Podcast appearances and mentions of jon askonas

In this week's episode of The Dynamist, guest host Jon Askonas is joined by Katherine Boyle, (General Partner at a16z), and Neil Chilson, (AI Policy at the Abundance Institute), to tackle a critical yet often overlooked question: How is technology reshaping the American family? As tech giants like TikTok and Instagram come under scrutiny for their effects on children's mental health, and remote work continues to redefine domestic life, the conversation around technology's role in family dynamics has never been more urgent.Katherine shares insights from her recent keynote at the American Enterprise Institute, highlighting how the core objective of technological innovation, which she calls "American Dynamism," should be empowering the family rather than centralizing state control. Neil provides a fresh perspective on how decentralized systems and emergent technologies can enhance—not hinder—family autonomy and resilience. Amid rising debates about homeschooling, screen time, and the shift toward a remote-first lifestyle, the guests discuss whether tech-driven changes ultimately strengthen or undermine families as society's fundamental institution.Together, they explore the possibility of a new era in which technology revitalizes family autonomy, reshapes education, and reignites productive home economies.

Today on Upstream, we're airing Erik Torenberg's conversation with Jon Askonas. They explore the emerging coalition between MAGA supporters and Silicon Valley tech leaders, examines the underlying political realignment, the tensions and fault lines within this coalition, and the potential future conflicts surrounding issues like immigration and transhumanism. This episode originally aired on Moment Zen (February 22, 2025) —

We will not live in the pod. We will not eat the fake meat. We will not perform robot necromancy. But then...what should we do? With the Right in political power and a radically new mood sweeping the country, Jon Askonas of the Catholic University of America is among those thinking about how we can use technology well and in service of our humanity--not the other way around. I called him up to discuss a new First Things statement on preserving the family in the digital age. We talk AI, lab-grown meat, cursed robots, Soviet Ender's Game, Potempkin Dystopia, and so much more. Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com Follow Jon on X: https://x.com/jonaskonas?lang=en Protoclone, the horrorbot: https://x.com/clonerobotics/status/1892250639360561234 A New Technology Agenda for the Right, from First Things: https://firstthings.com/a-future-for-the-family-a-new-technology-agenda-for-the-right/  

Erik Torenberg and Jon Askonas talk about the emerging political realignment in tech, specifically how Silicon Valley has shifted away from Democrats. They discuss the "tech right," its relationship with MAGA and "MAHA" (Make America Healthy Again) movements, potential tensions within this new coalition, and how Democrats might respond to their 2024 electoral defeat. Check out the interviews Erik mentions in this episode: Ezra Klein on Supply-side Progressivism, Polarization, and What Silicon Valley Misses About Politics: https://open.spotify.com/episode/36vTPPcpisMVXSgq9bnj1w The Future of Crypto with Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1EeTFGKxYuDojR5kvqpCyt —

Technology is a force for change in the world, both positive and negative. Its ability to rapidly transform our way of life poses an inherent challenge to families. If conservatives wish to restore the family as the foundation of our civilizational order, they must develop a comprehensive theory of technological change. Without it, new technologies will continue to heap disaster on the American family. But if properly guided, technological innovation can help uplift the family and usher it into a new era of flourishing.Guest Jon Askonas joins us to discuss what a new conservative technology agenda might look like. Jon Askonas is assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America and a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.This podcast discusses themes from Jon's essay in the Winter 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Technology for the American Family.” For more on this subject, see “A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right” in First Things, as well as “Stop Hacking Humans” in The New Atlantis. Additionally, AEI will host an event on Monday, February 24, 2025 at 11:10 a.m. titled “Dignity and Dynamism: The Future of Conservative Technology Policy.”

In this conversation, my friend Dr. Jon Askonas joins me to discuss the "A Future for the Family" project (https://afutureforthefamily.org/). We discuss the impact of technological development on family structures, the need for a proactive approach to technological development that empowers families, the history of technological change, the influence of military and corporate interests on social development, and the importance of economic dynamism. We also talk about space! Read more at afutureforthefamily.org. Dr. Jon Askonas is Assistant Professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America and a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:09 The Future for the Family Project 05:53 Technological Impact on Family Dynamics 08:52 Proactive vs Reactive Approaches to Technology 12:05 Military and Corporate Influence on Technology 15:06 Economic Dynamism and Family 17:49 Mortality, Life Extension, and Family 21:03 The Commodification of Human Sexuality 27:21 The Impact of Pornography on Society 30:40 The Role of Technology in Relationships 34:39 Holding Companies Accountable 41:59 Reimagining Space Exploration and "Rewilding" 52:27 Envisioning a Future for Embodied Life

Howdy, loyal readers and listeners to the Voice Of GO(r)D podcast.Today I'm bringing you an interview I gave to Grant Martsolf of The Savage CollectiveSubstack back in November, where he peppered me with a few questions about the trucking business in general, and asked me why I think that truckers are able to overcome the odds in starting and maintaining families at higher rates than other blue collar workers.Grant has been working with the Institute for Family Studies over and above his position as a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and his project of investigating life in the machine age here on Substack, and you ought to check out his work.Speaking of IFS, they put out a banger of a manifesto last week called A Future for The Family - A New Technology Agenda for the Right which seeks to outline a pro family and pro society approach to this new digital realm we all live in. It's quite worth your time to check out, and signatories include former guest of the show Matthew B Crawford of the Archedelia Substack, and one of my colleagues at American Compass, Jon Askonas.In the intro I mentioned some new writing I have out at Compact -https://www.compactmag.com/article/blame-trudeau-for-trumps-tariffs/and that I've got a book in the works!https://autonomoustruckers.substack.com/p/book-project-announcement-and-a-majorIf you want to chip in for that -https://www.givesendgo.com/EndOfTheRoadAnd I hope to see you all at the MidAmerica Trucking Show in Louisville Kentucky later this spring.https://truckingshow.com/Thanks for listening, and as always, Questions, comments, suggestions, corrections and Hate Mail are welcomed and encouraged - gordilocks@protonmail.comSign up over at my Substack and have this show and all of my writing delivered directly to your inbox -https://autonomoustruckers.substack.com/

 A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right - First ThingsTechnology for the American Family | National AffairsREALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail Us: realignmentpod@gmail.comJon Askonas, FAI Senior Fellow & Assistant Professor, joins The Realignment. Jon and Marshall discuss the right's new technology agenda, the relationship between the family and technology, President Trump's MAGA, MAHA, Tech Right, and conservative coalition, DOGE vs. USAID, and the impact of Silicon Valley's rightward turn on the conservative movement. 

