The McGill International Review

MIR Meets: Yascha Mounk

Host Andrew Xu sits down with Yascha Mounk, the head of Persuasion and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. They discuss his new book The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, and the set of ideas, ideologies, and cultural attitudes which he dubs "the identity synthesis" in his book.

 

References

"The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time" by Yascha Mounk

"Yascha Mounk: The Identity Trap - Why New Group Identity & Social Justice Ideas Failed to Transform America" from The Realignment

Review Radio: US-China Student Exchanges

Host Andrew Xu sits down once again with Vivian Wang, a China correspondent for The New York Times. They discuss the decline in student exchange programs between China and the US, the way that Chinese citizens feel about potentially living in the US, and the extent to which this issue serves as a useful barometer for understanding US-China relations.

 

References

"Can U.S.-China Student Exchanges Survive Geopolitics?" by Vivian Wang, The New York Times

Intro/Outro music: Synapse by Shane Ivers

MIR Meets: David French

Host Andrew Xu sits down with David French, a columnist for The New York Times. They discuss the potential dangers of a second Trump presidency, the internal politics of the pro-life movement in America, and how to frame rhetoric to persuade people of differing political dispositions.

 

References

"What the Next Generation of Christians Needs (with David French)" from Good Faith

"Donald Trump Tests Pro-Life America" by David French, The New York Times

"Shiny, Not-So-Happy People (with David and Nancy French)" from Good Faith

"Shiny Happy People: The Rise and Fall of the Duggar Family" by Frances Parish, The McGill International Review

The Editors’ Desk: Miss and Mr Americana

Why have our favourite pop star and football player taken over the headlines with their relationship? Hosts Alison and Teodor, and guests Zach and Anya share their takes on Taylor Swift’s and Travis Kelce’s relationship in the very first episode of The Editors’ Desk podcast.

MIR Meets: Robert Wright

Host Blaise Brosnan sits down with Substack writer and podcast host Robert Wright, to discuss the concept of non-zero-sumness, the origins of early Christianity, and the evolution in the perception of the Abrahamic God as described in his book The Evolution of God.

 

References

"The Evolution of God" by Robert Wright

"The ‘River to the Sea’ Rorschach test" by Robert Wright, Nonzero Newsletter

MIR Meets: Katherine Dee

Host Blaise Brosnan sits down with Substack writer and internet culture reporter Katherine Dee, to discuss the causes of sex negativity, the cultural landscapes of the digital ecosphere, and the underlying motivations of right-wing subcultures online.

 

References

"The coming wave of sex negativity" by Katherine Dee, Default Wisdom

"Among the Spiritual Psychotics" by Katherine Dee, Tablet

"Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians" by Tara Isabella Burton

"Mass Shootings and the World Liberalism Made" by Katherine Dee, Contra

"Who Does Saudi Better: Google or Reddit?" by Katherine Dee, Tablet

Review Radio: Poles at the Polls

Host Zalan Teodor Gaspar sits down with Wojciech Przybylski and Agnieszka Homańska of Visegrad Insight to discuss the results of the 2023 Polish elections, the issues that defined the election, and what the results mean for the European Union.

Dig Deeper: Conservative Factions in the US and Canada

Host Zalan Teodor Gaspar sits down with Henry Olsen, a columnist for The Washington Post and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. They discuss the winners and losers of the first 2024 Republican presidential primary debate, the influences of Pierre Poilievre's brand of conservatism, and the sources of the rise in conservative support in Canada more broadly.

 

Special thanks to CKUT for helping with the production of this episode.

Dig Deeper: Secularization

Host Andrew Xu sits down with Jessica Grose, an opinion writer for The New York Times. They discuss modern society's lower participation rates in religious institutions, how that relates to a group that social scientists refer to as "nones," and how people are finding a sense of community outside of organized religion.

References

"Lots of Americans Are Losing Their Religion. Have You?" by Jessica Grose, The New York Times

"What Churches Offer That ‘Nones’ Still Long For" by Jessica Grose, The New York Times

"MIR Meets: Elizabeth Bruenig" by Blaise Brosnan, The McGill International Review

"The Church of Group Fitness" by Jessica Grose, The New York Times

"Why Americans Care About Work So Much" by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic

The War for Ukraine: Putin’s Federal Assembly Address

Host Marion-Inès Le Pape presents an analysis of Russian President Putin's Federal Assembly address of February 2023, focusing on the parallels he draws between the war in Ukraine and World War II. In particular, she examines Putin's use and abuse of history and his rhetoric of "de-Nazification", questioning what renders it critical to the his narrative.