Subversive w/Alex Kaschuta Alexandra Kaschuta

This is the first part of our conversation. The full episode and the complete archive of Subversive episodes, including exclusive episodes and my writing, are available on Substack.

You can also subscribe to the podcast sans writing on Patreon for a bit less.

This is how the show is financed and grows, so I appreciate every contribution!

Please subscribe at:
⁠https://www.alexkaschuta.com/⁠
⁠https://www.patreon.com/aksubversive⁠

Our conversation explores the concept of pronatalism, the role of parents in shaping the values and behaviors of their children, the influence of genetics and culture, the limitations of heritability studies, and the challenges of navigating the complex nature vs. nurture debate. We also talk about the complexity of personality traits, the challenges of measuring and understanding them, the different flavors of traits, and the role of parenting in shaping them. The discussion also touches on the search for meaning in life, the impact of career choices, the importance of parenting styles, and the need for pro-natalist policies.

Erik Hoel is an essayist, a neuroscientist, a novelist, and the author of one of my favorite Substacks: The Intrinsic Perspective

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Pronatalism and the Repugnant Conclusion

09:17 The Role of Parents in Shaping Values and Behaviors

18:59 Genetics, Heritability, and the Nature vs. Nurture Debate

40:22 The Complexity of Personality Traits

42:07 The Challenges of Measurement

46:12 Finding Meaning in Life

51:04 The Experience of Parenthood

56:49 Pronatalist Policies

This is the first part of our conversation. The full episode and the complete archive of Subversive episodes, including exclusive episodes and my writing, are available on Substack.

You can also subscribe to the podcast sans writing on Patreon for a bit less.

This is how the show is financed and grows, so I appreciate every contribution!

Please subscribe at:
⁠https://www.alexkaschuta.com/⁠
⁠  / aksubversive⁠  

We speak about how the impact of personal aesthetics on mental health and self-perception is significant, about how our convenience-oriented culture and the rise of athleisure have led to a decline in personal aesthetics and a lack of social pressure to dress well, about how men need to care about their aesthetics not only for their own well-being but also as a positive influence on their children. We also address how women play a role in influencing their partner's style, customization and tailoring, making progress, feeling good, and looking good; having kids can help shift focus away from wallowing and towards taking responsibility and finding joy in the present moment and much more.

O.W Root is a menswear expert, a Twitter poster @NecktieSalvage, and a writer on Substack at https://necktiesalvage.substack.com/

Chapters for the full conversation.

00:00 The Impact of Personal Aesthetics on Mental Health

02:25 The Power of Dressing with Intention

04:02 The Decline of Personal Aesthetics in a Convenience-Oriented Culture

05:30 The Importance of Men's Style for Self-Perception and Parenting

07:08 The Degeneration of Culture and the Loss of Personal Style

11:49 Trends, Customization, and Tailoring

14:18 Making Progress in Personal Style

43:23 The Absurdity of Normalcy in the Age of Extremes

48:28 Embracing Imperfection and Living with Direction

52:13 Overcoming the Fear of Making Mistakes

54:48 Shifting Focus from Wallowing to Taking Responsibility

01:01:39 Riding the Wave of Life and Finding Joy in the Present

This is the first half of our conversation. The full episode and the complete archive of Subversive episodes, including exclusive episodes and my writing, are available on Substack.

You can also subscribe to the podcast sans writing on Patreon for a bit less.

This is how the show is financed and grows, so I appreciate every contribution!

Please subscribe at:
https://www.alexkaschuta.com/

https://www.patreon.com/aksubversive



Our conversation explores moral posturing, the contrast between female neediness and male horniness, the transformation from undesirable to desirable, the experiences of femcels, and the role of feminism in different cultures. We also speak about feminism, relationships, motherhood, and self-discovery. Stella shares her experience of feeling empowered by feminism while studying in London but also highlights the challenges she faced, such as casual sex and the devaluation of relationships. She discusses the pressure women face to get married and have children and the impact it can have on their lives. We also reflect on our relationships with our mothers and their influence on our identities. They also discuss the importance of emotional maturity and therapy's role in personal growth.



Stella Tsantekidou is a writer and political commentator. She’s on Twitter at @Stsantek. She writes on Substack at:



00:00 Moral Posturing and Refreshing Authenticity

03:30 The Contrast Between Female Neediness and Male Horniness

08:17 The Hidden World of Femcels

24:58 The Role of Feminism in Different Cultures

34:25 Empowerment and Challenges of Feminism

37:21 The Pressure to Get Married and Have Children

41:48 Struggles in Marriages and Divorce

47:19 Dating, Self-Worth, and Relationships

50:49 Navigating Political Differences and Speaking to the Right

53:35 Mothers and Identity

56:11 Emotional Maturity and Therapy

59:42 John Stuart Mill: Exploring Women's Identity

This is the first half of our conversation. The full episode and the complete archive of Subversive episodes, including exclusive episodes and my writing, are available on Substack.

You can also subscribe to the podcast sans writing on Patreon for a bit less.

This is how the show is financed and grows, so I appreciate every contribution!

Please subscribe at:
https://www.alexkaschuta.com/
https://www.patreon.com/aksubversive

Our conversation explores the concept of worldviews as self-contained snow globes that represent specific cardinal virtues. We discuss the four common elements of every worldview: what is good, where good and bad come from, who deserves good, and how to do good. The conversation also delves into the challenges of understanding and evaluating different worldviews, the role of in-group signaling, and the importance of understanding other perspectives. We also discuss Valueism as a life philosophy based on intrinsic values and effective action to increase them, the decline of traditional religion, the search for alternative forms of community and meaning, group differences, and the extremes of the distribution, language ambiguity, and imprecision used to hide behind claims and avoid accountability - and much more.

