Cancel Culture, Communication, & the Quest for Humanism | Steven Pinker with John Wood, Jr.

Professor Steven Pinker is on a mission to spread the good news of human progress. He asserts that human life, for all its problems, has overwhelmingly improved in recent generations. But how is the progress of humanity threatened by our inability to appreciate it? And how is that progress threatened by our inability to communicate respectfully with one another?

Professor Pinker (Enlightenment Now, The Better Angels of Our Nature) joins John Wood, Jr. to discuss polarization, cancel culture in the academy, his friendships with Noam Chomsky and Thomas Sowell, and how we can reason together toward a better future.

Twitter: @braverangels, @sapinker, @JohnRWoodJr

[williamjmccartan]

It's hard to build a house united, a lofty endeavor on your part. I've watched both of you for the last few years and a little bit longer with Dr. Pinker,

Very well done interview and it was great to hear the learning as you went along, your points were very well made considering it was on the fly, thank you John.

Those with less fortitude need every bit of help, it's good to have coherent thinkers delivering the correct message. When the world does develop the ability to communicate, it should be human centric communication.

What a road we'd be on then.

[thesocialexchangepodcast]

You're killing it! Thank you for these conversations.

[bud]

This is a great conversation! Keep up the great work John!!!

[Rorshacked]

Really enjoy your input, when you moderate between two speakers, and just your general mission John Wood. I wish you success and luck in your endeavors!

[karinak]

I would pay money to see a conversation between Sowell and Chomsky before they die

[clintwarren]

Keep up the good work. I appreciate you, your community and the value of your work.

[heikekranz]

Wonderful-political depolarization-what I encourage my students to think about as well as putting one's own ideas to the test. But then, human flourishing in and for progress and hope!

[petert]

John, you are a great guy doing hard work. Please work on your skills as an interviewer. Your parts of the interview can be exceedingly long and rambling. I sense a bit of de-moralization in your interviewees whenever you go off in response to their (comparatively short) statements. Please keep up the good work, but also give some thought to improving the quality of the dialogue you are producing.
Cheers

[cosmicmuffet]

Better angels and braver angels vs bitter angels and bickering angels.
Also, I just typed angel so many times it doesn't look like a word anymore.

[nuriagiralt]

Kudos on getting Pinker!
New subscriber.

[stevecaldwell]

I really like the content and guests. It’s a shame that the audience isn’t growing as fast as it could.

Perhaps if a few ten-to-twenty minute clips were also released, with the topic in the title (not in a clickbait way)? People who aren’t knowledgable on the content would tune in because it’s a low-cost opportunity. I think they’d subscribe.

[patricblake]

steven! perhaps its the lighting but the vitamin D available on that beautiful coastline backdrop needs you.

[MidWestCon]

Ughhh, John Wood talking for way too long. He needs to be able to get his points out more concisely. By the time he finishes talking the beginning of his point is lost.