Good episode, I'm reading @thecarousel 's article on Tablet now. What caught my interest in your talk is Isaac's description of karaoke as Eastern specifically because it was imitative. It was an offhand remark, but it echoes Spengler's insights into Asian civilization. Everyone's favorite doom grandpa once described Japan as a "lunar" civilization, one that could only exist by reflecting another. For centuries Japan reflected Chinese civilization, and when it sought to escape Chinese domination, it started to reflected the Prussians most-Meiji. Nowadays the Japs reflect America.
I get the "chicken and egg" issue of modern bookstores -- do they cater exclusively to the longhouse because men don't buy books? Or do men not buy books etc etc.?
Most people blame video games for the total capture of male attention. I'm a conservative male -- I love gaming, I even work in the games industry. But I've always loved reading. When I was younger and more left-leaning I used to read fiction; now that I'm older and more redpilled I mostly read non-fiction.
The only reason I can think of is that my father took the time read to me and my brother when we were younger: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis. He didn't just sit us down in front of a TV or a Nintendo and ignore us. He took the time to get us swept up in transformative literature with strong moral guidance at an early age.
I honestly wonder if it's as simple as that. If you grow up with a strong male role model who teaches you the value of reading, you'll read as an adult; if he teaches you the value of fitness, you'll hit the gym; if he shared his love of the outdoors, you're gonna hunt and fish. It's instilling values in a young boy that he'll take into adulthood.
And if he doesn't instill anything, or if there IS no male role model... well, in the absence of any guidance whatsoever, maybe a complete disinterest in pursuing knowledge through reading is understandable.
All I know is I read books voraciously, and I would NEVER step foot in a modern bookstore, or buy anything they recommend. I buy online. I get recommendations from friends and on forums. I have to work hard to find based books.
If modernity truly wanted a generation of book-reading young men, I suspect they wouldn't have made it so impossible for them to hunt for subject matter that would actually interest them.
I had a similar childhood experience. I suspect a lot of anons in our sphere read 50+ books a year, including a lot of stuff they'd hesitate to discuss openly around the office water cooler.
I think what we're getting at is that men are reading, they're just not buying new books, because the publishing industry has been totally re-oriented to cater to cat lady librarian types who want to read fat-positive mary sue fantasy or whatever.
Last Things did a great podcast dissection of the values of a fantasy series like LOTR, written by a man of faith in the wake of a world war, in which decent peoples from tightly-knit shared cultures risk everything to fight for what is good; versus the values of something contemporary like Harry Potter, in which a victim of the system (Harry lives under the stairs) is suddenly crowned the Secret Best Person Ever through no hard work or risk of his own, and resets the entire established order back to Year One.
God knows what drivel you'd be able to even buy from a bookstore to read to a young boy today.
I wish I'd bookmarked it, but someone in the new right sphere made a point last week about how yes, women read, but they just read trash.
He posted a hilarious picture of like 20 bestsellers -- all the same color scheme, the same font, the same art style, the same title construction. It was just the same shitty book with the same shitty heroine and the same shitty politics twenty times. That picture you posted might as well be a group photo of the authors.
I saw this. I think the women pictured in my photo are likely writing more highbrow stuff, but it's going to be the same ~personal narrative~ MFA stuff for NPR listeners...still very cookie cutter.
So... could we deduce that maybe someone DOES control Tik Tok (commies), and this thoughtless state of latent resentment it engenders is by design? It reduces the human mind to a state of nature. In the case of women, literally so, considering many on the platform wear no makeup.
You guys are great together. Also a fan of Peachy as a co-host.
Thanks! Another notch in the "Isaac is best co-host" column.
Glad you guys are back. Another banger of an episode.
Thanks bro
Good episode, I'm reading @thecarousel 's article on Tablet now. What caught my interest in your talk is Isaac's description of karaoke as Eastern specifically because it was imitative. It was an offhand remark, but it echoes Spengler's insights into Asian civilization. Everyone's favorite doom grandpa once described Japan as a "lunar" civilization, one that could only exist by reflecting another. For centuries Japan reflected Chinese civilization, and when it sought to escape Chinese domination, it started to reflected the Prussians most-Meiji. Nowadays the Japs reflect America.
