Today Chris and Matt are visited by Helen Lewis, a journalist, editor, and writer with what could very fairly be described as a rather distinguished career in those fields.
Helen has previously worked at the New Statesman and is currently with The Atlantic. She has also served as a Women in the Humanities Honorary Writing Fellow at Oxford University and also on the steering committee for the Reuters Institute for Journalism at Oxford University. Her books include Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights. Helen's work covers a broad array of topics including politics, feminist issues, and contemporary/online culture. She is also known for a particular long-form interview which became a 'viral moment' when she sat down for a challenging discussion with one, Jordan B. Peterson.
Most recently Helen has produced "The Church of Social Justice" for BBC4, which asks whether political movements might be taking the place of traditional religions in Britain. A question which never generates any controversy whatsoever. She is also working on an upcoming project that looks at internet gurus and the ecosystems they spawn. So, we were glad to take the opportunity to catch up and talk about the intersections with our rather idiosyncratic collection of interests.
Join us as we try to decipher whether everything is a religion, if social justice requires a pope, and how exactly can we resolve ALL of those thorny culture war debates. We might not ultimately reach any satisfying answers but Helen does offer her one rule for life at the end of the interview!
Also featured on this episode: our most defensive response to a review to date, and a segment on the dangers of JAQing off!
Links
Slavoj Žižek: When is a shark not a shark?
Supplementary Materials 7: Guru Oneupmanship, Hard Ad Pivots, MOOOINK, and Left Wing Populism
Destiny: Right to Reply
*Preview* Decoding Academia 27: Dark Triad Authenticity
Supplementary Materials 6: Christian Sensemaking, Hipster Race Realists, & Marijuana Pseudoscience
Interview with Flint Dibble on Pseudo Archaeology and Science Communication
Supplementary Material 5: Spiritual UFOs, Alternative Theories of Evolution, and Atlantean Grievances
Destiny: Debate King and/or Degenerate?
Supplementary Material 4: Passive Aggressive Therapists, Shit-posting Monks, and Weaponised Naivety
Yuval Noah Harari: Eat Bugs and Live Forever
Supplementary Material 3: Sand-worms, Anti-Capitalist Merch, and High Level Idea-Jacking
Mini-Decoding: The Descent of Jordan B. Peterson
Supplementary Material 2: Dissident Dialogues, Bloodbaths, & Genocidal Debates
Gurometer: Hasan Piker *PREVIEW*
Hasan Piker: A swashbuckling Bromance
Supplementary Material 1: Cringe Immunity & Supplemental Ethics
Interview with Kevin Mitchell on Agency and Evolution
Sean Carroll: The Worst Guru Yet?!?
Mini-Decoding: Indulgent Monologuing
Sam Harris: Right to Reply
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