Polite Conversations

Latest Episodes:

Episode 17 - Sam Harris Nov 07, 2016

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DISCLAIMER: This is an old episode, my views on Sam Harris and his politics have changed quite a bit since this conversation...partially because of how telling this convo was. For more recent views on Sam check out my recent episodes on him, or my miniseries #WokingUp-----Last Friday, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sam Harris! We had an excellent, robust discussion on a variety of topics. We didn’t necessarily agree on everything, but even in disagreement Sam is an absolute pleasure to speak with. I admire his integrity, intellectual honesty and willingness to engage in difficult conversations. ***Below are some links to references we made in the conversation: Open Letter to Sam http://nicemangos.blogspot.ca/2016/01/open-letter-to-sam-harris.htmlOpen Letter to Ben Affleck http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2014/10/25/comment/an-open-letter-to-ben-affleck/My Chacha (uncle) is Gay - children’s book https://www.buzzfeed.com/imaansheikh/pakistans-first-childrens-book-on-lgbtqPegida objects to Kinder using faces of black and Middle Eastern children on its chocolate wrappershttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/25/pegida-objects-to-kinder-using-faces-of-black-and-middle-eastern/Photograph of Germany’s Pegida leader styled as Adolf Hitler goes viralhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/21/pegida-leader-styled-adolf-hitler-lutz-bachmann-german-islamist-terrorists-facebookCensus That revealed a troubling future - Douglas Murray http://standpointmag.co.uk/node/4868/fullMy fellow atheists, it’s time we admitted that religion has some points in its favour - Douglas Murrayhttp://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/02/call-off-the-faith-wars/Douglas Murray - Was Enoch Powell Right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxnSPgdGW4sWhat are we to do about Islam? Speech by Douglas Murray at the Pim Fortuyn Memorial Conference 2006 http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/1712 chat with Tommy Robinson http://www.gspellchecker.com/2014/10/ep34-eiynah-tommy-robinson/ https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2015/05/04/thousands-of-parents-keep-kids-home-from-school-in-sex-ed-protest.htmlThousands of parents kept their children home from school on Monday in protest of the Ontario government’s new sex-ed curriculum.My interview on CBC radio: Speaking up for unheard Muslim and ex-Muslim voices: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/unheard-muslim-voices-banning-dangerous-dogs-and-a-plea-for-plain-language-1.3393360/speaking-up-for-unheard-muslim-and-ex-muslim-voices-1.3394359A heartbreaking and important film by Deeyah Khan about the grave dangers of cultural relativismBanaz : A love Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VepuyvhHYdMConvo W Maryam: https://soundcloud.com/politeconversations/1-maryam-namazieConvo with John Semley: https://soundcloud.com/politeconversations/episode-4-john-semley-is-charlie-hebdo-racistiTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/polite-conversations/id1086199663?mt=2If you'd like to support the show, you can do so via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/nicemangos

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Episode 16 - Halloween Special with Lucien Greaves of The Satanic Temple Oct 31, 2016

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For this episode, the co founder of The Satanic Temple returns to the show for a discussion about offensive halloween costumes, cultural appropriation, whether pumpkins have anything to do with white privilege...Satanic cultural identity, conspiracy theory culture in america vs. muslim world (even though, sadly, anti semitic conspiracy theories are common place among muslims i haven't come across an 'infowars' type conspiracy *culture*....)Anyhoo, 'tis my absolute favourite time of the year! Hope you enjoy this episode.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting via patreon: https://www.patreon.com/nicemangosLinks:Dreadlocks on campus: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/31/can-a-white-guy-have-dreadlocks-this-puzzling-viral-video-wades-into-the-politics-of-black-hair/Trump can't quote bible verse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10qbt0LHmvETrump botches bible verse at christian school : http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/trump-made-such-an-embarrassing-mistake-about-the-bible-it-did-this-all-day/Perilous Whiteness of Pumpkins paper: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2373566X.2015.1099421Milo in native american costume: http://www.inquisitr.com/2972423/breitbarts-milo-yiannopoulos-to-flame-yale-university-cultural-appropriation-debate-by-speaking-in-full-native-american-costume/University of Florida statement: http://gatortimes.ufl.edu/2016/10/10/halloween-costume-choices-4/

