In this episode, I begin by remembering the souls who passed on 9/11, and move on to talk about the horrific rise of assassination culture and murder as spectacle, with the recent murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Regardless of what your politics are, we should all be horrified and upset that someone was gunned down - intentionally - for exercising their right to free speech, basically for having even-handed, logical, calm debates with opposing parties out in public. Diversity of thought is foundational to a functioning and healthy democracy; we are all at risk when it becomes commonplace for public intellectuals to get assassinated for their speech. I also talk about grievance culture on the far left, as well as the emotional and intellectual fragility that would cause people to wish to (and justify) lashing out violently against those they disagree with. A heavy but important episode for people of all political persuasions.

Read More