: https://paypal.me/mctracey This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mtracey.net/subscribe

    57 min
  7. Why Evangelicals support Trump

    09/20/2019

    Why Evangelicals support Trump

    I spoke to Ben Howe, author of the new book "The Immoral Majority," about his criticism of Evangelical Christian political power in the age of Trump. He himself is an Evangelical Christian and strongly dislikes Trump, but I tried to avoid the typical "Never Trump" discursive pitfalls! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mtracey Support via PayPal: https://paypal.me/mctracey This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mtracey.net/subscribe

    1h 38m
  8. Presidential candidate Joe Sestak on foreign policy mistakes, Joe Biden, and Tulsi Gabbard

    09/12/2019

    Presidential candidate Joe Sestak on foreign policy mistakes, Joe Biden, and Tulsi Gabbard

    I spoke to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Sestak in New Hampshire. If you're not familiar with him, you're probably not alone. But even "minor" candidates deserve a fair hearing, and it was an interesting discussion. Support on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mtracey Support via PayPal: https://paypal.me/mctracey   This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mtracey.net/subscribe

    55 min
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4.4
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About

Independent journalism, analysis, and interviews from Michael Tracey. www.mtracey.net

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Tracey
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2021
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Michael Tracey
  • Show Website
    MTracey podcast

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