Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2023-09-25
Books mentioned on #397 – Greg Lukianoff: Cancel Culture, Deplatforming, Censorship & Free Speech
Greg Lukianoff is a free speech advocate, first-amendment attorney, president of FIRE – Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind and a new book The Canceling of the American Mind.
Greg Lukianoff recommended Poison Ivy by Evan Mandery, and discussed So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, The origins of political order by Francis Fukuyama, and Woke Racism by John McWhorter. Lex Fridman discussed 1984 by George Orwell.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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So You've Been Publicly Shamed
So You've Been Publicly Shamed is a non-fiction book by Jon Ronson that investigates the devastating phenomenon of internet cancel culture and social media outrage.
Discussed“John Ronson wrote a book called, "So You've Been Publicly Shamed." It came out in 2015 already documenting this phenomena.”
Where to get it
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1984
1984 by George Orwell is a classic dystopian novel that explores totalitarianism, surveillance, state control, and the manipulation of truth.
Discussed“Is it legally possible to create extra protections for certain kinds of literature, like '1984' or similar works, to remain in the curriculum? Already, all literature is protected, I guess.”
Where to get it
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The origins of political order
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution is a sweeping historical and sociological study by Francis Fukuyama that examines how human societies have developed governing institutions, legal frameworks, and the modern state across millennia.
Discussed“Francis Fukuyama, the book that I'm reading right now, "The Origins of the Political Order" actually does this wonderful job of pointing out how we're not special in a variety of ways.”
Where to get it
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Woke Racism
Woke Racism by John McWhorter is a critical examination of contemporary social justice movements, arguing that a new dogmatic ideology functions similarly to a traditional religion and negatively impacts Black America.
Discussed“John McWhorter talked about having a reporter when he showed that he dissented from some of what he described as kind of like woke racism in his book "Woke Ideas."”
Where to get it
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Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy by Evan Mandery is a non-fiction book examining class privilege, admissions practices, and systemic inequities within elite higher education institutions.
Recommended“And there's a great book called "Poison Ivy" by Evan Mandery which I recommend to everybody.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (5) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“And he's the author of "Unlearning Liberty", co-author with Jonathan Haidt of "Coddling of the American Mind" and co-author with Rikki Schlott of a new book coming out in October that you should definitely pre-order now called "The Canceling of the American Mind"”
“And he's the author of "Unlearning Liberty", co-author with Jonathan Haidt of "Coddling of the American Mind" and co-author with Rikki Schlott of a new book coming out in October that you should definitely pre-order now called "The Canceling of the American Mind" which is a definitive accounting of the history, present and future of cancel culture.”
“And he's the author of "Unlearning Liberty", co-author with Jonathan Haidt of "Coddling of the American Mind" and co-author with Rikki Schlott of a new book coming out in October that you should definitely pre-order now called "The Canceling of the American Mind"”
“I wrote a book called "Freedom from Speech" in 2014 but it really was in 2017 when you started seeing this be directed at professors.”
“And I highly recommend if you're listening to this go pre-order the book now. When does it come out? - October 17th. - Okay, "The Canceling of the American Mind."”