Half the Answer

Richard Dawkins Finds Love, Isolation as a Societal Norm, and Other AI News (with Hagen Blix)

Is this chatbot sentient? Is AI my friend? Is isolation hackable? Trent and Caitlin discuss recent AI news, Sam Altman's troubles legal and otherwise, labor organizing as a strategy against the worst fears of AI experts, and whether Richard Dawkins is conscious, in this news digest episode with linguist and AI researcher Hagen Blix. Resources https://bookshop.org/p/books/why-we-fear-ai-on-the-interpretation-of-nightmares-hagen-blix/377a4501006cfc55?ean=9781945335174&next=t Letter to Meta leadership https://mcipetition.com/ https://jacobin.com/2025/02/tech-workers-silicon-valley-trump https://jacobin.com/2025/12/hype-artificial-intelligence-vc-capital https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/meta-start-capturing-employee-mouse-movements-keystrokes-ai-training-data-2026-04-21/ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/18/sam-altman-house-attack-ai https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/12/technology/openai-trial-sam-altman-elon-musk https://www.wired.com/story/meta-layoffs-bad-vibes-mark-zuckerberg-ai/ https://tech-insider.org/meta-layoffs-8000-employees-135-billion-ai-capex-2026/ https://unherd.com/2026/05/is-ai-the-next-phase-of-evolution/?edition=us https://unherd.com/2026/05/when-claudia-met-claudius/

What lengths should Democrats go to save a Liberal Society? (with Jacob Levy)

In a time when the ruling party seems to be totally fine with breaking every law, every rule, and every norm that was holding our country in the general shape and consistency of a democracy, what should the opposition party be willing to do? Are there times when retaliation that goes against one of our principles might serve a greater purpose? Are there times when it would only further erode our values? Trent and Caitlin ask Political Theory Professor Jacob T. Levy what he thinks. Resources jacobtlevy.com https://bookshop.org/p/books/rationalism-pluralism-and-freedom-tomlinson-professor-of-political-theory-jacob-t-levy/70b7b87a3f2b1667?ean=9780198717140&next=t https://bsky.app/profile/jacobtlevy.bsky.social https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/06/supreme-court-john-roberts-voting-criticism-00909592 https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a71244450/john-roberts-scotus-political-power/ https://ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/louisiana-v-callais-opinion-recap-voting-rights-act/ https://theconversation.com/racial-gerrymandering-may-be-here-to-stay-282349 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/04/trump-civil-service-schedule-f/682609/ https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/house-lawmakers-press-paramount-ceo-warner-brothers-acquisition-2026-05-12/ SCOTUS photo By Fred Schilling - https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/justices.aspx, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=124352288

Dystopian Prisons, Progressive Messaging, and the 2026 Midterms (with Whitney Curry Wimbish)

Progressive messaging is so hot, the cynical opportunists are appropriating it for mass appeal. A combat surgeon returned from Gaza has found financial support in a pro-Palestine super PAC. Public pressure may prevent new ICE facilities. Journalist Whitney Curry Wimbish walks us through these and other recent stories she has worked on for The American Prospect. Resources https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ https://prospect.org/2025/12/26/profiting-off-immigrant-illness-abuse-and-terror/ https://www.vera.org/news/a-blueprint-for-resistance-how-residents-and-local-governments-are-shutting-down-ice-detention-in-warehouses https://prospect.org/2026/04/30/palestine-super-pac-new-jersey-12-district-adam-hamawy/ https://prospect.org/2026/04/28/pennsylvania-congressional-race-pits-corporate-defender-crosswell-against-union-organizer/

Understanding How Israeli Settlers Are Illegally Seizing New Regions of the West Bank (with Oren Ziv)

Apartheid and incursions into Palestinian territory are accomplished by a specific set of tactics. Oren Ziv, an Israeli photojournalist, joins Trent and Caitlin to describe some examples of the strategies he has seen in person and learned of in his reporting. Resources https://www.activestills.org/ https://www.972mag.com/writer/orenziv/ https://www.972mag.com/israeli-settler-violence-condemnations-smokescreen/ https://www.972mag.com/israel-settler-outposts-west-bank-area-b/ https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-disinherited-journal-of-a-palestinian-exile-fawaz-turki/0d994329d6134ffc?ean=9780853452485&next=t https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114702 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/08/israeli-lawyer-arrested-for-peaceful-protest-leaves-prison-after-110-days https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2026-04-22/ty-article/.premium/israels-independence-day-ceremony-would-inspire-even-pyongyang/0000019d-b479-dbb2-a19d-b77f446d0000 https://www.ft.com/content/2f826acb-c1d2-4144-a9cc-73d008a727a3?syn-25a6b1a6=1 https://www.972mag.com/march-of-return-nakba-2026/ Map of areas A, B, and C https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Areas-A-B-and-C-after-Oslo-II_fig1_276258691

The Cancel Culture Panic: Understanding How an American Obsession Went Global (with Adrian Daub)

You can't say anything these days! Especially not on a college campus, and especially not if you're a white man. For evidence, please enjoy this loose assemblage of sixth-hand anecdotes with no detail or reporting to back it up. This is the discursive form that Caitlin and Trent brought Stanford professor Adrian Daub on to discuss, described in his 2024 book, The Cancel Culture Panic: How an American Obsession Went Global. Resources The Cancel Culture Panic: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-cancel-culture-panic-how-an-american-obsession-went-global-adrian-daub/7c3bcd17c60f4e52?ean=9781503640849&next=t Academic paper on Caitlin's cancellation story: https://journals.linguisticsociety.org/proceedings/index.php/PLSA/article/download/5257/4885/10012 In Bed With The Right podcast https://gender.stanford.edu/podcasts Assorted cancel culture discourse 2020-2022 https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/10/new-puritans-mob-justice-canceled/619818/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/steven-pinker-will-be-just-fine/614323/ https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/07/09/steven-pinker-wont-be-cancelled-but-you-could-be/ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/opinion/campus-speech-cancel-culture.html https://www.motherjones.com/recharge/2020/07/factually-flawed-anti-pinker-letter/ Caitlin's answer to the MJ thing https://c-moriah-green.medium.com/bad-news-about-that-pro-pinker-mother-jones-piece-it-doesnt-make-any-fucking-sense-5efb27a72495 Cancel Culture is Over https://www.persuasion.community/p/why-woke-failed https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/04/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo-democrats-voters-maine.html We're fixing it with the help of our wealthy donors https://www.chronicle.com/article/meet-the-donors-funding-the-civil-dialogue-boom-at-colleges https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/15/harvard-donors-viewpoint-diversity/ https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/university-intellectual-freedom-center-creates-100000609.html https://stevenpinker.com/files/pinker/files/documents/steven-pinker-im-pinned-between-cancel-culture-and-trump-002.pdf Thank you Mr. Trump BUT https://ash.harvard.edu/articles/why-im-excited-about-the-white-houses-proposal-for-a-higher-ed-compact/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/opinion/democrats-trump-midterms-future.html Charlie Kirk Acts https://wpln.org/post/tennessees-charlie-kirk-act-bans-student-walkouts-protects-conservative-speakers/ https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/free-speech/2026/04/21/tenn-passes-charlie-kirk-act-defending-campus-speakers