Thanksgiving Q and A Special: Taiwan, Identity Politics, and Can Taylor Swift Order the Disorder?

Also Turkey Day message from Jason, call for Paid subscribers, and extra bonus content on the history of populism with Sean Wilentz

FIRSTLY HAPPY THANKSGIVING. My Favourite Holiday of the year!

Secondly, I am very Thankful for the audience we have built together over the last 15 months and for all of the great engagement we get from our listeners, so I have released this gratitude message also asking for your financial support:

Next, to celebrate Thanksgiving Alex Hall Hall and I have hosted an episode answering listener questions especially focusing on friends that I am thankful for… yup that is you (Kerry, Judy, Annabelle, Esther, Ellie, Claire all of whom got their questions answered.)

And yes, amidst post-election malaise and seasonal depression, Jason is thankful for the Mega-Ordering listeners who sent in their questions to his new address in a bunker underneath the hills of Hampstead (you can reach it by writing to him @ Disordershow@gmail.com). Esther asked ‘To what extent did the Dems actually pander to the woke agenda? Or is that just made up and trumped up by the Republicans since it helps them win points’; Annabelle in Atlanta, Georgia asks ‘Could Taylor Swift solve all the disorder?’ while Kerry in the Republic of Georgia asks ‘despite being from rural Vermont, I now feel these days like I barely know America. I do not understand Trump voters. How do we bridge this divide on a practical level?’

Jumping off from these prompts Alex and Jason cover myriad topics including: the potential for conflict between China and Taiwan, whether JD Vance could become President before 2028, the ways we can incorporate the lessons of behavioral economics into political decision-making, and the role of the transgender issue in the recent election campaign. Plus: the challenges for liberal elites in truly understanding Trump voters, if Taylor Swift and other celebrities actually helped or hurt the Dems, and why even in these dark days, we can remain optimistic about the potential success of a collective effort to preserve democracy.

Listen here on Apple Podcasts.

Or here on Spotify.

Subscribe to our Substack (and hopefully upgrade to paid to get our bonus content):

Learn more about the history of Thanksgiving: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thanksgiving-Day

And the Origins of Turkey (the bird and the name): https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/why-americans-call-turkey-turkey/383225/

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HISTORY OF LEFT AND RIGHT WING POPULISM IN THE USA

Learn about Left Wing populism from Bernie Sanders campaign manager and its potential in the USA now to counter right wing populism:

Now to express gratitude for the paid subscribers:

we are offering some uncut audio about the History of Populism in America featuring, Sean Wilentz (Professor of American History at Princeton University, author of ‘The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln’ and the widely acclaimed article for Rolling Stone Magazine ‘The Sedition of Donald Trump’)