Everyone's a Pseudo-Intellectual Now

• 1:02:47Tim's sketch group questions specialization—what happened to knowing a lot about one thing instead of being a pseudo-intellectual raconteur about everything?
• 1:03:11Having eaten a samosa gives people the false impression they're an expert on Indian culture and should broadcast opinions everywhere.
• 1:03:33Review culture—Amazon reviews, Yelp, endless requests for opinions—has made everyone feel obligated to share takes on things they barely understand.
• 1:04:03Our grandparents lived genuinely impressive lives without needing to document every moment; if they had to update social media constantly, their lives would seem horribly inadequate by comparison.
• 1:04:32Most people live perfectly decent, honorable lives that simply aren't that interesting, and that's fine—you don't need to write five paragraphs about trade policy if you don't understand it.
• 1:05:05Modern culture demands a hot take on every news story, which is exhausting; the happiest people Tim knows aren't on social media.
• 1:05:29Activism has become dovetailed with self-promotion—people broadcast their civic actions as a way to feel powerful rather than doing actual work.
• 1:06:03Faux activism and hashtag activism are useless; genuine activists sacrifice profitable careers to help people actually harmed by the system.
• 1:06:42Calling your congressman is performative when you don't even know when election day is and haven't bothered to understand what you're actually upset about.
• 1:07:18Activism serves a purpose, but politicians don't care whether the public disagrees with them—obstruction is the game both parties play regardless of public pressure.

Donald Trumpsocial mediaactivismMad Dog MattisSteve Israel