Show Notes
Is there really a loneliness crisis?
Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias read Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, the 2000 classic that diagnosed America's collapse in community life. They argue about how bad the loneliness problem really is today, and whether Putnam's diagnosis about the loss of associational life actually holds up. They also get into Putnam's uneasiness about telling people to go to church, whether social capital really explains crime and civic health, what happened to the arguments the left already won, how much television and phones are to blame, and more. (00:00) Why we're reading Bowling Alone in 2026 (05:14) Bowling alone is more concerned about church attendance (12:08) Does social capital explain anything? (17:00) Television, the internet, and the usual suspects (27:26) How American associational life reorganized (36:53) Has cooperation actually declined? (43:57) Voting, civic engagement, and what counts (55:57) The arguments the left already won (01:05:21) Why do young people who are doing fine feel so bad? (01:12:58) "Get off your phones" and other bad prescriptions Support the Show: Get a full transcript, show notes, and an ad-free version: TheArgumentMag.com New episodes every Thursday—subscribe so you never miss a debate! The Argument is produced by Justin Zuckerman, fact-checked by Eli Richman, with music by Breakmaster Cylinder and art by Ben Tousley.
More from The Argument
Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias debate which historical figures deserve to be canceled and which shouldn’t have been. With the Trump administration pushing to restore statues of figures removed during the “Great Wokening,” they ask what a statue, a holiday, or a name on a school is actually for. Jerusalem lays out her test: why we honor someone and whether their cruelty is the main thing they’re remembered for. Matt argues the bigger problem is that we undercommemorate people, and that we should want more statues, not fewer. Plus, a peer review on whether machine learning can predict who will be shot, and how much power the government should have to use that data. (0:00) Who deserves to be canceled? (1:30) Why Matt wants more statues, not fewer (3:43) Jerusalem’s test for canceling a historical figure (9:04) Should we cancel Columbus Day? (11:24) The Cesar Chavez cancellation (19:46) Robert E. Lee and the myth of the Lost Cause (28:08) Cancel Paul Ehrlich of The Population Bomb (39:07) Uncanceling Flannery O’Connor (48:35) Uncanceling Thomas Jefferson (59:27) Peer Review: Can AI predict who will be shot? Support the Show: Get a full transcript, show notes, and an ad-free version: TheArgumentMag.com
ChinaTalk's Jordan Schneider joins Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias to compare how the U.S. and China are approaching artificial intelligence. They dive into the Trump-Xi summit, whether AI will change how politicians govern, and the limits of what Chinese AI models are allowed to say. They also discuss the gap in public opinion: why do so many people in China have positive expectations for AI while Americans are dooming? Plus, a peer review on how childhood neighbors shape the careers we choose. (0:00) AI, China, and the Trump-Xi summit (3:50) Will AI replace politicians? (8:26) Grok, DeepSeek, and who controls AI (12:09) Can AI save Congress? (22:25) Asking DeepSeek about Chinese Democracy (26:45) Does AI break the development ladder? (31:13) Why China is more optimistic about AI than America (54:37) Corruption in China vs. the U.S. (1:06:17) Why the White House wants to rebrand AI as "superintelligence" (1:10:50) Peer Review: Do childhood neighbors shape your career? Support the Show: Get a full transcript, show notes, and an ad-free version: TheArgumentMag.com
How can Europe's liberals stop the far-right? Matt Yglesias and Jerusalem Demsas debate the far right's rise in Germany, France, and beyond, and whether Europe's mainstream parties mishandled immigration and opened the door for the AfD and Marine Le Pen. They get into what Sweden and Denmark got right on integration, why deportations and asylum deterrence are so hard, whether liberals should ever govern with the far right, and why Europe's strange aversion to air conditioning is a gift to populists. Plus a peer review on whether having more kids pushes mothers into remote work. (00:00) Are liberals losing Europe? (6:24) Magna Carta, freedom of movement, and immigration (14:05) Dril tweets and the sane-washing dilemma (20:29) Should liberals give into populist demands? (28:14) Joe Biden, deportations, and asylum (31:47) Libya, the Mediterranean, and deterrence (41:02) What Sweden and Denmark got right (48:20) France, the UK, and air conditioning (52:02) Peer Review: moms and remote work Support the Show: Get a full transcript, show notes, and an ad-free version: TheArgumentMag.com
Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias debate whether artificial intelligence poses an existential risk to human civilization, or if that idea is just a dangerous distraction from real, near-term risks. Matt's case for doom is that we'll cede more power and authority to AI agents as they recursively self-improve, leaving humans more vulnerable in the end. Jerusalem pushes back on this and argues that obsessing over extinction scenarios makes it harder to regulate biological weapons, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the economic disruptions already underway. Plus a peer review of a new paper on why meetings can actually be good for you and your company. (00:00) Is advanced AI going to kill us all? (04:09) Jerusalem pushes back on AI doom (07:26) The Claude Code auto-mode problem (11:02) Bioweapons and AI's real near-term risks (15:41) Why extinction risk still matters politically (19:21) Why Matt is scared of a flawless AI (33:13) Reasons AI won't take over (52:08) The case for an AI pause (58:54) Peer review: why meetings are actually good for you Support the Show: Get a full transcript, show notes, and an ad-free version: TheArgumentMag.com
For this month’s book club, Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias read Friedrich von Hayek’s “The Road to Serfdom,” the 1944 book that argued central planning inevitably leads to totalitarianism and became one of the most cited books in American and British politics. Jerusalem and Matt get into whether Hayek’s central thesis actually explains Nazi Germany, the similarities between socialism and fascism, and why authoritarian regimes are always run by scumbags instead of nice-guy technocrats. (00:00) Are we on the road to serfdom? (02:25) Hayek's real argument: central planning leads to dictatorship (05:26) Britain puts Hayek's theory to the test (08:20) What's the line between socialism and the welfare state? (14:49) Why this 80-year-old debate keeps coming back (20:45) The viral tweet about life before Uber (31:49) What does "economic freedom" actually mean? (48:22) Decentralizing power: philanthropy, federalism, and price controls (56:45) When regulation goes too far (01:15:28) Why the worst people always end up on top Support the Show: Get a full transcript, show notes, and an ad-free version: TheArgumentMag.com