The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 197
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The Jewish Question, which is "what do we do with the Jews?" rests on the presumption that they aren't wanted here, or maybe anywhere. It is therefore intrinsically antisemitic. Since the catastrophe of World War II, all civilized societies have come to recognize this fact and refuse the Jewish Question except in the dark margins of society (at least, until recently). With the state of Israel on the world stage again, though, the question hasn't gone away but has changed shape. Now, instead of asking about what we do with the Jews, presuming they aren't wanted, it is a sign of nationalist erudition to ask what we should do with Israel, still on the presumption that it isn't wanted. This is called "the Israel Question," and it is merely a proxy for the Jewish Question in our post-WWII world. In this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay explains in thorough detail how the Israel Question is just a modern reinvention of the Jewish Question that hides the same darkness. Join him to learn why almost all anti-Zionism is just the same old antisemitism pretending to be high-minded global politics and foreign affairs.

The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 196
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 Today in America, we face a confusing "Christian Nationalist" movement that is reaching into many legitimate complaints and anxieties of American Christians and turning them to its project. While the term can mean many things, at least some of the meanings of "Christian Nationalism" are undeniably a kind of political movement posing as a theological movement. In fact, the most movement-ish strains of that line of thinking are precisely that. Something like this has happened before. When Hitler and his National Socialists were establishing the Third Reich, they had a huge cultural problem to overcome: nearly all Germans were Christians, not National Socialists. Their solution was an ambiguous term called "Positive Christianity" that increasingly got used as a bridge faith to turn believing German Christians into Nazis. In this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay continues his Nazi Experiment series to explore the justifications for Nazi "Positive Christianity," revealing concerning echoes from the past. Join him to hear about the Third Reich's unique "Christian Nationalism" movement in their own words.

The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 195
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When we face the question of what makes us who we are, different people have different answers. Some see ourselves as receptacles of tradition. Others see us as a self to be discovered in the world. Still others see us as blank slates who can become whatever we can dream. In some sense, these dispositions are in all of us, and that's healthy. They also define broad political orientations and movements. Importantly, they can also all go bad. Some months ago, James Lindsay, host of the New Discourses Podcast, wrote an essay for New Discourses called "Man with Three Faces" discussing this idea, and in this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, he talks through it casually, explaining its meaning and relevance for a wider audience. Join him for a deep exploration into what it means to be ourselves and what it can teach us about our politics.

The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 194
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James Lindsay's second trip to Israel was very different from his first. On this trip, he got what he calls his "Real Jerusalem Experience," and he did a wide variety of things, not so much a coherent, organized tour. In the process, he was introduced to Israeli and Jewish life in a new way, which has offered him insights on what it means to be American and why America is the way that it is. Perhaps most poignantly, while visiting Kibbutz Nir Oz with Seth Dillon, Rob McCoy, Karys Rhea, and others, he heard directly how the heartbeat of life, strength, and endurance in the face of tremendous evil and adversity can be summarized in two simple words: "Jewish values." Join James on this new episode of the New Discourses Podcast and travel with him through Israel for a second time. 

The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 193
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 As we encounter both the material in the infamous Epstein Files and revelations from some of Epstein's associates, not to mention the advances in AI and robotics, we're confronted with what seemed like dystopian science fiction just a few years ago: transhumanism. Tech futurists, however, have been predicting it and working toward it for decades, including the curious figure of "Martine" Rothblatt, creator of SiriusXM Radio and board member at the Mayo Clinic. Rothblatt is trans and has written at least two very odd books about sex and gender, The Apartheid of Sex: A Manifesto on the Freedom of Gender (1996) and an updated version called From Transgender to Transhuman: A Manifesto on the Freedom of Form (2011). In this latter book, Rothblatt explains, perhaps ironically now, that the same arguments that justify "transgender" also justify transhuman: ultimately that who we really are does not depend on our physical body at all. In this creepy episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay presents some of this troubling book to you. You will not want to miss this.