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Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other

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David French | Friends or Enemies? Overcoming Divides with Justice, Kindness, and Humility in a Polarized America 1:15:36

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1:15:36

In this episode, we welcome back David French, columnist for The New York Times , former constitutional attorney, and author of Divided We Fall . We discuss the current state of American democracy, the challenges of political division, and how we can engage in civil discourse despite deep ideological differences. David also shares a personal update on his family and reflects on the profound trials and growth that come with adversity. 📌 What We Discuss: ✔️ How David and his family navigated the challenges of a serious health crisis. ✔️ The rise of political polarization and the factors driving it. ✔️ Why distinguishing between “unwise, unethical, and unlawful” is crucial in analyzing political actions. ✔️ How consuming different perspectives (even opposing ones) helps in understanding political dynamics. ✔️ The role of Christian values in politics and how they are being redefined. ⏳ Episode Highlights 📍 [00:01:00] – David French’s background and his journey from litigation to journalism. 📍 [00:02:30] – Personal update: David shares his wife Nancy’s battle with cancer and their journey as a family. 📍 [00:06:00] – How to navigate personal trials while maintaining faith and resilience. 📍 [00:10:00] – The danger of political paranoia and the pitfalls of extreme polarization. 📍 [00:18:00] – The "friend-enemy" paradigm in American politics and its influence in Christian fundamentalism. 📍 [00:24:00] – Revisiting Divided We Fall : How America’s divisions have devolved since 2020. 📍 [00:40:00] – The categories and differences of unwise, unethical, and unlawful political actions. 📍 [00:55:00] – The balance between justice, kindness, and humility in political engagement. 📍 [01:00:00] – The After Party initiative: A Christian approach to politics focused on values rather than policy. 💬 Featured Quotes 🔹 "You don't know who you truly are until your values are tested." – David French 🔹 "If we focus on the relational, we can have better conversations even across deep differences." – Corey Nathan 🔹 "Justice, kindness, and humility—if you're missing one, you're doing it wrong." – David French 🔹 "The United States has a history of shifting without repenting. We just move on." – David French 📚 Resources Mentioned David French’s Writing: New York Times David’s Book: Divided We Fall The After Party Initiative – More Info Advisory Opinions Podcast (with Sarah Isgur & David French) – Listen Here 📣 Call to Action If you found this conversation insightful, please: ✅ Subscribe to Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/politicsandreligion ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion 🔗 Connect With Us on Social Media @coreysnathan: Bluesky LinkedIn Instagram Threads Facebook Substack David French: 🔗 Twitter | BlueSky | New York Times Our Sponsors Meza Wealth Management: www.mezawealth.com Prolux Autogroup: www.proluxautogroup.com or www.granadahillsairporttransportation.com Let’s keep talking politics and religion—with gentleness and respect. 🎙️💡…

CSPI Podcast

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Discussions with CSPI scholars and leading thinkers in science, technology, and politics.
www.cspicenter.com

72 episoder

#Science #Politics #News #Social Sciences #Richard Hanania #CSPI

CSPI Podcast

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updated for 12 dager siden

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Discussions with CSPI scholars and leading thinkers in science, technology, and politics.
www.cspicenter.com

72 episoder

#Science #Politics #News #Social Sciences #Richard Hanania #CSPI

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Do We Need a More Assertive Congress? 1:01:00

for 12 dager siden1:01:00

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Philip Wallach ( follow on X ) is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of the book Why Congress , which he joins Richard Hanania to discuss. In this conversation, Hanania and Wallach review the historical role of Congress in American politics, focusing on key events from the FDR administration to the present. Wallach explains the important role Congress played in making sure that Roosevelt did not take the country too far down the path of economic statism, a history that Hanania points out is in tension with some of the ideas of Curtis Yarvin. Throughout the conversation, Wallach emphasizes the importance of Congress in shaping policy and maintaining a balance of power between the branches of government. They explore the impact of significant legislation, the dynamics of the Civil Rights Movement, and changes in Congressional structure during the 1970s. The discussion also touches on the influence of Newt Gingrich, the ongoing challenges of governance in a polarized political environment, the impact of Trump, and the potential for bipartisan cooperation on policy issues. Wallach argues for a more responsive Congress that can find compromises between political factions and effectively address the concerns of the American public. Hanania plays devil’s advocate, and asks whether it might be better for Congress not to legislate, using European states and the EU as a comparison. Near the end, Hanania asks who the best people are to follow in order to stay informed about Congress. You can find Wallach’s preferred list here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Answering the Anti-Vaxxers | Stephen Goldstein & Richard Hanania 58:30

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Stephen Goldstein ( follow on X ) is a postdoc in Evolutionary Virology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where he specializes in coronaviruses. In this interview, he addresses common misconceptions about vaccines, particularly the debunked link to autism, and emphasizes the rigorous safety testing that vaccines undergo. The conversation also explores the reactions to COVID-19 vaccines, and the challenges of communicating credible information to the public. Goldstein highlights the need for innovative methods to improve public acceptance and accessibility. He discusses the potential of certain vaccines, such as that against HPV, to save millions of lives and address the long-term effects of diseases like measles; the search for vaccines against viruses like Epstein-Barr; and the balance between safety and innovation in development. One thing that is highlighted in this conversation is the problem with the “just taking questions” posture adopted by the anti-vaxx movement. Most of the questions they ask have been answered. Those that remain do not create enough doubt to suggest a person should not get the vaccines recommended by public health professionals. For more along these lines, see Richard Hanania, “Vaccines and the Tightrope of Progress.” This interview originally appeared here . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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How the Race Taboo Swallowed Our Political Culture | Eric Kaufmann & Richard Hanania 1:17:08

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Eric Kaufmann is a research fellow at CSPI and a professor of politics at the University of Buckingham. He joins the podcast to talk about his new book, Taboo: How Making Race Sacred Produced a Cultural Revolution . Eric explains its thesis, which holds that the taboos around race that arose in the 1960s expanded into other areas of life and eventually led to modern wokeness. He and Richard debate the plausibility of this idea, its similarities and differences with those put forth in The Origins of Woke , and what kind of policy responses might be appropriate to stem and ultimately reverse undesirable cultural trends. The conversation ends with some discussion about free speech in academia, and why Eric decided to leave his old university and start teaching at the University of Buckingham. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Sorting Through 498,000 Clinical Trials 1:08:04

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Bess Stillman ( email ) is a doctor at the Mayo Clinic and writes at Everything Is An Emergency . She is also an excellent storyteller who uses her skills to convey the hectic and at times heart wrenching experiences one faces as an ER doctor. Bess is married to Jake Seliger , who in 2022 was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. She has written a three - part series about the struggles that she and Jake have faced getting him into clinical trials. On the podcast, Bess describes the maddening and cruelly irrational processes that dying patients must go through in order to find access to treatments that might help them. The conversation covers the nightmare of dealing with ClinicalTrials.gov , the requirement that an individual travel across state lines to even know if they are eligible for a trial, and how the government continues to exercise paternalism on the behalf of patients who have no other options other than to take a drug that has not yet been proven to work. Bess also discusses policy ideas she would like to see implemented, and finally shares some stories from her time as an ER doctor. The themes touched on here will be familiar to those who have read about the “invisible graveyard” that the FDA is responsible for. Yet even listeners who know about the utter lack of interest in patient well being normally shown by federal agencies will find themselves shocked by the degree to which bureaucratic procedures with few plausible benefits govern the lives of sick individuals who want nothing but to get some extra time on this earth and help move science forward. For dealing with the clinical trial system in its current state, Bess is currently trying to figure out ways to assist oncologists and patients in being able to navigate the process at HelpMeFindAClinicalTrial.com . And hopefully by telling her story, she can help inspire much needed reforms to the system. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Nature, Nurture, and Overcoming Hardship | Rob Henderson and Richard Hanania on "Troubled" 1:02:59

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Rob Henderson joins the podcast to talk about his book Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class . The conversation starts with a discussion about the recent controversy in which Rob was unable to find a book store that would host his launch. Rob also shares insights into his writing style, which focuses on conveying his experiences in a matter-of-fact way rather than dwelling on his internal emotional state. Richard then questions him about the story of his biological parents, and whether he would ever want to reconnect with them, particularly the Korean grandfather who started out as a police detective and then struck it rich as the owner of a fertilizer company. The two go on to discuss other aspects of Rob’s life story, including what the friends he grew up with think of his success, what it was like in the military, including stints in Qatar and Kyrgyzstan, and when he began questioning elite narratives surrounding issues like the importance of family stability and personal responsibility. Finally, Rob talks about what is next for him now that the book promotion tour is winding down. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Debt Commission to the Rescue? | Romina Boccia & Richard Hanania 56:39

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Romina Boccia is the director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute, where she writes about government spending, the debt problem, and entitlement reform. She also has a Substack called the Debt Dispatch that you can subscribe to here. Romina joins the podcast to discuss available paths to deal with the coming entitlement crisis. One potential way to get politicians out of making tough choices is to create a debt commission that takes responsibility for unpopular reforms. Romina has written about using the model of the BRAC commission, which was relied on to close down military bases at the end of the Cold War. The conversation also touches on the politics of debt, how policymakers are thinking about these issues, Paul Ryan as an unappreciated hero of our time, and much more. Near the end, Romina reflects on her career as a DC policy-wonk, and why she is motivated to help ensure that America continues to be the land of opportunity. If we don’t get entitlements under control, it could potentially degrade our entire way of life. For more discussion on this topic and the difficult choices our leaders will soon be facing, see the previous CSPI podcast with Brian Riedl. Listen to the podcast with Romina here or watch the video on YouTube. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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The Threat of AI Regulation with Brian Chau 1:12:49

for 1 year siden1:12:49

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Brian Chau writes and hosts a podcast at the From the New World Substack, and recently established a new think tank, the Alliance for the Future. He joins the podcast to discuss why he’s not worried about the alignment problem, where he disagrees with “doomers,” the accomplishments of ChatGPT versus DALL-E, the dangers of regulating AI until progress comes to a halt in the way it did with nuclear power, and more. With his background in computer science, Brian takes issue with many of those who write on this topic, arguing that they think in terms of flawed analogies and know little about the underlying technology. The conversation touches on a previous CSPI discussion with Leopold Aschenbrenner, and the value of continuing to work on alignment. Brian’s view is that AI doomers are making people needlessly pessimistic. He believes that this technology has the potential to do great things for humanity, particularly when it comes to areas like software development and biotech. But the post-World War II era has seen many examples of government hindering progress, and AFF is dedicated to stopping that from happening with artificial intelligence. Listen to the conversation here, or watch the video here. Links Donate to AFF AFF manifesto Brian on diminishing returns to machine learning , and discussing AI with Marc Andreessen Vaswani et al. on transformers Limits of current machine learning techniques This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Ideology, Trade, and War | Andrew Roberts & Richard Hanania on Napoleon 47:10

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Andrew Roberts ( website , follow on X ) is a historian, Visiting Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and a member of the House of Lords. He joins the podcast to talk about his Napoleon: A Life . The conversation begins with a discussion of different counterfactuals regarding ways in which Napoleon might have been able to stay in power, which leads to Roberts explaining his view that the wars of the era could be understood at least in part as resulting from a rejection of free trade. Other topics include: * Meritocracy as a guiding principle of the French Revolution and a justification for Napoleon’s regime * Napoleon’s personal magnetism and why men were willing to follow him * The relationship with Josephine, and whether or not it influenced any of his political decision * Whether Napoleon was in fact the greatest general of his time See also Hanania’s audio review of the Ridley Scott film, and Roberts’ reviews in Commentary and The Times. For an edited transcript of this conversation, see here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Heading Towards the Fiscal Cliff | Brian Riedl & Richard Hanania 54:04

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Brian Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, focusing on budget, tax, and economic policy. His previous jobs include chief economist to Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), and positions on the Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney presidential campaigns. He joins the podcast to talk about the financial future of the United States, with a special focus on entitlements. Medicare is projected to run out by 2031, and Social Security only two years later. Because of politicians kicking the can down the road for so long, this will mean that the federal government will at that point have to either implement massive benefit cuts for seniors or significantly raise taxes across the board. Brian talks about his experience in Washington, the history of negotiations over the debt, and what politicians say when you bring up these facts. We appear to be in an undesirable equilibrium, where everyone’s incentive is to ignore the issues involved, while the status quo is leading us towards disaster. Despite liberals wanting to tax the rich and conservatives calling for a cut to foreign aid and non-entitlement forms of domestic spending, the numbers for such proposals don’t add up. We will either get entitlement spending under control, or become taxed at the level of Europeans. In one important way, we will actually be worse off than Europe, because their welfare states pay for services and benefits that go to families across a wide section of the population. We are potentially building a US welfare state that will have high taxes primarily to funnel money to the elderly. The fact that older Americans are richer than those who will be supporting them makes the future we are moving towards even more absurd. Links Brian Riedl: chart book on spending , report on the limits of taxing the rich , CNN op-ed on interest rates, NYT op-ed on Biden’s promises on entitlements Brian’s X page , Manhattan Institute website This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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No Need to Argue. Just Build | Niklas Anzinger & Richard Hanania 57:46

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Niklas Anzinger is the founder and General Partner of Infinita , the first Próspera-based VC fund, which invests in founders overcoming regulatory capture in crypto, biotech and hardware through network states and startup cities. He’s also one of the 100 or so residents of Próspera. This was quite an optimistic conversation. The title of the podcast comes from the last thing Niklas said, which was that you don’t actually need attention or to talk about grand projects, but just to show the world what you can do. Niklas is part of the charter city movement, which seeks to build hubs of innovation and progress while bringing the rule of law and economic development to poorer regions of the world. In this eventful conversation, Richard and Niklas touch on * The mechanics of governance in Próspera * Getting around red tape and becoming a hub of medical innovation * Amenities and quality of life in the city * Upcoming conferences and events Despite a new government in Honduras that is hostile to charter cities, Niklas is optimistic that they will be able to continue operating. He and Richard also talk about potential medical breakthroughs that Próspera might help bring about, like bacteria that remove cavities from your mouth, and a currently available gene therapy that may make your muscles and bones stronger. Links Niklas on X , his Substack , RSS for his podcast The Ultimate Guide to Próspera Alex Ugorji on X Próspera website Ciudad Morazán Infinita Manifesto Scott Alexander on Próspera, Part I and Part II Mark Lutter on the CSPI podcast Marc Andreessen, The Techno-Optimist Manifesto Documentary on medical tourism in Próspera ; DW report , with appearance from Niklas Upcoming Events Nov 3-5: Crypto Futurism & Legal Engineering 2023 - A Próspera Builders’ Summit Nov 17-19: DeSci & Longevity Biotech 2023 - A Próspera Builders' Summit Jan 6-Mar 1: Vitalia - Starting the Frontier City of Life This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Propaganda and Power | Chris Rufo & Richard Hanania 1:20:39

for 2 years siden1:20:39

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Chris Rufo joins the podcast to talk about his new book, America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything . Rufo begins by talking about his background and his theory of political change. The conversation then shifts to his new book, the strengths of Ron DeSantis as an administrator, and finally what he’s doing on the board of the New College of Florida. Topics include: * Where did all of the crazy ideas that seem to have taken over institutions in the last few years come from? * What took conservatives so long to wake up to the problem? * Did Rufo end up liking the intellectuals he was studying? * What are the connections between left-wing ideas and civil rights law? * How do conservatives reach “good liberals” within institutions? See the transcript of the conversation at the Richard Hanania Newsletter. Listen in podcast form or watch the conversation on YouTube . Links: * Richard Hanania, The DeSantis Revolution * Politico profile on the relationship between Rufo and DeSantis * Rufo, America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything . * Rufo video on the trans movement and “nullification” surgery, discusses his theory of political change * Hanania, The Origins of Woke (forthcoming book) * Robert Rector on black-white gaps * The Atlantic giving Rufo his due This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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AI Alignment as a Solvable Problem | Leopold Aschenbrenner & Richard Hanania 1:02:08

for 2 years siden1:02:08

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In the popular imagination, the AI alignment debate is between those who say everything is hopeless, and others who tell us there is nothing to worry about. Leopold Aschenbrenner graduated valedictorian from Columbia in 2021 when he was 19 years old. He is currently a research affiliate at the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford, and previously helped run Future Fund, which works on philanthropy in AI and biosecurity. He contends that, contrary to popular perceptions, there aren’t that many people working on the alignment issue. Not only that, but he argues that the problem is actually solvable. In this podcast, he discusses what he believes some of the most promising paths forward are. Even if there is only a small probability that AI is dangerous, a small chance of existential risk is something to take seriously. AI is not all potential downsides. Near the end, the discussion turns to the possibility that it may supercharge a new era of economic growth. Aschebrenner and Hanania discuss fundamental questions of how well GDP numbers still capture what we want to measure, the possibility that regulation strangles AI to death, and whether the changes we see in the coming decades will be on the same scale as the internet or more important. Listen in podcast form here, or watch on YouTube . Links: * Leopold Aschenbrenner, “ Nobody’s on the Ball on AGI Alignment .” * Collin Burns, Haotian Ye, Dan Klein, and Jacob Steinhardt, “ Discovering Latent Knowledge in Language Models Without Supervision .” * Kevin Meng, David Bau, Alex Andonian, and Yonatan Belinkov, “ Locating and Editing Factual Associations in GPT .” * Leopold’s Tweets: * Using GPT4 to interpret GPT2 . * What a model says is not necessarily what’s it’s“thinking” internally. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Understanding Right and Left | Bryan Caplan & Richard Hanania 1:32:49

for 2 years siden1:32:49

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Bryan Caplan joins the podcast to talk about his new book, Voters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political Irrationality . Bryan begins by explaining why he hates politics. Much of the conversation then centers around Caplan’s simplistic theory of the right and left. This is compared and contrasted with Scott Alexander’s thrive/survive theory of the political spectrum, Robin Hanson’s theory of farmers and foragers , and Hanania’s “Liberals Read, Conservatives Watch TV.” Near the end, the discussion turns to the political climate at GMU, and whether the intellectual community that has been built can survive the trend towards DEI. Caplan emphasizes that he has noticed a difference since Glenn Youngkin came to power in Virginia, showing that politics actually matters for determining the future of free speech and intellectual freedom. For previous Bryan appearances on the podcast, see: May 2021 , September 2022 , and May 2022 . Listen in podcast form or watch on YouTube . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Marc Andreessen On Venture Capital, Science, Tech, Progress, and More (Rerelease) 1:56:30

for 2 years siden1:56:30

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This week we’re rereleasing a previous episode with Marc Andreessen, originally released on August 16, 2021. He is co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz. Earlier in life, he was the co-founder of Opsware, Ning, and Netscape. Marc joins the podcast to talk about what’s gone wrong with science, the prerequisites for progress, and how tech has changed our lives and has the potential to disrupt stagnant institutions. Topics also include how the internet has influenced dating, what venture capitalists actually do, and whether there is too much – or too little – money in politics. For a transcript of the conversation, see here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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Waiting for the Betterness Explosion | Robin Hanson & Richard Hanania 1:42:06

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Robin Hanson joins the podcast to talk about the AI debate. He explains his reasons for being skeptical about “foom,” or the idea that there will emerge a sudden superintelligence that will be able to improve itself quickly and potentially destroy humanity in the service of its goals. Among his arguments are: * We should start with a very low prior about something like this happening, given the history of the world. We already have “superintelligences” in the form of firms, for example, and they only improve slowly and incrementally * There are different levels of abstraction with regards to intelligence and knowledge. A machine that can reason very fast may not have the specific knowledge necessary to know how to do important things. * We may be erring in thinking of intelligence as a general quality, rather than as more domain-specific. Hanania presents various arguments made by AI doomers, and Hanson responds to each in kind, eventually giving a less than 1% chance that something like the scenario imagined by Eliezer Yudkowsky and others will come to pass. He also discusses why he thinks it is a waste of time to worry about the control problem before we know what any supposed superintelligence will even look like. The conversation includes a discussion about why so many smart people seem drawn to AI doomerism, and why you shouldn’t worry all that much about the principal-agent problem in this area. Listen in podcast form or watch on YouTube . You can also read a transcript of the conversation here. Links: * The Hanson-Yudkowsky AI-Foom Debate * Previous Hanson appearance on CSPI podcast, audio and transcript * Eric Drexler, Engines of Creation * Eric Drexler, Nanosystems * Robin Hanson, “Explain the Sacred” * Robin Hanson, “We See the Sacred from Afar, to See It the Same.” * Articles by Robin on AI alignment: * “Prefer Law to Values” (October 10, 2009) * “The Betterness Explosion” (June 21, 2011) * “Foom Debate, Again” (February 8, 2013) * “How Lumpy AI Services?” (February 14, 2019) * “Agency Failure AI Apocalypse?” (April 10, 2019) * “Foom Update” (May 6, 2022) * “Why Not Wait?” (June 30, 2022) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cspicenter.com…

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