Bitter Fruit: Marshall McLuhan and the Rise of Fake News
McLuhan’s phenomenal success stemmed from being in the right place at the right time.
Graham Majin
· 16 min read
In Toronto's Weirdest Cinema, a Portrait of the Artist I'd Never Become
You’ve probably heard of the Toronto International Film Festival, which, before the pandemic, was annually attracting almost 500,000 attendees. But you’ve probably never heard of Toronto’s equally venerable Cineforum, whose weekly attendance has usually been closer to five. The Cineforum is an indie theatre run by
Adam Zivo
· 9 min read
Quillette Podcast #178: Michael Shermer on Watching ‘Scientific American’ Go Woke
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to book author and Skeptic editor Michael Shermer about why scientific media, professional organizations, and academic departments are increasingly succumbing to progressive ideological fads. Transcript: Jonathan Kay (JK): Michael welcome to the podcast. You’re a longtime friend of Quillette, and you've
Quillette
· 33 min read
Will AI Spell the End of Capitalism?
In 2018, the Washington Post published an opinion piece by Feng Xiang entitled “AI Will Spell the End of Capitalism.” Professor Feng teaches law at Tsinghua University and is one of China’s most prominent legal scholars. The core of his argument is set forth in the opening paragraphs: If
Michael Timothy Bennett, Sean Welsh
· 9 min read
The Mismeasure and Misuse of GDP
In The Great Questions of Tomorrow, David Rothkopf, an international policy expert and former editor of Foreign Policy, noted that we are on the cusp of a sweeping revolution—one that will change every facet of our lives. Klaus Schwab, the executive director and founder of the World Economic Forum,
Randall Mayes
· 10 min read
The Importance of Academic Impartiality
In November 1933, as rector of Freiburg University, Martin Heidegger published a letter urging students to vote “yes” in support of Hitler’s decision to leave the League of Nations. “German men and women!” Heidegger wrote, “The Führer is asking nothing from the people. Rather, he is giving the people
Matt Beard
· 8 min read
Drones Over Ethiopia
The growing use of armed drones in Ethiopia and other backwater conflicts is linked to the recent war in Afghanistan.
James Jeffrey
· 11 min read
Reading James Joyce Amidst Winter Snow, ‘Where Dwell the Vast Hosts of the Dead’
Many people no doubt roll their eyes in scoffing dismissal when they hear the commonly expressed—and almost as commonly crooned—wish for a White Christmas. But there are sound spiritual reasons for longing to see one’s environs blanketed with snow. Silent in its approach and accumulation, snow can
Herman Goodden
· 10 min read
Weekly Roundup
Dear Quilletters, This week, don’t miss Geoffrey Clarfield’s heartfelt eulogy for Richard Leaky, who was to paleoanthropology what E.O. Wilson was to sociobiology. A truly brilliant man with an extraordinary dedication to his craft and research, Leakey’s work has been enormously consequential for our understanding of
Scott Newman
· 5 min read
Should Philosophers Censor Kevin MacDonald?
According to the mainstream narrative about race, “white supremacy” is an all-controlling social force responsible for bad outcomes such as racial disparities. According to an alternative narrative popular on the far-Right, Jewish influence is a similarly powerful force, which explains outcomes disliked by those on the Right, such as multiculturalism
Nathan Cofnas
· 6 min read
Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts—A Review
A review of Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts by Jed Perl. Knopf, 176 pages. (January, 2022) Plug “relevance” into the search field of the website for Artforum, and 16 results pop up from 2021 alone. Relevance is the dominant aesthetic criterion of our time, and lack thereof
Franklin Einspruch
· 7 min read
Against Land Acknowledgements
What would happen if everyone took the time to write what they actually believe about land ownership and historical moral responsibility, instead of simply repeating a mantra they have been handed by a DEI bureaucrat?
Stuart Reges
· 8 min read
We’re All Going to Get Omicron
My friend Fred (not his real name) is one of the most conscientiously COVID-avoidant people I know. In the pandemic’s early days, he was the guy at my health club who investigated mechanisms we could use to sterilize tennis balls in real time, during play, lest virus particles make
Jonathan Kay
· 9 min read
Remembering Richard Leakey (1944–2022), the Last Victorian Scientist
While he may have seemed like something of an (enormously) overachieving dilettante to some, there was in fact a unity to his life and work.
Geoffrey Clarfield
· 11 min read
Want to Restore Your Faith in Humanity? Visit a Scientific Conference
Meeting the people who are making this world a better place through science provides a much needed sense of balance.
Daniel Lelchuk
· 6 min read