The McGill International Review

MIR Meets: David Sax

Host Andrew Xu sits down with David Sax, a Canadian freelance journalist and the author of The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World. They discuss what it would take for humanity to opt into a more human future, and how that future would run counter to the increased prevalence of digital technology in our everyday lives.

 

Episode Notes

"The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World" by David Sax

"David Sax | The Future is Analog" from The Unmistakeable Creative Podcast

"Keep Baking That Sourdough, and Change the World" by Alexandra Jacobs, The New York Times

Dig Deeper: The Future of the Democratic Party and its Brand

Host Andrew Xu sits down once again with Greg Sargent, a columnist for The Washington Post. They discuss the US's midterm election results from last year, the legislative standstill on immigration, and the CHIPS and Science Act.

 

References

 

"Kevin Forbid" from Positively Dreadful

 

"One of MAGA’s biggest fantasies faces a brutal reality check" by Greg Sargent, The Washington Post

 

"Greg Sargent Is Chronicling The Culture Wars" from On Democracy with FPWellman

 

"Biden’s devious plan to break the MAGA fever just might work" by Greg Sargent, The Washington Post

Dig Deeper: Building Climate Utopias

Host Anzhu Wei sits down with Alizé Carrère to discuss how cities have adapted to climate change. Alizé is a researcher, filmmaker, National Geographic Explorer, and PhD candidate at the University of Miami. In this episode, they discuss how architects, urban planners, and policymakers have responded to environmental concerns.

 

This episode also covers the rise of aspirational city-making plans, or 'climatopias', as Alizé has termed in her research.

Review Radio: Abortion

Host Ines Fahmi sits down with Josie Luetke, Director of Education and Advocacy for Life Coalition and member of the National March for Life organizing committee to discuss abortion rights in the United States. They are joined by Anya Narang, a writer at The McGill International Review, to debate the state of access to abortion.

MIR Meets: Christian Esguerra

Host Marion-Ines Le Pape sits down with Christian Esguerra, Filipino journalist and recipient of the Marshall McLuhan Fellowship, to discuss the dangers of disinformation, and how the media can help minimize its threats and spread in a time when truth and historical facts are compromised.

MIR Meets: Chloe Valdary

Host Andrew Xu sits down with Chloe Valdary, the head of Theory of Enchantment. They discuss the way that her program differs from other comparable initiatives, what it hopes to achieve, and how it uses pop culture to better encapsulate its themes.

 

References

 

Chloé Valdary on How to be a (True) Antiracist from The Good Fight with Yascha Mounk

 

Can Chloé Valdary Sell Skeptics on DEI? by Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic

Review Radio: Tracing Legault’s Rise to Premiership

The 2022 Quebec general election saw the CAQ affirm its sweeping success from 2018, with François Legault doubling down on his controversial policies and broad, populist platform. Surging from seemingly nowhere, the CAQ has established itself as a serious long-term party for Quebec, with Legault cementing his place as the definitive figure of Quebec for the coming years.

Host Skyler Bohnert delves into the winding tale of Legault's party, answering the question: how did we get here?

 

Edited by Andrew Wei

Review Radio: Immigration to the US

Host Andrew Xu sits down with Leah Boustan, an economics professor at Princeton University. They discuss the performance of immigrant families relative to their peers in the US, the way geographical factors play an extremely large role in economic performance, and what causes public opinion on immigration to shift over time.

 

References

 

Streets of Gold by Leah Boustan and Ran Abramitzky

 

Slow Boring Book Club: Streets of Gold by Matt Yglesias

 

Backlash: The Unintended Effects of Language Prohibition in U.S. Schools after World War I

MIR Meets: Nate Hochman

Host Blaise Brosnan sits down with Nate Hochman, an ISI fellow at National Review. They discuss the New Right’s presence as an emergent cultural phenomenon, its distinct differences from paleo conservatism, and the movement’s attempts to use state power in favor of their goals.

Mask Hysteria: Hygiene Theater and COVID Safety Precautions

Host Andrew Xu sits down with science writer and editor Yasmin Tayag, to discuss hygiene theater and the helpfulness of various COVID-related safety precautions.

 

References

How Are We Possibly Still Disinfecting Things? by Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic

America Is Running Out of ‘COVID Virgins’ by Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic

Hygiene Theater Is a Huge Waste of Time by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic

Why More Americans Are Saying They’re ‘Vaxxed and Done’ by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic