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Bad Takes — News
Bad Takes

Grid contributor Matthew Yglesias and his longtime editor, Laura McGann, Grid’s executive editor, discuss a take each week that’s gotten under their skin. They peel back the layers of the “bad take” to figure out what it tells us about American politics and policy.

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Latest Episodes:

How Joe Rogan bullied Matt into losing weight redux Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

Matt talks about the time podcast celebrity Joe Rogan shamed him about his weight on air. Matt and Laura then discuss their frustration with what’s missing on both sides of the obesity debate – a conversation about recent medical breakthroughs that could help a lot of people live healthier lives.

Suggested reads:

#1573 – Matthew Yglesias, The Joe Rogan Experience

Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong, Michael Hobbes @ The Huffington Post

After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight, Gina Kolata @ The New York Times

The lesson elites should have learned from Iraq Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Jacobin writer Branko Marcetic argues that elites learned nothing from the Iraq War. While Matt and Laura agree that this is a bad take, they point to glaring examples of what should have been learned but hasn’t. In fact, pack journalism and group mentality is getting worse.

Stop blaming DEI for bank failures like SVB Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

A Wall Street Journal writer argues diversity might have distracted Silicon Valley Bank executives from risk. Matt and Laura agree the bank got exactly what it wanted. But they disagree on whether the government should have let it fail.

Wokeness isn’t worse than covid Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

Description: Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley fired up a crowd at CPAC with a line Matt and Laura agree is a bad take. Covid-19 killed millions of people, and scientists fear worse viral pandemics could be on the horizon. More broadly, Matt argues, calling political opponents dangerous is bad for policy debate.

Traffic enforcement isn’t regressive Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

Matt’s critics say that ticketing and booting low-income drivers is unfair and doesn’t solve the problem of pedestrian injuries. Laura agrees with Matt that the evidence shows enforcing lower-level traffic infractions reduces the harms of speeding. And they throw in a complaint about Jeff Bezos.

The real reason liberal intellectuals don’t want Joe Biden to run again Feb 22, 2023

Show notes

Matt and Laura discuss a movement on the left to bench President Joe Biden and hold an open primary instead. If you’re a Democrat who wants to keep the White House, they agree this idea is a bad take. Matt points out that primaries are expensive and unpredictable. Laura notes that it would be weird to run a campaign against a president of your same party successfully.

Is all of our stuff actually getting worse? Feb 15, 2023

Show notes

Matt and Laura discuss whether all of our stuff is getting worse, an argument made in a recent article. They agree this is a bad take. Fast fashion is a hook for the piece, but the writer doesn’t critically assess fields of computers, batteries, energy, medicine and many others that she should have.

When did curing blindness become a bad thing? Feb 08, 2023

Show notes

A YouTube star paid for 1,000 blind people to be able to see and then aired their emotional post-op reactions. His critics argue blindness isn’t necessarily a “problem.” Laura and Matt call this a clear-cut bad take. It also misses the bigger point about access to revolutionary medical procedures.

Obesity is a real health problem Feb 01, 2023

Show notes

The fat acceptance movement argues that discrimination is the problem with obesity, not health. Matt and Laura dive into new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatricians rooted in research that shows obesity has real health consequences. They discuss the challenges of creating policy to prevent it in the first place.

The left vs. Zients, Biden’s new chief of staff Jan 25, 2023

Show notes

Zeints' background in business is fueling a revolving door debate.

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