"Everyone's favorite doom grandpa"
who?
Spengler.
oh, duh, thx
"Only women buy books."
I knew that my wife was somehow to blame for all these books in my library.
Great episode! I enjoyed your conversation. What´s the intro/outro music? Sounds cool!
Thanks! It's The Units: High Pressure Days
I’m going deep cleaning and catching up on NWP pods and this was another great one. Isaac is such an excellent cohost.
Thank you, this seems to be a widely-held opinion!
Great episode!
I get the "chicken and egg" issue of modern bookstores -- do they cater exclusively to the longhouse because men don't buy books? Or do men not buy books etc etc.?
Most people blame video games for the total capture of male attention. I'm a conservative male -- I love gaming, I even work in the games industry. But I've always loved reading. When I was younger and more left-leaning I used to read fiction; now that I'm older and more redpilled I mostly read non-fiction.
The only reason I can think of is that my father took the time read to me and my brother when we were younger: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis. He didn't just sit us down in front of a TV or a Nintendo and ignore us. He took the time to get us swept up in transformative literature with strong moral guidance at an early age.
I honestly wonder if it's as simple as that. If you grow up with a strong male role model who teaches you the value of reading, you'll read as an adult; if he teaches you the value of fitness, you'll hit the gym; if he shared his love of the outdoors, you're gonna hunt and fish. It's instilling values in a young boy that he'll take into adulthood.
And if he doesn't instill anything, or if there IS no male role model... well, in the absence of any guidance whatsoever, maybe a complete disinterest in pursuing knowledge through reading is understandable.
All I know is I read books voraciously, and I would NEVER step foot in a modern bookstore, or buy anything they recommend. I buy online. I get recommendations from friends and on forums. I have to work hard to find based books.
If modernity truly wanted a generation of book-reading young men, I suspect they wouldn't have made it so impossible for them to hunt for subject matter that would actually interest them.
I had a similar childhood experience. I suspect a lot of anons in our sphere read 50+ books a year, including a lot of stuff they'd hesitate to discuss openly around the office water cooler.
related: just saw this on the TL: https://x.com/JoyceCarolOates/status/1786787905756619258
I think what we're getting at is that men are reading, they're just not buying new books, because the publishing industry has been totally re-oriented to cater to cat lady librarian types who want to read fat-positive mary sue fantasy or whatever.
Last Things did a great podcast dissection of the values of a fantasy series like LOTR, written by a man of faith in the wake of a world war, in which decent peoples from tightly-knit shared cultures risk everything to fight for what is good; versus the values of something contemporary like Harry Potter, in which a victim of the system (Harry lives under the stairs) is suddenly crowned the Secret Best Person Ever through no hard work or risk of his own, and resets the entire established order back to Year One.
God knows what drivel you'd be able to even buy from a bookstore to read to a young boy today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDXgpkIVr3Y
Great analysis, I gotta listen to more Last Things.
I wish I'd bookmarked it, but someone in the new right sphere made a point last week about how yes, women read, but they just read trash.
He posted a hilarious picture of like 20 bestsellers -- all the same color scheme, the same font, the same art style, the same title construction. It was just the same shitty book with the same shitty heroine and the same shitty politics twenty times. That picture you posted might as well be a group photo of the authors.
I saw this. I think the women pictured in my photo are likely writing more highbrow stuff, but it's going to be the same ~personal narrative~ MFA stuff for NPR listeners...still very cookie cutter.
Tik Tok - Owned by the CCP
Simpson - No one's in control of Tic Tok
Also Simpson - Tik Tok is making kids commies
So... could we deduce that maybe someone DOES control Tik Tok (commies), and this thoughtless state of latent resentment it engenders is by design? It reduces the human mind to a state of nature. In the case of women, literally so, considering many on the platform wear no makeup.
Loving NRP