Conversations with Coleman

Latest Episodes:

The Bipartisan Assault on Free Speech w/ Greg Lukianoff Aug 25, 2025

Show notes

Greg Lukianoff is an attorney, author, and president of FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. You may know him from his previous books, The Coddling of the American Mind and The Canceling of the American Mind. His latest book, which was published earlier this summer, is The War on Words, Ten Arguments Against Free Speech—and Why They Fail.

In this episode, we get into why Lukianoff is nota free speech absolutist, how October 7 shifted the campus speech debate, and where protest crosses the line into illegality. We also touch on the rights of visa and green card holders, President Donald Trump’s intimidation tactics, and the troubling free speech climate in the UK.

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Buy tickets for The Free Press Pittsburgh Debate on September 10th here:
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How Sensitivity Readers Made Publishing More Racist w/Adam Szetela Aug 18, 2025

Show notes

This week on Conversations with Coleman, I’m joined by writer and cultural critic Adam Szetela, author of That Book Is Dangerous!, a trenchant look at how moral panic, social media, and identity-driven outrage are reshaping the publishing industry. We discuss the rise of so-called sensitivity readers who vet books to ensure they are as inoffensive as possible, and how an obsession with controlling representation of minorities is narrowing creative freedom and silencing risk-taking voices. Adam argues that in trying to avoid stereotypes, the industry may be reinforcing a subtle form of racism, one that flattens characters into symbols instead of portraying them as fully human.

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Coleman Hughes Special: Candace Owens, Brigitte Macron & Our Age of Conspiracy Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

I watched the eight-hour series on the French First Lady by podcaster Candace Owens, so you don't have to. It’s a fascinating window into a mind gripped by extreme apophenia: the tendency to see patterns where none exist.

So just how and why did Candace Owens spread this lie?

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How to Avoid the Partisan Trap Even at The Washington Post w/ Megan McArdle Aug 11, 2025

Show notes

You might think you know what a Washington Post columnist sounds like, but Megan McArdle is not your typical liberal media voice. She’s spent years inside the most established outlets in journalism: The Atlantic, Bloomberg, The Economist and yet she’s managed to surprise and infuriate readers on the left with sharp critiques that don’t always toe the party line.

Today on Conversations we talk about why progressives often get economic policy wrong and the real mess behind America’s broken healthcare system. Megan makes a solid pitch for why Americans should continue to have a private system. Megan and I get into it about insurance companies, pharmaceutical giants, and where the incentives in healthcare are completely backwards . . . and, believe it or not, where they actually work.

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Coleman Hughes Special: Israel, Hamas & the Myth of Moral Equivalence Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

In this special episode, I take on probably the most controversial and emotionally fraught topic of the moment: the Israel-Hamas conflict.

I think war crimes have been committed on both sides. But that doesn’t mean I think the two sides are morally equivalent. Today, I argue that there’s a fundamental asymmetry between Israel and Hamas, one that’s too often blurred or ignored by the mainstream media. Israel’s actions, while sometimes flawed or tragic in consequence, are ultimately rooted in a defensive logic.

Hamas, on the other hand, has explicitly genocidal goals. But where does that leave us when we see images of children starving and hear reports that Israel is responsible?

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Hollywood's Death By Algorithm w/ Justine Bateman Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

Filmmaker and digital rights activist Justine Bateman joins me for a conversation on how AI is warping Hollywood and why the content we consume feels increasingly hollow. We dive into the decline of originality, the studios' addiction to algorithms, and how the “double-screen” era (watching while scrolling) has rewired audience expectations, pushing creators toward louder, faster, and shallower stories. Can art survive the attention economy?

A special thanks to our sponsors:

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Do The Democrats Really Need ‘Their Own Trump’ To Win? w/ Galen Druke Jul 21, 2025

Show notes

This week I sat down with political analyst Galen Druke to talk about what actually moves public opinion and shifts voter behavior. We got into why some people viewed Donald Trump as the more moderate choice in 2016, what that says about how voters think, and how Democrats might get back into the national conversation in a real way. We also talked about how polls work, when they matter, and what they often miss about what voters actually care about.

A special thanks to our sponsors:

Go to groundnews.com/Coleman to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on today’s biggest news stories.

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Can You Marry Across the Religious Divide? w/ Josh Hammer Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

Josh Hammer is the author of Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West.Hejoins me to explore the big stuff: God, geopolitics, Zionism, the future of the U.S. We also get into the complexities of interfaith marriage and the role of religion in modern culture. The conversation delves into the challenges and nuances of maintaining religious and ethnic continuity in a modern, pluralistic society.

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Eric Adams to Cuomo: ‘Get Out’ and Let Me Beat Mamdani Jul 08, 2025

Show notes

New York City’s mayor on Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo; socialism and corruption; policing and power; rats and redemption.

New York City mayor Eric Adams has had a controversial time in office. So why should New Yorkers trust him for another four years?

In this episode, we talk about Adams’ criticisms of Zohran Mamdani, his call to Andrew Cuomo to step aside, and yes: rats, e-bikes, and trash.

Adams also opens up about the police beating him as a teen, and how that moment shaped his life in law enforcement and politics.

A special thanks to our sponsors:

Go to groundnews.com/Coleman to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on today’s biggest news stories.

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The Secret To A Fulfilling Life (Backed by Science) w/ Arthur Brooks Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

I’m joined this week by someone who asks questions maybe all of us don’t ask enough: How do we become happier? And how do we date people we disagree with? And maybe most importantly: Why do people feel they are living lives without meaning? And how do we solve this?

My guest is Arthur C. Brooks, a Harvard professor, a best-selling author, a social scientist, and a co-author (with Oprah, no less) of Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier. Arthur has spent decades studying the science of human flourishing, and this conversation turned out to be one of the most personal I’ve had on the show . . .think live therapy session. I hope you enjoy it.

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