Episode 31 - Unsettling Opinions with Osita Nwanevu

Hello and welcome to episode 31 of Diversity Hire. Today’s guest was Osita Nwanevu a staff writer at The New Republic. We talked about why we are all sick of talking about cancel culture, the shitty incentives of the online writing economy, reactionary liberals, the ups-and-downs of elite media, and much more. Kevin and Arjun also talk about one podcast host’s grievous injury and why you should go to urgent care when you get hurt. Thanks for listening! * Arjun & Kevin talk about Arjun’s finger injury and mid-century modern furniture. (0:00) * Osita Nwanevu walks us through his career timeline (11:00) * Osita on his political evolution (16:25) * Osita on the influence of 2010s policy political blogs (21:00) * Osita on Substack, platforms, and the rise of reactionary liberalism (22:00) (re: The Willful Blindness of Reactionary Liberalism, The New Republic) * Osita on the echo chamber of the commentariat. (re: It’s Time to Stop Yammering About Liberal Bias, Slate) (25:55) * Osita on the pitfalls of the freedom of speech beat and campus politics. (29:00) (re: Political Writings, Harpers) * Osita on the loosening grip of the anti-woke commentariat on public opinion. (38:30) * Osita on what the elite media can offer and what it cannot. (41:30) * Osita on Rick MacArthur’s soft ball game (47:00) * Osita on how his own politics have functioned in his various media workplaces. (49:30) * Osita on the terrible incentives of the online writing economy (53:00) * Osita on the value of debate (59:00) * Arjun’s Feelings Don’t Care About Facts Corner (1:00:02) * The Diversity Tribunal (1:00:13) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com