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At the White House Hanukkah celebration, Joe Biden said that: "Were there no Israel, there would not be a Jew in the world who is safe." Liberal Jews called these remarks anti-Semitic, as they seemed to imply that Jews are not equal, protected citizens in the countries that they reside in, including the United States. While Joe Biden offloaded America's own responsibilities to Israel, Elon Musk had an argument with the Anti-Defamation League over Elon Musk's complicity in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, such as the Great Replacement Theory, which he accused Jews of participating in. In this video, cultural critic and author Alex Sheremet of AUTOMACHINATION discusses Israeli propaganda on Jewish safety, whether or not Jews can truly "belong" to their nation-states, and other anti-Semitic tropes. Newsweek: Joe Biden's "Zionist" Declaration Sparks Backlash -- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/joe-bidens-zionist-declaration-sparks-backlash/ar-AA1lnDIB Support us on Patreon for patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #joebiden #elonmusk #politics

Edward Said was a literary theorist and activist who devoted much of his life to the Palestinian struggle. Although it wasn’t popular to say so at the time, Edward Said concluded that the Oslo Accords was a setback for Palestinian rights and the prospect of a Palestinian state. In this video, Alex Sheremet and Keith Jackewicz discuss Said’s essay, “The Morning After”, Said’s critiques of Yasser Arafat and the Oslo Accords, the realities in Gaza, questions on Israel and Israeli society, and more. Clipped from ArtiFact 49: What the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital Bombing Really Meant -- https://youtu.be/R5lCjNGDb7k To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/automachination B Side Topics: when Alex forced Keith to carry water gallons home; water-wars & over-stimulation; politics of de-growth; if you want Alex in the Marxist revolution, keep your grubby hands off of his bananas; wastefulness in the healthcare system; Putin’s military vs. social & educational spending; why sanctions have not crippled Russia; Ukraine youth paramilitary camps; Crimea & Russia’s first-use nuclear doctrine; the Supreme Court forced Israel to allow a Gazan to leave for medical treatment; white guilt is counter-productive but points to a positive historical development; Alex’s process of writing his Gaza essay; how skeptics of the War on Terror became Israel apologists; the subtle shift in calling Hamas’s terrorism “war crimes” alongside Israel’s own; most “human shields” allegations are false; why Leftists have a messaging problem; realpolitik in Israel-Palestine; how Joe Biden’s wars might come back to haunt him in 2024; polling problems & unfavourability; Keith’s impressions of the new Ceylan film, “About Dry Grasses” Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Edward Said’s essay on Oslo Accords, “The Morning After”, in the London Review of Books: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n20/edward-said/the-morning-after Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #gaza #freepalestine #war

Now that Israel’s invasion of Gaza is center stage, Russia’s war in Ukraine is getting less attention. This has frustrated Zelensky in the midst of bad news. The Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed, and both Ukrainian and Western officials are wondering if negotiations should be the next step. This will require preparing the Ukrainian public for the possibility of a worse peace deal (and less land) than in 2015 and 2022. In ArtiFact 51, Alex Sheremet is joined by University of Ottawa professor and Ukrainian-Canadian scholar Ivan Katchanovski to discuss the Russia-Ukraine War, the costs to Ukraine, the impact of the war in Gaza, and recent developments in the Maidan massacre. To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination B Side topics: how Russian state media presents Palestine & Palestinians; Russia’s policy in the Middle East; the role of Dmitry Medvedev in Russian politics, propaganda; Medvedev’s Telegram posts; Russia’s might seek more territory; Belarus as a client state; the case of Ivan Bubenchik in Maidan; a Ukrainian law which allows murder?; more Maidan details come to light after the trial; the most common objections to Ivan Katchanovski’s claims; what if Maidan protesters were not in control of every building; how the Svoboda Party provided muscle; Ivan has been to Hotel Ukraina many times; the testimony of hotel staff; the future of Ukraine; de-population, poverty, & the refugee problem; Ukrainian dependence on Western aid; Ukraine should join the European Union; the EU acts like a political/military rather than economic union; can Russia and the United States cultivate an alliance; observing right-wing Russian nationalists Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet's (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Learn about and contribute to our first film, "From There To There: Bruce Ario, the Minneapolis Poet": https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 1:28 – introducing Ivan Katchanovski, professor at University of Ottawa 4:08 – the conflict in Gaza will have consequences for the Ukraine War; comparing the Palestine and Ukraine conflicts; why Barack Obama didn’t want to arm Ukraine; AIPAC vs. Ukraine; Russia pivots to Palestine 8:14 – Russia & Obama; the Israel-Ukraine relationship; Zelensky trying to turn Ukraine “into the new Israel”; Zelensky’s anti-democratic reforms; 19:51 – was Ukraine pressured into its 2023 counter-offensive; how Zelensky gets conflated with “Ukraine” & Ukrainian opinion; Ukraine as an abused proxy; why Russia was presented as weak; fissures in the war narrative cropped up as early as summer 2022 30:40 – sanctions don’t have the intended effect; Ukraine’s PR battles in Bakhmut and Mariupol; tensions between Zelensky, Zaluzhny, and other generals; Ukraine might engage in political prosecutions; was Zaluzhny’s aide involved in an assassination attempt? 46:12 – grenades & pomegranates; the status of the Ukraine war; Putin’s possible behavior in 2024; how bad statistics were used to sell a proxy war; are the witnesses to the March/April 2022 negotiations credible; the Boris Johnson angle 1:02:02 – re-visiting the Maidan Massacre; Ivan Katchanovski’s claims vs. police involvement in protester killings; why the Maidan trial dragged out for a decade; destroyed evidence; the exclusion of most ballistic analyses; the New York Times model from 2018 1:27:00 – previewing the Patron show; Ivan Katchanovski’s upcoming book on Maidan and the roots of Russia/Ukraine War Tags: #russiaukrainewar #politics #ukraine

