Your missive was so beautifully measured. How you manage to stay on point in your current situation is something to marvel at. Or maybe this period of enforced stepping back from your podcast is giving you the space to breathe? Either way I'm so glad I became a paid subscriber xx
Re not being able to do more than one thing at a time, I recognize that type of brain fog as the aftermath of a big loss, which you have certainly experienced. It’s a grief reaction. Give yourself a break whenever you need one, for as long as you need one. We’ll stay with you no matter what.
Lately, I can't seem to make sense of so many once trusted voices. It means a lot, Meghan, that even if I don't agree with you, I know you're not shoveling bullshit!
When things happen like Trump's ambush of Zelensky I still tend to get angry and over react. But then I think of who put him in the oval office and I remember, well, it was the regressive left that accomplished that. And I even agree with him sometimes, again thanks to the woke. So the lefts resistance to everything Trump and attacking him has ended up helping Putin and hurt Ukraine. And there IS the woke right, those who will attack if there is even a hint of disagreement with Trump. Between these two wokesters it's not looking good for our country. Which is why your efforts at reasonable discourse between left and right is so important.
Very happy to support your work, Meghan. It is both creative and unique. (I definitely plan to get your book; will there be an audio version?)
This essay, though, was less than useful inasmuch as you give us no receipts that we can check to gauge our own reactions to what's out there. I am confused. And annoyed by that confusion.
I've been wanting an audit of the U.S. bureaucracy for decades, and now we're having one. And it's transparent as hell, which is why it is so chaotic (chaos egged on, ISTM, by an ever-hysterical legacy media). And the government employees/officials you seem to identify with--and isn't identification *everything* these days?--were also the ones who, in response to the loss of many many fossil-fuel related jobs when Biden axed the Canadian pipeline on the first day of his presidency (thus ensuring rising gas prices, a tithe the Net Zero catastrophists forced regular people to pay), chided those job losers with the sniggering meme "learn to code."
I'm not on X, so I don't know what you're actually talking about, but I'm sure your POV has merit. It's just that, look what's actually happening in the West: Just like here, regular Europeans have been having to put up with elites who absolutely refuse to hear their complaints for decades--indeed, who call *them* terrible names--and the elites are dumbfounded that the Continent is moving radically right as a result. (Always a very mixed bag.) I've long thought that the anti-woke *movement* would splinter once the Dems were out of power, just as the left splinters when it's out of power, and that I would no longer be aligned with everyone I read. (FWIW, I'm 71 and a lesbian who realizes that, given power, the religious right might well turn on me and my ilk.) But that won't make me regret our having joined together to fight the overweening power of the woke left, who do speak more civilly than the right, even as, behind the scenes, they quietly policy shiv those who disagree with them in the back.
Like you, I don't like mean talk. But it doesn't bother me nearly as much as tjose who desire to fundamentally transform the U.S. into the E.U.
I wasn't really surprised when Sarah Haider took Colin Wright's side against Cathy Young tbh. "You are a withering crone" is becoming Maga's Godwin Law. It's only a matter of minutes in any discussion between an Online Right man (or woman, apparently!) and a woman past her reproductive years.
I guess people's mileage vary re a man saying to a woman "you're a bitter, irrelevant crone" and "just a fading nag... wither away quietly". I'm a proponent of sex- and age-neutral insults whenever possible : - )
I was surprised by CW's reaction too. A couple of days ago on Twitter... CW posited that the Zelensky-Trump-Vance video will end up being like the Covington kids video, where "what you see depends on your ideological prior" and that there isn't an indisputable and observable-by-everyone fact that Trump-Vance behaved like assholes. Cathy Young thought that was a silly analogy, told him to "enjoy the moral swamp". Colin then retaliated with sexist insults specifically created for older women. Sarah Haider, among many, chipped in to say how Cathy is awful when she decides that you're one of the bad guys. I don't know why I know all this (it's the fecking FOR YOU tab). It's all middle school and benefits no one but X owners and their engagement-is-money business model.
Thanks for the background. I would say a pox on all their houses: Wright and Haider for ad hominem attacks and Young for the overheated rhetoric.
Young has been a real disappointment to me. I vividly remember reading her regularly 10-15 years ago, long before we started using the term "heterodox." She had a really clear-eyed view on the excesses of leftist social justice movements (informed in part by being born and raised in the old Soviet Union).
But then something happened on November 8, 2016 as it was no longer the same Cathy Young. I am very judicious in my use of "TDS" but it seems to fit when a mature, nuanced, smart and thoughtful classical liberal seems to have gone off the rails. (By contrast, I don't use TDS to describe a 20 year old Oberlin student with purple hair and multiple piercings - my expectations for them are much lower.)
To be fair, Cathy is writing for the Bulwark, where hysterical Never Trump bomb-throwing seems to be the reason for existence. If she were writing for say, the Dispatch, her approach might be different. (At the Dispatch, Jonah Goldberg and Kevin Williamson ensure that the anti-Trumpism is still tempered with nuanced, thoughtful thinking.)
I don't follow Twitter much at all anymore so I'm sure I've missed drama but Cathy never disappoints me. If I'm tone policing I'm sure I'd have quibbles, but not in terms of her view. The last time I mentioned her in a Substack comment, it was met with people saying something to the effect of her having TDS. That doesn't resonate with me. She knows her stuff and, I think, consistently maintains moral and intellectual clarity in her writing.
I get the feeling that the people Meghan is calling out in this particular missive are above and beyond those referred to in the fascinating chat with River. I get that she is reluctant to name names but I am fascinated to know some of them. Thanks for remaining a voice of reason.
I don't have much empathy for the Doge firings because I don't see how the government should be expected to provide jobs. Nor do I see how folks can expect such provisions with our government's history. That said, I still root for the success of individuals - especially ones that are stewards of the environment.
I also don't see how a non-elected corporate hipster Gates tech dude gets to make such decisions even tho in my lifetime, the most important impactful government actions (ie going to war, subsidizing gmos etc, excluding abortion from healthcare) are not voted on by the public.
Lol! Way too late for that. The finished books were ready in December and were in fact on their way to me when the house was lost. The USPS finally rerouted them to me. (Thank you, USPS!)
RE: Postal workers vs CIA agents. I think the two have more in common than you might think. Yes, many postal workers are lackadaisical. However despite a budget in the tens of billions, the CIA failed to foresee the fall of South Vietnam, the Iranian Revolution, the end of the cold war, China's adoption of capitalism, the lack of WMD in Iraq, how fast the Afghan government would collapse, etc. etc. So Musk and his tech bros might view the the two agencies similarly.
As an afterthought the CIA did predict Russia's invasion of Ukraine. So that's about 1 out of 10.
Good to hear your voice during what must be a traumatic experience.
Looking forward to the River Page interview because I'm waiting for names to be named. Who exactly are these heretofore nuanced, thoughtful hetetodox podcasters/writers suddenly spewing ad hominem bile. Page's Free Press article did not provide examples of this particular aspect of right wokism.
I know the Free Press comment section has been duly criticized for tribalism . Yet several commenters made the same salient point: Page seemed to be engaging in algorithm bias - he kept searching for right-wing bile, so he kept getting sent . . .right-wing bile. Some of the commenters were regular Twitter users who had never seen these types of posts. (I'm reminded of the controversy couple months ago when we were speciously told "Substack platforms Nazis". I'm on Substack a lot and never see Nazis because I've never searched for them.)
You know it's funny that my YouTube feed keeps recommending 1990s grunge music videos. Is it because I frequently search for 1990s grunge music videos?
I am not on Twitter so I can't speak first-hand about the algorithms. I just know that several Free Press commenters noted how easy it was to avoid any topic based on your account settings. I can only analogize to Youtube, for which I can confirm that I never see recommendations for knitting and crochet because I've never searched for knitting and crochet. (Youtube also allows you to stop saving your search history and start fresh at any time).
Way to thread that needle! This podcast is a reason that you are the only podcaster I listen to. Thanks, as always.
Hi Megan,
Your missive was so beautifully measured. How you manage to stay on point in your current situation is something to marvel at. Or maybe this period of enforced stepping back from your podcast is giving you the space to breathe? Either way I'm so glad I became a paid subscriber xx
Hi Meghan,
Re not being able to do more than one thing at a time, I recognize that type of brain fog as the aftermath of a big loss, which you have certainly experienced. It’s a grief reaction. Give yourself a break whenever you need one, for as long as you need one. We’ll stay with you no matter what.
Love,
Roselee
❤️
“Choosing spite over reason”. Yup, that sums it up.
I know of everything you’re talking about. Thank you for being a voice of reason and maturity. It’s why we love you so much.
Lately, I can't seem to make sense of so many once trusted voices. It means a lot, Meghan, that even if I don't agree with you, I know you're not shoveling bullshit!
When things happen like Trump's ambush of Zelensky I still tend to get angry and over react. But then I think of who put him in the oval office and I remember, well, it was the regressive left that accomplished that. And I even agree with him sometimes, again thanks to the woke. So the lefts resistance to everything Trump and attacking him has ended up helping Putin and hurt Ukraine. And there IS the woke right, those who will attack if there is even a hint of disagreement with Trump. Between these two wokesters it's not looking good for our country. Which is why your efforts at reasonable discourse between left and right is so important.
Very happy to support your work, Meghan. It is both creative and unique. (I definitely plan to get your book; will there be an audio version?)
This essay, though, was less than useful inasmuch as you give us no receipts that we can check to gauge our own reactions to what's out there. I am confused. And annoyed by that confusion.
I've been wanting an audit of the U.S. bureaucracy for decades, and now we're having one. And it's transparent as hell, which is why it is so chaotic (chaos egged on, ISTM, by an ever-hysterical legacy media). And the government employees/officials you seem to identify with--and isn't identification *everything* these days?--were also the ones who, in response to the loss of many many fossil-fuel related jobs when Biden axed the Canadian pipeline on the first day of his presidency (thus ensuring rising gas prices, a tithe the Net Zero catastrophists forced regular people to pay), chided those job losers with the sniggering meme "learn to code."
I'm not on X, so I don't know what you're actually talking about, but I'm sure your POV has merit. It's just that, look what's actually happening in the West: Just like here, regular Europeans have been having to put up with elites who absolutely refuse to hear their complaints for decades--indeed, who call *them* terrible names--and the elites are dumbfounded that the Continent is moving radically right as a result. (Always a very mixed bag.) I've long thought that the anti-woke *movement* would splinter once the Dems were out of power, just as the left splinters when it's out of power, and that I would no longer be aligned with everyone I read. (FWIW, I'm 71 and a lesbian who realizes that, given power, the religious right might well turn on me and my ilk.) But that won't make me regret our having joined together to fight the overweening power of the woke left, who do speak more civilly than the right, even as, behind the scenes, they quietly policy shiv those who disagree with them in the back.
Like you, I don't like mean talk. But it doesn't bother me nearly as much as tjose who desire to fundamentally transform the U.S. into the E.U.
I wasn't really surprised when Sarah Haider took Colin Wright's side against Cathy Young tbh. "You are a withering crone" is becoming Maga's Godwin Law. It's only a matter of minutes in any discussion between an Online Right man (or woman, apparently!) and a woman past her reproductive years.
Sarah may take sides, but in my experience, it's never without good reason and she does not make ad hominem attacks.
I guess people's mileage vary re a man saying to a woman "you're a bitter, irrelevant crone" and "just a fading nag... wither away quietly". I'm a proponent of sex- and age-neutral insults whenever possible : - )
Not familiar with this dispute. I know Colin Wright to be a smart, thoughtful scientist.
Background?
I was surprised by CW's reaction too. A couple of days ago on Twitter... CW posited that the Zelensky-Trump-Vance video will end up being like the Covington kids video, where "what you see depends on your ideological prior" and that there isn't an indisputable and observable-by-everyone fact that Trump-Vance behaved like assholes. Cathy Young thought that was a silly analogy, told him to "enjoy the moral swamp". Colin then retaliated with sexist insults specifically created for older women. Sarah Haider, among many, chipped in to say how Cathy is awful when she decides that you're one of the bad guys. I don't know why I know all this (it's the fecking FOR YOU tab). It's all middle school and benefits no one but X owners and their engagement-is-money business model.
Sarah has been really disappointing.
appreciate the summary. ty
Thanks for the background. I would say a pox on all their houses: Wright and Haider for ad hominem attacks and Young for the overheated rhetoric.
Young has been a real disappointment to me. I vividly remember reading her regularly 10-15 years ago, long before we started using the term "heterodox." She had a really clear-eyed view on the excesses of leftist social justice movements (informed in part by being born and raised in the old Soviet Union).
But then something happened on November 8, 2016 as it was no longer the same Cathy Young. I am very judicious in my use of "TDS" but it seems to fit when a mature, nuanced, smart and thoughtful classical liberal seems to have gone off the rails. (By contrast, I don't use TDS to describe a 20 year old Oberlin student with purple hair and multiple piercings - my expectations for them are much lower.)
To be fair, Cathy is writing for the Bulwark, where hysterical Never Trump bomb-throwing seems to be the reason for existence. If she were writing for say, the Dispatch, her approach might be different. (At the Dispatch, Jonah Goldberg and Kevin Williamson ensure that the anti-Trumpism is still tempered with nuanced, thoughtful thinking.)
I don't follow Twitter much at all anymore so I'm sure I've missed drama but Cathy never disappoints me. If I'm tone policing I'm sure I'd have quibbles, but not in terms of her view. The last time I mentioned her in a Substack comment, it was met with people saying something to the effect of her having TDS. That doesn't resonate with me. She knows her stuff and, I think, consistently maintains moral and intellectual clarity in her writing.
I don't want to completely condemn Cathy. At the time I deemed this essay on "Karenism" to be extraordinary and still feel that way.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/standing-up-to-the-moral-outrage-industry
I get the feeling that the people Meghan is calling out in this particular missive are above and beyond those referred to in the fascinating chat with River. I get that she is reluctant to name names but I am fascinated to know some of them. Thanks for remaining a voice of reason.
THANK YOU for being the adult in the room!
I don't have much empathy for the Doge firings because I don't see how the government should be expected to provide jobs. Nor do I see how folks can expect such provisions with our government's history. That said, I still root for the success of individuals - especially ones that are stewards of the environment.
I also don't see how a non-elected corporate hipster Gates tech dude gets to make such decisions even tho in my lifetime, the most important impactful government actions (ie going to war, subsidizing gmos etc, excluding abortion from healthcare) are not voted on by the public.
(((((((((((((( <3 )))))))))))))))))))))))))
Very much continued appreciation for your well expressed perspective.
RE: Your new book. Any chance there will be info or a blurb on the jacket about your personal catastrophe due to the fires?
Lol! Way too late for that. The finished books were ready in December and were in fact on their way to me when the house was lost. The USPS finally rerouted them to me. (Thank you, USPS!)
RE: Postal workers vs CIA agents. I think the two have more in common than you might think. Yes, many postal workers are lackadaisical. However despite a budget in the tens of billions, the CIA failed to foresee the fall of South Vietnam, the Iranian Revolution, the end of the cold war, China's adoption of capitalism, the lack of WMD in Iraq, how fast the Afghan government would collapse, etc. etc. So Musk and his tech bros might view the the two agencies similarly.
As an afterthought the CIA did predict Russia's invasion of Ukraine. So that's about 1 out of 10.
My guess is that predicting the fate of nation states is harder than delivering mail.
Dearest Meghan,
Good to hear your voice during what must be a traumatic experience.
Looking forward to the River Page interview because I'm waiting for names to be named. Who exactly are these heretofore nuanced, thoughtful hetetodox podcasters/writers suddenly spewing ad hominem bile. Page's Free Press article did not provide examples of this particular aspect of right wokism.
I know the Free Press comment section has been duly criticized for tribalism . Yet several commenters made the same salient point: Page seemed to be engaging in algorithm bias - he kept searching for right-wing bile, so he kept getting sent . . .right-wing bile. Some of the commenters were regular Twitter users who had never seen these types of posts. (I'm reminded of the controversy couple months ago when we were speciously told "Substack platforms Nazis". I'm on Substack a lot and never see Nazis because I've never searched for them.)
You know it's funny that my YouTube feed keeps recommending 1990s grunge music videos. Is it because I frequently search for 1990s grunge music videos?
I do everything I can to avoid right wing bile on X — have blocked dozens of accounts, including Elon. But it just keeps coming.
I am not on Twitter so I can't speak first-hand about the algorithms. I just know that several Free Press commenters noted how easy it was to avoid any topic based on your account settings. I can only analogize to Youtube, for which I can confirm that I never see recommendations for knitting and crochet because I've never searched for knitting and crochet. (Youtube also allows you to stop saving your search history and start fresh at any time).