Polite Conversations

In part 2 of this conversation we get into more specific concerns - issues about responsible framing, softballing, etc. At what point do we recognize and consciously not contribute to maintaining the perception of “reasonable intellectual” for someone as far gone (imo) as Harris? At what point has he crossed the line into being as embarrassing as say … Bret Weinstein? We explore all these questions and more. —— If you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via patreon.com/nicemangos and by leaving an Apple Podcasts or Spotify review. Links NYT Investigation: Israel Used 'Most Destructive' Bombs in Areas Designated as Safe in South Gaza Strip: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-22/ty-article/nyt-investigation-israel-used-one-ton-bombs-in-safe-zones-in-south-gaza/0000018c-91f4-d47c-a7fd-dbfcc0bb0000 During the first six weeks of the war in Gaza, Israel routinely used one of its biggest and most destructive bombs in areas it designated safe for civilians, according to an analysis of visual eviden

This is part 1 of a 2 part conversation. Part 2 is available early via patreon.com/nicemangos.  Join me for a discussion with Chris Kavanagh of the Decoding the Gurus Podcast. In part one we chat more about the broader questions …like the eternal ‘litmus test’ question of “Is Sam Harris Rightwing?” and I try to get a sense of Chris’ own politics and positions. On the surface Chris and I would probably vote the same, and we’re both critics of the heterodox/IDWsphere but our output is framed very differently, I think our motivations and goals with it are  perhaps vastly different as well. We get into that and more in part 2. —— If you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via patreon.com/nicemangos and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts/Spotify Links: Fastest decline in a population ever recorded https://x.com/medicalaidpal/status/1763172220900151317?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw Biggest cohort of paediatric amputees https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-children-who-lost-limbs-in-gaza Law for Pale

I joined my friend Daniel of the I Don’t Speak German Podcast for a chat recently, to quote their description of the episode; “to talk about Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and in particular about some questions that have come up around IDSG’s public response to it.” Find IDSG here: https://idontspeakgerman.libsyn.com/public-bonus-talking-about-gaza-with-eiynah-mohammed-smith and @idsgpod on Twitter. You can find the Twitter Space mentioned in the episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1dYrfZKfFpdib1zbSnMtQZ?si=7MZzHfT1Qh6ZFnCyIsdw0w

My guest for this episode is Jason Lemieux, who formerly worked for The CFI (Center for Inquiry) A US secular non-profit organization where Richard Dawkins is a board member. The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science is a subsidiary of CFI. Join us as we cover the bizarreness & bigotry of increasingly embarrassing Atheist public figure Richard Dawkins. If you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via patreon.com/nicemangos or by leaving a 5 star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. ——— Links: Dawkins’ recent Cultural Christian clip: https://x.com/lbc/status/1774510715975368778?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw Dawkins’ Church bells tweet: x.com/RichardDawkins/status/1018933359978909696?s=20 Dawkins’ non-entities tweet: x.com/RichardDawkins/status/1463750520603131907?s=20 Dawkins’ eugenics-y views on Down Syndrome: https://x.com/brokenbottleboy/status/1393882552264499202?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw CFI’s archived note re: Kavin Senapathy https://web.archive.org/web/20201030180906/https://cen

This is a SAMPLE version of the episode, access the full episode via patreon.com/nicemangos *** Join me for an unexpected but fascinating chat that arose from the previous panel episodes on Germany, Identity & Palestine. I knew that one of my panelists (Claus) had been raised far-right and since shed those beliefs, but I had no idea just *how* far-right … Strap yourselves in for a very wild, rollercoaster of a conversation. Major CONTENT WARNING: There’s talk of bigotry, nazi cults, smuggling, murder, suicide, white supremacy, and more horrific stuff. So please proceed with caution. We discuss the skeptic scene and how rapidly it’s devolved, Michael Shermer in particular comes up. I also try to gauge and assess just how fashy Claus’s upbringing was, was it overtly and explicitly fash, was it IDWesque in trying to mask the bigotry… or was it a bit of both? Claus peels back the layers and helps us understand what got him out of that bigoted worldview, what kind of damage it did to the people around him, a

Join us for part 2 of this Panel on wtf is going on in Germany. My German guests include Ilyas who is a German Muslim, Claus is a German who was raised with very right-wing views but has since shed them, and we also have John who has a Master’s degree in German Studies and lived there as an exchange student. We discuss aspects of German identity, history, nationalism and the thinking behind some of the blind and bizarre support we see for Israel, the stifling of pro-Palestinian views - especially in the arts, the treatment of left leaning Jewish people who are critical of Israel, the Herero & Nama genocide, the ICJ, ex-muslims & ‘liberal’ Muslims in Germany becoming tools of the right, & more. —— All guests on the Aftershow are Patrons of the Polite Conversations. Truly amazing to get to chat with fascinating patrons of the show from all around the world. Subscribe via Patreon to access the full episode. If you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via patreon.com/nicemangos and/or leaving a review o

This is part 1 of a 2-part conversation. Join myself and my panel of German/Germany related guests for a fascinating discussion about Wtaf is going on in Germany these days. My German guests include Ilyas who is a German Muslim, Claus who is a German that was raised with very right-wing views but has since shed them, and we also have John who has a Master’s degree in German Studies and lived there as an exchange student. We discuss aspects of German identity, history, nationalism and the thinking behind some of the blind and bizarre support we see for Israel, the stifling of pro-Palestinian views, the perception of Arabs and foreigners in general, the treatment of left leaning Jewish people who are critical of Israel & more. —— All guests on the Aftershow are Patrons of the Polite Conversations. Truly amazing to get to chat with fascinating patrons of the show from all around the world. —— If you enjoy the show and would like to access the full episode, pls subscribe via patreon.com/nicemangos Links:

This is a Recording of my Twitter Space from Feb 20th 2024 with friends of the pod Jack Graham, Daniel Harper (of IDSG). Linguist Dr. Caitlin Green also makes an appearance. Join us for a discussion about all the nightmarish content on social media these days, IDF influencers, thirst traps and TikTok War Crimes. Horrific stuff. Proceed with caution. —- As always, if you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via patreon.com/nicemangos Links: Propaganda images/memes we discussed in the beginning https://x.com/nicemangos/status/1760143208766456133?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw T-Rex Costume, bombs and techno, dancing on a tank https://x.com/rachael_swindon/status/1748398198358507960?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw Bill Maher’s poorly aged Burqa bit https://x.com/billmaher/status/1740866573655810131?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw Contrasts: Fine dining scene vs. Starving population https://x.com/brandyljensen/status/1754145731466723520?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw Lifestyle piece on IDF soldiers cook

[This is part 2 of a 2 part conversation, you can listen to part 1 here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Yhb4lNGPfGwquHk4kBHjD?si=zLnUj1VTTFSvke6Nti6nRg Or here: https://youtu.be/KBU3Rjh3noY ] In this part of the conversation (with YouTuber The Kavernacle) we continue to discuss Israel, and New Atheism. We also talk about the complicity of Western countries in whats currently being done to Palestinians …and about how the right tokenizes & incentivizes minorities to uphold supremacist structures/systems. What I think listeners of this podcast will most enjoy though, is our difference in interpretation of Sam Harris’s extremely bigoted, fashy worldview. Is it accidental, or by design? Weigh in, dear listeners, via YT comments or Twitter comments, or Patreon comments - I’d love to hear your thoughts! And if you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via patreon.com/nicemangos —— Links: Find Kavernacle on YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TheKavernacle here are some vids we mentioned from his channel: IDF

Support the show via: patreon.com/nicemangos

[This is part 1 of 2] I was joined by YouTuber The Kavernacle (@TheKavernacle) for this episode. We discussed overlaps in our trajectory, despite our very different backgrounds… New Atheism, disappointment with leftist content creators on the issue of Palestine and Israel. We also discussed geopolitics in a broader sense, the whitewashing of atrocities committed by the West. We chat about the flattening of the entire Middle East in western perspectives, the overlaps between conservative muslims and conservatives in the west, Andrew Tate’s conversion, Douglas Murrays growing fascism - and more! If you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via Patreon.com/nicemangos Links: Find Kavernacle on YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TheKavernacle —— Douglas downplaying N@zis https://x.com/nicemangos/status/1722994771424166354?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw One-third of Israeli Holocaust survivors live in poverty, advocates say https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/one-third-of-israeli-holocaust-survivors-live-in-poverty

[This is part 2 of a 2 part episode] I was joined by Canadian Journalist & Author Jeremy Appel (@JeremyAppel1025 on Twitter) for this episode. Aside from breaking down various distortions in the media on Palestine/Israel, we also discuss the blatant double standards & hypocrisy we often see related to this issue, as well as the suppression of pro Palestinian perspectives. We also talked about Jeremy’s visits to Israel and how he looks back on those visits in retrospect, his views on the emergence of 2 distinct currents of Jewish thought around the phrase ‘Never Again’, how encouraging it’s been to see the growth of Jewish groups challenging Zionist narratives like Jewish Voice for Peace and Independent Jewish Voices in Canada, and much more. If you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via patreon.com/nicemangos & by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify —— Links Find Jeremy’s book here: https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459752658-kenneyism Find him on Blue Sky here: @Jeremyappel.bs

I was joined by Canadian Journalist & Author Jeremy Appel (@JeremyAppel1025 on Twitter) for this episode. He discusses his Zionist upbringing and how ”blind support for Israel was instilled” in him from a very young age…. and how he came to question the narrative he grew up with. We also chat about the endless examples in the current political climate, of deliberate distortion, disinformation and inversion both by the media and Israel lobbying groups, the suppression of left leaning, pro-Palestinian Jewish voices, and the targeting of racialized journalists who question the narrative. We also discuss the recent bizarre meltdowns of one of Canada’s (supposedly) leading media critics; Jesse Brown of Canadaland. It’s a fascinating case study in how someone who otherwise looks at the media with a critical eye, has decided to double and triple down on standard Zionist talking points, no matter how blatantly dishonest the framing may be. If you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via Patreon.com/nicemangos

[This is the *Full* version of the previously released sample. Originally released Dec 20, 2023, on Patreon. If you would like early and full access to all episodes in this new miniseries, please subscribe via patreon.com/nicemangos] _________ For Episode 3 of The Global Far Right series, I was joined by German far-right/extremism researcher Miro Dittrich [@DittrichMiro on Twitter], co-founder and senior researcher at Cemas [cemas.io/en/] We talked about broad themes and split lines on the far-right, how Germany has the biggest non-English speaking QAnon movement in the world, the German ‘Sovereign Citizen’ movement, overlaps the German far right had with the American one via QAnon Narratives, things like stolen election narratives….All that and more, here on episode 3! An enlightening…and frightening conversation.

As the year comes to a close, join me as I reflect on 2023. From personal milestones, to the ramping up of production around here…to my current thoughts on the ongoing mass violence inflicted on Palestinians...& the silence of many left leaning content creators - all that and more in my final episode of the year. ————— Links: Israel bans surfboards https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/gaza-surfing-ban-illegal-documentary-palestinians-a8525091.html “Israel prohibits the importation of surfboards. Israel is, in effect, outlawing surfing, just as the buttoned-up East Coast evangelicals tried to do in Hawaii.” Israel intercepts 23 tons of chocolate it says was intended to finance Hamas https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-intercepts-23-tons-of-chocolate-it-says-was-intended-to-finance-hamas/ Users on social media mock 'cartoon villains stealing candy', as Israeli officials link confectionary sales to terrorism https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-chocolate-bar-confiscated-claim-fun

