When the Left Turns on Its Own: Jesse Brown on Antisemitism and Audience Backlash скачать в хорошем качестве

When the Left Turns on Its Own: Jesse Brown on Antisemitism and Audience Backlash

This week, Jonathan speaks with Jesse Brown, founder of Canadaland, about a political realignment neither of them expected. Once on opposite sides of Canada’s media wars, the two now find themselves confronting the same problem: the surge in antisemitism, hate speech, and political denial that followed the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. Jesse describes how a segment of Canadaland’s progressive audience – and even staff – turned on him when he spoke out about rising hate targeting Canadian Jews. What followed was a shock to him: accusations, cancellations, and an internal revolt from listeners who believed antisemitism was a distraction from “the real struggle.” In this conversation, Jesse and Jonathan explore: • the fracturing of progressive media • how audience capture warps newsroom behaviour • why antisemitism has become a political blind spot • the growing normalization of hate speech and street violence • Jesse’s new podcast project, “What Is Happening Here,” documenting attacks on Canadian Jews • their own strange history as former rivals It’s a candid, sometimes uncomfortable, and very timely discussion about the moral, cultural, and political forces reshaping Canada. 00:00 — Introducing Jesse Brown 00:14 — Canadaland’s origins and political identity 00:29 — Jesse’s media criticism and past clashes with Jonathan 00:57 — How their public feud shaped early Canadian media debates 01:09 — Jesse on money, independence, and building Canadaland 08:15 — Audience capture and how it distorts journalism 08:43 — The left–right shift inside modern media 09:53 — What Canadaland’s audience actually believes 15:28 — The Canadian trucker convoy and political realignment 19:58 — Understanding the new forms of antisemitism 20:26 — Personal accounts of harassment and rising hate 23:14 — Historical patterns of antisemitism revisited 23:55 — Comparing Nazi-era myths to modern narratives 24:49 — How language around “hate” has changed 28:48 — Inside Jewish community life in Canada 32:21 — Zionism, identity, and political pressure 36:05 — A controversial public statement about Israel 37:16 — Social-justice activism and the Israel narrative 38:24 — The Toronto event that revealed deeper problems 44:59 — Old myths returning in modern progressive circles 47:18 — Jonathan on media burnout and existential dread 48:27 — Encounters with progressive activists 49:06 — When social-justice dogma becomes newsroom policy 57:11 — How political enforcement works inside media organisations 57:26 — Internal conflicts within Canadaland 59:05 — The value of dissent and open disagreement 1:03:18 — Worries about Canada’s political direction 1:04:28 — Shifts in media loyalties and ideological tribes 1:04:41 — Closing thoughts and context of the recording ----- Quillette is an Australian-based online magazine that focuses on long-form analysis and cultural commentary. It is politically non-partisan, but relies on reason, science, and humanism as its guiding values. Quillette was founded in 2015 by Australian writer Claire Lehmann. It is a platform for free thought and a space for open discussion and debate on a wide range of topics, including politics, culture, science, and technology. Quillette has gained attention for publishing articles and essays that challenge modern orthodoxy on a variety of topics, including gender and sexuality, race and identity politics, and free speech and censorship. --- Quillette's revenue comes from our readers. We are a grassroots organisation that relies on voluntary subscriptions and community membership as our primary revenue stream. Support Quillette by becoming a subscriber: https://quillette.com/#/portal/signup Or donate send us a one-off tip: https://quillette.com/#/portal/support We made our website using Ghost, a powerful app for new-media creators to publish, share, and grow a business around their content. It comes with modern tools to build a website, publish content, send newsletters & offer paid subscriptions to members. Try it here: https://ghost.org/?via=claire91