6 chapters across the catalog
MSNBC host Joy Reid links the Scott Adams controversy to a broader "post-Trump age of open fascism" and the January 6th Capitol riot. The hosts critique Reid's "wind-up" and her attempt to frame Adams as a representative of a larger white nationalist movement. Mo reiterates his support for voluntary cultural enclaves over forced integration.
Mo examines Whoopi Goldberg's apology where she acknowledged that the Nazis viewed Jews as an inferior race. The conversation explores the complexity of Jewish identity as both a religion and a lineage, and why Goldberg's description of the Holocaust as "two groups of white people" caused a backlash. They discuss how the media struggles to categorize Jewish identity within the American "white supremacist" narrative, referencing events like the Charlottesville rally.
The discussion addresses recent tensions involving Black Lives Matter and the Women's March regarding anti-Zionist remarks. It cites Anti-Defamation League (ADL) polls regarding anti-Semitic stereotypes in the Black community and mentions the 2019 Jersey City shooting. The segment concludes with the formation of the Bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations by the late John Lewis.
The hosts return to Krystal Ball's analysis of the leaked Biden audio. Biden is heard insisting that "the words of presidents matter" and citing his response to Charlottesville as a primary campaign platform. The hosts interpret this as the behavior of a "confidence man" who prioritizes rhetoric over substantive policy changes.
The hosts discuss the Charlottesville protests as a "test run" for current political maneuvers, noting that Joe Biden launched his campaign based on that event. They cite claims that the Southern Poverty Law Center and federal agencies infiltrate and sometimes create extremist groups to justify crackdowns. They argue that these events are orchestrated to ensure Americans continue to fight one another.
Maya Shankar, who headed Obama's Social and Behavioral Science Team, now works for Google, further integrating nudging tactics into big tech. Social media platforms use "trending" topics as a nudge mechanism to validate specific narratives, such as the "Charlottesville Lie" or claims that Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset. The hosts describe encountering automated bots on Twitter designed to reinforce these political memes and suppress dissenting views.
