Interesting Times

Ross provides a welcome respite from my typical leftist echo chamber. I really appreciate the ability of the hosts to disagree in a convivial manner. My usual podcasts have become too exhausting recently, so Matter of Opinion has become my new favorite listen!

As long as everyone keeps their tones properly in check I tend to enjoy this one! It’s nice to get the range of opinions and the analysis is generally interesting. But I’ve got to say the VP debate episode was a tough listen. Ranking it as if it were a high school debate with a winner and a loser felt one dimensional and totally neglected how people actually consume debates. But aside from an offhand acknowledgement that they weren’t representative of the audience it was hardly addressed and instead the conversation devolved into squabbling over picayune details (I admit I did not finish). Not sure what happened there but not my favorite! I think the best episodes do a good job maintaining a more playful tone. For example, I remember an episode where everyone assembled their fantasy presidential tickets that was actually quite funny. Clearly not every episode topic can reach that level of silliness. But I think podcasts like this play an important role in modeling how to disagree both thoroughly and respectfully (and ideally even amicably). I’ve seen it strike that tone in the past, and that’s what I’m hoping for going forward too. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

Ross is the thin red line that separates the NYT from The Jacobin. I find it hypocritical for people to kvetch about his viewpoints, while also complaining about polarization. He is open minded, intelligent, and clearly a critical member of the group whose refreshing new perspectives make the show a worthwhile listen.

I have loved this podcast for exposing me to different opinions and allowing me to be able to have better conversations with people. Lately it has felt like something has changed. First, Ross has become insufferable, like he’s not even trying to have conversations with the other hosts, but is just sometimes allowing them to speak so that he can be condescending and dismissive. Second, I had been looking forward to hearing the coverage of the DNC, which I thought was an historic event, full of hope, real promise, and (yeah I’m gonna say it) joy. I’m not sure what these hosts saw or if no one could stand up to Ross, but that show was so cynical and negative, I wondered if maybe this was now a Fox News X NYT crossover show. Third, regarding how the tone has literally changed, the Upspeak has got to stop. Everyone is doing it now, and it is grating to the ears. Please stop ending every sentence fragment at a higher pitch. Three stars because the show used to be great, two off because you have to see something has changed and needs work.

This show turns my stomach with the way they try so hard for this light, friends-laughing-and-chatting-over-beers kind of banter, when they’re talking about really dark and heavy stuff. The jokey tone feels extremely forced and performative. And Ross’s mean-spirited trolling and both-sidesism gets more tiresome by the second. He is so defensive and petty. And his fellow hosts laugh it off like it’s somehow endearing. Grow up, all.

I have been listening to this podcast since it was The Argument, and I used to really love hearing both sides having a civil discourse. Now it has become decidedly more one-sided and not at all balanced, even with the episode titles, like “will THIS a lose Biden the presidency”. Stop the clickbait and get back to having real, necessary conversations. Adding onto my review from earlier. I will be unsubscribing from this podcast. There are no actual liberal points of view—in covering the conventions, they basically say that Kamala hasn’t given an interview so no matter what she can’t be good, with no one offering any other opinion. Funny that some people are saying that this proves that NYT has a liberal bias—that’s not it at all. This proves to me that NYT is not showing both sides. I’m very sad to lose this podcast, it used to be good.