Wisdom of Crowds
81 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago -We’re Damir Marusic and Shadi Hamid. We live in Washington DC and have been friends for a while. One of us works at a magazine, another thinks in a tank. The idea behind the podcast is to try out ideas in the hope of getting considered push-back—in real-time. We talk politics, ideas, culture, and current events. Civil discussion, maybe even a bit odd. But hopefully fun.
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Episodes
Episode 28: Victorians, Manners, and the Woke Wars
August 06, 2020 17:36 - 1 hour - 125 MBStand up straight! The Washington Post's Christine Emba joins Shadi and Damir to ponder the positive aspects of the woke wars, the role of ideas in furthering social change, and the virtues of lukewarm takes. Reading List: "Why George Floyd Died," by Rod Dreher (The American Conservative)
Episode 27: Reassessing the Reactionary Right, with Damon Linker
July 30, 2020 23:17 - 1 hour - 101 MBAre we reaching a tipping point in our politics, and is the very legitimacy of our democratic system is being called into question? The Week‘s Damon Linker joins Shadi and Damir to discuss how a desperate narrative seems to be taking a hold on the Right, its historical antecedents, and whether the threat comes from … Continue reading "Episode 27: Reassessing the Reactionary Right, with Damon Linker"
Episode 27: Reassessing the Reactionary Right
July 30, 2020 19:17 - 1 hour - 101 MBAre we reaching a tipping point in our politics, and is the very legitimacy of our democratic system is being called into question? The Week's Damon Linker joins Shadi and Damir to discuss how a desperate narrative seems to be taking a hold on the Right, its historical antecedents, and whether the threat comes from an illiberal ideology or if our Union has always been more precarious than we thought. Reading List: "When Conservatives Become Revolutionaries," by Damon Linker (The Week) ...
Episode 26: The Moral Trap of Universal Values, with Jamie Kirchick
July 24, 2020 03:18 - 1 hour - 104 MBJamie Kirchick of the Brookings Institution and author of The End of Europe joins Shadi and Damir to talk race, anti-semitism, morality, and the ever-multiplying claims to universal rights that are driving the turmoil shaking Western societies to their cores. Come for Damir’s tinnitus, and stick around to find out if Shadi will end up … Continue reading "Episode 26: The Moral Trap of Universal Values, with Jamie Kirchick"
Episode 26: The Moral Trap of Universal Values
July 23, 2020 23:18 - 1 hour - 104 MBJamie Kirchick of the Brookings Institution and author of The End of Europe joins Shadi and Damir to talk race, anti-semitism, morality, and the ever-multiplying claims to universal rights that are driving the turmoil shaking Western societies to their cores. Come for Damir's tinnitus, and stick around to find out if Shadi will end up a neo-neocon as the woke brigades take over the Left. Reading List: "The Man Who Opposed Hate," by James Kirchick (Tablet)
Episode 25: Peter Beinart on the One-State Solution
July 16, 2020 20:40 - 52 minutes - 78.1 MBPeter Beinart joins Shadi and Damir to discuss his recent essays for Jewish Currents and the New York Times, in which he argues that with the two-state solution a dead letter in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the only possible path forward is making a case for a bi-national state. Is this a tactical maneuver to … Continue reading "Episode 25: Peter Beinart on the One-State Solution"
Episode 25: Arguing the One-State Solution
July 16, 2020 16:40 - 52 minutes - 78.1 MBPeter Beinart joins Shadi and Damir to discuss his recent essays for Jewish Currents and the New York Times, in which he argues that with the two-state solution a dead letter in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the only possible path forward is making a case for a bi-national state. Is this a tactical maneuver to expand the Overton Window to unblock the status quo? A desperate attempt to prevent Israel from considering worse solutions? Or a moral case energized by the ascendance of ...
Episode 24: Can Religion Heal Our Racial Divides?
July 09, 2020 14:42 - 1 hour - 65.9 MBShadi and Damir sit down their friend Robert Nicholson, Founder and Executive Director of the Philos Project (and one of the small handful of people who witnessed the birth of the idea for this podcast with his own eyes). Recently back from a trip to Minneapolis, Robert discusses facing up to our deep national dysfunctions as someone who has worked abroad, and how religion might end up being the best bridge we have across our gaping racial divides.
Episode 23: Progress, Religion, Steve Albini, and the Kinks
July 02, 2020 23:27 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBShadi quizzes Damir about his belief in the possibility of progress and social change, before the conversation spins off into a discussion about the creative process, selling out, and the nature of success. Reading (Listening) List: "How a Great Power Falls Apart" by Charles King (Foreign Affairs) "The Problem With Music" by Steve Albini (The Baffler) "Atmosphere" by The Oranges Band
Episode 22: Activism and Its Discontents (Live)
June 29, 2020 20:51 - 51 minutes - 87.7 MBOn June 23, Shadi and Damir went live on Periscope to discuss Shadi's latest piece for the Atlantic, the tension between political change and negative externalities, their new Patreon account, and plans for a newsletter.
Episode 21: A How-To Guide to Thinking Through the Apocalypse
June 16, 2020 04:14 - 50 minutes - 46 MBShadi talks through his inner conflicts. Damir responds by minimizing the reality of what is happening. Also: why Americans are all fundamentalists (whether secular or religious), the appropriateness of activist-journalism, the empty symbolism of woke politics, and whether the New York Times should(n’t) be our lodestar. Reading List: “Our Deathwish” by Jacob Siegel (Tablet) “The Coronavirus Killed the Revolution”, by Shadi Hamid (The Atlantic) Waverley, by Sir Walter Scott
Episode 20: Fixing Things in Fragile Democracies, with Mikheil Saakashvili
June 08, 2020 23:19 - 58 minutes - 58.4 MBThe former President of Georgia joins Shadi and Damir to talk about how tricky reforms—such as police reforms—can succeed (and fail), about how identity is a slippery thing in the post-Soviet space, about liberalism, illiberalism, and Western haughtiness, and about his encounters with Donald Trump when he was just another rich guy with a political itch.
Episode 19: Cry Havoc. Really, Really Cry.
June 04, 2020 00:48 - 1 hour - 74.7 MBVery special guest Michael Signer joins the podcast to talk about his new book recounting his time serving as mayor of Charlottesville during the violence of August 2017. With America in upheaval, it's an appropriate time to revisit that sad bit of recent history, but also an opportunity to think about what's gone wrong with our politics, and what, if anything, can be done to fix it. A rich discussion. Reading List: Cry Havoc: Charlottesville and American Democracy Under Siege, by Micha...
Episode 18: Live, Amidst the Flames
June 01, 2020 01:16 - 55 minutes - 51.6 MBShadi and Damir live-streamed an episode as a weekend of violent protests around the country wound to a close. Our episodes are never scripted or prepared, but in this case we are interacting with our audience on Twitter's Periscope in real time to help guide the conversation. Also, please excuse the audio quality.
Episode 17: How The Expert Fetish Might Re-Elect Trump
May 28, 2020 23:38 - 1 hour - 83.2 MBShadi and Damir discuss how Trump's unabashed contempt for expertise has encouraged his opponents to latch onto expert opinion—and how this could boost Trump if the economic opening goes even tolerably well. Reading List: "What a Maskless Trump Says About His Re-Election Strategy" by Henry Olsen (WaPo) "In Search of Lost Time" by Peter Pomerantsev (The American Interest) "Pandemics Kill Compassion, Too" by David Brooks (New York Times)
Episode 16: The Folly of Individuals
May 20, 2020 23:48 - 54 minutes - 67.5 MBShadi and Damir talk about their conflicted feelings about recording the previous episode in a room together, the dangers of optimism about the recovery, what the "new normal" in successful South Korea looks like, why America in all likelihood won't ever be able to get there, and why that might or might not be OK. Reading List: Shadi's tweet thread about why America can't be like South Korea. Michael Kim's tweet thread about the reality in South Korea. Man lectures BoJo in a park.
Episode 15: Trump Versus Coronavirus and the Elites
May 14, 2020 00:12 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBThe Atlantic Council's Benjamin Haddad joins Shadi and Damir to talk social distancing, the coronavirus response on both sides of the Atlantic, and how elites' ever more fervent love of experts could lead them to political disaster. Reading List: Le paradis perdu: L'Amérique de Trump et la fin des illusions européennes, by Benjamin Haddad (Grasset) "The Coronavirus Killed the Revolution," by Shadi Hamid (The Atlantic) "Social Distancing Isn't Going To End Soon. So How Do We Live Wit...
Episode 14: The Dangerous Temptation of Ideals and Anti-Politics
April 03, 2020 17:57 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBIn the third week of lockdown, Shadi and Damir talk about the Beatles versus the Stones, how the 1960s represent a kind of dangerous idealism grounded in universal values, and how there’s no escaping politics. Reading List: “The Coronavirus Killed the Revolution,” by Shadi Hamid “It’s imperative for the U.S. and China to work together on the coronavirus pandemic,” by Michael McFaul Jennifer Rubin’s Political Mathematics “National Identity is Made Up,” by Max Fisher and Amanda Taub
Episode 13: Coronavirus and the Future of Politics
March 18, 2020 05:29 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBCatastrophe and resilience, human and economic costs, and the future of democratic politics: Shadi and Damir hunker down for an intense coronavirus podcast (while of course observing appropriate social distancing protocols). Reading List: “Pandemics Kill Compassion, Too,” by David Brooks “The Wuhan Virus and the Imperative of Hard Decoupling,” by Andrew Michta “The Coronavirus Called America’s Bluff,” by Anne Applebaum
Episode 12: Sanders’ Goldwater Moment and The Future of the Left
March 08, 2020 18:46 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBIn the shadow of Bernie Sanders’ underperforming on Super Tuesday, Shadi and Damir welcome author Ben Judah to the podcast to talk about the enduring promise of left-populism in an Age of Trump. Relevant Reading: “Left Populism and the Rediscovery of Agonistic Politics,” by Shadi Hamid “Traditional ‘foreign policy’ no longer exists. Democrats are the last to know,” by David Adler and Ben Judah “Hawks say Sanders will be weak on Russia. But Putin should fear a President Bernie,” by Ben...
Episode 11: The Weaponization of Wokeness
February 13, 2020 05:23 - 1 hour - 59.9 MBShadi and Damir talk about how racism, virtue signaling, the fundamental illegitimacy of the Chinese state, and how both consensus and irreconcilability can be fatal for democracy. Reading List: “China is the Real Sick Man of Asia” by Walter Russell Mead “Birth of the Nations” by Damir Marusic “It’s Not About Britain. It’s About Europe” by Damir Marusic “The dark side of consensus in Tunisia: Lessons from 2015-2019” by Sharan Grewal and Shadi Hamid “After Europe” by Ivan Krastev
Episode 10: The Russians and Their Souls
January 26, 2020 22:58 - 1 hour - 119 MBAuthor and essayist Peter Pomerantsev and Karina Orlova of Echo of Moscow Radio join Shadi and Damir to talk about the Russian soul, imperialism, historical memory, opioids, and bad cocaine. (It’s a lot less depressing than it sounds!) Reading List: This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality, by Peter Pomerantsev Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia, by Peter Pomerantsev Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets, by Svetla...
Episode 9: Meritocracy, Depoliticization, and the End of the End of History
December 12, 2019 11:08 - 1 hour - 76.2 MBShadi and Damir start talking about the appeals and perils of Pete Buttigieg and end up discussing the dangerous dead ends of meritocratic right-think. Mentioned in the Podcast: Shadi’s tweetstorm about Mayor Pete (https://twitter.com/shadihamid/status/1203416084189196288) Luuk van Middelaar’s latest book (https://www.amazon.com/Alarums-Excursions-Improvising-Politics-European-ebook/dp/B07PHV1Y4M/) “Lanes Are Starting to Emerge in the 2020 Primary” -Nathaniel Rakich, 538 (https://fivet...
Episode 8: The Wisdom and Folly of Impeachment and Trump
December 03, 2019 13:43 - 1 hour - 92.8 MBShould Trump be impeached? And is he a transformational president? The Washington Post’s national security reporter John Hudson joins Shadi and Damir to talk high-wire politics. Articles Mentioned in the Podcast: How The Framers Thought About Impeachment – Gary Schmitt (https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/09/25/how-the-framers-thought-about-impeachment/) U.S. Officials Ignored Trump On Syria And We Are All Paying The Price – Aaron Stein (https://warontherocks.com/2019/10/u-s-of...
Episode 7: Macron’s Defensive Crouch and the Problem of European Statism
November 15, 2019 15:30 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBShadi and Damir talk Europe, its problems of integrating of foreigners, and how European mental reliance on the state as a solution to everything is a long-term problem for the continent. Required Reading: Emmanuel Macron’s interview in the Economist magazine: https://www.economist.com/europe/2019/11/07/emmanuel-macron-in-his-own-words-english Riada Akyol in Al-Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/macron-remarks-bosnia-dangerous-191110133224396.html Bruno Maçaes in Polit...
Episode 6: Holbrooke And Humanitarian Intervention
October 16, 2019 04:55 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBA healthy Shadi and a sick Damir chew over Richard Holbrooke’s complicated legacy, as well as the moral imperatives and political limits of humanitarian intervention.
Episode 5: Impeachment, Polarization, and Hate-tweets
September 27, 2019 13:31 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBWhat’s that in the air? It’s not autumn. It’s that feeling you get knowing that all we’ll be collectively discussing in the next 14 months is the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. Shadi and Damir discuss the fate of our republic in these polarized times. Articles discussed in this episode: How the Framers Thought About Impeachment – Gary Schmitt The Decay of American Political Institutions – Francis Fukuyama The Problem of Donald Trump Didn’t Start With Donald Trump – Damir Marusic
Episode 4: Travel, Nationalism, and American Exceptionalism
September 12, 2019 11:30 - 50 minutes - 48.9 MBShadi and Damir record an episode in transition, with Shadi just having gotten back from a long trip, and Damir just embarking on one. The nature of nationalism and the idea of “Americanism” come up as a result of being abroad.
Episode 3: Conspiracy Theories, Flailing Gatekeepers, and Democratic Decay
August 11, 2019 03:57 - 1 hour - 72.1 MBJeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide kicks off a frenzy of conspiracy theories in the media—and prompts Shadi and Damir to talk through whether we are living through a healthy democratic correction, or something much darker. Articles mentioned in the podcast: Ross Douthat on conspiracies (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/opinion/jeffrey-epstein-suicide.html) YouTube and Bolsonaro (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/11/world/americas/youtube-brazil.html)
Episode 2: Mass Shootings, The Secular Left, and the Emptiness Of Social Media
August 05, 2019 03:57 - 1 hour - 72.8 MBIn the wake of last weekend’s twin mass shootings, Shadi and Damir discuss radicalization, social media, and how the Left’s of denial of religion is creating dangerous blindspots for itself and for our democracies.
Episode 1: Healthy Assimilation or White Supremacy?
July 26, 2019 03:57 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBIn the inaugural episode of this ongoing experiment, Shadi and Damir talk about how inherent tensions in American identity—between inclusion and assimilation—are being tugged apart in perhaps unhealthy ways.