Although there’s often a desire for big, Hollywood films, having too many resources, and too much polish, contradicts the mission of art. Independent films can be shot with minimal equipment and lend themselves to bigger, bolder ideas in a smaller package. In ArtiFact 50, Alex Sheremet and Joel Parrish reflect on shooting their first film, “From There to There: Bruce Ario, The Minneapolis Poet”. Topics covered: film and audio equipment, cinematography, production and post-production, finding interviews, and the practical as well as theoretical foundations of filmmaking. To get the full conversation, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Joel Parrish’s poetry and photography: https://poeticimport.com Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 0:00 – the excitement of guerrilla filmmaking 1:36 – the final night of our Minneapolis trip; splitting camera responsibilities; over-scheduling yet still getting everything done; how capturing footage helps define the screenplay; Robbinsdale in Minneapolis; managing sixteen hour days 13:52 – the final night in Minneapolis; nighttime guerrilla filmmaking; accidental imagery & footage; Alex finds some bud; shooting without a plan; every alley has something that can be captured; Joel hops on a city bus and captures video & conversation; checking off a checklist vs. improv filmmaking 22:06 – how shooting a film altered Alex’s perception of watching movies; paying attention to cinematography; Alex’s thoughts on the 1995 hip-hop vampire film, The Addiction; how text styles on the screen can become quite dated; avoiding dated, faddish aesthetics; long vs. short takes; making a well-produced film on a budget using today’s software & equipment 31:20 – the post-production process; how we went from an informational, “good” documentary, to something far more ambitious; going through our equipment: a Canon M50 with an additional lens; DaVinci Resolve for film & color grading; capturing deep nighttime grain; SSD storage for keeping all files in 1 place; Zoom Podtrak P4 for an XLR connection to Audio-Technica’s lavalier microphone & AT2005 mics; Hollywood vs. anti-Hollywood aesthetics; Joel’s professional setup, cameras, GoPro, and audio equipment; getting the most out of any camera at a discount; GAS: Gear Acquisition Syndrome 53:50 – the pre-planning stages for an independent film; why a documentary is a great first movie; the importance of split responsibilities FOR PATRONS: Joel’s planning stages for the film; acquiring interviews; the perils of overplanning; reducing the amount of equipment; Joel praises Alex as an interviewer; returning to Minneapolis: catching segregated neighborhoods, visiting other parks, 5-minute interviews with locals; capturing Minneapolis footage vs. footage from other cities; frozen falls; some wonderful descriptions of nature in Bruce Ario’s “Cityboy” Tags: #film #art #artist

The IDF is accused of bombing the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. As a result, both Israelis and Palestinians have staked their reputations on the responsible party. Yet this would already be the 35th hospital strike in Gaza since 2008, while fully half of Gaza’s medical infrastructure had been leveled in Cast Lead and again in Protective Edge. In this video, political commentators Alex Sheremet and Keith Jackewicz deal with the fallout of the Hamas attack in Gaza, the Israeli counteroffensive, the meaning of the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital strike, Palestine’s history, and Joe Biden’s increasing lack of credibility in America and abroad. They also discuss Alex’s essay on the topic and Keith’s own essay on “asbestos capitalism”. To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/automachination B Side Topics: when Alex forced Keith to carry water gallons home; water-wars & over-stimulation; politics of de-growth; if you want Alex in the Marxist revolution, keep your grubby hands off of his bananas; wastefulness in the healthcare system; Putin’s military vs. social & educational spending; why sanctions have not crippled Russia; Ukraine youth paramilitary camps; Crimea & Russia’s first-use nuclear doctrine; the Supreme Court forced Israel to allow a Gazan to leave for medical treatment; white guilt is counter-productive but points to a positive historical development; Alex’s process of writing his Gaza essay; how skeptics of the War on Terror became Israel apologists; the subtle shift in calling Hamas’s terrorism “war crimes” alongside Israel’s own; most “human shields” allegations are false; why Leftists have a messaging problem; realpolitik in Israel-Palestine; how Joe Biden’s wars might come back to haunt him in 2024; polling problems & unfavourability; Keith’s impressions of the new Ceylan film, “About Dry Grasses” Alex Sheremet’s essay on the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital bombing: https://www.automachination.com/israel-identity-gaza-hospital-attack/ We are working on a film on the late, great Minneapolis poet, Bruce Ario. Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 1:54 – framing the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion; analyzing the Hamas attack of October 7; the gradual breakdown of the IDF; does Hamas want a Stalingrad 9:13 – Alex’s essay on the implications of Al-Ahli Hospital; why Israelis (and Palestinians) have hinged so much on the outcome; Keith’s essay on Asbestos Capitalism; Israel prefers to engage via airstrikes than IDF ground incursions; how “impersonal wars” & Israeli airstrikes create plausible deniability for high body counts; Israeli vs. Russian war crimes; Joe Biden is tying his hands with unpopular wars 20:21 – how Gaza & the Ukraine War shows limits of American unity; Israeli propaganda tries to connect Jews & Judaism with unpopular state actions; Jewish anti-Zionism; Keith’s experiences at a pro-Palestine rally; Keith: a dialectical attraction to Judaism; how Judaism has been subsumed by a colonial project 31:06 – Edward Said’s essay on the Oslo Accords: The Morning After; how the media changed from anti-PLO to pro-PLO; signing away Palestinian rights for positive media coverage; Oslo & settlement acceleration; assessing Yasser Arafat; Israel & the Arab world thinks of Palestinians as a millstone around the neck; how Palestinian lives are counted as less worthy 45:41 – Palestine’s ethnic cleansing is no different from 1000s of other groups in history; AIPAC is the NRA for liberals; Netanyahu should have become irrelevant after 2003; Netanyahu’s direct cash transfers to Hamas; how the response to Hamas’s 2006 election destroyed all possibility of democracy in Palestine; Gaza as a testing ground for fascism 59:22 – the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital attack in Gaza; how the attack has become so symbolic for both Palestinians & Israelis; the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh; Israel’s massacre of the 2018 Gaza protesters; no, the pro-Palestinian side does not rest on the culpability for the Al-Ahli outcome; how Netanyahu mouthpiece Hananya Haftali accidentally revealed Israeli’s propaganda machine 01:22:29 – Israel keeps delaying its ground offensive; Israel has nothing else politically except Netanyahu; Ariel Sharon’s cynical reasons for Gaza withdrawal; Ehud Olmert’s pathetic two-state solution peace plan; how Joe Biden continued Trump’s foreign policy Tags: #gaza #israel #freepalestine #politics

In the 1980s, Israel's "New Historians" began to re-examine their country's foundations, including the widespread belief that Palestinians were ethnically cleansed to make way for a Jewish minority. Among these are Benny Morris, Tom Segev, and Oxford's Avi Shlaim, who both argue that the Nakba was engineered. In this brief video, Alex Sheremet deals with the question of Israel's founding and compares it to other well-known expulsion events. Clipped from The Roots of the Israel / Palestine Conflict: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3c33vi-poI Our discussion with Holocaust scholar Norman Finkelstein and Palestinian refugees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4OP7B9jKao Support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination We are working on a film on the late, great Minneapolis poet, Bruce Ario. Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #palestine #israel #history

After the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, police forces, and the IDF, Israel started a propaganda campaign to "prove" its compliance with international law, while many Israeli officials insist the law does not matter. In this video, Alex Sheremet delves into the contradictions between Israel's foundation and international law by reading through David Ben-Gurion's Declaration of Independence (1948). Clipped from The Roots of the Israel / Palestine Conflict: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3c33vi-poI Our discussion with Holocaust scholar Norman Finkelstein and Palestinian refugees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4OP7B9jKao Support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination We are working on a film on the late, great Minneapolis poet, Bruce Ario. Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #palestine #gaza #politics

In response to Hamas's attack on Israel, Israel has besieged Gaza, most recently giving 24 hours for over a million residents to evacuate to southern Gaza. War crime investigations have begun into both Israel's and Hamas's conduct. The United States is now involved, Israel is striking Syria, and there are rumblings of an attack on Iran. Do these heightened escalations resemble the proxy war in Ukraine, and if so, what have Palestinians learned about the wax and wane of America's commitments? If you'd like the full 90 minute conversation, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Our discussion with Holocaust scholar Norman Finkelstein and Palestinian refugees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4OP7B9jKao We are working on a film on the late, great Minneapolis poet, Bruce Ario. Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #russia #freepalestine #politics

Taking great influence from Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy", Frank Whaley's underrated character portrait, "The Jimmy Show", was attacked by critics and filmgoers upon release, and is mostly forgotten now. In ArtiFact 48, critics Jessica Schneider, Ethan Pinch, Alex Sheremet, and Ezekiel Yu break down the film’s strengths and weaknesses while putting it in the wider context of American comedy and stand-up routines. If you’d like the B Side to this conversation on Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, become a YouTube member or join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/automachination B Side topics: Alex hides & tricks everybody; soy tag vs. Brooklyn-style manhunt in the 1990s; Jessica and Alex indulge; one never stops cringing at Martin Scorsese’s King of Comedy; Rupert Pupkin is the perfect name; Travis Bickle; Zeke watches King of Comedy for the first time; Rupert Pupkin vs. Jimmy; Robert DeNiro is intentionally made less sexy; Martin Scorsese’s diversity as a filmmaker; unique imagery and symbolism in The King of Comedy; Rupert Pupkin is not less talented than those around him; “my name is Rupert: it may not mean a lot to you, but it means a lot to me”; leveraging fame; reality vs. fantasy/day-dream in the film’s ending; comparing to Sidney Lumet’s “Network”; the role of sexual grotesque in Scorsese, Woody Allen, & Robert Altman; why Rupert is animated in his renditions, but placid in his fantasies; is King of Comedy an artistic dead-end; comparing to Scorsese’s “After Hours” & male sexual psychology; King of Comedy in the Scorsese pantheon; Scorsese’s Shutter Island as a low point in his career; no point for Gangs of New York to exist; Bresson’s style was forged from personal needs; Andrei Tarkovsky & Ingmar Bergman; Martin Scorsese’s scriptwriters; & news, politics, Gaza, Israel, Hamas, Tony Blinken gets in trouble on Babi Yar, & much more… Jessica Schneider’s review of Frank Whaley’s The Jimmy Show: https://www.automachination.com/underrated-gem-frank-whaley-jimmy-show-2001/ We are working on a film on the late, great Minneapolis poet, Bruce Ario. Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 0:00 – introducing Frank Whaley’s The Jimmy Show; links with Martin Scorsese’s King of Comedy 2:40 – why Jessica wanted to review the film; fan expectations vs. artistic reality; portrait of a failure; even the descriptions of the film are wrong; Ray vs. Jimmy: who is the better person; Zeke on how Jimmy’s character creates a ceiling for the film; Ethan Hawke 9:27 – Ethan expresses distrust for Realist Cinema; is The Jimmy Show a comedy or a portrait of a comic character; the dynamic between Jimmy and his grandmother; tender vs. unlikeable moments; why the film is neither satire nor tragedy; the importance of the film’s title to its meaning; the Mike Leigh connection 19:10 – Alex on why Jimmy fails to read the room; how his classist humor gets him into trouble; failures of internalization; the Al Bundy / Married With Children connection; what makes the divorce scene so well-written; Jimmy’s character arc sees her become decisive & firm, while Jimmy doesn’t grow much 28:25 – Ethan: this is a very American film; fame for the sake of fame; Frank Whaley’s use of time can be quite arresting; is Jimmy a worthwhile character; Ethan pushes back against our praise for the film 38:20 – Ethan: isn’t EVERYTHING the Jimmy Show, the Alex Show, the Ethan Show?; the nature of motivated reasoning; people wish to be recognized, but for what?; the Milli Vanilli connection; Taylor Swift’s blandness IS the point; why Eugene O’ Neill didn’t sell out; revisiting Mike Leigh films 49:34 – does the ending “serve Jimmy right”; the nature of comedy; Ethan on American-style standup comedy & machismo Tags: #films #review #comedy

Universally heralded as an American classic, Martin Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER (Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster) deserves its reputation for nuance and the subtle ways in which its thematic, cinematic, and psychological elements cohere. Paul Schrader’s script allows for everything from understated racial critique, to a realistic depiction of how entanglements are made and broken, to the role of loneliness and purposelessness in the modern world. This is partly done by way of a dreamscape, which has enough plausible deniability to still feel "real". In ArtiFact #45, Alex Sheremet is joined by Irish poet Laura Woods and poet, novelist, and film critic Jessica Schneider to offer fresh insight into Martin Scorsese’s seminal film and the psychology of its protagonist, Travis Bickle. To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on Patreon and get Patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination B Side topics: Jessica on Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ”; Jessica physically acts out “demon children”; Laura on Gerard Manley Hopkins; guilt and art; Alex “wanders off”; reading John Donne; social services & abortion politics in Ireland; Tanizaki’s “Some Prefer Nettles”; Laura on COVID politics in Ireland; on modern Russian music & the Soviet bard tradition; American meddling in Russia’s elections; translating Russian poetry; & much more Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Jessica Schneider’s essay on Taxi Driver: https://www.automachination.com/mindful-loneliness-martin-scorseses-taxi-driver-1976/ Dan Schneider's essay on Taxi Driver and Travis Bickle: http://www.cosmoetica.com/B928-DES721.htm Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 0:00 – thematic coherence in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver; Travis Bickle’s arbitrary attachments of value; Betty’s rejection quickens Travis Bickle’s psychotic break; the function of The Wizard character; choice vs. determinism 5:58 – racial hang-ups in Taxi Driver; the Alka-Seltzer scene & its "dream thug"; the beating of a dead robber might be Travis Bickle's own fantasy; Paul Schrader's original script called for black actors to play the film’s pimps and johns; Charles Palantine vs. Robert Altman's Hal Philip Walker (Nashville) 11:48 – Travis Bickle's "misguided earnestness"; his romantic impulses are impulsive, yet his critiques tend to be "correct" purely by coincidence; analyzing a scene where some children harass Travis Bickle 19:20 – empathy & character relatability; Dan Schneider's assessment of Travis Bickle’s psychology; the world’s current default state of loneliness 26:00 – Travis Bickle's conservative values; the humor + empathy of Travis feeling repulsed by immorality; the Mike Leigh connection; a Woody Allen + Annie Hall connection; how Travis enters & leaves lucidity; incels & White Knight psychology; even a scumbag pimp like Matthew (Sport) “sees” Travis Bickle’s lack of social adjustment 36:24 – how cognizant is Travis Bickle of his situation?; Travis's family vs. Jodie Foster's family; was there abuse at home?; neglected Martin Scorsese films; Paul Schrader produced a weak script for 'Light Sleeper'; how Taxi Driver predicted Jordan B. Peterson types; Roger Ebert on Martin Scorsese 51:46 – Travis Bickle: “I believe someone should become a person like other people”; underlying profundity vs. crass profundity; confession time: Alex Sheremet just can’t get through Mishima’s “Spring Snow”; Mishima’s "Temple of the Golden Pavilion"; why Murakami (mostly) sucks; Lars von Trier is Ingmar Bergman without the depth Tags: #cinema #psychology #taxidriver