Spencer Greenberg is the founder of ClearerThinking.org and Spark Wave and host of the Clearer Thinking podcast.

A few notes on things mentioned in our chat:

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg (podcast) - a recent episode with Sasha Chapin: https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/215/sasha-chapin-raising-our-happiness-baseline/ 

The Intrinsic Values Test: https://programs.clearerthinking.org/intrinsic_values_test.html

Valuism: doing what you value as a life philosophy: https://www.spencergreenberg.com/2023/02/doing-what-you-value-as-a-way-of-life-an-introduction-to-valuism/

A theory of worldviews: https://www.clearerthinking.org/post/understand-how-other-people-think-a-theory-of-worldviews

Clearer Thinking's 80 free tools on topics like critical thinking, decision-making, etc.: https://www.clearerthinking.org/tools

Oversimplified vs. Difference Deniers: https://www.spencergreenberg.com/2023/12/oversimplifiers-vs-difference-deniers-a-dynamic-regarding-group-differences-that-leads-to-rage-and-confusion/

Tails in distributions: https://x.com/SpencrGreenberg/status/1795806828015837226

Precision and measurability as B.S. detectors: https://x.com/SpencrGreenberg/status/1804923269092442580



Chapters

00:00 Exploring Worldviews as Self-Contained Snow Globes

01:20 The Four Elements of Every Worldview

29:09 The Decline of Traditional Religion and the Search for Meaning

30:40 Adapting Religions to Modern Ideas

31:37 The Appeal of Traditional and Hardcore Religion

32:25 Interpretations and Sects within Religions

34:38 Constant Splitting and Factionalism in Online Communities

36:05 Balancing Group Differences and Individual Assessments

40:02 Understanding Average Group Differences

41:55 The Power of Language Ambiguity and Imprecision

54:19 Recognizing and Overcoming Biases

This is the first half of our conversation. The full episode and the complete archive of Subversive episodes, including exclusive episodes and my writing, are available on Substack.

You can also subscribe to the podcast sans writing on Patreon for a bit less.

This is how the show is financed and grows, so I appreciate every contribution!

Please subscribe at:
https://www.alexkaschuta.com/
https://www.patreon.com/aksubversive

We discuss our personal journeys and the factors that led us to the Dissident Right. We also touch on the fragmentation and infighting within the dissident right, the importance of Christianity in the UK, and the tension between ethno-nationalism and class elements. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the culture wars, the impact of social media, and the need for the right to find common ground and focus on effective strategies. We also discuss the manipulation of women's empathetic nature, the bundling of issues in politics, the flaws of first-past-the-post systems, the rise of the elite human capital right, the impact of gay marriage on societal norms, and the need for strong leadership to effect change, the challenges of imposing pro-social norms without strictures, the power of minorities in representative democracies, and the potential for backlash in the culture war. We also touch on the success of populist leaders in El Salvador and the importance of a strong client class for change.



Chapters

00:00 Attraction and Disillusionment with the Dissident Right

05:41 Differences between the Dissident Right in the UK and the US

11:20 The Escalation of the Culture Wars

16:25 Finding Common Ground in the Dissident Right Movement

32:27 The Influence of Women in Politics and the Challenges of Bundling Issues

36:14 The Elite Human Capital Right and the Role of Leadership in Driving Change

45:08 The Impact of the Sexual Revolution and the Institutionalization of Postmodern Values

56:02 Power Dynamics: The Rights of Minorities and the Marginalization of the Majority

John Arcto is a British writer and the author of the Substack The Anglofuturist

This is the first half of our conversation. The full episode and the complete archive of Subversive episodes, including exclusive episodes and my writing, are available on Substack.

You can also subscribe to the podcast sans writing on Patreon for a bit less.

This is how the show is financed and grows, so I appreciate every contribution!

Please subscribe at:
https://www.alexkaschuta.com/
https://www.patreon.com/aksubversive

Our conversation explores the genealogy and evolution of the alt-right movement, discussing its origins, key figures, and the reasons behind its rise and subsequent implosion. We also talk about the demographic makeup of the alt-right, the influence of events like the Ron Paul movement and the Trayvon Martin case, and the role of race and IQ in shaping the movement's ideology. The conversation also touches on the leadership vacuum within the alt-right and the challenges of navigating the online space, different styles of communication between men and women, the challenges women face in leadership roles, the changing dynamics of sexuality, and the impact of technology on society and much more.

Walt Bismarck is a writer with a rapidly growing Substack presence and you can find him on Twitter as well.

Chapters for the full chat

00:00 Introduction to the alt-right movement

06:04 Demographics and influences of the alt-right

13:09 The leadership vacuum and challenges of the online space

25:01 The emergence of the dissident right

34:47 Introduction and the Importance of Women in Leadership

38:02 The Changing Dynamics of Sexuality and Early Onset of Puberty

47:31 Navigating the Complexities of the Modern World

01:00:38 The Fragmentation of Political Movements

01:01:27 Engaging with Different Worldviews

01:02:35 Finding Fulfillment and Meaning in a Complex World

01:03:29 Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies

01:10:05 The Historical and Cultural Dynamics of Eastern Europe

The Walt Right

We also mentioned a previous guest’s Substack on the show, Regan Arntz-Gray.

https://www.allcatsarefemale.com/