War of Ideas

The rise of envy from social media and the rise of individualism are having downstream effects on how we view the people around us and what goals we set for ourselves. Always looking out for number one is good for us in some respects but can make us feel lonely and rudderless. Books referenced - Generations by Jean Twenge, Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management fo...

"The progressive among us want our society to be equal, and yet many of the selfsame people uncritically accept the notion of meritocracy, the idea that we should receive rewards consistent with our abilities. Meritocracy is a machine for creating inequality; that is its very purpose. Only the false god of "equality of opportunity" keeps the fiction of meritocracy plus equality alive." - deBoer  ...

Why aren't we happier? We don’t always do voluntary things for enjoyment. Leisure time is spent trying to be productive or trying to keep up with the Joneses. We let somebody else's goals become our goals. Not only that, but we usually aren't connected to the present moment when we do spend our time wisely. Don't forget to think about what it is that you are trying to get out of life. What you're...

How did the problem of misinformation and disinformation get so bad? Belonging is stronger than facts. How do we fix it?   "Extreme opinions inspire loyalty among a minority that is ultimately more valuable than the unenthusiastic approval of the whole crowd. These are unhealthy incentives. But they are powerful incentives. Readers always, always tell me that they just want to see the academic pos...

Attention is one of the most precious things we have. How do we make sure that we're paying attention to the things we really want? Better yet, how do we make sure the things we pay attention to are actually conducive to our happiness and well-being? Companies like Google aren't doing us any favors in figuring this out. Take the time to decide why you want something. Don't let others make the deci...

The type of content that gets the most eyeballs has psychological effects and changes the conversation. Not just the tone of the conversation, the entire conversation. We read it more often because algorithms push it to the top of our feed. And we think of how best to create it in an attempt to get engagement and followers. The more we expose ourselves to this content, the more it changes what we...

The problem we face with social media is not just spending too much time on our phones. We have a much bigger issue to deal with:   "The problem is essentially runaway extractive capitalism that's treating human beings as a resource and dumping out externalities in the form of a breakdown of truth, a breakdown of democracies, and an inability to work on existential threats like climate change." -...

Electability has become the newest buzzword of the 2020 democratic primary. But, what exactly does it mean? It is a conglomeration of many things, but has no meaning without its constituent parts. A car is a combination of an engine, wheels, metal, etc. For a car to be a "car" it must have all of the necessary parts to get you from point A to B. For someone to be electable they must have all of th...

Why is mainstream media unable to get through to people why the president is bad for the country? It doesn't seem to be from a lack of trying. How can so many people trust a known liar more than a reputable news organization? Millennials are turning away from mainstream media for a multitude of reasons, but confusion still remains as to why organizations like CNN and MSNBC are powerless when expos...

Let's go in depth about the radicalization of today's white nationalists. Not just "it's 4chan's fault" but how and why people get led to 4chan in the first place. What leads people from the moment they are born to the online white nationalist strongholds when they are becoming adults? Why them and not others? And, if a deprogramming of this mindset can be implemented, what is it?   I can honestly...

Managing our free time in a world where there seems to be less and less of it every day becomes more and more difficult to do. The less we have, the more difficult it is to spend it on the things we know we ought to. Understandable? Yes. Is managing our money any different? The less we have, the more difficult it is to spend it on the things we know we ought to. Understandable? Also yes. Let's mak...

In this episode, I talk about just how much of the bargaining power Amazon has right now. Amazon is changing the playbook of what business expenditures look like. Rather than talking about the specifics of the broken deal in New York itself, I go into more detail about the logic of why a deal like this is not just possible, but begged for by cities across America. How do the American people fight...

In this episode, I talk about the quandary we are in when it comes to the right to free speech. Since most people do their talking on social media these days, can Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) or Jack Dorsey (Twitter) be trusted to allow everyone their free speech? Can we force them to allow free speech? If not, can we trust the government to allow it if they have oversight of social media giants? Is...

In this episode, I talk about Steven Pinker's critics attacking him and his new book showing how the world is getting better. I connect these critiques to a larger scale problem in society to help show the raw thought process that goes on where people assign compartments of "hate" and "like" to others and predetermine their attitude toward somebody based on what circles they tend to stay in. This...

In this episode of the War of Ideas podcast, I talk about the concept of universal basic income and discuss the viewpoint of someone that thinks it is a step in the right direction due to where we seem to be headed in terms of wealth inequality (and all of the issues that come with it.) Even if we consider the advancement of AI playing an almost negligible role in job displacement, businesses are...

In this episode of the War of Ideas podcast, I talk about social media's role in the 2016 presidential election, zeroing in on Facebook specifically. A discussion is held on whether or not we should make changes to the first amendment, or whether we might need to in the future. What do we do now that Russia has shown to the world a new take on what is possible in the sphere of online communication...

There is a race to obtain an alternate form of currency. It's not bitcoin, it's our attention. And most of us don't know that it's happening. Inspired by Tristan Harris, this episode discusses the problem of powerful companies addicting us to their product and how awareness can help us take back our lives. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get ac...

In this episode, I discuss the future possibility of a world without the need of jobs, as well as how we should view the necessity of jobs in the present. Then, on to the idea of working hard to make a living, and tying things in with the new tax cuts it looks like we're going to receive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epis...

In this episode, I deliberate over whether we should allow immigrants in our country and what Obama's social media outcry shows. After that, if the Bernie wing of the Democratic party is more trouble than it's worth, the role of the media, and the debate over universal healthcare. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, vi...

In this episode, I go over Dilbert creator Scott Adam's podcast discussion with Sam Harris. He tries to defend Trump's reasons for doing what he does. I offer quite different explanations as to why Trump wants to keep coal jobs, argue against climate change, boast about the stock market, and other topics. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc...

I go over a couple of Jordan Peterson's podcast interview discussions (Joe Rogan, David Rubin). I talk about how I disagree on Peterson's stance towards social justice warriors, the hero archetype, Trump, and other topics. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com

Is it possible that we can have such a perfect planet made just for us by random chance? Brace yourself for a loosely connected analogy and find out! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com

It's okay to disagree with people. But we should be open and willing to let them speak. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was denied that chance to speak in Australia for security reasons. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com

Continuing on why it is important to blame terrorism on religion. Getting more directly into the political right and their point of view. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com

Going over Tony Reali and his Washington Post article about freedom to practice your religion. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com