Quillette Podcast
Quillette
The Quillette Podcast is a platform for rigorous, academic discussions rooted in common sense and free inquiry. Non-dogmatic and grounded in liberal values, the podcast serves as a beacon for thoughtful conversation on science, politics, philosophy, and culture. Quillette prides itself on intellectual honesty, avoiding ideological extremism in favor of evidence-based reasoning and progress. Hosted by leading voices in academia and journalism, past guests include evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, and journalist Douglas Murray, among others. Expect candid conversations that promote common sense and challenge anti-science and conspiratorial narratives from both the far left and right.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 19, 2022 • 30min
Understanding Wokeness as a Make-Work Strategy for the Privileged Class
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Swedish Marxist Malcom Kyeyune, who argues that nominally progressive theories of race and gender are actually aimed at securing influence, employment, and prestige for underemployed university graduates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 6, 2022 • 36min
James Kirchick on ‘Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington’
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to author James Kirchick about the closeted lives of gay men living and working in America's capital during the Cold War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 20, 2022 • 27min
Richard Dawkins on the Wonders of Flight
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins about his new book on the science and mythology of life in the air—from puffins and flying squirrels to fairies and angels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 5, 2022 • 48min
‘Sex Realism’ Versus ‘Sex Denialism’: Is the Tide Finally Turning Against Gender Ideology?
Economist editor Helen Joyce, author of ‘Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality,’ explains to Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay why biology must trump politics when it comes to defining who is a woman and who is a man. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 23, 2022 • 46min
Progressive Social Panic at Yale and Princeton
Reporter Aaron Sibarium talks to Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay about his recent scoops concerning the campaign against anti-woke Princeton classics professor Joshua Katz, and the unsettling radicalism of student activists at Yale Law School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 8, 2022 • 35min
How Elon Musk Can Promote Free Speech—Without Turning Twitter Into One Big ‘Dumpster Fire’
Veteran technology expert Jim Rutt tells Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay about the hard lessons he’s learned over four decades of creating and implementing content-moderation standards on numerous social-media platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 25, 2022 • 29min
Rob Montz on Harvard University’s Campaign Against One of Its Most Famous (and Politically Incorrect) Black Professors
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with documentary filmmaker Rob Montz about self-made education expert Roland G. Fryer Jr.—who bucked Harvard’s progressive party line on race and education, and then got targeted with dubious harassment claims. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 13, 2022 • 39min
Frances Widdowson on the Questions Canadians Aren't Supposed to Ask About Unmarked Graves
Former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson describes the political, academic, and journalistic taboos surrounding the fate of Indigenous residential-school students in western Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 5, 2022 • 31min
Shmuel Bar on the War in Ukraine, and the Failure of Western Deterrence
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to intelligence expert Shmuel Bar about why Putin bungled the war in Ukraine, why NATO didn't do enough to deter the Russians, and what happens next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 25, 2022 • 1h 31min
Sam Harris on Islam, Dropping Acid, Joe Rogan, Vaccine Pseudoscience, the Wonders of Meditation, Collaborating with Ricky Gervais, and the Myth of Free Will
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay asks neuroscientist, philosopher, best-selling author, and celebrity podcaster Sam Harris about the key to living a fulfilling and satisfying life (and whether it‘s okay to tell your children they’re bad at sports) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
