#371- Blinded by Digital Realities: A Dialogue with Renée DiResta

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Bruce Gordon about a history of the Bible. They discuss the origins of how the Bible formed in the 2nd Century, original audience of the Bible, Codex and canonization and how we got 66 books. They talk about original languages, the Bible as an icon and symbol, different ways of reading and interpreting the Bible, and the impact of the Gutenberg Press. They talk about the King James Bible (KJV), missions, global legacy, and many other topics. Bruce Gordon is the Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School at Yale University. He previously taught at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where he was professor of modern history and deputy director of the St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute. His research and teaching focus on European religious cultures of the late-medieval and early modern periods, with a particular interest in the Reformation and its reception. He is the author of numerous books including the most recent, The Bible: A Global History. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Renée DiResta about misinformation and digital delusions. They define misinformation and disinformation, rise of influencers, and incentive structures. They discuss audience capture, online ethical responsibilities, the Twitter files, election interference, and many other topics. Renée DiResta is the former technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, a cross-disciplinary program of research, teaching, and policy engagement for the study of abuse in information technologies. Her work examines rumors and propaganda in the digital age. She has analyzed geopolitical campaigns created by foreign powers such as Russia, China, and Iran; voting‑ related rumors that led to the January 6 insurrection; and health misinformation and conspiracy theories pushed by domestic influencers. She is a contributor at The Atlantic. Her writing has appeared in Wired, Foreign Affairs, New York Times, Washington Post, Yale Review, The Guardian, POLITICO, as well as many academic journals. She is the author of the latest book, Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality. Website: https://www.reneediresta.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Alice Driver about immigrants working at meatpacking factories. They discuss moral beauty in immigrants work, immigrants who work in meatpacking factories, and how the factories operate. They talk about onsite medical clinics, the Clintons relationship with Tyson Foods, and challenges during the pandemic. They discuss the class action lawsuit against Tyson Foods, future of the industry, and many more topics. Alice Driver is a writer and author. She has her Masters and PhD in Hispanic Studies from the University of Kentucky. She has won many awards for her journalism and, in 2025, will be a Resident at the Bellagio Center. She is the author of the award-winning book, The Life and Death of the American Worker: The immigrants taking on America’s largest meatpacking company. Website: https://www.alicedriver.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Paul North and Paul Reitter about their new English translation of Karl Marx’s Capital I. They discuss their process editing and translation Capital I, the 2nd German edition and various English and French translations, and the motivations for Marx. They discuss Marx’s thought and Marx’s impact, his main thesis in Capital I, and some of the interactions with Hegel’s thought. They also talk about Marx’s labor theory of value, the enduring legacy of Marx, and many other topics.Paul North is Chair and Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Yale University. He has his PhD in comparative literary studies (German Concentration) from Northwestern University. His main research areas are on Critical Theory, History of Philosophy, and European literature. Paul Reitter is Professor in Germanic Languages and Literatures at The Ohio State University. He has his PhD in German Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. His main research areas are on Critical Theory, German-Jewish culture, and History of Higher Education. They are the editors and translators of the new English translation of Karl Marx’s Capital I. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Marlene Laruelle about the rise of Illiberalism. They talk about liberalism, illiberalism, impact of immigration and socioeconomic issues, and the current and future state of the EU. They discuss Le Pen and far-right in France, Orban in Hungary, the AFD in Germany, and state of Central Eurasian countries. They talk about the Russian-Ukrainian war, motivations of Putin, propaganda, peace in Ukraine, illiberalism in the United States, and many other topics. Marlene Laruelle is Research Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at The George Washington University, and Director of GW's Illiberalism Studies Program. Her main research interests are in populist and illiberal movements in post-Soviet Eurasia, Europe, and the US. Her research explores the transformations of nationalist and conservative ideologies in Russia and nationhood construction in Central Asia, as well as the development of Russia’s Arctic regions.Website: https://marlene-laruelle.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Josephine Quinn about a 4,000 year history of the world. They discuss why “the West” is not an accurate or helpful framing, civilizational thinking, importance of sailing, and different people groups in one region. They also talked about the importance of ancient/isolated languages (i.e., Sumerian, Ugaritic), the Iberian regions absorbing elements of the Levant in the 2nd Millennium, invention of Greece, Rome and Byzantium, Crusades, the idea of “Europe,” moving away from civilizational thinking, and many more topics. Josephine Quinn is currently Professor of Ancient History at Oxford University, and Martin Frederiksen Fellow and Tutor of Ancient History at Worcester College, Oxford. In January 2025, she will be Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge. She has her BA in Classics from Oxford, and an MA and PhD in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology from the University of California, Berkeley. Her main interests are in Mediterranean history and archaeology, with a particular interest in ancient North Africa. She is the author of, In Search of the Phoenicians and her latest book, How the World Made the West: A 4,000 Year History. Website: https://josephinecrawleyquinn.wordpress.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lindsay Chervinsky about the presidency of John Adams. They provide an overview of Adams’s presidency, maintaining the cabinet, the XYZ affair, Alien and Sedition Acts, Fries Rebellion, replacing Pickering and McHenry, Election of 1800, legacy of Adams, and many more topics. Lindsay M. Chervinsky a historian of the presidency, political culture, and the government. She is the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library. She obtained her PhD in history from the University of California, Davis and has been a fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. She has also been a professor at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. She is the author of The Cabinet: George Washington and The Creation of An American Institution, co-editor (with Matthew R. Costello) of Mourning The Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture, and her latest, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic. Website: https://www.lindsaychervinsky.com/Substack: Imperfect Union Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Steven Mithen about the evolutionary history of language. They discuss the language puzzle, provide an overview of human evolution, importance of bipedalism, and fossil record gaps. They discuss different human species, how language works, origins and spread of different languages, and the physiology of speech. They also talk about the neurology of language, language evolving over time, language connected with thinking and emotions, future of language, and many other topics. Steven Mithen is a Professor of Early Prehistory in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Reading. He has previously been Pro Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Reading. He has a BA (hons) in Prehistory & Archaeology from Sheffield University, an MSc in Biological Computation from York University, and a PhD in Archaeology from Cambridge University. He has been a Fellow of the British Academy since 2004. His main research areas are in Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene hunter-gatherers and evolution of the human mind. He is the author of numerous books including the most recent, The Language Puzzle: Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Benjamin Nathans about the Soviet dissident movement. They discuss how he complied all of the narratives together, why the Soviet dissident movement matters and how the Soviet legal system was used. They discuss civil disobedience vs. civil obedience, Alexander Volpin, Sinyavsky-Daniel affair, and what rights looked like in the Soviet Union. They talked about the makeup of the dissident movement, the Red Square demonstration, Initiative group, fifth directorate, Solzhenitsyn, other civil rights movements, legacy, and many more topics. Benjamin Nathans is Associate Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. His main focus areas are on Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, modern European Jewish history, history of human rights. He is the author of numerous books including the most recent, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Brett Loyd on political polling. They discuss what polls can and cannot tell us, sample size, random sampling, flex quotas, weighting variables, and sample characteristics. They talk about question order and wording on polling surveys, phone and online polling, internal vs. external polling and national vs. state polls. They talk about how pollsters got the 2016 election wrong, characteristics of a Trump voter, and education level. They talk about the 2020 and 2022 elections, why there was no red wave in 2022, and reproductive rights. They discuss the 2024 election, battleground states, Harris’s challenges, contrast between Republican and Democratic tickets, and VP picks. They also talk about the 2024 Senate outlook, the House, how to read polls, and many more topics. Brett Loyd is President and CEO of The Bullfinch Group and is leading researcher and campaign strategist. He has degrees in statistics and political science from Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. He has worked on presidential, senatorial, congressional, and gubernatorial campaigns; national political committees; and corporate and issue campaigns. Website: https://www.thebullfinchgroup.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe