Podcast appearances and mentions of Adam Kirsch

Jonah Goldberg is joined by Adam Kirsch to discuss Kirsch's new book, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice. What does settler colonialism actually mean in the Israeli context? Where did the school of thought originate? And how can Israel move forward under the framework of settler colonialist ideology? Show Notes: —Order Adam's new book, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice The Remnant is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch's offerings—including Jonah's G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diversity of opinion is a key feature of our ancient tradition. Dating back to the Talmud, we have taken pride in our capacity to transcend difference through dialogue. And yet, should there be limits around what constitutes acceptable discourse within Jewish communities? How are those boundaries set? Celebrating the launch of the SAPIR issue on diversity, Park Avenue Synagogue's Senior Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove moderated a discussion with Bret Stephens, SAPIR Editor-in-Chief, Adam Kirsch, SAPIR contributing writer and editor for the The Wall Street Journal's Weekend Review section, and Ariella Saperstein, director of Viewpoint Diversity Initiatives at Maimonides Fund and the associate publisher of SAPIR.This conversation was recorded live at Park Avenue Synagogue in NYC on March 31, 2025. If you have not yet had the opportunity to read the articles discussed in the latest volume of SAPIR, please click on the links below:Viewpoint Diversity — Up to a Point by Bret StephensAre Zionists and Anti-Zionists Arguing for the Sake of Heaven? by Adam Kirsch

Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha is one of the great novels of the twentieth century and a prime example of literature that transforms the deeply personal into something universal. For Phil and JF in this episode, the novel serves as the foundation for a discussion on spiritual journeying, the ideal of enlightenment, and the challenge of living in an ensouled universe. Sign up for JF's new Weirdosphere course on the supernatural (http://www.weirdosphere.org), starting on February 6th, 2025. Purchase tickets to the Weirdosphere screening of Aaron Poole's Dada (https://weirdosphere.mn.co/plans/1494861?bundle_token=efd897d98f0a13d7bac82f0a49af07fb&utm_source=manual) on February 1st, 2025. Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies). Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) and 2 (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-2), on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com) page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia (https://cosmophonia.podbean.com/). Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! REFERENCES Herman Hesse, Siddhartha (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780553208849) Christopher Theofanidis and Melissa Studdard, Siddhartha Gustav Holst, [The Planets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThePlanets)_ Richard Wagner, Parsifal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsifal) G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781511903608) Colin Wilson, The Outsider (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780399173103) Adam Kirsch, “Herman Hesse's Arrested Development” (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/19/hermann-hesses-arrested-development) Dogen, Genjakoan (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780992112912) Chögyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781570629570)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comAdam is a literary critic and poet. He's been a senior editor at The New Republic and a contributing editor for Tablet and Harvard Magazine, and he's currently an editor in the Wall Street Journal's Review section. The author of many books, his latest is On Settler Colonialism: Violence, Ideology and Justice. I've been fascinated by the concept — another product of critical theory, as it is now routinely applied to Israel. We hash it all out.For two clips of our convo — on the reasons why Europe explored the world, and the bastardization of “genocide” — pop over to our YouTube page.Other topics: Adam's roots in LA; coming from a long line of writers; the power of poetry; its current boom with Instagram and hip-hop; Larkin; the omnipresence of settler colonialism in human history; the Neanderthals; the Ulster colonists; the French in Algeria; replacement colonialism in Australia and North America; the viral catastrophe there; the 1619 Project; “decolonizing” a bookshelf; Marxism; Coates and fatalism toward the US; MLK's “promissory note”; Obama's “more perfect union”; migration under climate change; China the biggest polluter; More's Utopia; the Holocaust; the Killing Fields; Rwanda; mass migration of Muslims to Europe; “white genocide”; Pat Buchanan; the settler colonialism in Israel; ancient claims to Palestine; the Balfour Declaration; British limits on migrant Jews in WWII; the US turning away Holocaust refugees; the UN partition plan; the 1948 war; the Nakba; Ben-Gurion; Jabotinsky's “Iron Wall”; Clinton's despair after 2000; ethnic cleansing in the West Bank; the nihilism of October 7; civilian carnage and human shields in Gaza; Arab countries denying Palestinians; a two-state solution; the moral preening of Coates; and the economic and liberal triumphs of Israel.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Andrew Neil on UK and US politics, John Gray on the state of liberal democracy, Jon Rauch on his new book on “Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy,” Sebastian Junger on near-death experiences, Evan Wolfson on the history of marriage equality, Yoni Appelbaum on the American Dream, Nick Denton on the evolution of new media, and Ross Douthat on how everyone should be religious. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

Under settler colonialism, you're either a settler or indigenous and the sin of the founding of America, Australia, and Israel, for example, is not just a past injustice but a perpetuating mistake that explains the present. Listen as poet, author, and literary critic Adam Kirsch explains how an academic theory helps us understand the protests against Israel on America's college campuses, the phenomenon of land acknowledgments, and more.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comMary is a political consultant and former TV and radio host. She served under Presidents Reagan, HW Bush, and W Bush. She also co-founded Threshold Editions, a conservative publishing imprint at Simon & Schuster. She's married to Democratic consultant and Dishcast guest, James Carville, whom she wrote two books with: All's Fair and Love & War. She also wrote Letters to My Daughters. We got to know each other decades ago, but lost touch. After her husband Carville's pod, I asked her. She lives on a farm now — and is as fun and sharp as ever.We had no specific topic at hand so the convo is a bit sprawling, like two old friends reconnecting in the Christmas break. Or something like that. For two clips of our convo — on finding yourself through suffering, and the last days of Lee Atwater — pop over to our YouTube page.Other topics: growing up in south Chicago around steel mills; being the only white woman at beauty school; dropping out of college many times; worked her way through law school; the “explosion of ideas” under Reagan; converting to Catholicism; Vatican II undermining the liturgy; leaving the Dem Party over identity politics; black people against “Defund”; the Catholic view of the individual; why flaws are the most interesting parts of people; Mary's close friendship with Donna Brazile; hairdressers as priests; Augustine; Pascal; the epistemological humility of Socrates; Stoicism; my mother's mental illness; the crucifixion of Jesus; Mel Gibson's version of the Passion; Willie Horton; Bernie one of the few pols championing class; the redistribution of wealth during Covid; the lockdowns; Boris and Partygate; George Floyd and BLM groupthink; Kyle Rittenhouse; Jussie Smollett; the narrative of structural racism; MLK envy and “the right side of history”; the Ferguson effect; innovative police work in NOLA; Mary fighting sex trafficking in NOLA; Tony Blair cementing the legacy of Margaret Thatcher; the lack of accountability from political consultants; the profundity of Winnie the Pooh; and which great Americans we should emulate today.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Adam Kirsch on his book On Settler Colonialism, John Gray on the state of liberal democracy, Jon Rauch on his new book on “Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy,” Nick Denton on the evolution of new media, and Ross Douthat on how everyone should be religious. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comWe've been trying to cover the trans debate from as many sides as possible. So Brianna Wu was an obvious invite to the Dishcast. She is a video game developer and political activist who has run for Congress twice in Massachusetts. She is also a public speaker on issues affecting women in tech and became a central figure in Gamergate. She co-hosts with three other trans women — Kelly Cadigan, TafTaj, and Schyler Bogert — a podcast called Dollcast. She occupies a precarious center: defender of trans rights but opponent of critical gender and queer theory; a trans woman who fully acknowledges she isn't the same in every respect as women; and a fellow spirit trying to seek a middle ground so we can all just get on with our lives. We had a lively “ask a tranny anything” chat. For two clips — on the indoctrination of kids in schools, and the ordeal of medical transition for adults — pop over to our YouTube page. Other topics: Brianna wanting to be a woman from a very early age; her Christian upbringing in Mississippi; her mother scolding her effeminate hand gestures; dysmorphia; how she prayed to Jesus to be gay; her drug addiction and suicide attempts; postmodernists like Judith Butler; how queer ideology is inherently unstable; the “nonbinary” fad; the need for trans activism to return to liberalism; Virtually Normal and the marriage movement; Brianna “having no illusions” that she's a natal male; how the definition of trans has broadened to a “ludicrous” degree; JK Rowling; trans athletes; the huge spike in girls seeking trans compared to boys; Wu opposing transition for girls until 18; comorbidities like autism and sexual abuse; the swiftness of hormones via Planned Parenthood; the black market for HRT; transing gay kids; Marci Bowers performing Wu's vaginoplasty; Wu opposing Bowers at WPATH; Pope Francis; autogynephilia; right-wing backlash against trans adults; Nancy Mace; the blood libel of “groomer”; the Cass Review; Rachel Levine; death threats against Jesse Singal; the defenestration of Mara Keisling; the cowardice of gay donors; Wu losing friends over her moderate views; and her long marriage to a cis guy.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Mary Matalin on our sick culture, Adam Kirsch on his book On Settler Colonialism, John Gray on the state of liberal democracy, Jon Rauch on his new book on “Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy,” Nick Denton on the evolution of new media, and Ross Douthat on how everyone should be religious. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