At Trump's second inauguration, one of the biggest stories, if not the biggest, was the front-row presence of Big Tech CEOs like Google's Sundar Pichai and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg—placed even ahead of Cabinet members. As the plum seating signaled a striking shift in Silicon Valley's relationship with Washington, just 24 hours later, the administration announced Stargate, a $500 billion partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, and other tech giants to build AI infrastructure across America.But beneath the spectacle of billionaire CEOs at state functions lies a deeper question about the "Little Tech" movement—startups and smaller companies pushing for open standards, fair competition rules, and the right to innovate without being crushed by either regulatory costs or Big Tech copycats. As China pours resources into AI and semiconductors, American tech policy faces competing pressures: Trump promises business-friendly deregulation while potentially expanding export controls and antitrust enforcement against the very tech giants courting his favor.To explore this complex new paradigm, Evan and FAI Senior Fellow Jon Askonas are joined by Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, the startup accelerator behind Airbnb, DoorDash, and other alumni. As both a successful founder and venture capitalist, Tan discusses what policies could help startups thrive without dipping into overregulation, and whether Silicon Valley's traditionally progressive culture can adapt to Trump's tech alliances. You can read more about YC's engagement with Washington, DC here.

Jon Askonas is a professor of politics at Catholic University. He wrote an interesting piece for Comment magazine on how Americans went from seeing technology as a source of progress to viewing it as leading us to an apocalypse. He joins us to discuss: How and why did this shift take place? Why are we so anxious? How should we live in this age of anxiety?Read "Building a Future in the Face of the Apocalypse": https://comment.org/building-a-future-in-the-face-of-the-apocalypse/Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.aaronrenn.com/

Find Jon:https://x.com/JonAskonashttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/collections/reality-a-post-mortemMentioned in the episode:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Menhttps://www.amazon.com/Battling-End-Conversations-Beno%C3%AEt-Chantre/dp/0870138774https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/for-whom-shall-we-buildhttps://jsomers.net/DFW_TV.pdfhttps://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-win-condition/https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/digital/the-flight-93-election/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_(novel)https://passage.press/products/xenosystemshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitzhttps://www.fromthenew.world/p/bonus-episode-jon-askonas-on-alternate This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fromthenew.world/subscribe

Find Ari and Jon:https://www.thenewatlantis.com/authors/ari-schulmanhttps://x.com/arischulmanhttps://x.com/jonaskonasMentioned in the Episode:https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/09/opinion/ivf-debate.html  https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/open-wallets-empty-heartshttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/who-is-the-new-atlantis-forhttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-paradox-of-conservative-bioethics https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/for-whom-shall-we-buildhttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/rational-magichttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/welcoming-our-new-robot-overlordshttps://x.com/xenocosmography/status/1843120642402767069 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fromthenew.world/subscribe

In Today's special edition of Moment of Truth, Nick hosts Senator Ron Johnson, Jon Askonas, and Pastor Jared Longshore for a "Theology of American Statecraft" event to discuss Just War. Senator Johnson discusses America's wars in the 20th and 21st centuries including modern conflicts in Afghanistan & Ukraine. Jon Askonas unveils the history of Christian thought on "Just War" and Pastor Jared Longshore delivers a powerful sermon on the principles and categories of justice in War. #NickSolheim #Senator #RonJohnson #USSenate #JonAskonas #JaredLongshore #Justice #War #ForeignPolicy #America #HistoryRon Johnson came to Washington in 2010 after a successful 30-plus-year career in manufacturing because the federal government is bankrupting America. He is currently serving his third term as U.S. Senator for Wisconsin. https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/biography Dr. Longshore is the Undergraduate Dean and a Fellow of Theology at New Saint Andrews College. He also serves as the Associate Pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. Dr. Longshore has served in pastoral ministry since 2007 and holds a MDiv and PhD from Southern Seminary.https://jaredrlongshore.com/about/ Jon Askonas is an assistant professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America, where he works on the connections between the republican tradition, technology, and national security. He is currently working on two books: A Muse of Fire: Why the U.S. Military Forgets What It Learns in War, and The Shot in the Dark: A History of the U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group.https://politics.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/askonas-jonathan/index.htmlBecome a 'Truther' or 'Statesman' to get access to exclusive perks. Watch ALL EPISODES a day before everyone else, and enjoy members-only bonus content: youtube.com/channel/UC4qmB5DeiFxt53ZPZiW4Tcg/join––––––Follow American Moment across Social Media:Twitter – https://twitter.com/AmMomentOrgFacebook – https://www.facebook.com/AmMomentOrgInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/ammomentorg/YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4qmB5DeiFxt53ZPZiW4TcgRumble – https://rumble.com/c/ammomentorg Odysee – https://odysee.com/@AmMomentOrg BitChute – https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Xr42d9swu7O9/GabTV – https://tv.gab.com/channel/ammomentorg Check out AmCanon:https://www.americanmoment.org/amcanon/Follow Us on Twitter:Saurabh Sharma – https://twitter.com/ssharmaUSNick Solheim – https://twitter.com/NickSSolheimAmerican Moment's "Moment of Truth" Podcast is recorded at the Conservative Partnership Campus in Washington DC, produced by American Moment Studios, and edited by Jake Mercier and Jared Cummings.Subscribe to our Podcast, "Moment of Truth"Get our Cancelproof RSS – https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/moment-of-truthACast – https://shows.acast.com/moment-of-truthApple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moment-of-truth/id1555257529Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5ATl0x7nKDX0vVoGrGNhAjAudacy – https://www.audacy.com/podcast/moment-of-truth-149a5 Amazon Music – https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ef1b396c-e4aa-44b1-80a3-e48b4ca9b0d9/moment-of-truthiHeart Radio – https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-moment-of-truth-77884750/ListenNotes – https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/moment-of-truth-american-moment-HmQXYS9-UBc/Player.fm – https://player.fm/series/moment-of-truth-2939102PodBay – https://podbay.fm/p/moment-of-truth-156571Pandora – https://www.pandora.com/podcast/moment-of-truth/PC:1000612376TuneIn – https://tunein.com/radio/Moment-of-Truth-p3762362/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this compelling episode of Conservative Conversations, we welcome back Jon Askonas, a repeat guest known for his deep insights into international relations, national security, and the evolving intersection of war, technology, and public institutions. Jon brings his expertise to a wide-ranging discussion on America's current posture on the global stage, the nation's obligations to its allies and citizens, and the importance of organizational know-how and institutional memory in shaping policy.Together, we explore critical topics like the role of selective service and the draft in a modern context, always grounding our conversation in the enduring principles of American history and philosophy. Whether you're interested in the future of global politics or the philosophical underpinnings of America's actions on the world stage, this episode offers a thought-provoking journey through the complexities of international relations and national defense.

Trump's pick of J.D. Vance as his running mate is seen by many as the culmination of a years-long realignment of Republican and conservative politics—away from trickle-down economics toward a more populist, worker-oriented direction. While the pick ushered in a flood of reactions and think pieces, it's unclear at this stage what Vance's impact would truly be in a Trump second term. Will Vance be able to overcome some of Trump's more establishment-friendly positions on taxes and regulation? Will he advocate that Trump continue some of Biden's policies on tech policy, particularly the administration's actions against companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple? How might Vance influence policies on high-tech manufacturing, defense technology, and artificial intelligence? Evan is joined by Oren Cass, Chief Economist and Founder of American Compass and the author of The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America. Read his recent op-ed in the New York Times on populism and his recent piece in Financial Times on Vance. Subscribe to his Substack, “Understanding America.”Evan is also joined by Marshall Kosloff, co-host of The Realignment podcast, sponsored by FAI, that has been chronicling the shifting politics of the U.S. for several years, as well as by Jon Askonas, professor of politics at Catholic University and senior fellow at FAI.

Trump's pick of J.D. Vance as his running mate is seen by many as the culmination of a years-long realignment of Republican and conservative politics—away from trickle-down economics toward a more populist, worker-oriented direction. While the pick ushered in a flood of reactions and think pieces, it's unclear at this stage what Vance's impact would truly be in a Trump second term. Will Vance be able to overcome some of Trump's more establishment-friendly positions on taxes and regulation? Will he advocate that Trump continue some of Biden's policies on tech policy, particularly the administration's actions against companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple? How might Vance influence policies on high-tech manufacturing, defense technology, and artificial intelligence? Evan is joined by Oren Cass, Chief Economist and Founder of American Compass and the author of The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America. Read his recent op-ed in the New York Times on populism and his recent piece in Financial Times on Vance. Subscribe to his Substack, “Understanding America.”Evan is also joined by Marshall Kosloff, co-host of The Realignment podcast, sponsored by FAI, that has been chronicling the shifting politics of the U.S. for several years, as well as by Jon Askonas, professor of politics at Catholic University and senior fellow at FAI.

It's time for American industry's Lazarus moment. At least, that's what a growing coalition of contrarian builders, investors, technologists, and policymakers have asserted over the past several years. American might was built on our industrial base. As scholars like Arthur Herman detail in Freedom's Forge, the United States won World War 2 with industrial acumen and might. We built the broadest middle class in the history of the world, put men on the moon, and midwifed the jet age, the Internet, semiconductors, green energy, revolutionary medical treatments, and more in less than a century. But the optimism that powered this growth is fading, and our public policy ecosystem has systematically deprioritized American industry in favor of quick returns and cheap goods from our strategic competitors. Is there a way to restore our domestic industry? What does movement-building in this space look like? We're joined by Austin Bishop, a partner at Tamarack Global, co-founder of Atomic Industries, and co-organizer of REINDUSTRIALIZE, and Jon Askonas, Senior Fellow with FAI and Professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America. You can follow Austin on X here and Jon here. Read more about REINDUSTRIALIZE and the New American Industrial Alliance here and check out some of Jon's research on technological stagnation for American Affairs here. 

For this special edition episode, FAI Senior Fellow Jon Askonas flew down to Palm Bay, FL to mix and mingle with the brightest minds in aerospace, manufacturing, and defense at the  Space Coast Hard Tech Hackathon, organized by stealth founder Spencer Macdonald (also an FAI advisor). Jon sits down with a friend of the show and Hyperstition founder Andrew Côté for a wide-ranging conversation on the space tech revolution, the “vibe shift” towards open dialogue, AI's role in shaping reality, and the challenges Silicon Valley faces in fomenting new innovation. They critique regulatory moats that hamper entrepreneurship, safetyism's risk to progress, and explore the concept of “neural capitalism,” where AI enhances decentralized decision-making. You can follow Jon at @jonaskonas and Andrew at @andercot. Andrew recently hosted Deep Tech Week in San Francisco, and he's gearing up to host the next one in New York City. 

Many conservatives lament a decades-long stagnation of innovation. As Peter Thiel once quipped, “We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.” The rise of AI and other transformative technologies may augur an end to this stagnation, according to thinkers like Marc Andreessen, who joined The Dynamist recently to discuss techno-optimism. Others, of course, are more pessimistic. Will we end the Great Stagnation? Will we build the sci-fi future of our dreams? And where does the hurly-burly of politics fit into this conversation? Our guest today, James Pethokoukis, recently wrote The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised. Jim is a senior fellow and the DeWitt Wallace Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, where he analyzes US economic policy, writes and edits the AEIdeas blog, and hosts AEI's Political Economy podcast. He is also a CNBC contributor and writes the Faster, Please! Substack. We're also joined by FAI Senior Fellow Jon Askonas and Research Manager Robert Bellafiore. Robert recently reviewed James' book for The New Atlantis. Jon has written extensively about the politics of innovation, including for Compact and American Affairs. 

This week on Security Dilemma, we spoke with Dr. Jon Askonas about the technology of warfare, the state of the defense industry and war in Eastern Europe. Dr. Askonas is a professor of Political Science at Catholic University of America and a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. Dr. Askonas's article on the Discord Leaks Dr. Askonas's article on Secrecy and Government

Erik Torenberg sits down with Jon Askonas to look at the impact of disruptive technology in important areas like the media, religion, culture, and politics. Jon is an assistant professor of politics at Catholic University, a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and a writer for publications like The New Atlantis and Compact. We are proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/upstream -- We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com. -- Please support our sponsors: Shopify | Mercury | Vanta  Shopify: https://shopify.com/torenberg for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all ecommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one ecommerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/torenberg. -- Looking to give your startup a competitive edge? Meet Mercury: https://mercury.com/ Mercury is banking for ambitious companies—a modern partner that can provide you with the tools and resources you need to turn your startup into the best version of itself. It's software built to help you scale, with safety and stability, when you need to — whether you're a team of two, or a team of 1,000. Join more than 100,000 startups on Mercury, the powerful and intuitive way for ambitious companies to bank. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Choice Financial Group and involve bank and trust members FDIC. -- Compliance doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, with Vanta it can be super simple. Vanta automates the pricey, time-consuming process of prepping for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and more. With Vanta, you can save up to 400 hours and 85% of costs. Vanta scales with your business, helping you successfully enter new markets, land bigger deals, and earn customer loyalty. Bonus? Upstream listeners get $1000 off Vanta. Just go to https://www.vanta.com/upstream -- TIMESTAMPS: (01:00) Episode Preview (03:00) Jon's thesis: The end of consensus reality (04:20) What people have underestimated and overestimated since the 70s (06:00) What comes after the nation state? (07:00) The role of military technology in the next era (09:45) What inputs are most important in determining a country's dominance (11:00) Countering Bali's theory of the decline of the US dollar (13:00) What has happened to our consensus reality?  (16:49) Sponsors: Mercury, Vanta, and NetSuite (18:50) Social Media is a red herring. The internet itself was the disruptor (21:30) Why solving the problems of social media won't return the world to sanity (26:20) Fragmentation is a good thing (29:25) 2nd order effects of AI (30:30) E/acc vs EA  (32:50) Creating a religion out of AI (40:00) The problem with conservatives and technology (46:25) Conservatives ignoring the culture (52:00) Future of the right? (57:00) How do we make sense of a world where we can't determine a fact? (59:10) Believing science, experts, and Sam Harris -- X/ TWITTER: Erik's Twitter: @eriktorenberg Jon's Twitter: @JonAskonas Podcast Twitter: @Upstream__Pod

Jon Askonas is a professor at The Catholic University of America and a contributor to the New Atlantis and Compact. We discuss technological change, Marshall McLuhan, why conservatism is prone to grift, Democracy, the January 6th hearings, Rene Girard, and apocalypse.Jon Askonas:https://twitter.com/JonAskonashttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/authors/jon-askonasJon's articles mentioned:https://compactmag.com/article/why-conservatism-failedhttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/reality-is-just-a-game-nowhttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/what-happened-to-consensus-realityhttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/how-stewart-made-tuckerMentioned in the episode:https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/whats-happened-to-consensus-reality-jon-askonas/https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-analog-city-and-the-digital-cityhttps://www.dukeupress.edu/on-the-modern-cult-of-the-factish-gods This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fromthenew.world/subscribe

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Jake Siegel of Tablet Magazine discusses his thought provoking piece:A Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century: Thirteen ways of looking at disinformation. Jake asserts that elites in government and the media are trying to control and centralize free speech and open inquiry as evidenced by Russiagate investigations and COVID-related national discourse. Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #149 Jon Askonas on Technology, Homogeneity, and Influence A Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century: Thirteen ways of looking at disinformation by Jacob Siegel 'Disinformation' Is the Hoax of the Century by Jacob Siegel Jake Siegel Tablet Page Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Jacob Siegel is senior editor of News and The Scroll, Tablet's daily afternoon news digest. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

https://www.whatingods.com/

Jon Askonas joins Geoff Schullenberger to discuss his latest Compact contribution "Why Conservatism Failed."

Will artificial intelligence spell the end of humanity? The concept has been implanted in American culture through dystopian phenomena like Terminator and The Matrix, but how real is this possibility? Since the public release of Open AI's ChatGPT in late 2022, AI doomerism has played a key role in shaping the discourse around this rapidly advancing technology. “Artificial intelligence could lead to extinction,” blares the BBC. “The race to win the AI competition could doom us all,” warns The Japan Times. Some commentators have even said that we may need to bomb data centers to stop or slow AI development.Is so-called AI “doomerism” simply an outgrowth of AI-related science fiction? Or is there a concerted PR effort to frame the conversation? How does doomerism impact the debate over how/whether to regulate AI, and what positive applications of AI aren't receiving enough attention?  Evan is joined by Perry Metzger, CEO of a stealth AI startup and founder of Alliance for the Future. You can read his work on his Substack, Diminished Capacity. Evan is also joined by Jon Askonas, a professor of politics at Catholic University and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. He has written broadly on tech and culture for outlets like Foreign Policy and American Affairs, and his work has been discussed at length in the New York Times. 

What is the one thing that can save us from the inevitable takeover of the world by AI technology? Jon Askonas, assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America, joins James Poulos to explore the scary implications of artificial intelligence and the growing fear that it will consume us all. Even more scary, will anyone even be able to control it? China? The U.S.? Or will the world succumb to a fate that parallels that of the "Terminator" universe? Are the AI "doomers" right, or can we preserve our humanity?

This week, Eric, Noah, and Emily are joined by Christine Rosen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the cover story in the Summer 2023 issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY entitled “The Death of Conservatism Is Greatly Exaggerated.” Why have there been so many attempts to declare American conservatism dead? Why do so many of them, and in particular a recent piece from Jon Askonas in Compact magazine, ignore the fact that so many of the criticisms the current “New Right” levels at conservatism and American life are not all that new? How should we grapple with the effects of technology on American life? And what is our politics supposed to be for, as opposed to what we're using it for now? Next, they discuss an open letter primarily written by Harvard Law School professor Mark Tushnet calling for President Joe Biden to ignore Supreme Court rulings he doesn't like. Does the left have a comprehensible legal philosophy? How much was the rise of the New Right derailed by the success of the Federalist Society and the Dobbs decision? And is this just a mirror version of what Harvard Law professor Adrian Vermeule is calling for? And finally, three members of our four-person panel have seen Oppenheimer. Was dropping the bomb on Japan the right decision? Subscribe to our podcasts The Death of Conservatism Is Greatly Exaggerated | Christine Rosen, RELIGION & LIBERTY Subscribe to RELIGION & LIBERTY Harvard's Mark Tushnet Wants Joe Biden to Become a Dictator | Charles C.W. Cooke, National Review Oppenheimer and the Last Great America | Titus Techera, Acton Institute

In Today's episode of "Moment of Truth," Saurabh sits down with Jon Askonas, Assistant Professor of Politics at Catholic University of America and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, and Samuel Hammond, Senior Economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, to discuss the state of artificial intelligence, the risks and rewards of its development, AI's impact on the economy and jobs, and whether or not AI will become the terminator and destroy us all.#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Technology #Innovation #FoundationforAmericanInnovation #JonAskonas #SamuelHammondJon Askonas is a senior fellow with FAI. He is an assistant professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America, where he works on the connections between the republican tradition, technology, and national security.Learn more about Dr. Jon Askonas's work:https://www.thefai.org/profile/askonashttps://twitter.com/JonAskonasSamuel Hammond is Senior Economist at FAI, where his research focuses on innovation and science policy and the institutional impact of disruptive technologies. He previously worked as the director of social policy for the Niskanen Center, where he remains a senior fellow.Learn more about Samuel Hammond's work:https://www.thefai.org/profile/Samuel-Hammondhttps://www.twitter.com/hamandcheese––––––Follow American Moment across Social Media:Twitter – https://twitter.com/AmMomentOrgFacebook – https://www.facebook.com/AmMomentOrgInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/ammomentorg/YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4qmB5DeiFxt53ZPZiW4TcgRumble – https://rumble.com/c/ammomentorgCheck out AmCanon:https://www.americanmoment.org/amcanon/Follow Us on Twitter:Saurabh Sharma – https://twitter.com/ssharmaUSNick Solheim – https://twitter.com/NickSSolheimAmerican Moment's "Moment of Truth" Podcast is recorded at the Conservative Partnership Center in Washington DC, produced by American Moment Studios, and edited by Jake Mercier and Jared Cummings.Subscribe to our Podcast, "Moment of Truth"Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moment-of-truth/id1555257529Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5ATl0x7nKDX0vVoGrGNhAj Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's Jon's article: https://mereorthodoxy.com/possessed-in-america/

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Jon Askonas discusses how technology may be leading us towards a homogenization and a cultural dead end where creativity is stifled by market forces. This homogenization process may also, inadvertently, make societies more susceptible to cybernetic influence techniques such as reflexive control. Research Question: What is the relationship between homogeneity & heterogeneity in memetic systems? (For ex: The research of Rene Girard). Resources: Jon Askonas' Catholic University Webpage Recent podcast appearance: WHAT'S HAPPENED TO CONSENSUS REALITY? Marshall Mcluhan quote: "There is no difference that does not difference make." YouTube: Axis of Awesome - 4 Four Chord Song (with song titles) Ted Gioia Music Substack The Culture of Military Innovation: The Impact of Cultural Factors on the Revolution in Military Affairs in Russia, the US, and Israel by Dmitry (Dima) Adamsky Wikipedia: Rene Girard Tablet: Jacob Siegel Link to full show notes and resources https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-149  Guest Bio: Jon Askonas is an assistant professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America, where he works on the connections between the republican tradition, technology, and national security. He is currently working on two books: A Muse of Fire: Why the U.S. Military Forgets What It Learns in War, on what happens to wartime innovations when the war is over and The Shot in the Dark: A History of the U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group, the first comprehensive overview of a unit that helped the Army adapt to the post 9/11 era of counterinsurgency and global power competition. His writing has appeared in Russian Analytical Digest, Triple Helix, The New Atlantis, Fare Forward, War on the Rocks, and the Texas National Security Review. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

While it didn't get the attention of the Edward Snowden leaks, a recent dump of classified information on a video game chat server has been described as one of the worst Western intelligence failures in modern memory. Analysts say the leak could complicate Ukraine's spring offensive against Russia and expose U.S. assets in the Kremlin, among other potential ramifications. What makes this leak unique is that it doesn't appear to be driven by ideology or a foreign adversary, but rather the suspect's desire to impress his online gamer buddies. Is “clout chasing” a growing threat to national security? How can these leaks be prevented and what policies should the U.S. government change or implement in response? Evan is joined by Jon Askonas, Assistant Professor of Politics at Catholic University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. Read his piece, co-authored with Stanford Internet Observatory's Renee DiResta, in Foreign Policy on the threat gamers pose to national intelligence and check out his ongoing series in The New Atlantis on the collapse of consensus reality.

One of the jarring but regular experiences of modern life is discovering that someone, perhaps even someone close to you, sees the world and the events that happened in it in a wildly different way from what your perception tells you happened. It can feel like we're all living in completely different realities.   More and more, argues Catholic University Professor Jon Askonas, we are living in different realities. Jon is currently in the midst of a set of long-form explorations about the end of consensus reality for the New Atlantis journal. They explore how the internet came to fracture the perception of a common shared reality that was, it turns out, an artifact of a high centralized media apparatus during the 20th century.   What lies on the other side of the end of consensus reality is the question. Is it a bad thing, or simply different? Will it necessarily engender new institutions? These are the questions Jon and NLW explore on today's episode. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemorecrypto Subscribeto the newsletter: https://breakdown.beehiiv.com/ Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8 Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW “The Breakdown” is written, produced and hosted by Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW. Research is by Scott Hill. Editing is by Rob Mitchell and Kyle Barbour-Hoffman. Our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach.

I speak with Jon about one of the most important yet subtle phenomena happening right now: the absolute warping of our culture and politics to fit the incentive structure of internet platforms. We speak about the mechanics and flow of information on the internet, rumors, fake news, mob violence, short video as the ultimate format, mimetic desire, the move from surfing the web to feed-based viewing, how Jon Stewart led to Tucker Carlson, and much more. Jon Askonas is an assistant professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America and a non-resident senior fellow at the Lincoln Network. His series in the New Atlantis is well worth your attention. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/aksubversive/message

Jon Askonas is a professor at The Catholic University of America and a contributor to the New Atlantis and Compact. We discuss technological change, Marshall McLuhan, why conservatism is prone to grift, Democracy, the January 6th hearings, Rene Girard, and apocalypse.Jon Askonas:https://twitter.com/JonAskonashttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/authors/jon-askonasJon's articles mentioned:https://compactmag.com/article/why-conservatism-failedhttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/reality-is-just-a-game-nowhttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/what-happened-to-consensus-realityhttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/how-stewart-made-tuckerMentioned in the episode:https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/whats-happened-to-consensus-reality-jon-askonas/https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-analog-city-and-the-digital-cityhttps://www.dukeupress.edu/on-the-modern-cult-of-the-factish-gods Get full access to From the New World at cactus.substack.com/subscribe

In Episode 299 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Jon Askonas a professor of politics at the Catholic University of America where he works on the connections between the republican tradition, technology, and national security. Jon is the author of a new series of essays for the New Atlantis titled “Reality: A Postmortem,” where he looks at the forces that have conspired to break consensus reality, and what it means for humanity and the world. The last few years in many Western countries have been characterized by a growing sense of bewilderment, anger, and distrust. Distrust in mainstream institutions, in each other, and in ourselves—in our own capacity to apprehend reality and come to consensus about the nature of the world around us. Jon and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation discussing the sources of this fragmentation, the disembodied self, and the ways in which the modern age shares more in common with the enchanted world of the middle ages than it does the secular age that has defined consensus reality in the Western world for most of the last 500 years. In the second hour, which is available to premium subscribers, they look at the pervasive effect of social media on the news business, the problem of truth and how to find it in this world of fractured realities, and what can be done to fix the problem. You can subscribe to our premium content and gain access to our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone else from our team will get right back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 02/27/2023

In This Episode:Jon Askonas joins the podcast to discuss how a technological age makes conservative and traditional values obsolete, and how to overcome this problemwhy Karl Marx has to teach conservatives about analyzing and understanding “historical materialism,“ the fundamental material elements of societywhat really drove the disintegration of a shared conception of reality, and how to navigate the “post-real” worldTexts Mentioned:“Why Conservatism Failed” by Jon AskonasThe Market and Other Orders by F.A. HayekIdeas Have Consequences by Richard WeaverRevolt of the Public by Martin Gurri “Reality: A Post-Mortem” by Jon AskonasBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

Ashley sits down with Jon Askonas to dive into his Compact Magazine article Why Conservatism Failed (https://compactmag.com/article/why-conservatism-failed). They discuss solutions to the problem of political or cultural 'team sports' including simply driving after the Good. Jon Askonas @jonaskonas is a Fellow at the Center for the Study of Statesmanship at the Catholic University of America and a member of the Politics faculty. Ashley Colby is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to collapse. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School in Colonia Uruguay.

In Today's episode of "Moment of Truth," Saurabh and Nick sit down with Dr. Jon Askonas, Assistant Professor of Politics at Catholic University, to discuss the war in Ukraine, why Russia and the West overestimated Russia's military capabilities, Putin's next move, the future of war, AI, shipping, trade, China, and if that wasn't enough; where the conservative movement went wrong and how to get back on the right track.Jon Askonas is an assistant professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America, where he works on the connections between the republican tradition, technology, and national security. He is currently working on two books: A Muse of Fire: Why the U.S. Military Forgets What It Learns in War, on what happens to wartime innovations when the war is over and The Shot in the Dark: A History of the U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group, the first comprehensive overview of a unit that helped the Army adapt to the post 9/11 era of counterinsurgency and global power competition. His writing has appeared in Russian Analytical Digest, Triple Helix, The New Atlantis, Fare Forward, War on the Rocks, and the Texas National Security Review. Learn more about Dr. Jon Askonas's work:https://politics.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/askonas-jonathan/index.htmlhttps://americancompass.org/the-commons/author/jonathanaskonas/https://www.thenewatlantis.com/authors/jon-askonas––––––Follow American Moment across Social Media:Twitter – https://twitter.com/AmMomentOrgFacebook – https://www.facebook.com/AmMomentOrgInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/ammomentorg/YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4qmB5DeiFxt53ZPZiW4TcgRumble – https://rumble.com/c/c-695775Check out AmCanon:https://www.americanmoment.org/amcanon/Follow Us on Twitter:Saurabh Sharma – https://twitter.com/ssharmaUSNick Solheim – https://twitter.com/NickSSolheimAmerican Moment's "Moment of Truth" Podcast is recorded at the Conservative Partnership Center in Washington DC, produced by American Moment Studios, and edited by Jake Mercier and Jared Cummings.Subscribe to our Podcast, "Moment of Truth"Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moment-of-truth/id1555257529Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5ATl0x7nKDX0vVoGrGNhAj Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon at the New Atlantis:https://www.thenewatlantis.com/authors/jon-askonasWhy Conservatism Failed:https://compactmag.com/article/why-conservatism-failedPodcast with Jon and Geoff Shullenberger: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cactus.substack.com

Ola pratar om att vi måste vänja oss vid att det i den digitala eran blir allt vanligare att inte veta vilka typ Ruben Östlund och Joakim Paasikivi är. Jonatan gör en minutiös recap av den senaste månaden i brittisk politik. Jon Askonas essä-serie: https://www.thenewatlantis.com/collections/reality-a-post-mortem

Welcome back to the Convivial Society. In this installment, you'll find the audio version of two recent posts: “The Pathologies of the Attention Economy” and “Impoverished Emotional Lives.” I've not combined audio from two separate installments before, but the second is a short “Is this anything?” post, so I thought it would be fine to include it here. (By the way, I realized after the fact that I thoughtlessly mispronounced Herbert Simon's name as Simone. I'm not, however, sufficiently embarrassed to go back and re-record or edit the audio. So there you have it.)If you've been reading over the past few months, you know that I've gone back and forth on how best to deliver the audio version of the essays. I've settled for now on this method, which is to send out a supplement to the text version of the essay. Because not all of you listen to the audio version, I'll include some additional materials (links, resources, etc.) so that this email is not without potential value to those who do not listen to the audio. Farewell Real LifeI noted in a footnote recently that Real Life Magazine had lost its funding and would be shutting down. This is a shame. Real Life consistently published smart and thoughtful essays exploring various dimensions of internet culture. I had the pleasure of writing three pieces for the magazine between 2018 and 2019: ”The Easy Way Out,” “Always On,” and “Personal Panopticons.” I was also pleasantly surprised to encounter essays in the past year or two drawing on the work of Ivan Illich: “Labors of Love” and “Appropriate Measures,” each co-authored by Jackie Brown and Philippe Mesly, as well as “Doctor's Orders” by Aimee Walleston. And at any given time I've usually had a handful of Real Life essays open in tabs waiting to be read or shared. Here are some more recent pieces that are worth your time: “Our Friend the Atom The aesthetics of the Atomic Age helped whitewash the threat of nuclear disaster,” “Hard to See How trauma became synonymous with authenticity,” and “Life's a Glitch The non-apocalypse of Y2K obscures the lessons it has for the present.” LinksThe latest installment in Jon Askonas's ongoing series in The New Atlantis is out from behind the paywall today. In “How Stewart Made Tucker,” Askonas weaves a compelling account of how Jon Stewart prepared the way for Tucker Carlson and others: In his quest to turn real news from the exception into the norm, he pioneered a business model that made it nearly impossible. It's a model of content production and audience catering perfectly suited to monetize alternate realities delivered to fragmented audiences. It tells us what we want to hear and leaves us with the sense that “they” have departed for fantasy worlds while “we” have our heads on straight. Americans finally have what they didn't before. The phony theatrics have been destroyed — and replaced not by an earnest new above-the-fray centrism but a more authentic fanaticism.You can find earlier installments in the series here: Reality — A post-mortem. Reading through the essay, I was struck again and again by how foreign and distant the world of late 90s and early aughts. In any case, the Jon's work in this series is worth your time. Kashmir Hill spent a lot of time in Meta's Horizons to tell us about life in the metaverse: My goal was to visit at every hour of the day and night, all 24 of them at least once, to learn the ebbs and flows of Horizon and to meet the metaverse's earliest adopters. I gave up television, books and a lot of sleep over the past few months to spend dozens of hours as an animated, floating, legless version of myself.I wanted to understand who was currently there and why, and whether the rest of us would ever want to join them. Ian Bogost on smart thermostats and the claims made on their behalf: After looking into the matter, I'm less confused but more distressed: Smart heating and cooling is even more knotted up than I thought. Ultimately, your smart thermostat isn't made to help you. It's there to help others—for reasons that might or might not benefit you directly, or ever.Sun-ha Hong's paper on predictions without futures. From the abstract: … the growing emphasis on prediction as AI's skeleton key to all social problems constitutes what religious studies calls cosmograms: universalizing models that govern how facts and values relate to each other, providing a common and normative point of reference. In a predictive paradigm, social problems are made conceivable only as objects of calculative control—control that can never be fulfilled but that persists as an eternally deferred and recycled horizon. I show how this technofuture is maintained not so much by producing literally accurate predictions of future events but through ritualized demonstrations of predictive time.MiscellanyAs I wrote about the possibility that the structure of online experience might impoverish our emotional lives, I recalled the opening paragraph of the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga's The Waning of the Middle Ages. I can't say that I have a straightforward connection to make between “the passionate intensity of life” Huizinga describes and my own speculations the affective consequences of digital media, but I think there may be something worth getting at. When the world was half a thousand years younger all events had much sharper outlines than now. The distance between sadness and joy, between good and bad fortune, seemed to be much greater than for us; every experience had that degree of directness and absoluteness that joy and sadness still have in the mind of a child. Every even, every deed was defined in given and expressive forms and was in accord with the solemnity of a tight, invariable life style. The great events of human life—birth, marriage, death—by virtue of the sacraments, basked in the radiance of divine mystery. But even the lesser events—a journey, labor, a visit—were accompanied by a multitude of blessings, ceremonies, sayings, and conventions. From the perspective of media ecology, the shift to print as the dominant cultural medium is interpreted as having the effect of tempering the emotional intensity of oral culture and tending instead toward an ironizing effect as it generates a distance between an emotion and its experssion. Digital media curiously scrambles these dynamics by generating an instantaneity of delivery that mimics the immediacy of physical presence. In 2019, I wrote in The New Atlantis about how digital media scrambles the pscyhodynamics (Walter Ong's phrase) of orality and literacy in often unhelpful ways: “The Inescapable Town Square.” Here's a bit from that piece: The result is that we combine the weaknesses of each medium while losing their strengths. We are thrust once more into a live, immediate, and active communicative context — the moment regains its heat — but we remain without the non-verbal cues that sustain meaning-making in such contexts. We lose whatever moderating influence the full presence of another human being before us might cast on the passions the moment engendered. This not-altogether-present and not-altogether-absent audience encourages a kind of performative pugilism.To my knowledge, Ivan Illich never met nor corresponded with Hannah Arendt. However, in my efforts to “break bread with the dead,” as Auden once put it, they're often seated together at the table. In a similarly convivial spirit, here is an excerpt from a recent book by Alissa Wilkinson: I learn from Hannah Arendt that a feast is only possible among friends, or people whose hearts are open to becoming friends. Or you could put it another way: any meal can become a feast when shared with friends engaged in the activity of thinking their way through the world and loving it together. A mere meal is a necessity for life, a fact of being human. But it is transformed into something much more important, something vital to the life of the world, when the people who share the table are engaging in the practices of love and of thinking.Finally, here's a paragraph from Jacques Ellul's Propaganda recently highlighted by Jeffrey Bilbro: In individualist theory the individual has eminent value, man himself is the master of his life; in individualist reality each human being is subject to innumerable forces and influences, and is not at all master of his own life. As long as solidly constituted groups exist, those who are integrated into them are subject to them. But at the same time they are protected by them against such external influences as propaganda. An individual can be influenced by forces such as propaganda only when he is cut off from membership in local groups. Because such groups are organic and have a well-structured material, spiritual, and emotional life, they are not easily penetrated by propaganda.Cheers! Hope you are all well, Michael Get full access to The Convivial Society at theconvivialsociety.substack.com/subscribe

