The ‘Not Crazy’ Party

Will Saletan of Slate returns to discuss the looming possibility of a political conflict between ...

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Will Saletan of Slate returns to discuss the looming possibility of a political conflict between the Biden administration and the public sector teachers’ unions who nominally support him, the ways in which the pandemic has shifted labor back into the private sphere of the American household, why both parties should be aiming to present themselves as “the ‘not crazy’ party” (and why they both seem to be doing the opposite), and much more. Will also provides a useful thought experiment as to whether or not one is engaging in hypocrisy in political discussions: “Always try to ask, ‘Am I doing the same thing I’m accusing others of?’”

Show Notes:

–Will’s page at Slate

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  1. Elizabeth

    What about allowing immigrants who have not been tested in and stopping people from coming into Florida.

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    Brett Myers

    Back to reiterate how much more engaging and stimulating it is to hear Jonah talk to someone with a different perspective, than to have 'the boys' on. I mean, with respect, Jack Butler is kind of an egotistical, tribal ass, frankly. :-D

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    Kevin Johnson

    A good one, with a fine guest. I suggest JG prod a little more next time to tease out differences. This kind of dialogue is more essential than ever.

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  4. John Townson

    This was a great podcast. Saletan and Goldberg , differing perspectives, great honest discussion. Saletan is right, there needs to be an "alliance" across the partisan divide that respects the truth first and foremost.

    Dispatch: you have conquered the conservative fact-based reporting summit, now ally yourselves with those on the left like Saletan and Yascha Mounk to provide honest fact-based discussion and reporting.

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      Kevin Johnson

      Note YouTube has recent podcast he did with Mounk. Also,Hope JG hosts him soon.

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    Saied

    Here are a couple of facts that we can consider validating (or not). William Nordhaus won the Noble Prize in 2018 and argued that the optimal temperature rise is 4 degrees. Michael Schellenberger, a credible environmentalist is arguing that if we keep steady as we go, the temperature will increase by 3 degrees. Biden and the Democrats want to use the power of government to limit the temperature rise to 2 degrees. Why is this not being debated and discussed vigorously? What is the evidence supporting each of these positions and what is the right course of action?

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    Saied

    The goal should be to stay ahead of the vaccine production rate and that means that there should be a ramp up to about 3 million injections per day. That is where the vaccine production is heading.

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    Justin Perry-Naw Dawg Doctrine

    @Jonah. We have a large cohort of people who were naturally infected back in March-June, who do not have measurable immunity to the virus. It's the same we tell people with Flu, it doesn't matter if you had it, or think you had it, we need everyone to get vaccinated.

    And I really hope most of you look past the fact that the single dose JnJ (and AZ) vaccine is somewhere between 50-70% effective against all known strains, because that's still a pretty darn good vaccine and will get us to a place where we can live with Covid like we do with Flu.

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  8. Ben Noack

    Post modernism isn't just "everything is a social construction, so lets just make our own social construction." The focus of post-modernism is far more on destruction than on creation.

    The post-truth of conspiracy theorists and 1619-style history is less about creating their own truth, than it is about critiquing the established truth as invalid. The tendency of both is to level institutions and "elites" whose power, (power as dominance in hierarchy), they resent.

    The Ressentiment which animates the populist left is indignant at the audacity of institutions to exist at all in a relativist vacuum. In a sense, post-modernism rages against the artificiality of institutions precisely because they are not grounded in a Truth, the very existence of which, they preclude as being impossible.

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    Jeff Walden

    Just to note, Jonah, your censors slipped up a bit around ~23:30 into this. I don't particularly care, but given you offered an apology once in the past for a more-prominent slipup, you might. :-)

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    Luke Thompson (not that one)

    I'm not sure how Trump's lies are more impeachable than Obama/Biden pushing the myth of Russian collusion. To be clear, I think both are entirely disqualifying. But not pushing back on the claim that Trump is some kind of new advent is concerning. Obama regularly lied to the press, the main difference is they actually believed him, even when he was obviously wrong. Trump is Obama with less decorum.

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