As both a much published poet and cultural critic, Adam Kirsch brings an etymological sensibility to the great issues of our day. In his new book, On Settler Colonialism, Kirsch excavates the nonsense now taken for granted by many academics about the supposedly twin intrinsic evils of American and Israeli history. Unlike the European colonialists in America, Kirsch reminds us, Jewish settlers in Palestine didn't wipe out the “indigenous” peoples of the region. While that doesn't necessarily excuse the violence of the Zionist state, Kirsch acknowledges, it does remind us that packaging America and Israel as the evil “settler colonial” twins of world history is both childishly simplistic and wrong. Words matter in politics, Kirsch reminds us. Particularly in a conflict as irresolvable as the Palestine/Israel tragedy. Adam Kirsch is the author of several books of poetry and criticism. A 2016 Guggenheim Fellow, Kirsch is an editor at the Wall Street Journal's Weekend Review section and has written for publications including The New Yorker and Tablet. He lives in New York.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comWhat the hell just happened in Syria? We asked one of the sharpest scholars on the subject to give us a primer. Aaron Zelin is a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he also directs the “Islamic State Worldwide Activity Map” project. He's also a visiting research scholar in the politics department at Brandeis and the founder of the website Jihadology. His first book is titled Your Sons Are At Your Service: Tunisia's Missionaries of Jihad, and his forthcoming book covers the history of Syrian jihadism. We talk about the entire history of Syria, as it faces what could be a turning point. For two clips of our convo — on the evil of the Assad dynasty, and the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad — pop over to our YouTube page.Other topics: how Aaron's career was influenced by 9/11 at age 15; becoming an expert on jihadism; St. Paul at Damascus; the Ottoman Empire; the Arab Congress; Syria's independence from France after WWII; the subsequent coups; the Sunni majority in Syria; the rise of the Alawites; the Druze and Christians; the Kurds; the optimism in the ‘60s/‘70s for Arab liberalization; pan Arabism and Nasser; the Muslim Brotherhood; Hafez al-Assad coming to power in 1971; his son Bashar educated in the UK; how a former Nazi for real helped shape the regime; al-Qaeda and bin Laden; the Islamic State; “Baby It's Cold Outside”; the secret police of Syria; the 1982 massacre in Hama; Bashar coming to power in 2000 because of his older brother's early death; Bashar seen as nerdy and uncharismatic; the Damascus Spring; the Iraq War; the rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani; his imprisonment in Abu Ghraib; Zarqawi; the Arab Spring; civil war erupting in Syria in 2011; the Free Syrian Army; the Assad regime torturing kids; the refugee crisis; Russia getting bogged down in Ukraine; Hezbollah and Hamas decimated; Iran on the defense; how the Assad regime collapsed in ten days; and Golani's potential as a reformer.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Brianna Wu on trans lives, Mary Matalin on our sick culture, Adam Kirsch on his book On Settler Colonialism, John Gray on the state of liberal democracy, Jon Rauch on his new book on “Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy,” Nick Denton on the evolution of new media, and Ross Douthat on how everyone should be religious. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

Power dynamics in the Middle East shifted dramatically this year. In Lebanon, Israel dealt a severe blow toHezbollah, and another crucial ally of Iran—Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria—was toppled by insurgents. But the historian Rashid Khalidi is skeptical that these changes will set back the Palestinian cause, as it relates to Israel. “This idea that the Palestinians are bereft of allies assumes that they had people who were doing things for their interest,” Khalidi tells David Remnick, “which I don't think was true.” The limited responses to the war in Gaza by Iran and Hezbollah, Khalidi believes, clearly demonstrate that Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance “was designed by Iran to protect the Iranian regime. . . . It wasn't designed to protect Palestine.” Khalidi, a professor emeritus at Columbia University, is the author of a number of books on Palestinian history; among them, “The Hundred Years' War on Palestine” has been particularly influential. The book helped bring the term “settler colonialism” into common parlance, at least on the left, to describe Israel's relationship to historic Palestine. Sometimes invoked as a term of opprobrium, “settler colonialism” is strongly disputed by supporters of Israel. Khalidi asserts that the description is historically specific and accurate. The early Zionists, he says, understood their effort as colonization. “That's not some antisemitic slur,” he says. “That's the description they gave themselves.” The concept of settler colonialism has been applied, on the political left, to describe Israel's founding, and to its settlement of the Palestinian-occupied territories. This usage has been disputed by supporters of Israel and by thinkers including Adam Kirsch, an editor at the Wall Street Journal, who has also written about philosophy for The New Yorker. “Settler colonialism is . . . a zero-sum way of looking at the conflict,” Kirsch tells David Remnick. “In the classic examples, it involves the destruction of one people by another and their replacement over a large territory, really a continent-wide territory. That's not at all the history of Israel and Palestine.” Kirsch made his case in a recent book, “On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business and you'll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- In this episode of The Exit: Adam Kirsch, Director at West Monroe, shares insights from his journey as both an entrepreneur and M&A advisor. Starting with early ventures in high school and college, Adam has experienced exits from both sides of the table and now coaches companies through their exit processes. Adam emphasizes the importance of being "exit ready" from day one, highlighting key preparation steps like maintaining an organized data room, developing clear roadmaps, and building relationships within your ecosystem. He stresses that many of the same questions arise whether selling a company for thousands or billions. Adam warns against common mistakes like valuation disconnects and poor communication, noting that personality conflicts can derail otherwise solid deals. For more details and insights from his entrepreneurial journey, listen to the latest episode of The Exit. -- Adam Kirsch is an entrepreneur with 12+ years of professional experience spanning tech/digital strategy, venture capital, product strategy, marketing/business development, operations, private equity advisory/M&A, and management consulting. Adam is currently applying his skills at West Monroe to help private equity firms and strategic buyers intelligently invest in, operate, and exit businesses. Adam's background is in entrepreneurship and venture capital, a skill set he leveraged to launch WM's Sell-Side Advisory (Quality of Technology™) group while guiding management teams through late-stage capital raises and exit processes. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adamjkirsch Check Out Flippa's Data Insights Tool: https://flippa.com/data-insights -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You'll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

Power dynamics in the Middle East shifted dramatically this year. In Lebanon, Israel dealt a severe blow toHezbollah, and another crucial ally of Iran—Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria—was toppled by insurgents. But the historian Rashid Khalidi is skeptical that these changes will set back the Palestinian cause, as it relates to Israel. “This idea that the Palestinians are bereft of allies assumes that they had people who were doing things for their interest,” Khalidi tells David Remnick, “which I don't think was true.” The limited responses to the war in Gaza by Iran and Hezbollah, Khalidi believes, clearly demonstrate that Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance “was designed by Iran to protect the Iranian regime. . . . It wasn't designed to protect Palestine.” Khalidi, a professor emeritus at Columbia University, is the author of a number of books on Palestinian history; among them, “The Hundred Years' War on Palestine” has been particularly influential. The book helped bring the term “settler colonialism” into common parlance, at least on the left, to describe Israel's relationship to historic Palestine. Sometimes invoked as a term of opprobrium, “settler colonialism” is strongly disputed by supporters of Israel. Khalidi asserts that the description is historically specific and accurate. The early Zionists, he says, understood their effort as colonization. “That's not some antisemitic slur,” he says. “That's the description they gave themselves.”The concept of settler colonialism has been applied, on the political left, to describe Israel's founding, and to its settlement of the Palestinian-occupied territories. This usage has been disputed by supporters of Israel and by thinkers including Adam Kirsch, an editor at the Wall Street Journal, who has also written about philosophy for The New Yorker. “Settler colonialism is . . . a zero-sum way of looking at the conflict,” Kirsch tells David Remnick. “In the classic examples, it involves the destruction of one people by another and their replacement over a large territory, really a continent-wide territory. That's not at all the history of Israel and Palestine.” Kirsch made his case in a recent book, “On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice.”

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comChristine is a columnist for Commentary and a co-host of The Commentary Magazine Podcast. She's also a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a fellow at UVA's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. The author of many books, her new one is The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World.For two clips of our convo — on algorithms killing serendipity, and smartphones killing quiet moments — pop over to our YouTube page.Other topics: the optimism of the early Internet; IRL (In Real Life) experience vs. screen experience; Taylor Swift concerts; the online boon for the physically disabled; Taylor Lorenz and Covid; how IRL improves memory; how emojis improve tone; how screens hinder in-person debate; sociologist Erving Goffman; tourists who never experience a place without an audience; Eric Schmidt's goal of “manufacturing serendipity”; Zuckerberg's “frictionless” world; dating apps; the decline of IRL flirting; the film Cruising; the pornification of sex; Matthew Crawford and toolmaking; driverless cars; delivery robots in LA; auto-checkouts at stores; the loss of handwriting; reading your phone on the toilet; our increased comfort with surveillance; the Stasi culture of Nextdoor; the mass intimacy of blogging; Oakeshott and “the deadliness of doing”; the film Into Great Silence; Christine's time at a monastery in Kentucky; Musk's drive to extend life indefinitely; Jon Haidt and kids' phones; trans ideology as gnosticism; the popularity of podcasts; music pollution in public; the skatepark at Venice Beach; and the necessity of downtime.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Aaron Zelin on the fall of Assad; Brianna Wu and Kelly Cadigan on trans lives and politics, Mary Matalin on our sick culture, Adam Kirsch on his book On Settler Colonialism, Nick Denton, and John Gray on the state of liberal democracy. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comDavid is a historian, a journalist, and an old friend. He was managing editor and acting editor of The New Republic, a history columnist in the early days of Slate, and a contributing editor to Politico Magazine. He's currently a professor of History and of Journalism & Media Studies at Rutgers. The author of many books, including Republic of Spin and Nixon's Shadow, his new one is John Lewis: A Life.For two clips of our convo — on Lewis defending MLK from a sucker-punch by a white thug, and Lewis getting into an ugly political race against a friend — pop over to our YouTube page.Other topics: David and me in the old TNR days; Rick Hertzberg; Freud's theories on homosexuality; conversion therapy and Bill Kristol's conference on it; how David's new book isn't a hagiography; Lewis' poor upbringing in rural Alabama; his boyhood obsession with books and religion; preaching to chickens; inspired by a radio sermon by MLK; experiencing Jim Crow up-close; respectability politics; the CRA of 1964; Lewis as head of SNCC; getting to know JFK, RFK, and LBJ at a young age; non-violence as a core value; the voting rights campaign in Selma; the violent clash with cops at the bridge; the Voting Rights Act of 1965; the Black Power movement; BLM and George Floyd; Lewis' wife giving him the confidence to run for office; Marion Barry; Julian Bond and his cocaine habit; colorism; how Lewis was “shockingly early” to support gay rights; his bond with Bayard Rustin; staying vigilant on voting rights in the 1990s; their evolving nature in the 21st Century; his campaign for the African-American History Museum; skepticism toward the Congressional Black Caucus; the flawed documentary Good Trouble; AOC and Ayanna Pressley; Lewis the Big Tent Democrat; switching his ‘08 support from Hillary to Barack; his viral moments of dancing and crowd-surfing; and keeping his integrity over a long career in politics.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Christine Rosen on humanness in a digital world, Brianna Wu on trans lives and politics, Mary Matalin on anything but politics, Nick Denton, Adam Kirsch on his book On Settler Colonialism, and John Gray on the state of liberal democracy. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

You're not welcome in “so-called Canada.” That's what academics and activists call this country, which they declare “illegitimate.” And, as Adam Kirsch, author of the new book On Settler Colonialism tells Brian, these people aren't using metaphors. They truly see anyone who isn't Indigenous as an active colonizer and criminal who doesn't belong. The idea is steadily gaining currency in our schools, society and government, and it's brutally playing out against Israel, where Hamas supporters euphorically envision forcing out all Jews (despite the Jews' own indigeneity). But don't kid yourself, Kirsch warns: They're working to dismantle other countries, too — especially this one. And with every land acknowledgment and libel against our nation's history, we're helping them do it. (Recorded November 15, 2024) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comReihan is a writer and the president of the Manhattan Institute. Before that he was the executive editor of National Review and worked at publications as varied as the NYT, The Atlantic, National Affairs, Slate, CNN, NBC News, and Vice. He's the author of Melting Pot or Civil War? and Grand New Party — a 2008 book he co-wrote with Ross Douthat that pushed a policy program for a GOP connected to the working class. He was also my very first assistant on the Daily Dish, editing the Letters page, over two decades ago.For two clips of our convo — on finding “Americanness” out of immigrant diversity, and Trump vs the education system — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: Reihan's upbringing in Brooklyn; his immigrant parents (who both worked two jobs) and his older sisters from Bangladesh; how cities are enlivened by legal immigration; the formative role of TNR and the Dish for a young Reihan; the role of reader dissent in blogging; epistemic humility; Burke; Oakeshott; how outsiders often observe subcultures more accurately; the self-confidence of assimilation; Arthur Schlesinger's The Disuniting of America; meritocracy; the PC movement of the early ‘90s; marriage equality; gay assimilation; victimhood culture and its self-harm; the love of one's homeland; Orwell; Thatcher's mature view of trade-offs and “vigorous virtues”; Bill Clinton; Obama's view of red states and blue states; the importance of storytelling in politics; Trump's iconic images in 2024; his trans ads; his multiracial coalition; the self-flagellation of woke whites; John Oliver and Jon Stewart; Seth Moulton and the woke backlash; how Harris might have won by acknowledging 2020 overreach; Eric Kaufmann and sacralization of victim groups; The 1619 Project; the failure of blue city governance; Reagan Democrats and Trump Democrats; the indoctrination in higher ed; the government's role in curriculum; DEI bureaucracy; SCOTUS vs affirmative action; the American Rescue Plan and inflation; elite disconnect from higher prices and higher migration; October 7, Zionism; and the ordeal of consciousness.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: David Greenberg on John Lewis and the Civil Rights Movement, Adam Kirsch on his book On Settler Colonialism, Brianna Wu on trans lives and politics, Mary Matalin on anything but politics, Christine Rosen on humanness in a digital world, and John Gray in the new year on the state of liberal democracy. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

My guest for this episode of Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics where he is the Emirates Professorship in Contemporary Middle East Studies. Fawaz earned his doctorate at Oxford and has taught there, as well as at Harvard and Columbia. He has been a research scholar at Princeton and is the author of 10 books on the Middle East and his articles and editorials have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, The Baltimore Sun, The Independent (London), Al Hayat (London), Foreign Policy, Newsweek, The National Interest, Democracy: a Journal of Ideas, Middle East Journal, Survival, Al Mustqbal al-Arabi, Middle East Insight, and many others.Gerges has given scores of interviews for various media outlets throughout the world, including ABC, CNN, BBC, PBS, CBS, NPR, CBC, Sky News, Al Jazeera, and LBC. He has been a guest on The Charlie Rose Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC Nightline, World News Tonight, Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC), This Week, Good Morning America and other prominent shows. He was a senior ABC television news analyst from 2000 until 2007.In this episode we first discuss Fawaz's most recent book, What Really Went Wrong: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East. This is an excellent historical study of the impact of US interventionist foreign policy in the Middle East in the post-WW2 era. It shows how the pursuit of stability, open commodity markets and anti-communism led the US to support and ally with anti-democratic autocrats throughout the region who eliminated legitimate nationalistic (and largely secular and democratic) political leaders. We see the consequences of these interventions in the region today.We then turn to a discussion of the current catastrophe in the Gaza, Israel and Lebanon. Fawaz and I disagree on many issues. For example, he paraphrases towards the end of our conversation a school of thought which has come to see Israel as the last, ‘Settler Colonial' state. I think this way of approaching the situation is an invitation to endless violence and despair. For a history of the evolution of this approach, I recommend On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence and Justice by Adam Kirsch. There are also many things Fawaz says with which I agree. For example, his historical analysis of the monumental failure of US foreign policy seems to be me to be compelling. But my role as the host of this podcast is not to be a judge of other's views. In fact, what I agree with or do not agree with is not relevant. My job is to bring you views which may challenge your own; views which help us to understand the ways in which understandings and beliefs can be fundamentally different. The only way forward is to start with a genuine curiosity of what others think, believe and feel. Just as importantly, curiosity does not imply agreement. Too many times we pretend to attempt to understand something by seeking out others to confirm what we want to, or already believe. It is much better to be challenged by difference. From that starting point, we can, perhaps, begin to be able to predict and influence the future for the better. Fawaz is a thoughtful, careful, prolific and elegant scholar. While I may differ with him in some areas, I have never questioned his fundamental decency and humanity. I always learn and am challenged by our conversations together - which is a great gift. I hope you enjoy our conversation as well!CitationsGerges, F. (2024) What Really Went Wrong: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East. London: Yale University Press.Kirsch, Adam (2024) On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence and Justice. WV Norton & Co. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abby Pogrebin is joined by author and WSJ editor Adam Kirsch to dissect “settler colonialism,” a concept that has become central to public debate, especially since October 7th, and is shaping the way many people think about the history of the U.S., Israel, and identity. 

01:00 Steve Hsu: Iran vs Israel: Implications for Missile Defense, https://stevehsu.substack.com/p/iran-vs-israel-implications-for-missile 04:00 Michael Doran on October 7 one year later, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5ig9ftKAk4 13:30 Five reasons why Israel's 7-front war is so hard to win, https://brusselssignal.eu/2024/10/five-reasons-why-israels-7-front-war-is-so-hard-to-win/ 14:20 Dooovid joins, https://x.com/RebDoooovid 28:00 Dooovid has been anti-Zionist for 20 years 29:20 What is the shortest route for power? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iv4Zz9cMQ0 32:45 Tim Walz lost his debate with JD Vance decoding settler colonialism, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fhbnb209Bo 37:45 Kip worries my soul is trapped in matter 48:00 WP: How Joe Biden lost his grip on Israel's war for ‘total victory' in Gaza, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/03/biden-israel-gaza-war-middle-east-crisis/ 1:27:30 Claire Khaw joins 1:33:00 No True Scotsman fallacy, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman 1:55:00 Mike Doran's X analysis, https://x.com/Doranimated 2:14:30 Expert on Iran Reveals Scenarios of an Israel-Iran War - Saeed Ghasseminejad, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdv7MJIDtPI 2:19:00 Settler Colonialism and Drivers of Anti-Israel Sentiment with Eric Kaufmann and Adam Kirsch, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fhbnb209Bo 2:26:00 Your Hero System Is Your Morality And You Get It From Your Tribe, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=150319 2:54:00 Optimally Irrational: The Good Reasons We Behave The Way We Do, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=157563 3:08:00 Colonialism as niche construction 3:14:00 Land acknowledgements came from humanities professors 3:22:00 Mike Doran makes the case for America staying in the Middle East 3:24:15 7 ways the US is beating Europe, https://www.politico.eu/article/united-states-europe-competition-covid-economy-gdp-food-cities-jobs-data/

Since Hamas's attack on Israel last October 7, the term “settler colonialism” has become central to public debate in the United States. A concept new to most Americans, but already established and influential in academic circles, settler colonialism is shaping the way many people think about the history of the United States, Israel and Palestine, and a host of political issues. This short book is the first to examine settler colonialism critically for a general readership. By critiquing the most important writers, texts, and ideas in the field, Adam Kirsch shows how the concept emerged in the context of North American and Australian history and how it is being applied to Israel. He examines the sources of its appeal, which, he argues, are spiritual as much as political; how it works to delegitimize nations; and why it has the potential to turn indignation at past injustices into a source of new injustices today. A compact and accessible introduction, rich with historical detail, the book will speak to readers interested in the Middle East, American history, and today's most urgent cultural-political debates. Adam Kirsch is the author of several books of poetry and criticism. A 2016 Guggenheim Fellow, Kirsch is an editor at the Wall Street Journal's Weekend Review section and has written for publications including The New Yorker, Slate, The Times Literary Supplement, The New York Times Book Review, Poetry, and Tablet. He lives in New York. His new book is On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice. Shermer and Kirsch discuss settler colonialism and its implications for current events, particularly in Israel. Kirsch explains the ideology behind labeling Israel a settler colonial state, tracing its roots to historical colonization. They explore anti-Semitism on college campuses, the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and settler colonialism's critique of Western civilization. The conversation delves into the broader implications of this ideology, including how it complicates discussions of justice and historical accountability.

On this Munk Dialogue we are talking about an academic theory that has become ubiquitous with criticism of Israel and to a larger extent, the West. Adam Kirsch is an editor at the Wall Street Journal and his new book, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice, explains how this concept - which was once relegated to the halls of academia - has spilled out into the public sphere and is now shaping the way many young people understand history.  He argues that the modern concept of settler colonialism has become a dangerous ideology which seeks to avenge past injustices rather than trying to reconcile them. And he explains why Israel has become an easy target for protesters who view the world through this particular lens.    The host of this Munk Dialogue is Ricki Gurwitz Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/ To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership Members receive access to our 15+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, and ticketing privileges at our live events. This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/ Executive Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Editor: Kieran Lynch  

In this new conversation at the Review of Democracy, Adam Kirsch – author of the new book On Settler Colonialism. Ideology, Violence, and Justice – discusses the ideology of settler colonialism and how it leads idealists into morally disastrous territory; reflects on whether the application of this ideology to the State of Israel should be viewed as continuing the long, highly problematic tradition of antisemitism; considers whether there are valuable elements in this ideology that would be worth salvaging; and suggests preferable ways to think about the traditions of the oppressed. Adam Kirsch is a poet and literary critic.  He is an editor of The Wall Street Journal's weekend Review section and the author of a host of significant books that include The Blessing and the Curse. The Jewish People and Their Books in the Twentieth Century as well as The Revolt Against Humanity. Imagining a Future Without Us. On Settler Colonialism. Ideology, Violence, and Justice has been published by W.W. Norton.  

Israel's critics describe it as a colonizer, settler colonizers, in fact. We examine the rational and irrational reasoning behind this as we talk with Adam Kirsch author of On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice. Plus, Tim Pool, amplified by Vladamir Putin and goofball election prognosticator Allan Lichtman, is at it again, with assistance from the entire media. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unlike anogenital distance researchers on NPR, at the DNC, Kamala Harris accepted her party's nomination with polished, practiced style. Also on the show, author Adam Kirsch joins us to discuss his new book, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice. Plus, a peace deal not taken. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israel's critics today like to argue that the country is illegitimate because it is the product of what they call settler colonialism. They consider non-Jewish Arab peoples the native inhabitants of the land—inhabitants who were displaced by the appearance of Jewish immigrants over the last 150 years. The great colonial moment was capped in 1948, when the Jews established political sovereignty in the state of Israel; then, subsequent wars, including and especially the Six Day War of 1967, further expanded and entrenched that moment. According to this sort of analysis, Israel is always and forever illegitimate. Much the same is seen as true of America, which was not only illegitimate at the moment it seized native lands, but is still illegitimate, and will always be illegitimate. This dynamic is captured in a comment by Patrick Wolfe, a frequently quoted Australian scholar of settler colonialism: “invasion is a structure, not an event.” This worldview establishes a moral hierarchy, draws political alliances, establishes political adversaries, and has been at the root of the ideological assault on Israel and its allies. It's an idea that the critic and writer Adam Kirsch explores in his new book, On Settler Colonialism, published recently by W.W. Norton & Company. Here he joins host Jonathan Silver for a discussion of his book and the controversy around Israel.

Today, I had the pleasure of speaking with Adam Kirch, a seasoned messaging strategist and B2B conversion copywriter. Adam is not just any copywriter; he's a B2B SaaS copywriter and messaging strategist who has mastered the art of turning vague homepage messaging into clear, compelling, and conversion-driven narratives. He's helped fast-growing startups like Helios.io, Raft.io, and neptune.ai transform their web presence, leading to impressive results—think 80% conversion lifts and 56% more qualified leads. He shared some invaluable insights on how SaaS companies can elevate their messaging to stand out in crowded markets. Key Takeaways: Customer-Centric Messaging: Many companies make the mistake of crafting messages too close to their own perspective, rather than their customers'. Adam emphasized the importance of truly understanding your customers—know what they value and why they choose your product over competitors. Your homepage messaging should reflect this deep understanding, not just generic benefits like "faster" or "easier." The Importance of Differentiation: In competitive SaaS markets, differentiation is key. Adam pointed out that many SaaS homepages look the same because they all try to meet customer expectations in the same way. However, it's crucial to highlight what makes your product unique as early as possible on the homepage to capture attention and stand out. Structuring the Homepage: Adam recommends using a messaging hierarchy that presents information in the order customers need to hear it. This means leading with differentiation and addressing the customer's main concerns upfront. Avoid cramming the page with unnecessary information; instead, focus on building trust and clearly communicating your value proposition. Testing and Iteration: Validate your messaging with your target audience using tools like Winter or Usertesting.com. Adam shared a cautionary tale of a company that saw a 90% drop in conversions after redoing their homepage messaging without customer input. Regularly iterate on your homepage based on customer feedback and performance metrics. Action Steps: Talk to Your Customers: Gather direct feedback to understand their pain points and what they value most about your product. Refine Your Homepage: Ensure your homepage clearly differentiates your product and aligns with customer expectations. Test Your Messaging: Use tools and customer feedback to validate and refine your messaging continuously. Adam's insights remind us that effective messaging isn't just about what we want to say—it's about what our customers need to hear. Let's get closer to our customers and let their voices guide our messaging strategies. Useful links Adam's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-kirsch/ Adam's website: https://adamkirsch.co/ Nemanja's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zivkovicnemanja/ Subscribe to the FUNKY MARKETING podcast on any podcast platform and drop a question here in the comments. Website: https://www.funkymarketing.net/funky-marketing-show/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/funky-marketing-bold-strategies-for-b2b-growth-and-revenue/id1501543408?uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/136A3zxZ5JYCukvphVP56M YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@funky_marketing Give us a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/funky-marketing-bold-strategies-for-b2b-growth-and-revenue/id1501543408?uo=4 And if you need help, check out the Funky Marketing Pricing page: https://www.funkymarketing.net/pricing/ #SaaS #B2BMarketing #Copywriting #HomepageDesign #CustomerExperience #MarketingStrategy #ProductDifferentiation #SaaSTips #B2BContent #ConversionOptimization #MarketingPodcast

Peace Negotiations For a Gaza Ceasefire Now Minus a Representative From Hamas | The Origins and Definition of Settler Colonialism Which Used to Be Applied to Australia, Canada and the US But is Now is Labelling Israel | Bangladesh: The Latest Example of the US Not Acting According to Its Democratic Ideals backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

On today's show Tom introduces the topic through a few articles written in response to Adam Kirsch's new book: The Revolt Against Humanity, where Kirsch unpacks and positively promotes the case for welcoming 'the end of humanity's reign'. Two writers from a symposium respond to this disturbing trend: Noel Gertz and Gilbert Meilaender. The guys interact with the content and engage the trend from a variety of their own insights. At the core: reject the true God, the bearer of the 'image of God' becomes a problem too. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Order The Making of Evangelical Spirituality by Jason Cherry: https://a.co/d/2SyDFwb

On today's show Tom introduces the topic through a few articles written in response to Adam Kirsch's new book: The Revolt Against Humanity, where Kirsch unpacks and positively promotes the case for welcoming 'the end of humanity's reign'. Two writers from a symposium respond to this disturbing trend: Noel Gertz and Gilbert Meilaender. The guys interact with the content and engage the trend from a variety of their own insights. At the core: reject the true God, the bearer of the 'image of God' becomes a problem too. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Order The Making of Evangelical Spirituality by Jason Cherry: https://a.co/d/2SyDFwb

On today's show Tom introduces the topic through a few articles written in response to Adam Kirsch's new book: The Revolt Against Humanity, where Kirsch unpacks and positively promotes the case for welcoming 'the end of humanity's reign'. Two writers from a symposium respond to this disturbing trend: Noel Gertz and Gilbert Meilaender. The guys interact with the content and engage the trend from a variety of their own insights. At the core: reject the true God, the bearer of the 'image of God' becomes a problem too. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Order The Making of Evangelical Spirituality by Jason Cherry: https://a.co/d/2SyDFwb

Reviewing Zadie Smith's The Fraud for the latest issue of Harper's Magazine, Adam Kirsch takes stock of Generation X as a literary phenomenon. He finds “Gen X lit” to be composed of two distinct waves, between which Smith is caught. The younger wave, including writers Ben Lerner, Teju Cole, Sheila Heti, and Tao Lin, has formed its ideas about art, culture, and society partly in opposition to predecessors like David Foster Wallace, Elizabeth Wurtzel, and Dave Eggers—who claimed a great moral power for art—and partly in response to the younger millennials, who question whether art has any value at all. Kirsch is joined in this episode by Harper's deputy editor Jon Baskin to discuss how Smith's historical fiction operates within this literary lineage, why autofiction came to succeed the confessional memoirs of the Nineties, and what the novel form can do for us. Subscribe to Harper's for only $16.97: harpers.org/save “Come as You Are” Adam Kirsch's review in the September issue of Harper's: https://harpers.org/archive/2023/09/come-as-you-are-kirsch/ “My Generation” Justin E. H. Smith's essay in the September issue of Harper's: https://harpers.org/archive/2023/09/my-generation/ 6:01: “Instead of rushing up to the reader and giving them a bear hug and saying, ‘This is who I am, please love me,' which I think is a sense that I often get from David Foster Wallace, these younger writers are a lot more complex and ironic and elusive.” 8:46: “Autofiction makes it possible to emphasize the moral ambiguities that memoir has to apologize for or hide.” 14:21: “Smith is writing about things that have come up in her fiction since the beginning—things like: Is it my job to be politically virtuous as a writer? Or am I supposed to be telling some other kind of truth? Is there some sort of artistic mission that is somehow removed from political virtue?” 18:44: “If you step back and make it an alternative reality—in this case, something in the past—you can make more of an effort to see all the way around the subject. And that's something that Smith does very well in The Fraud.” 31:06: “So much of it is about this sort of solidness and resistance to getting involved in things … As we get older and assume different roles in life, something of that remains, the desire to be a sort of Bartleby and say no rather than yes—maybe that's what Gen X will be remembered for.”

The queens get beachy, play f*ck marry kill with a Pulitzer winner, and fabricate some fab poets' drag names.Support Breaking Form, the spirit so moves you:Review Breaking Form on Apple Podcasts here.  Buy our books:Aaron's STOP LYING is available from the Pitt Poetry Series. James's ROMANTIC COMEDY is available from Four Way Books.Watch Carl Phillips read from Then the War: and Selected Poems, 2007-2020, winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, here (~1 hour).Poets we mention in this extravaganza include:Denise Duhamel, Queen for a DayFrank O'Hara, Lunch PoemsDavid Trinidad, Peyton Place: A Haiku Soap Opera ; Swinging on a StarFranny Choi, Soft Sciencesam sax, MadnessDanez Smith, HomieYou can read a short excerpt of Nin Andrews's The Book of Orgasms at her website here. Jennifer L. Knox, Crushing ItCamille Guthrie, Diamonds                               Michael Dumanis, My Soviet Union Louise GluckYou can watch Jorie Graham's book launch for her newest collection, To 2040, online here (~1 hour).Rita Dove's latest book is Playlist for the Apocalypse. Amy ClampittEmily DickinsonEdgar Allen PoeRobert Lowelle.e. cummingsHenry Wadsworth LongfellowGertrude SteinJohn Donne's reputation as a major poet is now cemented, but it wasn't always so. Donne fell out of fashion for much of the 18th and 19th centuries. Read more about that in Adam Kirsch's review of Katherine Rundell's biography of Donne in the New Yorker, here. Ezra PoundSara Teasdale, whom you can read more about here. Hart CraneRobert FrostWalt WhitmanLucille CliftonThomas HardyJohn KeatsMarilyn Chin's sixth book of poetry, Sage, was released by Norton in May 2023.Mark DotyPatrick Phillips, whose most recent book is Song of the Closing Doors (Knopf, 2022),. Visit Phillips's website.

Would the world actually be better without us? For most of human history, the question was inconceivable.  But now, anxious over climate change and elated at technological breakthroughs, a growing chorus of thinkers is heralding the end of humanity's reign on Earth.  On this episode, poet and critic Adam Kirsch, author of The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining a Future Without Us, analyzes these ideas with Commonweal senior editor Matthew Boudway.  For further reading:  Eugene McCarraher critiques the ‘technocratic paradigm' An interview with ex-environmentalist Paul Kingsnorth  Santiago Ramos on the perils of the metaverse

This is Thinking in Public, a program dedicated to intelligent conversation about frontline theological and cultural issues with the people who are shaping them.In this edition of the popular podcast series "Thinking in Public," Albert Mohler speaks with Adam Kirsch about the philosophical and religious presuppositions of Artificial Intelligence and the dangers it poses to human dignity.If you enjoyed this episode of Thinking in Public, you can find more than 150 of these conversations here.You can purchase "The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining a Future Without Us" here.Sign up to receive every new Thinking in Public release in your inbox.Follow Dr. Mohler:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTubeFor more information on The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to sbts.edu.For more information on Boyce College, just go to BoyceCollege.com.

Adam Kirsch & James Panero discuss the April poetry issue, the New Criterion Poetry Prize, and more. Brian Brodeur reads selections from his winning book, Some Problems with Autobiography (Criterion Books).

From climate change to the potential of artificial intelligence, there are plenty of reasons to doubt the viability of human life on Earth. Adam Kirsch, author of The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining a Future Without Us (https://globalreports.columbia.edu/books/the-revolt-against-humanity/), spoke with a diverse array of people who all agree on one thing: The future of the planet may not lie in the hands of humans. Kirsch joins host Richard Aldous to share the perspectives of those who believe in—and even embrace—just such a future.

How should Christians think about evolving technology? What does it look like to engage in conversations about ChatGPT or the Bing AI bot that recently tried to persuade a New York Times reporter to leave his spouse for the bot? How is society affected by apocalyptic predictions regarding overpopulation or climate change? On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, poet, author, and literary critic Adam Kirsch joins Moore to answer these questions. They talk about Kirsch's new book, The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining a Future Without Us; Jewish and Christian views of human nature; and how to communicate across differences in worldview. They ask whether people with an antihuman mindset—in which humans are the problem—have it right. Or, perhaps, are the transhumanists—who believe we can and should transcend humanity—on to something? Might God offer a better way than either of these perspectives? Tune in for an episode that explores the possibilities for what life could look like in the coming years and ponders how God might encourage his people to live in these times. Resources mentioned in this episode include: “Bing's A.I. Chat: ‘I Want to Be Alive.'” by Kevin Roose The Revolt Against Humanity by Adam Kirsch The Precipice by Tony Ord “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry “A Prairie Home Companion” with Garrison Keillor Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps CT Administration: Christine Kolb Social Media: Kate Lucky Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Production Assistance: coreMEDIA Audio Engineer: Kevin Duthu Coordinator: Beth Grabenkort Video Producer: John Roland Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this KEEN ON podcast, Andrew talks to Adam Kirsch, author of "The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining a Future Without Us" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 4, 2023 is: genius • JEEN-yus • noun A genius is a person who is exceptionally smart or talented. Genius also refers to great natural ability, or to a part of something that makes it unusually good or valuable. // She's a genius at riddles. // The sheer genius of their theory was not immediately recognized. // He's widely admired for his comedic genius. See the entry > Examples: “Jena at its peak might have boasted a higher concentration of genius than Renaissance Florence or ancient Athens.” — Adam Kirsch, The New Republic, 21 Oct. 2022 Did you know? Today, the word genius tends to carry cerebral connotations, rather than spiritual ones, but the word has its origin in ancient Roman religion, in which the genius (from Latin gignere, “to beget”) was originally a spirit who gave continuity to a family or clan over generations, and later the attendant spirit of a person or place. When genius first made its home in the English language in the 14th century it carried this “attendant spirit” meaning. Over time, the word developed the extended sense of “an identifying character or spirit,” a meaning inspired by the fact that part of a genius's role was to protect a person's moral character. Later genius came to refer to both remarkable talent or intelligence, and to someone who has such—genius developments, if you ask us.

Welcome to part 2 of this 2-part series exploring what it means to be human in light of God's design for us. If you have not listened to part one, we would encourage you to start there.This week, we explore the two most prominent worldviews in the West that are vying for the redefinition of what it means to be human, as featured in The Atlantic's article “The People Cheering for Humanity's End” by Adam Kirsch. Anthropocene Anti-Humanism, commonly known as extreme environmentalism and Transhumanism, dangerously distort and diminish the true value of human life. Humans are not a blight on this planet or a biological machine that needs to be mechanically improved; instead, we are made in the image of God with souls and intrinsic value.For those of you who are new, Ideas Have Consequences is a podcast of the Disciple Nations Alliance. Our host is Scott Allen, who's joined by his coworkers Dwight Vogt and Shawn Carson, and our producer is Luke Allen.Website: Disciple Nations AllianceEpisode Landing Page

This week, we're thrilled to have Rebecca Romney with us! Rebecca is a rare books dealer and the woman behind The Romance Novel in English, a 100-lot collection of rare romance novels and other romance-adjacent paraphernalia. We had a great time talking to her about the collection, her motivation to develop it, her hopes for its future at the Lilly Library at the University of Indiana, and about how romance lovers can start thinking about collecting books! We hope you love this one as much as we did!Our next read along is Uzma Jalaluddin's Hana Khan Carries On. Find it at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local indie. Show NotesWelcome Rebecca Romney. She is the cofounder of Type Punch Matrix, a rare books firm based in Washington DC. She started out working at Bauman Rare Books in Las Vegas. You can also watch her in action from old appearances on Pawn Stars where she routinely broke people's hearts about the values of their rare books.Rebecca recently put together a collection that was purchased by the Lilly Library at the University of Indiana called The Romance Novel in English: A Survey in English 1769-1999. You can follow Lilly Librarian Rebecca on twitter; they sound like a great resource for romance, and for planning a visit! On the episode, we extensively discuss some of the general themes and specific items in the catalogue. Two authors that didn't make it into the catalogue because Rebecca couldn't find copies: Eliza Haywoodand Evelina by Frances Burney.The Elizabeth Lowell book about a gold dealer in Las Vegas is called Running Scared and is part of the Rarities Unlimited series. Gold books aren't really a thing, but gold leaf and illumiated manuscripts are. Here's an explainer on The Gutenberg Bible and a clip from Pawn Stars where an individual leaf is available, and here is a page from a 2021 auction site selling a leaf. But remember that bookmaking in China was far more advanced at that time. Or maybe you'd be interested in knowing more about Newton's Principia. Although I couldn't find an article about the history of Jewish booksellers, I did find an interview with Adam Kirsch, an author who wrote a book called The People and the Books, about the importance of books to Jewish people throughout history. On our Trailblazers episode with Radclyffe, she talked about the importance of queer bookstores. What is the difference between ARCs and first editions? Time to check and see if your copy of The Flame and the Flower to see if it's a first edition.Jen called it a garage sale and Sarah called it a Tag sale, which is exactly right considering where they grew up. Foxing isn't as sexy as you'd think when we're talking about rare books.The 2019 Rita ceremony included a video of romance firsts.In John Markert's Publishing Romance: The History of an Industry, 1940s to the Present, he discusses a series called Adam that failed because they were romances only from the hero's point of view.Time to shake all your Sweet Valley High books out of your closet, fellow Gen-Xers.

In conversation with Adam Kirsch  Recognized for their ''signature blend of tragedy and spirituality'' (The Washington Post), Dara Horn's novels include In the Image, The World to Come, and A Guide for the Perplexed. One of Granta's Best Young American Novelists, Horn is the recipient of two National Jewish Book Awards, the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and the Reform Judaism Fiction Prize, among other honors. She is a former teacher of Jewish literature and Israeli history at Harvard University, Sarah Lawrence College, and City University of New York, a contributor to The Atlantic and The New York Times, and the author of the bestselling nonfiction ebook The Rescuer. Based on research, family history, and world travel, Horn's latest book examines the contradictory cultural fascination with Jewish death that exists next to a lack of respect for Jewish life. An editor at The Wall Street Journal's Weekend Review section and a 2016 Guggenheim Fellow, Adam Kirsch is the author of several books of poetry and criticism, including The Thousand Wells, Who Wants to Be a Jewish Writer?, and The Blessing and the Curse: The Jewish People and Their Books in the Twentieth Century. (recorded 9/23/2021)

A special episode for Israeli book week. Shmuel Rosner and Adam Kirsch discuss two of Kirsch's books: "The People and the Books: 18 Classics of Jewish Literature" and "The Blessing and the Curse: The Jewish People and Their Books in the Twentieth Century".   Adam Kirsch is an American poet and literary critic. He is on the seminar faculty of Columbia University's Center for American Studies, and has taught at YIVO.    Follow Shmuel Rosner on Twitter.

In the ninth episode of "The Picture" podcast, Jacob El Hanani speaks with writer Adam Kirsch about the artist's exhibition of recent works on canvas, now on view at Acquavella Galleries in New York. Jacob El Hanani is often referred to as “the grandfather of micro-drawing.” His exquisitely detailed drawings, each done by hand, serve as remarkable records of his craftsmanship and decades-long dedication to line-making. Born in Casablanca and raised in Israel, he has lived and worked in the same SoHo studio for nearly 50 years. Guggenheim fellow Adam Kirsch previously served as poetry critic at The New Republic. His recent writings have been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, and Tablet, where he is a contributing editor. "Jacob El Hanani: Recent Works on Canvas" is on view May 5–June 18, 2021, at Acquavella Galleries. — Jacob El Hanani "Without Form and Void (Tohu Wa-bohu)" (2019) Ink on gessoed canvas 50 x 50 inches (127 x 127 cm) © 2021 Acquavella Galleries. All rights reserved.

NB: I hesitated to release this one because I worried that the tone (and sound quality) at times comes off as a little harsh, but I think it's a pretty fun episode, and I figure if you've listened this long, then you already have some idea of how prickly I am. So, fuck it. Enjoy!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Baudelaire's mom– Midlife malaise– Ben Lerner's book The Hatred of Poetry and my in retrospect maybe overly mean review of same– Object permanence– Adam Kirsch's essay "On 'Getting' Poetry"– Ryan Wilson's essay "How to Think like a Poet"– Rupi Kaur– Acquired vs. unacquired tastes– The hermeneutic circle– Sex vs. masturbation– Modernism and its discontents– T. S. Eliot's essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent" (Yes, I realize that in this episode I deride the Poetry Foundation as basically useless and am now linking to an essay they helpfully posted on their website. I may have overstated my case.)– Jorge Luis Borges' essay "Kafka and His Precursors"– Vers libre vs. free verse vs. doggerel– John Ashbery– Fenton Johnson's poem "Tired"– David Yezzi's essay, "These Are the Poems, Folks"– Stephen Hawking's Penthouse subscriptionPlease rate, review, and subscribe!Send questions, comments, and suggestions to sleerickets@gmail.com. Or just go to matthewbuckleysmith.com and direct your hate mail straight to my personal inbox.Music by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

“Like many adult pleasures, poetry is an acquired taste. We don't grow up surrounded by it, the way we do pop music and movies, whose conventions become second nature. Rather, poetry is to our usual ways of reading and writing as classical music is to pop, or as ballet is to dancing at parties.” That's from “On ‘getting' poetry,” a feature essay in the April 2021 issue by our poetry editor, Adam Kirsch. Adam joins James Panero to discuss the state of poetry and the special April poetry section, for which he served as lead editor.

Authors Adam Kirsch and Ruth Franklin explore the legacy of Jewish literature in the 20th century on the occasion of the publication of Kirsch's book The Blessing and the Curse: The Jewish People and Their Books in the Twentieth Century.  Kirsch and Franklin explore the evolving ideas of Jewish identity, neuroses and depictions of faith, the dividing line of the Holocaust, and the audience for Jewish literature in this wide-ranging discussion. (Recorded November 12, 2020)

Matt and Jackson discuss the topic of free speech in America today. They discuss Adam Kirsch's WSJ article "Land of Free (And Fettered Speech)." 

(00:00-09:19): Tim Keller tweeted: “Christians and the freedom of conscience in politics. The Bible binds my conscience to care for the poor, but it does not tell me the best practical way to do it. Any particular strategy (high taxes and government services vs low taxes and private charity) may be good and wise…” Brian and Ian discuss. (09:19-18:35): Tim Arndt writes “Christians, Let’s All Stop Doing These 15 Things On Social Media” in Relevant Magazine. How many of these things are convicting Brian and Ian today? (18:35-28:14): We were joined by author Stina Kielsmeier- Cook to talk about her book “Blessed Are the None”. She tells the story of her mixed-faith marriage and how she found community in an unexpected place: an order of Catholic nuns in her neighborhood. As she spent time with them and learned about female Catholic saints, she began to see that she was not "spiritually single" after all—and that no one really is. (28:14-36:14): Adam Kirsch writes “Land of Free (and Fettered) Speech” in Wall Street Journal. In a time of rapid social and technological change, Americans are struggling to figure out the new rules of political discussion, online and in person. (36:14-45:25): Cornel West was on Tucker Carlson, and they both settled on something unforeseen. Brian and Ian listen to this short clip from the show and respond. (45:25-53:39): Adelle Banks writes “No race problem here: Despite summer of protests, many practicing Christians remain ambivalent” in Religion News Service. (53:39-1:02:56): In an alarming post, Carey Nieuwhof writes “Church Attendance is Dying, What’s Next?”. Brian and Ian discuss how they have experienced dying church attendance, and what can be done? (1:02:56-1:12:39): GOOD NEWS! Brian and Ian discuss some good news from the Good News Network. This website is an optimist’s mecca for positivity and uplifting stories.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If ever there was a writer in flight from his name, it was Fernando Pessoa. Pessoa is the Portuguese word for “person,” and there is nothing he less wanted to be. Again and again, in both poetry and prose, Pessoa denied that he existed as any kind of distinctive individual. “I’m beginning to know myself. I don’t exist,” he writes in one poem. “I’m the gap between what I’d like to be and what others have made of me. . . . That’s me. Period.” ... “Through these deliberately unconnected impressions I am the indifferent narrator of my autobiography without events, of my history without a life. These are my Confessions and if I say nothing in them it’s because I have nothing to say.” - Adam Kirsch, New Yorker, Aug 2017

On today’s Unorthodox dispatch, we’re talking to Tablet’s book critic Adam Kirsch about what to read now that you might have a bit more time on your hands. If you want to keep these minisodes going, we’d love for you to rate Unorthodox on iTunes and set up a recurring donation—we suggest $5/month, which is to say one fancy coffee a month—at tabletmag.com/donate. And, as always, if you want to keep up with all things Unorthodox, join our Facebook group here! Shalom, friends. Stay well.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re getting into the festive Purim spirit. Our first guest is fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, who tells us about growing up gay in Brooklyn’s Syrian Jewish community, how his years at Yeshiva at Flatbush instilled in him a strong work ethic, and getting his first taste of high fashion at synagogue. For more from Isaac, check out his memoir, I.M. (You can read Adam Kirsch’s review for Tablet here.) Next Stephanie talks to Simi Polonsky and Chaya Chanin, the sisters behind The Frock NYC, which offers high end, unique, modest clothing. They tell us about growing up Orthodox in Australia and bristling against the restrictive clothing conventions of their religious community, and explain why they believe being modest and fashionable aren’t mutually exclusive. Finally Rabbi Ari Lamm returns to the show to offer a truly unexpected take on the Purim story. Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869. Come see us on tour! March 12 – Boca Raton, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and Liel March 17 – Long Island, New York: Book talk with Stephanie March 19 – Virginia Beach, Virginia: Unorthodox live show Like the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group. Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here. Sponsors: Harry’s is a great shave at a great price. Get $5 off a Trial Set when you go to harrys.com/unorthodox. Fleishigs Magazine is like getting a gorgeous kosher cookbook delivered every month, with recipes ranging from traditional orange beef and kugel to more out-there ideas like cholent pot-pie and liver tacos. Each issue features restaurant reviews, wine pairings, travel features, kosher destination wedding reviews, and more. Save money and subscribe at fleishigs.com using discount code UNORTHODOX. “Declaring Israel’s Independence” is a free online course from the Tikvah Fund, taught by historian Martin Kramer. Immerse yourself in this sweeping study of the most dramatic days of 1948, when Israel’s founders tackled the deepest questions of Zionist statecraft as they wrote Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Enroll today at Declaration.TikvahFund.org/Tablet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week!  Dan and Eric dicuss Jeffrey Toobin's piece about Michael Cohen, his history, his illegal deeds and how he turned on Trump; Rivka Galchen on the past, present and future of lunar travel and moon mythology; Adam Kirsch on Jewish philosopher Martin Buber and his beliefs about intimacy with God; Benjamin Wallace-Wells critique of David Brooks' most recent book; and Eric's experience seeing Hilton Als speak with poets Brenda Shaughnessy and Michael Dickman.  Plus: the Goose shows up, on the pod and on the potty.

4-20-19 Adam Kirsch by Bob and Stacey

James Pollock is the author of Sailing to Babylon, which was a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Governor General's Literary Award in Poetry, and You Are Here: Essays on the Art of Poetry in Canada, a finalist for the ForeWord Review's Book of the Year Award for a collection of essays. He is also the editor of The Essential Daryl Hine, which made The Partisan's list of the best books of 2015. His poems have been published in The Paris Review, AGNI, Poetry Daily, the National Post, and other journals in the U.S. and Canada.  I met with James in his home in Madison, WI to talk about You are Here. Topics discussed include blindness to Canadian poetry, the importance of anthologies, bad poetry, meter, rhyme, Robert Frost, argument, philosophers, poet-critics, autobiography in poetry, myth, Adam Kirsch, authenticity versus technique, rhetoric, poetry in totalitarian regimes, Michael Lista, Carmine Starnino; constructive, honest reviews, Eric Ormsby, and the need for a great anthology of Canadian poetry. 

This week and next, during Passover, we’ll be exploring Robert Alter's translation of the beginning of Exodus, the basis for the Passover story. Next week we’ll approach the Song of Songs, which is traditionally recited during the days of Passover. Robert Alter’s historic one-man translation of the entire Hebrew Bible is like two worlds at once, the heavens and the earth, with the translation above and the commentary below. One can spend a lifetime in either of these worlds. Text: Robert Alter’s Bible: A Symposium By Ronald Hendel, Aviya Kushner, Shai Held, David Bentley Hart, Adele Berlin, Adam Kirsch. Jewish Review of Books, 2019. Winter 2019 Alter, Robert. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary. W. W. Norton & Company.

Robert Cottrell talks to essayist and critic Adam Kirsch

9-9-17 Adam Kirsch by Bob and Stacey

Robert Bound, Alice Vincent, arts and entertainment writer for ‘The Telegraph’, and DJ and broadcaster Georgie Rogers round up some of the week’s TV and music releases. Plus: we discover the Italian publishers to know, discuss the “global novel” with poet and critic Adam Kirsch and learn about what classical music means in 2017 with German composer Sven Helbig.

This week on Unorthodox: a Jewish writer and an Episcopal priest walk into a podcast. Our Jewish guest is writer and essayist Daphne Merkin, whose latest book is This Close to Happy: A Reckoning With Depression. She tells us what it was like to write such a personal book—Tablet literary critic Adam Kirsch called it “a hybrid of memoir, case study, and confession”—and discusses the stigma that continues to surround depression in the Jewish community and beyond. Our Gentile of the Week is Father Ed Bacon, a retired Episcopal priest legendary for his work with All Saints Church in Pasadena, California, which he turned into an activist, multi-ethnic congregation in a mostly white and wealthy town. He is also an Oprah regular and author of the book 8 Habits of Love. Sign up for for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com—we'll share our favorite notes on air. Music Credits: "Mikveh Bath" by Golem "Don't Hang Up" by The Orlons "where the sunshine goes" by Yshwa "No Rain" by Blind Melon "A Perceptible Shift" by Andy G. Cohen "Once Upon a Time... Storybook Love" by Mark Knopfler, from the film A Princess Bride Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Kirsch 4.9.16 by Bob and Stacey

Adam Kirsch discusses Volker Ullrich's new biography of Hitler; Billy Collins talks about his latest collection of poems; and iO Tillett Wright on his new memoir, "Darling Days."

First broadcast 12/4/09 PARTICIPANTS Roger Kimball, David Yezzi, Ernest Hilbert, Adam Kirsch & Callie Siskel

As an author and literary critic (including for Tablet), Adam Kirsch has written about Lionel Trilling, Benjamin Disraeli, Emily Dickinson, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, among many others. This past August, he moved into less familiar territory when he joined the tens of thousands of Jews participating in Daf Yomi, studying a page of Talmud a day. The study cycle will take seven and a half years to complete. Since he began, Kirsch has been writing a weekly column to share his reflections on these essential Jewish texts, and on the Daf Yomi process itself. On today’s Vox Tablet, Kirsch shares some of those reflections with... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Poet and literary critic Adam Kirsch reflects on his early introduction to Jewish literature, and shares reading and writing advice he'll offer to students at the Yiddish Book Center's Great Jewish Books Summer Program. To find out more about the Great Jewish Books Summer Program for high school students at the Yiddish Book Center, visit www.yiddishbookcenter.org/great-jewish-books. Episode 0039 August 21, 2012 Yiddish Book Center Amherst, Massachusetts