Prof. Jon Askonas on the weird politics of today Download the Callin app for iOS and Android to listen to this podcast live, call in, and more! Also available at callin.com

Jon Askonas joins me to discuss his ongoing series of essays in The New Atlantis, "Reality: A Post-Mortem." Read the series here: https://www.thenewatlantis.com/collections/reality-a-post-mortem

Paul D. Miller speaks with Mark Melton about the current situation in Afghanistan as well as what might happen in the country next. In particular, they cover the perils that religious minorities and other vulnerable groups face, the possibility of civil war, the collapse of the Afghan economy, and the possibility of the US giving food aid to the country. They also discuss what Christians and churches can do to help the Afghan refugees who came to the United States. Miller explains why the current Taliban is not a better “Taliban 2.0” and recounts reports about atrocities the Taliban is currently committing. Miller and Melton talk about the Biden administration's plans to conduct counterterrorism operations “over the horizon,” the possibility of al-Qaeda and ISIS resuming operations from the country, and the need for having “eyes and ears” to monitor terrorist threats. He notes, “It may be that we're not even halfway through the War on Terror yet.” Miller also analyzes how the Afghanistan withdrawal plays into America's great power competition with Russia and China and how it changes the culture of world order. Finally, he counters the notion that Afghanistan is the “Graveyard of Empires.” This podcast was recorded on September 30, 2021. For further reading and listening, see: “Afghanistan: What Happened and What's Next?” featuring Paul D. Miller & Jon Askonas: https://providencemag.com/video/afghanistan-what-happened-whats-next-paul-miller-jon-askonas/ “Ep. 66 | The Fall of Afghanistan and Joe Biden's Withdrawal,” featuring Rebeccah Heinrichs and Mark Melton: https://providencemag.com/podcast/foreign-policy-provcast-ep-66-fall-afghanistan-joe-biden-withdrawal-taliban/ “Don't Assume Russia and China Will Fumble Afghanistan Crisis,” by Mark Melton: https://providencemag.com/2021/09/dont-assume-russia-china-fumble-afghanistan-crisis/ “The Battle for the History of the Afghan War,” by Paul D. Miller: https://providencemag.com/2020/03/battle-afghan-war-history/ Photo caption: A child's lost stuffed animal after the departure of Afghan evacuees at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on August 30, 2021. US Air Force courtesy photo by Tech. Sgt. Amber Flanagan.