[This Episode was released on Patreon on Nov 30. Sign up on Patreon.com/nicemangos for early access to episodes like this one] —— Brace yourselves for Sam & Eric pushing some of the worst talking points of the Israeli government without any scrutiny whatsoever. Join me as I break down their attempts to stereotype muslims and generalize them as tacitly endorsing religious extremism, in a time where there’s a very real cost to spreading such dangerous tropes and a very real campaign of violence/dehumanization ongoing against Palestinian muslims. Links The cursed thumbnail of Eric and Sam https://x.com/nicemangos/status/1716804481558421712?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw Israeli Forces routinely violate Palestinian children’s rights in the Israeli military detention system https://x.com/dcipalestine/status/1727348433219178960?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw From a 2009 Israeli military order: “according to Israeli military orders in effect in the area, rain is the property of the Israeli authorities and thus

[This is a SAMPLE of my new Premium Miniseries, pls subscribe to the premium tiers via patreon.com/nicemangos to access the full episode] _______ For Episode 3 of The Global Far Right series, I was joined by German far-right/extremism researcher Miro Dittrich [@DittrichMiro on Twitter, mirod.bsky.social on BlueSky], co-founder and senior researcher at Cemas [cemas.io/en/] We talked about broad themes and split lines on the far-right, how Germany has the biggest non-English speaking QAnon movement in the world, the German ‘Sovereign Citizen’ movement, overlaps the German far-right had with the American one via QAnon Narratives, things like stolen election narratives….All that and more, here on episode 3! An enlightening…and frightening conversation.

This episode I was joined by Journalist and writer Parker Molloy [@Parkermolloy on Twitter] We discussed Free Speech ‘hero’ Elon, suing Media Matters, Ben Shapiro’s recent self-own of a movie “Lady Ballers”, the conflation of anti Zionism & anti semitism, various moral panics about the left, is TikTok really turning young leftists into Bin Laden Supporters? All that and more, right here. Check out Parker’s newsletter at: www.readtpa.com —— If you enjoy the show pls consider supporting via patreon.com/nicemangos and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

(This is a PREVIEW of Woking Up 10, the full episode is available via patreon.com/nicemangos) Brace yourselves for Sam & Eric pushing some of the worst talking points of the Israeli government without any scrutiny whatsoever. Join me as I break down their attempts to stereotype muslims and generalize them as tacitly endorsing religious extremism, in a time where there’s a very real cost to spreading such dangerous tropes and a very real campaign of violence/dehumanization ongoing against Palestinian muslims. If you enjoy the show please consider supporting via patreon and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify ——— Links The cursed thumbnail of Eric and Sam https://x.com/nicemangos/status/1716804481558421712?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw Israeli Forces routinely violate Palestinian children’s rights in the Israeli military detention system https://x.com/dcipalestine/status/1727348433219178960?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw From a 2009 Israeli military order: “according to Israeli military orders

This is Part 2 of a 2 part episode. If you haven’t yet listened to part 1 please check that out first. ⚠️CW: Discussions of extreme v!0l*nce and dehumanizing language —— We have seen both US & Israeli officials engage in dehumanizing eliminationist rhetoric over the past few weeks. We’ve seen western media engage in linguistic gymnastics every day to avoid accurately reporting what’s happening to Palestinians. Linguist Dr. Caitlin Green joins me to discuss this difficult subject. —— Links: Arab Muslim student struck in hit-and-run calls for love, compassion, from hospital bed https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/05/us/stanford-student-hit-run-over/index.html Stanford Chalk Students condemn lack of University action on Islamophobia as hate crime investigation continues over hit-and-run https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/04/students-condemn-lack-of-university-action-on-islamophobia-as-hate-crime-investigation-continues-over-hit-and-run/ Doxxing Truck https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/business/harvard-doxxing-truc