The Black Sheep

Author Jeffrey Peoples joins The Black Sheep's Joseph (Jake) Klein to discuss Jeffrey’s book, The Children of Amalek, which explains the ties between religious Judaism and the modern state of Israel, challenging both antisemitic conspiracy theories and claims that modern Israel is purely secular in origin and practice. In The Children of Amalek, Jeffrey Peoples critiques how ancient religious narratives, especially the biblical command to annihilate the Amalekites and other tribes of Canaan, are invoked in modern Israeli political discourse to justify violence against non-Jews in Palestine. Central to his argument is a deep examination of the concept of Jewish “peoplehood” as constructed through religious, racial, and genealogical mythologies found in the Tanakh. Peoples argues that this mythic genealogy—defining Jewish identity not just as a religion but as a bloodline—has been weaponized to legitimize pseudo-racial nationalism and domination in Palestine. It has also contributed to the suppression of free speech in the United States through the abuse of the concept of "antisemitism," and imperils the prosperity and security of the United States. He explores how these narratives, which sanctify the conquest of Canaan and racial cleansing as divine mandates, are echoed in Zionist ideology and modern Israeli policies, ultimately facilitating an apartheid and genocide. The book challenges the moral and rational coherence of anti-Zionist Jews continued devotion to the ancient mythology of the Torah and a Jewish identity while they simultaneously oppose the apartheid and genocide by Israel. Read The Children of Amalek:Not a paid subscriber yet? If you appreciate The Black Sheep’s mission & want to see us grow, your paid subscription is the best way to support us. Get full access to The Black Sheep at www.wetheblacksheep.com/subscribe

Living with integrity and courage will only get harder, as technology permanently makes the mob part of our everyday lives. Losing touch with your values and getting swayed by the group ends in the quintessential mid-life crisis movie scene, where the protagonist realizes their life hasn’t been their life for as long as they can remember. Especially for people pursuing unconventional lives, withstanding public criticism on a mass level while pursuing what matters most is the key to success. But how exactly do you do it?I talked to Ali Tate about her journey from canceled model to thriving entrepreneur and how being a black sheep is often a painful but necessary catalyst for growth. After going through a highly public cancellation attempt, she did exactly what the mob most wanted to rob her of: built a business that gave her both financial and personal freedom.In our conversation, we covered:* How cancel culture trains us to accept empty lives and become NPCs* Unconditioning the habit of deferring your authority to other people* Accepting instead of avoiding the outcomes you fear* Common ways that people disempower themselves today* Opting out of destructive group behavior and beliefs* How having high potential often correlates with being a black sheep Not a paid subscriber yet? If you appreciate The Black Sheep’s mission & want to see us grow, your paid subscription is the best way to support us. Get full access to The Black Sheep at www.wetheblacksheep.com/subscribe

The black sheep’s path is to speak truth to the herd, knowing full well that the herd may not take kindly being challenged and they may face exile for doing so. Since we founded this publication, perhaps there has been no clearer example of someone following the black sheep path than Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil is facing deportation from the United States for speaking truths that Columbia University and Washington, D.C. don’t want to hear.A ton of misinformation regarding Khalil’s case has been disseminated into the public discourse, which Jake has been covering on social media. Unfortunately, when someone speaks so powerfully against the herd, such malice is par for the course. To help clear up this misinformation and gain an understanding of Khalil’s legal situation, we spoke to friend of The Black Sheep Jenin Younes. Jenin is an experienced impact and strategic litigator. A graduate of Cornell University and New York University School of Law, for 13 years she has litigated criminal and constitutional cases in state and federal courts. For the past several years, she has focused almost exclusively on First Amendment free speech cases and took an original legal argument to the Supreme Court last year in Murthy v. Missouri, which challenged the Biden administration’s pressure on social media companies to suppress conservative speech and alleged COVID-related misinformation. She also has extensive experience communicating legal issues and arguments to the public, and has appeared on hundreds of podcast, radio, and television shows for this purpose, participated in panel discussions and debates, and published opinion editorials in a range of outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Free Press, Compact Magazine, and Tablet.In our conversation, we covered:* Khalil’s constitutional rights as a green card holder.* The evidence, or lack thereof, against Khalil.* The conflict between the First Amendment and the immigration statutes being used against Khalil.* The relevant legal precedent in Khalil’s case.* The social contagion of hatred and lies against advocates for Palestinians.* What will happen next in Khalil’s case and in the Trump adminstration’s broader efforts against pro-Palestinian activists.Join our next livestream for a real-time black sheep hangout + discussion on topics like groupthink, the philosophy of individualism, radical self-reliance, and other topics people seeking meaningful lives in modern times need. Stop by via YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, Substack, or X, [almost] every Tuesday and Wednesday evening.If you want a community based on your values, help build it!Not a paid subscriber yet? If you appreciate The Black Sheep’s mission & want to see us grow, your paid subscription is the best way to support us. Get full access to The Black Sheep at www.wetheblacksheep.com/subscribe

Politics can instantly bring out the ugliest side of the kindest person, especially when mixed with social media's inhuman design. We’re seeing our political discourse degrade day-by-day, as more politicians, pundits, and everyday people turn to politics for all the wrong reasons. Take it from two people whose work often requires keeping up with political news and debating it: staying grounded requires way more effort and self-awareness than most people today will admit.How do we keep up with heated issues while not losing our heart and soul along the way?I joined Adam B. Coleman of Speaking Wrong At The Right Time on his livestream to talk about the subtle elements poisoning our political discourse, how to avoid letting your interest in politics eclipse the rest of your life, and:* wins vs losses we see from the Trump admin* the ongoing change in our culture’s beliefs about the role of government* the difference between serious political thinkers and political junkiesHere’s a preview:Not a paid subscriber yet? If you appreciate The Black Sheep’s mission & want to see us grow, your paid subscription is the best way to support us. Get full access to The Black Sheep at www.wetheblacksheep.com/subscribe

We’re all going to die, but few of us today think much about it. It's never been easier to distract ourselves from our morality, but death isn’t all bad: it can force us to see the truth and what matters most in our lives. In this livestream, I discuss how staring down our mortality can light a fire under us, making us more present, grateful, and alive. Spend enough time thinking more about that thing we all prefer to ignore and you'll likely find years of wisdom waiting to be discovered.I also look at different cultural beliefs and practices around death to see how they can inform the way we live, like Día de los Muertos or Tibet’s monks meditating on their last breath. Thanks to those who stopped by and shared your experiences and relationship with death.We also covered: * Why I actually enjoy thinking about death* The benefit of near-death experiences* How to make death a bigger part of your life to gain more clarity* The role our relationship to death plays in our personal growthHere’s a preview:Join my next livestream for a real-time black sheep hangout + discussion on topics like groupthink, the philosophy of individualism, radical self-reliance, and other topics people seeking meaningful lives in modern times need. Stop by via YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, Substack, or X, [almost] every Tuesday and Wednesday evening.If you want a community based on your values, help build it!Not a paid subscriber yet? If you appreciate The Black Sheep’s mission & want to see us grow, your paid subscription is the best way to support us. Get full access to The Black Sheep at www.wetheblacksheep.com/subscribe

In a world overwhelmed by noise—both literal and ideological—what happens when you remove all distractions and sit in silence for a week? Joseph (Jake) Klein went on an intense 10-day silent meditation retreat to find out. We discussed the benefits he gained from prolonged silent meditation, whether everyone should do a silent meditation retreat, why Buddhism wants people to do this, and whether modern life is anti-enlightenment. In the time of 24/7 news cycles and never-ending notifications, this conversation is an invitation to go deeper—way deeper. If you’re curious about secular spirituality, Buddhism, and seeking something bigger in this life than just material wealth and intellectualism, this conversation is for you.Join my next livestream for a real-time black sheep hangout + discussion on topics like groupthink, the philosophy of individualism, radical self-reliance, and other topics people seeking meaningful lives in modern times need. Stop by via YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, Substack, or X, [almost] every Tuesday and Wednesday evening.If you want a community based on your values, help build it!Not a paid subscriber yet? If you appreciate The Black Sheep’s mission & want to see us grow, your paid subscription is the best way to support us. Get full access to The Black Sheep at www.wetheblacksheep.com/subscribe

Technology has thrust us into a global village and the pressure to avoid being "canceled" by a virtual mob is growing for everyone, but especially for creatives. The truth is simple but harsh: you will never achieve anything great as long as your fear of being criticized by the masses outweighs your desire for personal freedom. I learned this lesson the hard way after I spent years conforming to leftist ideology because it seemed like there was no other path for me as an artist. This was pre-2020 and every publication and gallery was falling over themselves to "uplift" every identity group except white males. It was obvious that the more my art led with my identity as a Latina, the faster I'd get ahead. Yet, the art I created was inauthentic, and so were many of my relationships.It wasn't until I discovered the philosophy of individualism that everything clicked for me: I was trying to appease a group that didn’t value my personal freedom, both as an artist and human. The collectivist sub-culture I was in didn't care if my art or relationships were authentic, it only cared if I fit into a rigid, unrealistic worldview. Suddenly I had a license to stop worrying about the mob and start taking ownership of my art and my life.Watch this livestream where I explain individualism and how this philosophy gives you the freedom to create and live more courageously. I also discuss: * The difference between collectivism and community/caring about others* Why artists in the West today need individualism to thrive * My journey from a restrictive, collectivist mindset to a free, individualist mindset* Turning your mindset and personal philosophy into tools instead of obstacles to your creative work * Self-censorship in creative work and how to troubleshoot itHere are a few core aspects of individualism you might not realize belong to this philosophy:* Each person owns themselves and their labor* Individual autonomy in decision-making* Equal rights under the law* Personal responsibility* Private property rights* Academic freedom* Artistic freedom I cover even more aspects of individualism in the video as well as the hardships individualism freed us from, many of which we now take for granted. If you struggle with self-censorship, creative freedom, or a lack of personal freedom in your life, this video will help. Here’s a preview: Join my next livestream for a real-time black sheep hangout + discussion on topics like groupthink, the philosophy of individualism, radical self-reliance, and other topics people seeking meaningful lives in modern times need. Stop by via YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, Substack, or X, [almost] every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday evening.If you want a community based on your values, help build it!Not a paid subscriber yet? If you appreciate The Black Sheep’s mission & want to see us grow, your paid subscription is the best way to support us. Get full access to The Black Sheep at www.wetheblacksheep.com/subscribe

Joseph Campbell answered the age-old question "What's the meaning of life" when he said "follow your bliss." Yet, it's not obvious what your “bliss" actually is or how to follow it. With a 24-hour news cycle and distraction device always by our side, it's even harder to figure this out. It's not that you don't know what you care about most, but that you're so busy and distracted you often forget to care about it. You end up living a half-life, going through the motions and only realizing you've forgotten to focus on what you love in the rare times when you aren't distracted. We know what happens to an individual who lets their life become a long series of unsatisfying patterns, but what happens to a community or an entire culture disconnected from what matters most? In this livestream I'll explain Joseph Campbell's famous command to "follow you bliss," how we're uniquely blocked from doing this today, and how to overcome those blocks. We'll also discuss: * The cost of not following your bliss* How to identify what your bliss is* The secular spirituality that following your bliss can offerHere’s a preview:Join my next livestream for a real-time black sheep hangout + discussion on topics like groupthink, the philosophy of individualism, radical self-reliance, and other topics people seeking meaningful lives in modern times need. Stop by via YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, Substack, or X, [almost] every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday evening.If you want a community based on your values, help build it!Not a paid subscriber yet? If you appreciate The Black Sheep’s mission & want to see us grow, your paid subscription is the best way to support us. Get full access to The Black Sheep at www.wetheblacksheep.com/subscribe

When political disagreements become a battle between good and evil instead of a difference of information, there's more at play than just "misinformation." As humans, we've spent thousands of more years making up stories to explain the world than we have finding facts and rationally discerning reality from fiction. As people become overloaded with information and underprepared to explain the world to themselves, our primitive tool of myth-making is rising to fill the gaps. But unlike with misinformation, a person rarely abandons their myth just because they've seen contradictory facts. Being a functional individual and creating positive change requires not just a knowledge of reality, but an understanding of how humans have always navigated reality via myths. In this livestream I'll share some of Joseph Campbell's ideas on the role myth plays in our life and society, as well as how to recognize when you're in the realm of rational truth-seeking vs irrational myth-making. We'll also discuss: * How mythological thinking influences our political beliefs* The dangerous myths driving our culture* Becoming aware of our own myth and consciously altering itHere’s a preview: Join my next livestream for a real-time black sheep hangout + discussion on topics like groupthink, the philosophy of individualism, radical self-reliance, and other topics people seeking meaningful lives in modern times need. Stop by via YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, Substack, or X, [almost] every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday evening. If you want a community based on your values, help build it!Not a paid subscriber yet? If you appreciate The Black Sheep’s mission & want to see us grow, your paid subscription is the best way to support us. Get full access to The Black Sheep at www.wetheblacksheep.com/subscribe