Doomscroll 33: Taylor Lorenz

My guest is ‪TaylorLorenz‬, a journalist and content creator. She is the author of “Extremely Online”. We discuss social media influencers, the Democratic party and dark money. How does today’s memetic landscape help to shape real world politics? Can we preserve freedom of speech in an increasingly authoritarian environment? You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

We discuss the darker elements of the New Right and a variety of niche thinkers and ideologies. We explore the woke black lash, tariffs and the brewing conflict between crypto and nationalism. Later, we speculate about 21st century exit politics and the “internet driver’s license”.

My guest is Emily Jashinsky, a political commentator and a co-host of Breaking Points. We discuss the shifting factions of the America right; Fusionism, Populism, Monarchy, Trad, MAHA, Catholicism, Crypto-anarchy and more. Many viewers will be familiar with the infamous “Bernie to Trump” pipeline but less will be aware of the Trotskyite origins of certain canonized thinkers on the New Right. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

We discuss Kyle’s early origins on YouTube, the New Atheism movement and his formative encounters with the work of Noam Chomsky and Richard Dawkins (this is real). Later, we explore the peculiar landscape of YouTube and how platforms shape political factions today. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Kyle Kulinski, a YouTuber and political commentator. He is the host of the Kyle Kulinkski show. We discuss the success of the online right and ask what the left might learn from right-wing shitposters. We explore the breakdown of liberal norms and the shattering of the Overton window. American politics has become increasingly radical in the last eight years. We ask; what new formation of the DNC might follow? Last week’s horrific events have sent a shock wave through our politics, media and culture. We want to acknowledge the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk. He is mentioned briefly in this episode that was recorded at an earlier date. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

Krystal and I explore the looming threat of AI, transhumanism and solve “the Elon Musk situation”. We ask; what is the left-wing version of tariffs? And why should the left support economic protectionism? You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Krystal Ball, a political commentator and a co-host of ‪Breaking Points. We discuss the seismic shift of American politics and our hard breaks to the right and left. We explore Zohran Mamdani's historic win in NYC and the ways in which the internet become real life. How do online audiences correlate to real world political coalitions? This episode marks the first year of the show. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

We dive into Ana’s background and formative experiences on TYT. We discuss the horseshoe theory meme and I float a strategic argument: “the neoliberal case for single payer healthcare” lol. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Ana Kasparian, a host and executive producer of ‪The Young Turks. We discuss her political journey from progressive to "independent and unaligned". Last year, Kasparian’s commentary took an editorial turn away from left echo-chambers and towards a generalized populism. We pay respect to the political genius and lasting influence of Michael Brooks. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Yancey Strickler. We discuss the theory and practice of content moderation on big platforms. Today, the “terms of service” also necessarily set the parameters of debate and have profound downstream effects on political reality. Later on, we discuss Yancy’s background as a music critic, his early online record label and his unconventional path to becoming a co-founder of Kickstarter. We breakdown the incentives of platforms to forecast what comes next. At the end of this episode, we discuss a new project called A-Corps. A-Corps are a lightweight co-operative model for creatives. (TLDR: your band can be an artist co-op.) It’s not software — it’s law. We get into the hard numbers around this and share some war stories about creative life without health insurance. www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe