Blocked and Reported

Latest Episodes:

Episode 20: Online Harassment Is Bad But Also People Are Extremely Disingenuous About It, And Other Observations Jul 11, 2020

Show notes

After Jesse bravely expresses an opinion that is likely to get him cancelled by Cancel Culture, and to potentially destroy the podcast entirely, the hosts, who are clearly hated by God Himself (of maybe... HERself??), devote almost the entire episode to Letter Discourse and Counter-Letter Discourse. The discussion mostly concerns the harassment of a Vox staffer, which Jesse contributed to and feels bad about, even as he is aggrieved at the unhinged-in-light-of-the-evidence Jesse Did It narrative that took over bluecheck Twitter earlier this week. What are individuals' responsibilities during online pileons? Will journalists ever stop being full of s**t with regard to which acts -- screencapping, quote-retweeting, mocking -- are and aren't considered harassment? In the closing segment, the hosts briefly discuss President Trump's interesting strategy of fighting for free speech and open academic inquiry by unleashing the federal government to investigate universities, as one does.

Show notes/Links:

Rough week for Jesse on Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=jesse%20singal&src=typed_query

(We said we would include links to the right-wing pieces and tweets bashing the Vox staffer mentioned in the podcast, but whoever wrote this summary began feeling guilty about doing so. If you search for her name and the name of the outlets mentioned, you will find it all -- we promise.)

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Patrons Only: Dread Letter Day Jul 08, 2020

Show notes

Katie and Jesse signed a letter that was published in Harper's! It's pretty basic but given Twitter's reaction you would have thought it was an excerpt from Mein Kampf. In today's episode, the hosts discuss why they signed the letter and run through some of the most unhinged and disingenuous reactions to it, discovering, in the process, that one of the letter's loudest critics tried to get them both fired. Katie also asks Jesse about the time he reported a fellow journalist to her boss, and the two hosts work through whether this is different from the behavior they themselves are complaining about. Also: Jesse's trajectory on the even more emotionally charged question of cargo shorts.

Show notes/Links:

Harper's: A Letter on Justice and Open Debate - https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/

Jesse's too numerous and Mad Online tweets about the response to the letter:

-on Matt Yglesias getting reported by a colleague for wrongthink: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1280603481531912192

-on one of the letter critics publicly calling for him to get fired: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1280577317421625346

-on someone literally editing the letter to make it offensive: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1280666236754579458

Medium: Katelyn Burns Fabricated Several Exchanges With Me That Never Occurred (archived version) - http://archive.is/UEsMj

(current version, without screenshot-proof for reasons explained at the top, here: https://medium.com/@jesse.singal/so-about-that-katelyn-burns-thread-58c736647bc9)

Medium: A (Hopefully) Final Update On This Katelyn Burns Thing (Updated) - https://medium.com/@jesse.singal/a-hopefully-final-update-on-this-katelyn-burns-thing-da17730e13aa

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Episode 19: The Pod Gets Into Its First Beef, Shitty Media Men List Developments, And Stop Lying About Your Online Enemies Jul 04, 2020

Show notes

The gang celebrates July 4th by barely mentioning it. Instead, Jesse and Katie talk about Blocked and Reported's arguably FIRST EVER beef, which involves a very sensitive staffer at The New Republic. Then they relay two real corrections and one fake one from previous episodes, talk about the increasing possibility, in light of a new court decision, that at least one contributor to the Shitty Media Men list will be 'unmasked,' and discuss a thoughtful essay on what it feels like to be at the bottom of a Twitter pileon. Plus: Jesse finally addresses the rumors that have been haunting him about his relationship with certain New England horses.

Soundcloud: The offending clip from our segment on Online Validiy Discourse - https://soundcloud.com/josephine-livingstone/blocked-reported-clip

Blocked and Reported: Episode 5 - Katie And Jesse Decide Who Is Valid - https://barpodcast.fireside.fm/5

Snopes: Did Merriam-Webster Update Its Definition of ‘Racism’ To Say Only White People Are Racist? - https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/merriam-webster-definition-racism/

The Volokh Conspiracy: “Shitty Media Men” List Libel Lawsuit Can Go Forward - https://reason.com/2020/07/02/shitty-media-men-list-libel-lawsuit-can-go-forward/

The Stranger: Anonymous UW Students Publish Rape Accusations Online. What Could Go Wrong? - https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/10/09/33615110/anonymous-uw-students-publish-rape-accusations-online-what-could-go-wrong

Quillette: How An Anonymous Accusation Derailed My Life - https://quillette.com/2018/09/25/how-an-anonymous-accusation-derailed-my-life/

Medium: Hi, I’m on the Shitty Media Men list, but maybe you already knew that - https://medium.com/@mike_tunison/hi-im-on-the-shitty-media-men-list-but-maybe-you-already-knew-that-f446aed1f93b

Medium: Katelyn Burns Fabricated Several Exchanges With Me That Never Occurred (archived version) - http://archive.is/UEsMj

(current version, without screenshot-proof for reasons explained at the top, here: https://medium.com/@jesse.singal/so-about-that-katelyn-burns-thread-58c736647bc9)

Medium: A (Hopefully) Final Update On This Katelyn Burns Thing (Updated) - https://medium.com/@jesse.singal/a-hopefully-final-update-on-this-katelyn-burns-thing-da17730e13aa

Singal-Minded: Nicole Cliffe Is A Poor Choice Of #MeToo Moral Guardian - https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/nicole-cliffe-is-a-poor-choice-of

The Critic: The eye of the storm: https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/july-august-2020/the-eye-of-the-storm/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Bonus Interview: Yascha Mounk On The Importance Of Defending Liberalism, Unjust Firings, And More Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

Jesse interviews Yascha Mounk about the threats liberalism is facing from both the left and the right, and Yascha introduces a new platform he is launching to help stem the tide. The duo also discuss Yascha's great but infuriating article in The Atlantic, "Stop Firing the Innocent," the origins of the gender wage gap, antifa, the racial politics of police reform, and more. Make sure to check out persuasion.community, which should be live by the time you read this.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Episode 18: A Reckoning Is Afoot, A Rattled Rationalist, A False Karening, And A Troubled Liberal Enclave Jun 27, 2020

Show notes

A reckoning is afoot, as Jesse finally confronts Katie over her abusive managerial style. After the hosts get that out of the way, they proceed into a discussion about The New York Times' decision to publish the famed rationalist blogger Scott Alexander's full name -- and the rather effective-seeming countermeasure Alexander pulled in response. Then they move onto a broader conversation about journalistic ethics with regard to naming subjects against their will, and Katie talks about the time she was publicly shamed for trying to defend someone against a public shaming. In the second segment, the hosts discuss a New York Times story about a Minneapolis neighborhood's difficulties living up to its stated values, and, by working through about their own views about when to call the police, establish the podcast's formal Cop Policy.

Show notes/Links:

Amazon: The AI Does Not Hate You: Superintelligence, Rationality and the Race to Save the World by Tom Chivers - https://www.amazon.com/Does-Not-Hate-You-Superintelligence-ebook/dp/B07K258VCV

Slate Star Codex: NYT Is Threatening My Safety By Revealing My Real Name, So I Am Deleting The Blog - https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/22/nyt-is-threatening-my-safety-by-revealing-my-real-name-so-i-am-deleting-the-blog/

Slate Star Codex (archive): I Can Tolerate Anything Except For The Outgroup - http://archive.is/https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything-except-the-outgroup/

Twitter: @keikoinboston on Karlos Dillard's scam: https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1276780086545592320

The New York Times: A Minneapolis Neighborhood Vowed to Check Its Privilege. It’s Already Being Tested. - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/us/minneapolis-george-floyd-police.html

Slate Star Codex (archive): Sort by Controversial - http://archive.is/https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/10/30/sort-by-controversial/

The Stranger: A Slur, a Suicide Attempt, and Guns Akimbo - https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/02/25/42967202/a-slur-a-suicide-attempt-and-guns-akimbo

Amazon: Self-Care: A Novel by Leigh Stein - https://www.amazon.com/Self-Care-Novel-Leigh-Stein/dp/0143135198/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Eventbrite: EXTREMELY ONLINE conversation for SELF CARE - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/extremely-online-conversation-for-self-care-tickets-109886766276

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

BONUS: Here's Our Interview With Jeremiah Johnson Of The Neoliberal Project Jun 25, 2020

Show notes

If you develop severe physical symptoms whenever you go more than a day without hearing fresh content that includes Katie's and Jesse's voices, you're in luck: Here's an interview the hosts did with Jeremiah Johnson of The Neoliberal Project (here's his Twitter account) which Johnson generously shared (it's also up on his own organization's Patreon page). It was a pretty wide-ranging discussion -- in addition to covering the David Shor firing and Washington Post blackface article, the trio also discussed cancel culture more broadly, the difference between real activism and online slacktivism, and the question of what standards tech companies should use for determining who to deplatform.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Bonus Interview: "What a stupid f*cking way to have a really important conversation": Reflections On A Yearlong White Fragility Training Jun 20, 2020

Show notes

If hearing Jesse and Katie dig around in the strange innards of "White Fragility" wasn't enough Robin DiAngelo for you, have we got the thing: an interview Katie conducted with a woman whose former company, throw into disarray by a racial microaggression, brought in DiAngelo to conduct a full year's worth of antiracism training, complete with (unpaid) homework. It went.... strangely, and at one point involved allegations of subconscious swastikas.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Episode 17: "White Fragility" Is A Completely Bizarre And Pernicious Book And It's A Terrible Sign That So Many Americans Love It Jun 20, 2020

Show notes

(UPDATE, 6/21/2020: Replaced the original file with one that has a new intro from Katie about some violence that took place in the CHAZ. This is the version we'll be posting on the free feed tomorrow, but everything is otherwise identical. -Jesse)

In the intro, Katie regales Jesse with tales from the CHAZ. Then, in part because Jesse is obsessed and desperately needs to get a lot of vitriol surrounding this subject out of his system, the deeply masochistic hosts devote the entire rest of the episode to a dissection of one of the strangest books you will ever read about race, Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility." Does Robin DiAngelo know any black people who aren't antiracist educators? Or any other humans in general? What are the details of her segregated-crying policy? Are there better explanations than "white fragility" for why someone dragged into a mandatory training at work and called racist by a weird lady might respond negatively to such an experience? So many questions! (CORRECTION: In this episode we wrongly state that a definition of 'racism' favored by DiAngelo was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. As Snopes explains, this is not the case: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/merriam-webster-definition-racism/.)

New Yorker: The Fight To Redefine Racism - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/19/the-fight-to-redefine-racism

Chapo Trap House: No Crying In Raceball - https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/428-no-crying-in-raceball-feat-jen-pan-61520

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Episode 16: The Cancellations Will Continue Until Antiracism Improves Jun 14, 2020

Show notes

The roiling tremors on the left continue, as a young progressive data analyst gets fired for... it's honestly too ridiculous to even type, and the Poetry Foundation shows us what a truly hysterical meltdown looks like. The hosts use their intellect and savvy to try to understand the difference between two 'violent' acts: "kneeling on someone's neck until they die horrifically" and "issuing a statement that isn't quite strong enough." Everything is insane right now. And violent.

NOTE: Since you are a patron, you already have access to a longer cut of the Ben Burgis interview that plays after the outro music of this episode. And the J.K. Rowling patrons-only episode will be up by noon, Eastern time on Sunday, June 14th.

Jonathan Chait: The Still-Vital Case for Liberalism in a Radical Age (NY Mag) - https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/case-for-liberalism-tom-cotton-new-york-times-james-bennet.html

Kyle Smith: Insanity at the Poetry Foundation (National Review) - https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/06/insanity-at-the-poetry-foundation/

Ben Burgis: Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left - https://www.amazon.com/Give-Them-Argument-Logic-Left/dp/1789042100/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

Episode 14: Bari Weiss Is Right Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

Bari Weiss did some tweets about how there is a generational divide at The New York Times that is, in her view, hampering the paper's ability to publish quality commentary and journalism. In response, a sizable cohort of her colleagues LITERALLY devoured her (metaphorically, on Twitter). In their most frustrated episode yet, Katie and Jesse explain why Bari was fundamentally right. That doesn't mean her framing was perfect ('safetyism' isn't exactly the problem here), but, as the hosts argue, the fact that so many journalists think Bari is making this up is pretty insane given the rampant evidence for it. The problem is that the people who don't think there's a problem are the same people no one affected by these dynamics would ever, ever confide in. Along the way the hosts talk about their own experiences with an issue that is getting worse by the day: the most hysterical and dishonest journalists on Twitter effectively dictating editors' decisions about what stories to assign and what subjects to cover. Also, Katie talks about her struggle session at a Seattle rooftop bar and Jesse makes the case for converting Blocked and Reported into a full-blown scammy cult.

Bari Weiss's tweetstorm - https://twitter.com/bariweiss/status/1268628680797978625

Katie's article "The Detransitioners: They Were Transgender, Until They Weren't" - https://www.thestranger.com/features/2017/06/28/25252342/the-detransitioners-they-were-transgender-until-they-werent

Jesse's article "When Children Say They're Transgender" - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/when-a-child-says-shes-trans/561749/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe

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