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Episode 15 - Michael Sherlock: opposing tribes & "befriending bigots" Sep 23, 2016

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[Sorry for all the sound effects. Michael's neighbours were drilling and hammering, I was recording in my basement for the first (and last) time..where it turns out the mic picks up the sound of water going through the pipes] ****Here's my chat with Michael Sherlock - activist, atheist, author. We delved into some pretty interesting conversations....about 'befriending' bigots...jihadists..islamists...kkk members...people on the far right. Where do we draw the line on who we can and can't consider a 'friend'?We talk in some depth about BLM, Milo, Tommy Robinson, touch on Michael's stepping down from Vive Charlie (far-rightish leaning "atheist" magazine)...we discuss his views on Maryam Namazie, who's kind of become a controversial figure among many atheists. Enjoy! Show notes and references:BLM: http://www.dailywire.com/news/4729/toronto-black-lives-matter-co-founder-allah-give-harry-khachatrian#modalhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/pride-parade-toronto-1.3662823Tommy Robinson:When Tommy met Mo (Documentary)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGLuEhAkpaISexist, body shaming tweet to Maryam: https://twitter.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/696437489289031684Tweet about deporting:https://twitter.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/693900260318564352White Rights RT: https://twitter.com/NiceMangos/status/656201528517218304White Genocide (seems the tweet has now been deleted) https://twitter.com/sunny_hundal/status/734686108437643264"Throwing Quilliam under the bus: "I used Quilliam, Quilliam used me"https://twitter.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/673603729942290433article: Robinson claims Quilliam paid him to quit EDL http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/12/03/tommy-robinson-claims-quilliam-paid-him-to-leave-edl_n_8710834.html?1449244376&Tommy Jailed for Fraud:http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-25862838False Passport:http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-20935502["Lennon (Tommy) was jailed for assault in 2005 and also has convictions for drugs offences and public order offences, the court heard.]Link to GS Podcast: http://www.gspellchecker.com/2014/10/ep34-eiynah-tommy-robinson/Paul Weston (Co leader of Pegida UK [Tommy's current group]) on preventing white genocide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsjc5CVujrMVive Charlie:Michael steps down: https://twitter.com/sherlockmichael/status/705021513062227968Joe tweets denigrating, sexist cartoon of Maryam: https://twitter.com/JihadistJoe/status/704760002569830400 A post I wrote about Jihadist Joe/Vive Charlie last year : http://nicemangos.blogspot.ca/2015/08/jihadist-joe-vive-charlie-islam.html?zx=a544e790af22efa0---Aasia Bibi case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Bibi_blasphemy_case-----------Michael's Crowdfunding page for his research https://www.gofundme.com/2sebg944 --------Please consider supporting this podcast via patreon.com/nicemangos

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PC Panel Discssion 3 - The Burkini/hijab/niqab debate Sep 01, 2016

Show notes

What happens when four women of Muslim background with varied opinions discuss Islamic modesty clothing? Fireworks! Join Me, Sarah Haider (co-founder of Ex Muslims of North America), Hoda Katebi (Muslim Iranian fashion blogger), Hala Arafa (former newscaster/news editor at Voice of America, Arabic branch) for this wonderful, passionate and intellectually diverse discussion.Please note that there were a million points being thrown out per minute (slight exaggeration), so at times it was hard to get a word in, and as a result not everything was challenged or discussed in detail. In fact, out of my list of things I wanted to discuss I think we only got through 1/10th of the topics! I had been trying to organize this panel for almost a month now, but couldn't find someone who also wears hijab willing to speak to me. -__- But it finally happened. hope you will enjoy this discussion as much as I did. Follow: @SarahTheHaider@HodaKatebi@HalaArafa1---------If you enjoyed this show, please consider supporting it patreon.com/nicemangosDon't forget to like, share, subscribe, comment!

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Non Conference Speech - Reclaiming the Left : The space between Terror & Trump Aug 14, 2016

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I spoke via skype at the non conference on Saturday Aug 13th. The audio was a bit unclear so I re-recorded it on my end, for those who wanted to hear.

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Episode 14 - Ex Zoroastrian Priest Aug 09, 2016

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"Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions. It was founded by the Prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran approximately 3500 years ago." (BBC)Join me as I speak to a former member, Zubin Madon, of a rarely heard about religion. In India and Pakistan they are a small and mysterious, dwindling community. We discuss how the religion has evolved over the years, the openness that reform has brought (psst..Islam, take some notes), how this community came to be in India/Pakistan, the reasons their population is declining, some bizarre, fascinating traditions involving "The Tower of Silence" and ... *vultures*. We talk Marriage, menstruation, IVF and Freddie Mercury. Links to articles mentioned in the podcast: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/zubin-madon/terror-has-no-religion-a-_b_10793300.htmlWhy does everyone want to silence ex Muslims? http://www.huffingtonpost.in/zubin-madon/why-does-everyone-want-to-silence-ex-muslims/Also mentioned in the podcast is Reason On Faith's excellent blogpost about my Polite Conversation with Tarek Fatah: http://reasononfaith.org/polite-conversations-tarek-fatah/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/es/podcast/polite-conversations/id1086199663?l=en&mt=2#episodeGuid=tag%3Asoundcloud%2C2010%3Atracks%2F270328815You can support Polite Conversations here: https://www.patreon.com/nicemangos

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PC Panel Discussion 2 - Freedom of Speech & Social Media Bans Jul 26, 2016

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A panel discussion with @westerspace and @elibosnick regarding the recent Milo ban from Twitter. Pls consider supporting the show via Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/nicemangosiTunes:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/polite-conversations/id1086199663?l=en&mt=2#episodeGuid=tag%3Asoundcloud%2C2010%3Atracks%2F269208778

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Episode 13 - Lucien Greaves Cofounder & spokesperson for The Satanic Temple Jul 25, 2016

Show notes

After the last couple of episodes being stressful and debate-y, what could be better than a cute, fluffy episode on Satanism?

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Episode 12 (part 2): Tarek Fatah Jul 16, 2016

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At the end of the podcast there are a few Urdu words, loose translation:Tarek: Go find your (future) kids a 'white school' - oh but all schools here (in Canada) are whiteMe: Oh yeah ... all schools here are white... whatever should i do now (sarcasm)Him: Is there anything left? (to talk about)Me: Whats left? Nothing. Tell me, do you at least now believe i'm a Pakistani woman?Him: Yes, yes I believe that.Me: Excellent. [Hopefully that will put all my, "Eiynah is probably a white man" trolls to rest]Anyhoo, if its possible, i think this convo is more bizarre than the last. We discuss Tarek self Id-ing as muslim, whether Pakistanis are comparable to racists and nazis, how my parents and Ali Rizvi's parents are supposedly genocide supporters (because Pakistani). His pro India/Hinduism bias....and... beef. link to Part 1: https://soundcloud.com/politeconversations/episode-12-part-1-tarek-fatah---sorry there were some tech difficulties with the sound.. first ten minutes u might hear a slight echo in places. My apologies. If you want to help this podcast grow, please consider supporting via patreon https://www.patreon.com/nicemangos (or PayPal)

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Episode 12 (part 1): Tarek Fatah Jul 06, 2016

Show notes

Tarek and I may agree on the basic fact that Islamism is a huge problem, that isn’t adequately being addressed….you’ll quickly see we disagree on many things as well. Starting from the weather :P But in more seriousness, I am a harsh critic of Islam, who is not a fan of generalizations against Muslims. I may be mistaken, but it seems to me that Tarek defends Islam, Mohammed while generalizing Muslims. The inverse of “attack ideas, not people” ….whut?….Join me as I try to understand….We discuss whether backyards are a Western phenomenon, the ‘White’ route to atheism, Trump vs. Clinton, Orlando, whether Ex-Muslims are worth your time or not....and much more. Links mentioned in the podcast: CFI panel for Avijit Roy : https://plus.google.com/events/cg3q333nkp1q15lbet77moqs6hg @ 53:30 minSabeen Mahmud blogpost: http://nicemangos.blogspot.ca/2015/04/sabeen.html?zx=dfde74bf03e45572Note: this Podcast was recorded a few weeks ago. Please consider supporting the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/nicemangosPart 2 Available here: https://soundcloud.com/politeconversations/episode-12-part-2-tarek-fatah

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