How Sensitivity Readers Made Publishing More Racist w/Adam Szetela
This week on Conversations with Coleman, I’m joined by writer and cultural critic Adam Szetela, author of That Book Is Dangerous!, a trenchant look at how moral panic, social media, and identity-driven outrage are reshaping the publishing industry. We discuss the rise of so-called sensitivity readers who vet books to ensure they are as inoffensive as possible, and how an obsession with controlling representation of minorities is narrowing creative freedom and silencing risk-taking voices. Adam argues that in trying to avoid stereotypes, the industry may be reinforcing a subtle form of racism, one that flattens characters into symbols instead of portraying them as fully human.
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Coleman Hughes Special: Candace Owens, Brigitte Macron & Our Age of Conspiracy
I watched the eight-hour series on the French First Lady by podcaster Candace Owens, so you don't have to. It’s a fascinating window into a mind gripped by extreme apophenia: the tendency to see patterns where none exist.
So just how and why did Candace Owens spread this lie?
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How to Avoid the Partisan Trap Even at The Washington Post w/ Megan McArdle
You might think you know what a Washington Post columnist sounds like, but Megan McArdle is not your typical liberal media voice. She’s spent years inside the most established outlets in journalism: The Atlantic, Bloomberg, The Economist and yet she’s managed to surprise and infuriate readers on the left with sharp critiques that don’t always toe the party line.
Today on Conversations we talk about why progressives often get economic policy wrong and the real mess behind America’s broken healthcare system. Megan makes a solid pitch for why Americans should continue to have a private system. Megan and I get into it about insurance companies, pharmaceutical giants, and where the incentives in healthcare are completely backwards . . . and, believe it or not, where they actually work.
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1:20:59
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1:20:59
Coleman Hughes Special: Israel, Hamas & the Myth of Moral Equivalence
In this special episode, I take on probably the most controversial and emotionally fraught topic of the moment: the Israel-Hamas conflict.
I think war crimes have been committed on both sides. But that doesn’t mean I think the two sides are morally equivalent. Today, I argue that there’s a fundamental asymmetry between Israel and Hamas, one that’s too often blurred or ignored by the mainstream media. Israel’s actions, while sometimes flawed or tragic in consequence, are ultimately rooted in a defensive logic.
Hamas, on the other hand, has explicitly genocidal goals. But where does that leave us when we see images of children starving and hear reports that Israel is responsible?
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Hollywood's Death By Algorithm w/ Justine Bateman
Filmmaker and digital rights activist Justine Bateman joins me for a conversation on how AI is warping Hollywood and why the content we consume feels increasingly hollow. We dive into the decline of originality, the studios' addiction to algorithms, and how the “double-screen” era (watching while scrolling) has rewired audience expectations, pushing creators toward louder, faster, and shallower stories. Can art survive the attention economy?
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Conversations with Coleman is where deep thinkers and curious minds meet for sharp, surprising, and unfiltered chats. Hosted by Coleman Hughes, writer, thinker, and guy who asks the questions other people dodge - this podcast isn’t about debating. It’s about discovery. Politics, philosophy, race, culture, science: it’s all fair game. If you're done with hot takes and hungry for real-talk, come join the conversation.
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