Vaccine Rejectionism and the Left
For most of the past two centuries, the Left has been identified with science and against obscurantism; we have believed that rational thought and the fearless analysis of objective reality (both natural and social) are incisive tools for combating the mystifications promoted by the powerful. … Theorizing about “the social construction
Cancel Culture Has a Lot to Answer For
Sometimes our most precious cultural institutions fail to live up to their high educational and moral commitments and responsibilities. These failures especially damage the social fabric because they tend to harm many people who rely on them and tarnish the high ideals that the institutions claim to exemplify. An incident
Studying the True Face of Gender Ideology
This week, progressive British activist Jo Maugham warned his 300,000-plus Twitter followers of “yet another vast, and vastly expensive, piece of anti-trans infrastructure” that had been erected “virtually overnight, with zero transparency.” The tweet went viral, even though, as many commenters noted, it was unclear what supposed anti-trans leviathan
Autonomous Vehicles: Hype or Reality?
Automobile accidents are the second leading cause of death worldwide, with roughly 1.3 million fatalities annually according to the World Health Organization. China accounts for roughly 260,000 of those and the United States roughly 40,000. Car ownership is growing in developing countries, which will increase the number
Weekly Roundup
Welcome to our 665 new subscribers! This week I'd like to draw your attention to a terrific piece written by Joel Kotkin on the global supply chain crunch and what it means for the future of globalisation. And there is an excruciating account by Maxwell Meyer on the self-immolation of
A Better Way to Lead Christians Away from Intimate Partner Violence
In April, the Anglican Church of Australia released a report summarizing research that it had commissioned into the prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) among its congregants. I was saddened, though not surprised, to learn that Anglican survey respondents reported having experienced IPV at a rate equal or higher to
Gulags Are for Artists Like Me
Two weeks ago, I posted a snap from a friend and photographer at the Age newspaper. The controversial pic was of an elderly woman of Greek heritage in her 80s looking on to the militarised police response unfolding at Northcote Plaza in Melbourne’s inner north. I stated the facts
Podcast #169: Harvard Professor Steven Pinker on Rational Thinking, the Monty Hall Problem, and the Case for Objective Truth
Enlightenment Now author Steven Pinker speaks with Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay about his newly published book, Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters
