Quillette

Quillette Podcast

News EN ↓ 344 episodes

Long-form conversations with scientists, writers, historians, and public intellectuals on the ideas shaping — and dividing — the Western world. Mostly hosted by Jonathan Kay — Canadian journalist, author, and Quillette editor whose books include Among the Truthers , a landmark investigation into conspiracy culture. Kay brings a rare combination of intellectual range, genuine curiosity, and willingness to push back, whether the subject is evolutionary biology, cancel culture, geopolitics, or the philosophy of free speech. Non-dogmatic, evidence-driven, and unafraid of controversy.

Author

Quillette

Episodes

Social Work Without Stereotypes 07.07.2025 30:46

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to Heterodox Academy scholar Nafees Alam about the need to challenge political orthodoxies in the field of social work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Science vs Māori Knowledge 27.06.2025 16:30

Iona Italia talks to Professor Kendall Clements of the University of Auckland about attempts to conflate traditional Maori knowledge with science, which, he argues, debases both. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Wars Before the War 18.06.2025 36:37

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay interviews Jonathan Spyer, director of research at the Middle East Forum, about how Israel laid the groundwork for its war with Iran by confronting threats in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Catastrophe Hour 13.06.2025 15:31

Writer Meghan Daum talks to Iona Italia about her new essay collection, The Catastrophe Hour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enforced Ideological Conformity Among British Artists 04.06.2025 27:42

Dancer and choreographer Rosie Kay talks to Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay about the three radioactive political topics that can derail an artist’s career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Problem With ‘Harvard Derangement Syndrome’ 31.05.2025 20:10

Harvard professor Steven Pinker tells Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay why Donald Trump’s campaign against his university’s ‘woke’ policies goes too far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the University Of Austin Betraying Its Free-Speech Principles? 26.05.2025 30:42

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Ellie Avishai—who recently lost her affiliated position at UATX after she pushed back against the school’s strident anti-DEI messaging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Green Delusion 16.05.2025 15:48

Iona Italia talks to engineer Paul Brown about the hidden costs of renewables and the skewed incentives that are driving some countries towards unsustainable energy policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lessons from the Luddites on Adapting to AI 10.05.2025 37:18

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Washington Post columnist and TED Talker Megan McArdle about the short-term pain—and long-term gain—heralded by the AI revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Free Speech in Australia 02.05.2025 14:32

Iona Italia talks to Alan Davidson about censorship, self-censorship, the Online Safety Act and other threats to free speech in Australia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canada’s Strange Election Season 26.04.2025 20:31

In advance of Monday’s nation-wide vote, Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay discusses Justin Trudeau’s resignation, Pierre Poilievre’s bad luck, the rise of Mark Carney, and the effects of Donald Trump’s aggressive protectionism on Canadian politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Making the Case for ‘Free-Range Parenting’ 19.04.2025 23:28

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with author and TED Talker Lenore Skenazy, whose campaign to give children more opportunities for independent play and learning once earned her the title of ‘America’s Worst Mother.’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trouble with Tariffs 12.04.2025 16:15

Iona Italia talks to John H. Cochrane aka "The Grumpy Economist" about the motivations, effects and implications of Donald Trump's economic policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Accurate Is 'Adolescence'? 05.04.2025 15:36

Iona Italia talks to William Costello, an evolutionary psychologist whose work focuses on incels, about what the Netflix series 'Adolescence' gets right and wrong about this group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Scourge of the ‘Woke Right’ 28.03.2025 35:33

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with author and satirist Andrew Doyle about the worrying rise of illiberal ideologies and cultish political tendencies among conservatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anti-Zionism, Past and Present 20.03.2025 15:38

Quillette’s Managing Editor Iona Italia talks to scholar Izabella Tabarovsky about the Soviet roots of contemporary anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Book Banning 15.03.2025 26:05

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with book author Ira Wells about the censorship demands emanating from both sides of the political spectrum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christianity and the American Polity 06.03.2025 15:18

Iona Italia talks to Brookings Institution senior fellow Jonathan Rauch about his latest book, Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australia’s Antisemitism Crisis 23.02.2025 15:25

Quillette editor-in-chief Claire Lehmann speaks with Bangladeshi-born Australian psychiatrist and journalist Tanveer Ahmed about the rise of Jew-hatred in their country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Great Divergence 14.02.2025 17:40

Iona Italia talks to evolutionary psychologist David C. Geary about why he believes evolved differences between the sexes have been growing more salient in western societies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Canadian Episode: Trump’s Tariffs and Trudeau’s Travails 08.02.2025 40:50

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with The Line editor Jen Gerson about how U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats have affected Canada’s already fractured political landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

‘The Politics of the Academy Have Been Defeated’ 01.02.2025 15:45

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Yale English professor-turned-essayist William Deresiewicz, who argues that Americans—many Democrats included—are fed up with campus-style progressive radicalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'The Power of Nuclear' 18.01.2025 17:47

Quillette podcast host Iona Italia speaks with Dutch writer Marco Visscher, author of The Power of Nuclear: The Rise, Fall and Return of Our Mightiest Energy Source. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tragedy of California’s Wildfires 11.01.2025 18:19

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with University of Southern California scholar William Deverell about the enormous fires that have destroyed large swathes of the Los Angeles area. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reading and Writing Science 11.01.2025 44:51

Iona Italia talks to eminent evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins about science, literature, and genetics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices