Dilemma Podcast

Is humanity simply a bacteria in a petri dish, heading for the inevitable edge? Do the climate markers prove it? I spoke with Professor Eliot Jacobson, a mathematician and former casino game protection expert who now spends his days tracking the most shocking climate data on the planet. From record-breaking ocean temperatures to the Earth's plummeting "albedo," we discuss the numbers that are painting a terrifying picture of our immediate future.But this conversation is about more than just graphs. It dives deep into the often misunderstood philosophy of "doomerism." What does it really mean to be a doomer? Eliot dismantles the straw-man arguments of inaction and hopelessness, instead presenting a philosophy rooted in ecological activism, grief, and a clear-eyed acceptance of our current trajectory. We explore why policy changes "ain't gonna happen" and why the goal might not be to save civilization, but to preserve what we can of the natural world.We discuss the societal "pain point" that might be needed for change, the statistical reality of our climate future, and what it means to be an activist when the odds are overwhelmingly against you. Is collapse an inevitability, or is there still time for an "anthro-shift"? Join us for a profound and honest conversation about the end of the world as we know it, and how we might learn to live with that knowledge.00:00 Coming Up...00:01:15 Intro To Eliot & Doomerism00:03:34 From Casinos To Climate00:05:13 The Charts That Eliot Shares Everyday00:10:48 Is Doomerism Hopeless or Helpless or Inactive?00:16:37 Strawmanning Doomers00:21:47 Ecological Activism00:26:08 Can Technology Save Us?00:30:01 How To Shake People Into Action00:35:31 What Is Fueling Climate Change... Population?00:40:42 What Would It Actually Take?00:47:22 Passive House, Insulate Britain, Fix Buildings00:51:11 Exponential Growth And David Suzuki00:55:43 The Great Stink? The Pain Point Is Coming?01:05:31 Should I Be A Doomer? Or Is Collapse Bad?01:11:33 Final Thoughts, David Deutsch Is Wrong And Meaninful Existential DoomerismBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

Radhika Desai returns to the Dilemma Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the American left, the Democratic Socialists of America, the Marxist Unity Group, and the increasingly open discussion of socialism and communism in American politics. Is something genuinely changing in the United States—or are we simply seeing a new electoral moment inside the same old political system? As Radhika puts it, the emergence of these movements is itself evidence that the traditional two-party system is losing its ability to contain growing discontent with neoliberalism.We also get into the much bigger question: **why is capitalism in crisis, and what happens when a system can no longer deliver meaningful concessions to working people?** Radhika argues that the growing appeal of socialism has to be understood alongside the deterioration of working-class life, the financialization of capitalism, and the rise of increasingly authoritarian politics. The conversation takes us from Trump and the erosion of the old party system to fascism, anti-communism, imperialism, and the relationship between capitalist crisis and political repression.But should the left actually be excited about what is happening in America? We discuss whether the current wave represents a genuine opening for transformative politics or risks becoming a watered-down electoral version of socialism that never challenges the underlying structure of society. Radhika makes the case for taking the moment seriously—and for understanding communism not simply as a political label or historical ideology, but as a movement emerging from the contradictions of capitalism itself.00:00 Coming Up...01:32 Intro to Radhika Desai02:16 My Intellectual Path, Oct 7th, Parenti, Marx and More06:05 The History of the Left in America11:46 The Parasitical Capitalist Class13:38 What To Make of the DSA and Marxist Unity Group20:57 Rational Fascism & Capitalists28:08 Marx The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte32:39 Finkelstein and Corbyn Overeducated & Underemployed is Out Of Control39:18 Socialism Decays Capitalism Explodes52:21 Is the DSA Actually An Important Thing?58:22 Leftists Support Every Revolution Except The Ones That SucceedBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

Israeli-born artist, teacher and activist Hadas Emma Kedar joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about Zionism, Israel, Germany, the IDF, and the possibility of a radically different future. Hadas grew up inside Zionist culture and gradually came to see the ideology she had inherited as morally indefensible. We talk about that transformation, her experiences as an anti-Zionist activist, the particular German obsession with Jews and Israel, the anti-German movement, and what she sees as the depravity of the Israeli military and the society that sustains it.We also talk about what a future beyond Zionism might actually look like, what would have to change for Israelis and Palestinians to escape the present system, and whether such a transformation is possible. Hadas also discusses her new performance piece, Together We Lose, which draws on her own experiences and explores the emotional and political realities behind the subjects we discuss. This is a long, personal conversation about ideology, identity, guilt, violence, art, and the possibility of something different.00:00:00 Coming Up...00:01:28 Intro to Hadas00:03:06 From the Galalie00:16:14 What Kind of Zionism Was It?00:20:27 Are We Always Talking To Our Haters?00:31:21 Going Elsewhere... Not Israel00:40:01 Breaking The Silence?00:47:54 Hadas's Art And What Happened In Israel00:54:50 The Conversation Across the Wall?01:01:52 A Zoom Call On October 8th01:07:43 Humans Do Evil Things. Monsters Don't Exist.01:26:31 The Out Group Of "Jewish Nationality"01:38:03 What's Up In Germany?01:51:36 The Anit-Deutsch01:56:22 Fascism Is Capitalism In Crisis02:03:09 "Together We Lose" Hadas's New ArtBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

Daniel Klein was born and raised in Efrat, one of the largest religious Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank. His family helped build the settlement movement, and he grew up immersed in its schools, institutions, theology, politics, and culture before serving as an IDF tank commander. In this conversation, Daniel shares an insider's account of life inside the religious Zionist world, the psychology of belief, the realities of the settlement project, and how Zionism can present a different face to different people while maintaining a powerful hold over identity and belonging.We discuss Efrat, the West Bank, violent settlers, the relationship between Judaism and Zionism, the dehumanization of Palestinians, military service, nationalism, religious identity, cognitive dissonance, moral injury, and the personal costs of dissent. Daniel explains why leaving Zionism can mean losing family, friends, community, status, and purpose. He describes the process by which ideological systems reproduce themselves, how Israelis are taught to understand Palestinians, and why so many people remain trapped inside narratives.We also explore Daniel's awakening during COVID, what caused his worldview to unravel, why he believes Israeli society is entering a period of profound crisis, and what lessons his journey offers for all of us.00:00:00 Coming Up...00:01:44 Three Big Announcements00:04:44 Introducing Daniel & Centering Jewish Trauma00:09:26 Growing Up in Efrat00:12:07 Who Are Settlers?00:15:02 Zionist Schools Are Crazy00:20:53 Zionism Meets You Where You're At00:23:34 When Daniel Visited Auschwitz00:26:57 Israelis Were Celebrities To Me00:35:22 Supporting Israel Except The Settlers00:42:12 The Intellectual And Emotional Crack00:50:23 It Happens Quickly, During COVID01:02:30 Free Fall Collapse Of Israel01:09:47 A Smiling Grandmother With a Sweater01:19:44 The Violent Supernova At The EndBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

In this conversation with geopolitical scholar Mia Bennett, we explore why the Arctic is no longer a frozen periphery but the front line of global power. From Vladimir Putin planting a Russian flag beneath the North Pole seabed to renewed nuclear tensions across the polar region, the Arctic has become a stage for military posturing, resource competition, and great-power rivalry. As climate change rapidly melts sea ice, new shipping routes open and vast reserves of oil, gas, and critical minerals become accessible — intensifying what some call a new era of frontier capitalism. We discuss the long history of colonization in the far north, the strategic obsession with places like Greenland (including Donald Trump’s attempt to purchase it), and the often-overlooked role of Indigenous Arctic peoples navigating sovereignty, survival, and self-determination amid global ambition. The Arctic is a “cold canary in the coal mine” — revealing how environmental collapse, geopolitical rivalry, and extractive economics converge at the top of the world. What happens there will shape the century ahead.00:00 Coming Up01:18 Intro (Epstein News cycle )05:13 Mia's Path to the North07:51 Where is the Arctic?16:48 The Very Crowded Arctic20:59 The Cold Canary24:25 Why Does Trump Want Greenland?26:45 Colonialization of the Arctic30:58 Who Would Fight?33:01 Frontier Capitalism37:21 Global Warming and Getting Attention in the Arctic41:20 Taking Greenland Who Fights Back?44:11 A Story about Space and the Arctic46:58 Who Owns Space?50:39 Trusting Russia and the Arctic53:56 The Broken Global Order and the Arctic59:53 Does WW3 Start in the Arctic?BECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

In this conversation, Joseph Margulies and I explore the difficult moral territory at the heart of his new book Cast Out: A Call for a Forgiving Society in an Age of Incarceration. What does a society gain—or lose—when it decides that certain people are beyond redemption? We talk about the stories of people Margulies encountered through his work, including Lisa Montgomery, David Medina, Klete Keller, Lucas Whaley, and Eric Matthews, and the disturbing realities of the American prison system. We also confront a fundamental question about who gets to tell the stories of people who have committed horrific crimes, and whether understanding those stories can coexist with genuine accountability.Margulies brings decades of experience as a criminal defense attorney to this question, including his defense of Palestinian Abu Zubaydah, who remains imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay without ever having been charged and who was subjected to brutal torture by the United States. We discuss what American prisons reveal about our attitudes toward human beings who have done terrible things, and how these questions extend beyond the prison system into Israel-Palestine and the broader politics of punishment, victimhood, and moral judgment.At the center of the conversation is a distinction that may be essential to any meaningful idea of forgiveness: an explanation is not an excuse. To understand why someone committed a terrible act does not mean absolving them of responsibility. But if accountability is part of forgiveness rather than its opposite, what should accountability actually look like? And can we build a society capable of condemning terrible acts without deciding that the people who commit them are themselves irredeemable? This conversation is an exploration of punishment, responsibility, storytelling, torture, forgiveness, and what it means to remain human in the face of the worst things human beings do.00:00:00 Coming Up...00:01:39 Introduction to Cast Out00:06:29 Joseph Margulies Story And Work00:08:08 A Book Not About Prison But About Us00:09:50 The Problem is Not Drug Offenders, Let's Be Honest00:13:09 Klete Keller Gets His Story Told00:17:03 Accountability Matters And Lisa Montgomery00:20:21 What Happened? With Lisa Montgomery00:32:05 Lucas Whaley And The Addiction to Rage00:45:18 The Belief Of Just One Person and Eric Matthews00:54:31 What Should Prison Look Like In a Forgiving Society?01:02:02 "Abu Zubaydah Is My Client" & The Palestine Narrative01:09:10 But What About REALLY Bad People? & Abu Zubaydah's Story01:20:27 The Desperate Need For Radical Extension of Compassion01:25:21 My Own Frustrations And Failure To Tell A Story01:28:23 Go Watch "Alabama Solution" and "The Work"BECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

Luke Kemp is a researcher of existential risk whose work spans the rise and fall of civilizations, the psychology of empire, and the future of humanity. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore whether history follows deeper patterns than we usually recognize—from the Paleolithic origins of human society and the agricultural revolution to the emergence of empires, colonialism, capitalism, and today's "Silicon Goliaths." Along the way, we discuss Madrid's Royal Palace, Montezuma and the Spanish conquest, October 7th, Donald Trump, and why understanding the past may be the key to understanding the crises of the present.At the center of our discussion is Luke's idea of the "Goliath Curse": the tendency for increasingly large and complex societies to generate extraordinary power while simultaneously becoming more fragile, unequal, and difficult to govern. We examine what made European capitalist colonialism historically unique, how the global expansion of empire transformed the planet, and whether today's technology giants represent the latest evolution of the same pattern. We also dive into the role of Dark Triad psychology in leadership, why civilizations repeatedly overextend themselves, and how power scales from kingdoms to multinational corporations.Finally, we turn to the existential risks confronting humanity in the twenty-first century. From climate change, artificial intelligence, and engineered pandemics to nuclear weapons and geopolitical instability, we ask whether modern technology is accelerating humanity toward an increasingly dangerous future—or whether history offers reasons for cautious optimism. This conversation connects archaeology, psychology, philosophy, geopolitics, and big history to ask one of the biggest questions imaginable: how did we get here, and where are we going next?00:00:00 Coming Up...00:01:36 Intro to Luke Kemp and Goliath's Curse00:09:09 Kemp To Harari, Pinker, Wengrew, Diamond00:14:08 Goliath Fuel and The Material Conditions for Domination00:18:59 Are Goliath's Inevitable? And The Indus Valley Exception00:21:27 Paleolithic Anti Dominance Strategies00:24:06 Is Collapse Actually Good?00:29:09 Did We Choose Goliaths?00:32:50 Dark Triad Psychology00:38:34 Romanticizing the Paleolithic00:43:47 Drought and Climate Change As the Final Nail?00:49:05 European Capitalist Colonialism As A Supercharged Global Goliath00:55:45 The "Nation State" As Empire?00:59:43 Collaborators Of The Goliath01:03:00 The World Wars of the 20th Century and Global Goliath Stumbling01:08:07 The Silicon Goliath and Climate Change01:14:16 Do All Goliath's Collapse?01:20:15 Slaying Goliath Through Democracy or Anarchy01:29:30 The Surveillance of Goliath and Distrust of Ourselves01:34:56 Human Agency... Even of Our Own Death?01:41:13 Outro and Luke's Next BookBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

Michael Sawyer is the author of The Door of No Return, a sweeping work that challenges conventional ideas about race, history, memory, and modernity. In this conversation, we explore his concept of anti-Blackness as something deeper than prejudice or discrimination—an organizing logic embedded within the modern world itself. Sawyer explains why the Middle Passage remains central to understanding contemporary society, dismantles Hegel's philosophy of history, critiques the limitations of Négritude and Afro-pessimism, and introduces the idea of "rememory" as a radically different way of relating to the past.We also discuss the killing of Elijah McClain, the evolution of Ta-Nehisi Coates' writing after Palestine, and Sawyer's deeply personal reflections on racism, including experiences growing up and playing basketball. Along the way, we examine how Shakespeare's Macbeth, the music of Bob Marley, and the lyrics of The Notorious B.I.G. illuminate questions of violence, identity, power, and survival in ways that philosophy often cannot.This is an expansive conversation connecting literature, history, music, politics, and lived experience. Whether unpacking the legacy of slavery, questioning the assumptions of Western philosophy, or imagining what might exist beyond the structures of anti-Blackness, Michael Sawyer offers a powerful framework for thinking about the past—and what a genuinely different future could look like.00:00 Coming Up...01:27 Intro to Sawyer & Why Bob Marley Is Doing Philosophy08:41 Paralysis & The Anti-Black World After the Middle Passage14:14 The Diagram That Explains the Entire Book21:55 W.E.B Du Bois & What Hegel Got Wrong About History27:17 The Free Throw Line as The Racial Bursting Apart36:44 What Is The Title of This Book... Actually?39:19 Tackling Hegel's Philosophy & Where it Fails To Be About Blackness51:25 The Murder of Elijah McClain1:02:50 Sawyer Illuminates The Words of McClain In The Anti-Black World1:09:10 Slavery's Afterlife and Anti-Blackness as Gravity1:14:00 Whitey On The Moon and Who Gets To Participate in Language Architecture1:23:25 Mick Jagger Couldn't Clap Along to Aretha1:30:38 Your Oppression Will Not Save You and Why Ta-Nehisi Coates Changed1:37:55 Final Thoughts and Upcoming GuestsBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

In this essay, I respond to Sam Harris's recent comments on Israel, Gaza, Hamas, and why he refuses to debate many of his critics. My argument is not primarily about genocide, proportionality, international law, or even the details of Israel's military response. It is about something more fundamental: the framing of violence itself.Sam Harris often frames Hamas and similar movements as expressions of jihadism—forms of violence rooted primarily in religious belief, metaphysical commitments, and interpretations of sacred texts. If that framing is accepted, then the moral conversation largely becomes a discussion about how to manage or contain a dangerous ideology. But what happens if that framing is incomplete? What if history, colonialism, dispossession, and resistance are not peripheral details but central parts of the story?Drawing on examples from anti-colonial struggles around the world, Zionist historical sources, and broader questions about moral reasoning, I explore why historical context matters when evaluating violence. The question is not whether violence is horrific—it always is. The question is whether our explanation of that violence determines the moral conclusions we reach before the discussion even begins.Pre-order my upcoming book: *Insufficient Rewards: How We Traded Integrity for Comfort and Outsourced Morality*https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Insufficient-Rewards/Jay-Shapiro/9781803419985#SamHarris #Gaza #IsraelPalestine #Philosophy #History #Colonialism #Zionism #MiddleEast #Politics #EthicsBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com00:00 Another Response to Sam Harris00:20 The Jihadism Framework02:34 Why This Leads to "Mowing the Lawn"04:59 Why Critics Can't Reach Harris07:36 The Real Disagreement: Framing Violence09:15 Can the Jihadism Frame Be Challenged?11:23 Harris's "Five Myths About Gaza" Give Away The Game & The Colonialism Question14:20 Resistance, Religion, and History and Intertwined Ideas and Motives16:53 What Zionist Sources Actually Say19:00 Reframing Hamas as Resistance Plus Other Things20:38 What Changes If The Frame Changes? & Why History Matters23:00 Peace As Emergent Property of Justice Pursued24:43 Why Genocide Debates Miss The Point26:32 Preorder My New Book

For decades, the word "genocide" has occupied a unique place in international law, collective memory, and political debate. But what exactly does it mean—and has the definition become too narrow to describe the forms of violence we witness today? In this conversation, Holocaust and genocide scholar Dirk Moses joins me to discuss the crisis unfolding within genocide studies, the fierce disputes over how the term should be defined, and why debates about Gaza have exposed deep fractures in academia, international institutions, and public discourse.We explore the controversy surrounding Moses's influential essay on Germany's "catechism," the role Holocaust memory plays in shaping political culture, and whether modern societies have become trapped by an understanding of evil that struggles to recognize violence outside familiar historical frameworks. Along the way, we discuss Anne Frank and Hind Rajab, the stigma attached to genocide accusations, colonial violence, the ICC and ICJ, and the growing generational divide over how atrocities are remembered and understood.Most importantly, we examine a little-known proposal put forward by the Dutch delegation during the drafting of the UN Genocide Convention in 1948. The proposal attempted to address what its authors called "camouflaged genocide"—forms of destruction that operate indirectly and may not fit neatly into the legal framework that ultimately emerged. Moses argues that revisiting this forgotten history may offer a way to repair a definition many scholars now see as increasingly inadequate. Whether you agree or disagree with his conclusions, this discussion raises fundamental questions about memory, law, history, and the language we use to describe humanity's gravest crimes.Pre-order my upcoming book: *Insufficient Rewards: How We Traded Integrity for Comfort and Outsourced Morality*https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Insufficient-Rewards/Jay-Shapiro/9781803419985BECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com00:00:00 Coming Up...00:01:52 Intro To the Genocide Tug-o-War00:11:34 The State of Genocide Studies Now00:15:20 Dirk Touched The Third Rail In Germany00:21:32 The Five Elements of the Catechism00:24:32 The Problems of Genocide And Can Something Be Worse?00:28:32 Israel Testimony Of Genocide00:33:24 The Stigma Of Genocide00:37:07 Las Casas on the Devastation of the Indies and Language of Outrage00:41:24 The Word As Advocacy or Legal Crime00:47:15 The Question of Intent The Rohingya and Gaza00:52:05 What The Court Says And Hind Rajab And Anne Frank01:01:34 The Symbolic Term And The Focus on Palestine01:07:18 The ICC Trial Israel Didn't Want To See01:13:52 Convincing People They Aren't Free And Hamas's Undemocratic Choice To Act01:18:55 Camouflaged Genocide The Key To the Door01:27:44 Proving Camouflaged Genocide As A TestBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com