Jordan Peterson's "12 Rules For A Life" is a self-help book based on the 40+ rules he once wrote for Quora years before. The book received both criticism and praise, yet many obvious criticisms haven’t been made. For example, isn’t 12 rules (and later, 24) far too many? What should people do with boundaries as they get older? Is male/female the same thing as masculine and feminine? Why SHOULD a human being feel “confidence” for doing the bare minimum, such as standing up straight? How is self-esteem REALLY earned? In this video, poet, critic, and novelist Alex Sheremet tackles these questions and revises Jordan B. Peterson's rules into a more useful list: 1) Twelve rules is far too many; 2) Walk every day, and walk a lot; 3) Cook for yourself; 4) Make yourself untouchable; 5) You are the standard, but others polish it; 6) What if all you criticize is you?; 7) Not happiness, but wisdom; 8) Don’t bother kids Support us on Patreon and get the patron-only B side to this discussion: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 0:00 – 12 Rules is just too many 01:48 – Patron show preview – vacation reading – propaganda in the Soviet edition of Vladimir Vysotsky’s “Nerve”; Mark Twain’s “Pudd’nhead Wilson” is underrated; assessing Constance Garnett’s translation of Leo Tolstoy’s “Death of Ivan Ilyich”; our Minneapolis documentary on Bruce Ario’s life and work 03:38 – Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life; Alex’s First Rule for Life: 12 rules is just too many; Jordan B. Peterson would ideally have 50+ rules; as you get older, you should DISCARD rules 07:28 – improving Jordan Peterson’s first rule: stand up straight with your shoulders back; Alex’s rule: Walk every day, and walk a lot; how Peterson sneaks in normative statements into his descriptive statements; Jordan B. Peterson is advising very superficial, image-based solutions; why you should EARN your confidence; Jordan Peterson doesn’t really discuss exercise or diet 12:57 – Jordan Peterson’s second rule: Treat yourself like someone you are tasked with helping; Alex’s rule: cook for yourself as often as possible; don’t be adult who can’t cook his favorite meal; there is no evidence that an adult Jordan B. Peterson knows how to cook 19:38 – Jordan Peterson’s third rule: choose friends who want the best for you; Alex’s rule: make yourself as weird and untouchable as possible; attracting better friends, as opposed to hoping to choose the “right friends”, is smarter 26:03 – Jordan B. Peterson’s fourth rule: compare yourself to the person you were yesterday, not someone else; if you have talent, this rule especially applies to you; Alex’s rule: you are the standard, but others polish it 29:45 – Jordan Peterson’s fifth rule: don’t let your children do anything which makes you dislike them; parents need to be more introspective about their emotions 32:12 – Jordan Peterson’s sixth rule: set your house in perfect order before criticizing the world; perfection is impossible, so what is Jordan B. Peterson hiding from?; Peterson and hypocrisy 37:53 – combining several more of Jordan Peterson’s rules into Alex’s sixth rule: what if all you criticize is actually you?; James Baldwin on the use of racial slurs 39:51 – combining Jordan Peterson’s rules about pursuing meaning and telling the truth; Alex’s rule: pursue not happiness, but wisdom; the individual is valuable only because they make a social contribution; why Jordan B. Peterson cultivated a reactionary audience; how Peterson misuses Dostoyevsky’s “Notes from Underground” & “Crime and Punishment” 46:30 – Jordan Peterson tries to show off his knowledge of cats; Peterson’s penultimate rule: “don’t bother kids while they are skateboarding”; Jordan B. Peterson views boys and men as innately more heroic/worthwhile Tags: #jordanpeterson #rulesforlife #success

In the last few decades, political correctness has divided Americans and reduced their ability to embark on a real political project. According to Holocaust and Israel/Palestine scholar Norman Finkelstein, Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi are representatives of race-based fraud, downplaying the role of class, culture, and more in order to sell books and corporate workshops. In ArtiFact #44, Norman Finkelstein and Alex Sheremet discuss the class-based critique formulated in Finkelstein’s latest book, “I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It”, as well as questions of criminal justice and criminal justice reform. The text covers political correctness, academic freedom, class politics, cancel culture, Roe v. Wade and other Supreme Court decisions, W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick Douglass, and more. Buy Norman Finkelstein’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Heretical-Thoughts-Identity-Politics-Academic/dp/B0BSJXB7WN/ Norman Finkelstein’s website: https://www.normanfinkelstein.com If you found this video useful, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 0:00 – race, class, and the criminal justice system 1:26 – introducing Norman Finkelstein’s “I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It”; is there a biological basis for race and racism; Finkelstein explains why he rejects the salience of race and IQ; Robert Trivers and Mihalis Yannakakis; Finkelstein’s experience with his African American students 12:56 – Alex Sheremet’s experience with desegregation; ethnicity from Belarus to Brooklyn; how proximity creates understanding; Robin DiAngelo’s bait-and-switch in “White Fragility” 16:34 – “White Fragility is the worst book written on any subject ever”; Norman Finkelstein on structural racism; racial representation vs. culture; Asian representation & the Tiger Mom; Finkelstein on Ketanji Brown Jackson & the Affirmative Action decision; W.E.B. DuBois; cultural disparities are a constant; why the American legal process is grounds for revolution; class forces one into plea bargains 30:16 – racism and the criminal justice system; how class defines the criminal justice experience; Norman Finkelstein’s arrests and legal experiences 37:54 – gender disparities in male/female sentencing for identical crimes; the need for a material/cultural analysis; basketball courts are material and cultural; Norman Finkelstein wasted too much time watching television; early childhood years are fundamental for development; Frederick Douglass 44:54 – Robin DiAngelo’s authoritarian version of antiracism; liberalism & authoritarianism; the silliness of “interrupting racism”; developing a thicker skin; anti-Semitic comments directed at Norman Finkelstein; African American passivity in “White Fragility”; have classical studies been hijacked? 56:42 – Alex Sheremet and Norman Finkelstein make a series of “wild surmises” about Robin DiAngelo’s psychology; the Glenn Loury problem – personal background should make you “know better”; Robin DiAngelo as a “sick Karen”; teasing our future conversation on Ibram X. Kendi Tags: #politics #justice #iq #normanfinkelstein #woke #race

A poem about greed, laziness, and betrayal of the big idea. Written and performed by Alex Sheremet in the ario poetic form. A note on the ario form: Bruce Ario (1955 – 2022) was a Minneapolis poet who created the “ario” poetic form, a 10-line poem with 3 stanzas of 3 lines each, concluding with a final line that inverts that which preceded it. For more information, check out our video, ArtiFact #35: The Life & Times Of Bruce Ario: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycAD9s57Re8 If you found this video useful, support us on our Patreon page and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Background footage from Rob Reiner's "This Is Spinal Tap": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0MGZTdcgx8 Tags: #shorts #poetry #money #poem #art Text of poem: THOUGHT OUR FILM WOULD SAY IT ALL And then some scumbag wanted money for the footage Of my friend. Well, HIS friend, as a fact Was a ponderer's poet, while he cannot Think. Well, he IS thinking Of himself, bobbing down a perfect sea Storm loosened from the surface Of our lens. Guess which had a brain Injury and you'd guess wrong. Say CHEESE Bitch! Or that's what HE did at any rate Offered. Not even poets deserve riches.

After Osip Mandelstam, Marina Tsvetaeva (1892-1941) is Russia's greatest poet, and critic Alex Sheremet's favorite Russian writer. At odds with Soviet authorities, her return to Moscow in 1939 was deemed suspicious, and she was unable to find consistent work. She eventually took her own life in 1941, two years after the execution of her husband, and during her exile in Yelabuga. To watch the full video analyzing more poems by Marina Tsvetaeva, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #poetry #russian #books

Steve Shives is a film and culture critic with lots of opinions, such as the proper way to evaluate art. In a recent video titled "Honesty Is A Critic's Most Important Credential", he explains that honesty, as opposed to correctness, proper use of evidence, and consistency, is the most important attribute for an art critic. But is it? As the artists and critics Alex Sheremet, Dan Schneider, and Ezekiel Yu explain, "honesty" is in fact the bare minimum standard for criticism, since anything else means you are a troll. Thus, going beyond this minimum standard is what distinguishes good and bad critics. Clipped from ArtiFact #41: Is YouTube Destroying Art? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHNRHLHa8yg The original @SteveShives video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIRoN2U1sqI Support us on Patreon and get the patron-only B Side to this conversation: https://www.patreon.com/automachination B Side topics: Ezekiel Yu’s development as a writer; yes, every writer writes from experience; the before/after when figuring out how to write; Alex’s video essay on Robin DiAngelo; in praise of Laura Woods; artistic competition; why Milk74 is an interesting YouTuber; PhilosophyTube sucks; Vladimir Vysotsky’s worst songs focused on street culture; Zeke’s religious transitions; truth vs. privacy in personal memoir; how having less time allows you to do more; art as therapy is good if there is a worthwhile art-object that comes out of it; Alex and Zeke discuss their guilty pleasures; Kwame Brown & natural conservatism; Andrew Tate, JustPearlyThings, & others with failed relationships give relationship/marriage advice; why Red Pill men are effeminate; tackling a bad video essay on Martin Scorsese’s "Taxi Driver" Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Dan Schneider’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cosmoetica Dan Schneider’s Cosmoetica: https://www.automachination.com/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #art #steveshives #theory

Peter Zeihan has made a name for himself in geopolitics through books, lectures, and a very popular YouTube channel, but is his analysis as careful as he claims? In this video, Alex Sheremet analyzes a series of manipulative videos Peter Zeihan uploaded on the Wagner PMC / Prigozhin coup in Russia, alongside his rather strange commentary on markets, cryptocurrency, and the price of bitcoin. In some ways, Peter Zeihan might very well be a poster boy for Knoll's law: the idea that "everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true, except for the rare story of which you happen to know a lot about". If you found this video useful, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Thumbnail background image by Erika Wittlieb. Tags: #politics #peterzeihan #ukraine #geopolitics #russia

What makes Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights" (1997) is a cult classic? In MovieMacro #8, Alex Sheremet and Keith Jackewicz tackle the film's characters, its use of music, the mis-use of its great acting talent, and more. "Boogie Nights" is then contrasted against Robert Altman's "Nashville" (1975) in the patron-only show. To get our bonus show discussion of Robert Altman’s “Nashville”: https://www.patreon.com/automachination "Nashville" discussion topics: music in “Nashville” vs. “This Is Spinal Tap”; a Gospel Nina Simone?; Hal Philip Walker as a central conceit; some unexpected interactions between characters small & large; how “Nashville” rewards multiple viewings; Del’s shame over his deaf children; Opal’s best joke; Opal shaped a similar character in Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown”; clout sharks vs. groupies; what polyamory says about socioeconomics; why Nashville’s politics don’t damage the film; “I’m Easy” highlights the emotional life of the film’s women; Barbara Jean as a character; how the political fundraisers naturally become pimps; Wade as a 1970s Armond White; & more Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 0:00 – introduction: Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights” vs. Robert Altman’s “Nashville” 1:18 – Boogie Nights; Paul Thomas Anderson; Robert Altman was a grown-up who dealt with grown-up topics; mommy & daddy issues in Anderson; Boogie Nights depicts dumb, loser characters but doesn’t really comment on them; Philip Seymour Hoffman is put to poor use here; Paul Thomas Anderson is a “Young Adult” director; 8:00 –Boogie Nights vs. similar themes in Woody Allen; density of character in Boogie Nights vs. Nashville; Anderson kills off Bill early on because he didn’t know what to do with him 13:46 – describing the plot of Boogie Nights; Dirk Diggler’s only gift; Jack Horner’s self-understanding; the myth of the Golden Age of Pornography 20:25 – the Golden Age was based on cultural penetration; only thing analogous to big pornographic releases is the Adam22 / LenaThePlug sex tape; the role of Dirk’s father; the use of “iconic” characters such as Roller Girl; Boogie Nights & BangBus 28:12 – Boogie Nights & the use of time; the use of empty and/or unintelligent characters; assessing Dirk Diggler vs. Reed; how the film’s men compete with each other 37:33 – the use of music in Nashville vs. Boogie Nights; some good character interactions; homoeroticism in Boogie Nights; Michael Rappaport’s dumb character in Woody Allen’s “Mighty Aphrodite”; loose vs. central stories; the “big cast” aesthetic; why Buck is an expendable character 51:46 – assessing Philip Seymour Hoffman in Boogie Nights & beyond; Anderson mangles writing a gay character; Boogie Nights does not transcend the flaws of “art as therapy”; how an early scene with the name, “Maggie”, pays multiple viewings 01:03:00 – the film’s “true” ending; closure of character arcs; Boogie Nights moves on humor Tags: #movies #moviereview #cinema

Calvin Yang is now the public face of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ban, which was decided in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023). A wealthy Canadian-Chinese “third culture kid” who spent much of his life globetrotting, Calvin Yang went to high school in the Dwight School of New York City before applying to, and getting rejected from, Harvard University. In this video, the poet, critic, and novelist Alex Sheremet dissects Calvin Yang’s public claims, his anti-affirmative action strategy, and determines once and for all whether Yang “deserved” admission into Harvard. If you found this video useful, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Background photo by Chris Brignola. Tags: #politics #supremecourt #trending

After a thirteen year NBA career, Kwame Brown went viral in 2021 for a series of videos lambasting the media, American culture, bad politics, his former basketball teammates, and the treatment of black males. He sarcastically referred to himself as "living a bust life" as he criticized figures such as Charlamagne tha God, Stephen A. Smith, Tommy Sotomayor, and others. In this video, Alex Sheremet and Benjamin Studebaker analyze Kwame Brown's thought and natural conservatism, which Alex claims is different from the "media creation" conservatism of a Ben Shapiro or Candace Owens. This video is clipped from a 3 hour, patron-only discussion with Benjamin Studebaker. Sign up for Patreon to get access: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Topics from the full discussion: Aristotle’s “Vulgar Craftsman”; how the lack of writing hurts podcasters & other speakers; the peak message board era; the current Ph.D. landscape; how Raul Hilberg’s Holocaust research stymied his career; how the 2008 crisis shaped Benjamin Studebaker’s political awakening; the (illegal) Libya intervention & death of Gaddafi; comparing the 2008 and post-2020 austerity regimes; Trump vs. Hillary voter naivete; more on conspiracy theories; why Benjamin Studebaker is skeptical of affirmative action; Alex’s high school experiences in the hood; is meritocracy possible; how Benjamin Studebaker turned Alex on to Kwame Brown; black girl magic vs. black boy magic; Clarence Thomas is insulted so hard that Alex fears losing his YouTube channel; political theory in the academy; the dream-eating democracy; if the Left secures its goals, wouldn’t citizens drop out of politics altogether; assessing the 2024 presidential race; is Cornel West a serious candidate Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read Benjamin Studebaker's essay on Kwame Brown: https://benjaminstudebaker.com/2021/05/25/a-serious-discussion-of-the-political-thought-of-kwame-brown/ Buy Benjamin Studebaker’s “The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way Is Shut”: https://www.amazon.com/Chronic-Crisis-American-Democracy-Shut-ebook/dp/B0BVZ7V4T6/ Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #kwamebrown #nba #politics #trending #conservative

According to the Left, Right, and Center, democracy is under attack. Donald Trump claimed election fraud in 2020, while both Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton hinted at fascism with a Republican administration. In his 2023 book, “The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way is Shut”, Benjamin Studebaker argues that neither is the case, as the very popularity of democracy is being used to energize fringe voters in lieu of passing real legislation. In ArtiFact #42, Alex Sheremet and Benjamin Studebaker tackle “the unsolvable problem”, wage stagnation, the causes of austerity, and how political parties continue to get away with minimal promises against the backdrop of maximal drama. Support us on Patreon and get the patron-only B Side to this conversation: https://www.patreon.com/automachination B Side topics: Aristotle’s “Vulgar Craftsman”; how the lack of writing hurts podcasters & other speakers; the peak message board era; the current Ph.D. landscape; how Raul Hilberg’s Holocaust research stymied his career; how the 2008 crisis shaped Benjamin Studebaker’s political awakening; the (illegal) Libya intervention & death of Gaddafi; comparing the 2008 and post-2020 austerity regimes; Trump vs. Hillary voter naivete; more on conspiracy theories; why Benjamin Studebaker is skeptical of affirmative action; Alex’s high school experiences in the hood; is meritocracy possible; how Benjamin Studebaker turned Alex on to Kwame Brown; black girl magic vs. black boy magic; Clarence Thomas is insulted so hard that Alex fears losing his YouTube channel; political theory in the academy; the dream-eating democracy; if the Left secures its goals, wouldn’t citizens drop out of politics altogether; assessing the 2024 presidential race; is Cornel West a serious candidate Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Buy Benjamin Studebaker’s “The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way Is Shut”: https://www.amazon.com/Chronic-Crisis-American-Democracy-Shut-ebook/dp/B0BVZ7V4T6/ Benjamin Studebaker’s essays: https://benjaminstudebaker.com/ Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 0:00 – introduction to Benjamin Studebaker & his book, “The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy” 04:03 – Studebaker: all time for thinking is created by other people not having time for thinking 05:17 – the unsolvable problem; how capital mobility erodes politics & freedom; FDR as the first neoliberal; the role of World War I, trade, & the Great Depression; the Bretton Woods conference; capitalism in “communist” nations 20:35 – the world is growing more competitive; 1972’s “The Limits to Growth” & the 2020s as a turning point; the role of education; rump vs. fallen professionals 33:35 – the plight of academics & disposable faculty; higher education as extraction; a widening gulf between working and “professional” classes; the role of the autodidact in conspiracy theories 46:00 – how the French riots turned into a race riot; conspiracy theories among the educated, “anti-conspiracy” class; why COVID is ignored; Donald Trump’s strategy in 2020; political messaging 58:30 – are wages really stagnating; common talking points & right-wing subreddits; the proper framing for discussing wages; the effects of COVID on wages; inflation 01:11:40 – Benjamin Studebaker’s reading of freedom; Isaiah Berlin & positive / negative freedom; how students get tricked into a limited debate; freedom vs. state / market interventions 01:25:41 – why Benjamin Studebaker does not buy typical critiques of democracy; long-term anemic equilibrium in democracy; new realities for the political Left, Right, & Center; how traditions are divided 01:48:12 – progressives are both critical of, yet amenable to, markets; Left/Right and the critique of desire; how media ecosystems undermine class traitors; Benjamin Studebaker on exogenous shocks which might change the system Tags: #politics #trump #podcast

Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" (1976) is a much loved, yet often misunderstood film. Travis Bickle's character is correctly perceived to be a loner with mental problems, but everything from his line of work, to his scattershot insights, to the role of luck of Travis Bickle's life, isn't given enough attention. In this video, writers Alex Sheremet and Ezekiel Yu critique @TheCanvasArtHistory's video essay on the film: "Taxi Driver, Purposeless Jobs and Alienation". If you found this video useful, support us on Patreon and get the full two hour discussion: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Discussion topics: Ezekiel Yu’s development as a writer; yes, every writer writes from experience; the before/after when figuring out how to write; Alex’s video essay on Robin DiAngelo; in praise of Laura Woods; artistic competition; why Milk74 is an interesting YouTuber; PhilosophyTube sucks; Vladimir Vysotsky’s worst songs focused on street culture; Zeke’s religious transitions; truth vs. privacy in personal memoir; how having less time allows you to do more; art as therapy is good if there is a worthwhile art-object that comes out of it; Alex and Zeke discuss their guilty pleasures; Kwame Brown & natural conservatism; Andrew Tate, JustPearlyThings, & others with failed relationships give relationship/marriage advice; why Red Pill men are effeminate Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L The Canvas's "Taxi Driver, Purposeless Jobs and Alienation": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Fzip47Lu4 Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #taxidriver #cinema #review

On June 29th, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn affirmative action in the landmark case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. Although affirmative action has been chipped away at over the years, this ruling finally gutted the law. Interestingly, a Canadian national, Calvin Yang, became the public face of this movement, stirring additional racial resentment given his desire to paint himself as the savior of Asian Americans, many of whom are simply not on board with right-wing politics. Chief Justice Roberts also carved out an exception for military schools due to questions of social and military cohesion, a line of reasoning which opens up the door to government declarations of a "special interest" in other situations, as well. In this video, poet, critic, and novelist Alex Sheremet of Automachination tackles the ruling, arguing that the day to day realities of affirmative action might make the ruling irrelevant in the long term. Specifically, the question of how universities will toe around the ban, through personal essays and student research, is open, as are questions surrounding the benefits of affirmative action given the growing class of "fallen professionals". If you found this video useful, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Thumbnail background photo: Dorothy Counts trying to enter the previously segregated Warren Harding High School. Tags: #supremecourt #politics #trending

As the son of US Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the nephew of former president John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy Jr. grew up with extreme expectations, as well as a lack of purpose which followed him into his 20s. After a period of drug addiction, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was drawn to environmental activism and environmental legislation, on which he built his reputation as a fighter of environmental justice. He also cultivated an anti-war position due to his resistance to Iraq and typical Russia-Ukraine narratives. At the same time, he incessantly pushes the Democratic Party status quo, waged a nearly two-decade campaign of anti-vax / vaccine disinformation, walked back his positions on universal healthcare, Israel / Palestine, and even the environment as he becomes increasingly captured by a right-wing audience. In this video, Alex Sheremet of automachination reacts to Robert Kennedy's recent appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. He addresses the Cleveland Clinic study on COVID, Kennedy's distortion of VAERS, his shifting positions, support of figures such as David Sacks and Elon Musk, and whether or not Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has a consistent set of positions on which to build some future set of policies. If you found this video useful, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #politics #joerogan #covid19 #reaction #kennedy

Although artificial intelligence has obvious fundamental value, poet and critic Alex Sheremet of Automachination argues that AI is in a bubble. This is obvious when one examines self-serving media narratives, the way that AI doom is paradoxically jacking up AI equity prices, the state of the economy, the competing statements from Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates on questions of AI acceleration, as well as the tools themselves. For example, while ChatGPT and similar tools have already displaced some jobs, they are creating additional work for companies wishing to cut costs. The AI arms race will not simply be between nation-states, but between companies themselves, which understand that subpar AI, such as ChatGPT hallucinations, are flooding search engine results with useless and often wrong information. The rush to replace service employees with chatbots will have a similar effect on consumer dissatisfaction as previous forms of outsourced labor. The sameness and lack of real “art” in AI art / generated images will wear on consumers, which is an issue native to how artificial intelligence models get trained by human beings, rather than a technological problem corrected with time. This is now reminiscent of bitcoin and cryptocurrency in 2017, when high valuations – even according to Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin – were unjustified given how little tangible value had been created. Just like in crypto, AI will have to actually prove itself beyond TV interviews and media narratives. Support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Tags: #chatgpt #ai #bitcoin #crypto

After failing to rebuild the city since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has experienced everything from the cutting of social services, to an increase in street crime, to school privatization upwards of 70%. In this video, poet and critic Alex Sheremet presents a poem in the ario format, “They’re Closing All The Schools In New Orleans”. A note on the ario poetic form: Bruce Ario (1955 – 2022) was a Minneapolis poet who created the “ario” poetic form, a 10-line poem with 3 stanzas of 3 lines each, concluding with a final line that inverts or otherwise comments upon everything which preceded it. For more information, check out our video, ArtiFact #35: The Life & Times Of Bruce Ario: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycAD9s57Re8 If you found this video useful, support us on our Patreon page and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Background footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf38Ugp0WGA Text of poem: THEY'RE CLOSING ALL THE SCHOOLS IN NEW ORLEANS * on the flight over Swallowed to the pit like an old classroom Promoting fractions into wholes A child yaps I've filched an hour from New York. Go write. NOW——but needed time So needlessly distended It took itself for perpetuity As if we'd never had a holiday One could not just mop away on Bourbon Street. Imagine all the janitors kept home. Who tried to keep you honest? Tags: #neworleans #poetry #shorts