What an Eighth Grader Taught Me About Status

Navi Pillay’s Nobel Peace Prize rewards a UN inquiry that accused Israel of genocide on thin evidence, and a bid to lower the legal bar for genocidal intent. By Normal J.W. Goda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Claire Lehmann argues that Anthropic’s approach to AI reflects an ideological movement shaped by effective altruism, whose adherents see themselves as saving humanity from existential catastrophe. Drawing parallels with historical apocalyptic religious movements, she warns that the conviction of possessing a unique moral mission can lead AI developers to neglect present-day human welfare and justify dangerous decisions in the name of humanity’s future. Originally published in The Dispatch: https://thedispatch.com/article/catholic-church-artificial-intelligence-millenarian/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Archbishop of Canterbury's award to a cleric who praised bin Laden was no one-off. Hardeep Singh on the Church of England's naive interfaith politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Last Ditch bar mask row is nothing new. Julie Bindel recalls 1980s lesbian feminism, when disability and illness became badges of authenticity and status. https://quillette.com/2026/09/28/lesbian-fragility-then-and-now/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Orwell attacked the Billy Bunter stories as snobbish propaganda. Their creator, Frank Richards, wrote back and won one of the few fights Orwell lost.  Written by David Cohen, read by William Lang. https://quillette.com/2026/08/08/billy-bunter-and-the-man-from-animal-farm-charles-hamilton-george-orwell/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bio-cultural anthropologist, Robert Lynch, shares how an eighth grader's prank on a 510-million-year-old fossil changed his view on status and self-worth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A philosopher explains how 7 October exposed decolonisation as a dangerous, Manichaean ideology — not harmless academic theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australia’s war on tobacco created a $5.6B black market and a surge in gang violence. Written by Andrew Bushnell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During my time chairing the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, I sometimes felt like the agent of a state-funded extortion ring, writes David Thomas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What remains of a person, an institution, or a civilisation that dishonours itself when Jews and Israel become the targets of hatred and violence? By Yuki Zeman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices