Are We in a New Era of Political Violence?: Podcast
Are we all just living through Elon Musk's dystopian simulation?
One week ago, the editor-roundtable version of the Reason Podcast included some robust discussion about whether we are indeed living through an ominous time of heightening political violence. Since then, we've had the killing of two black people in Kentucky by a white man alleged to have tried first targeting a black church, then the arrest of a #MAGA-memer in the sending of (unexploded) pipe-bombs to a dozen or so leading Democrats, and then this weekend's anti-Semitic murder rampage in a Pittsburgh synagogue by an alleged anti-immigrant social-media nut.
So Reason editors Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch pick up the conversation where it left off, trying to see whether we've turned a dark new corner, what can be said about President Donald Trump's predictably awful response, how Gab's role fits into our pre-existing anxieties about social media and the culture of free speech, and—obviously—whether we'd be better off being self-aware about living through Elon Musk's drug-induced simulation.
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Audio production by Ian Keyser.
Relevant links from the show:
"11 Dead in Mass Shooting at Pittsburgh Synagogue," by Eric Boehm
"Has There Been a Surge of Anti-Semitism Under and Because of Trump?" by David E. Bernstein
"Gab Dumped by Tech Companies Over Synagogue Shooter Posts but Twitter, Facebook, and Other Social-Media Giants Get a Pass," by Elizabeth Noland Brown
"Trump's Rhetoric Is Divisive, Contemptible, Un-Presidential. It's Also Not Responsible for the Synagogue Shooting," by Nick Gillespie
"Suspect Arrested in Attempted Mail Bombings," by Joe Setyon
"Mail Bomber Cesar Sayoc Threatened Me on Facebook," by Ilya Somin
"Trump's Anti-Press Rhetoric Is Irresponsible, Even If the Bomber Is Just a Crazy Person," by Robby Soave
"Migrant Caravan Hysteria Returns," by Joe Setyon
"Republicans Whip Up Pre-Midterm Fears With Lies About Invading Migrant Caravan," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
"Why the Obsession with the Migrant Caravan, Mr. President?" by Nick Gillespie
"Do Partisans Hate Each Other More Than Ever?" by Morris Fiorina
"No, We're Not on the Brink of Civil War. But the Reasons Why We're Not Are Far From Entirely Reassuring." by Ilya Somin
"When Social Media Platforms Block Conservatives," by John Stossel
"Facebook Slams Independent Voices With Latest Political Purge," by J.D. Tuccille
"Live Debate in LA on 11/1: Ken White of Popehat, Thaddeus Russell of Renegade U," by Nick Gillespie
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Matt Welch
Katherine Mangu-Ward
Nick Gillespie
- Baseball World Series 2018
Peter Suderman