Shoot. Do I believe in experts again?

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Shoot. Do I believe in experts again?

One of the biggest losers of this post-October 7th new world order are podcast hosts who read one book on a subject and then consider themselves renegade thinkers who defy conventional wisdom.

From Ezra Klein’s latest interview with “My Promised Land” author Ari Shavit:

“Benny Gantz, who is the likeliest next leader of Israel, he agrees that somehow this war is going to achieve the goals. He agrees that they should go into Rafa. Yair Lapid– the opposition leader– he agrees this war needs to be continued. Benny Morris– the revisionist historian who has done so much to increase our understanding of the expulsion of Arabs during Israel's war that created the state– he agrees they need to go into Rafa. So there is a wide agreement… that they need to go into Rafa. That somehow this will make Israel safe. That Hamas can be sufficiently degraded. Why do they think something so many of us seem to think is not true– which is that what Hamas is is not an idea, not an expression of rage that will find its way out, but a military unit?”

Ummmm, Ezra? Is it possible all these experts– who have spent their entire careers in Israeli politics and military and who you agree with on everything else in Israeli policy– have knowledge on the subject of Hamas that you lack?

“The Israelis,” says Ezra Klein in my imagination, “don’t understand that you can’t kill an idea. But I do. Because I lived through 9/11. Unlike them… somehow.”

Maybe Israel is right about Rafah. Maybe they aren’t. And I know Ezra Klein isn’t stupid. But the attitude on display here has been endlessly frustrating me for the past seven months: A journalist/podcaster is on board for every step in Israel’s decision-making journey, then upon reaching the destination jumps ship. Instead of questioning their own understanding of the decision, they assume an astonishing lack of wisdom and morality. It’s like the ending of the story isn’t happy enough, so they simply insist the characters have gone nuts instead of doing the work to see how it actually fits perfectly into their arc. It begs the question… how they would these journalists prefer the story end?

Check out this sophisticated take from Saagar Enjeti on Ben Shapiro’s firing of Candace Owens. After laying out several reasons why it was so baffling, stupid, and shocking for The Daily Wire to fire Candace over her questioning of America’s support of Israel– Saagar concludes that there couldn’t possibly be any other reason they did it:

“Look. We all know this is because of Israel.”

He starts with his conclusion and works his way backwards. The Daily Wire– who have built themselves into a billion-dollar business over a few short years– have suddenly lost their minds over Israel because… that’s what Jews do? Is that the real story you’re trying so hard to tell?

The worst part is that by doing so, these journalists miss a much more interesting story. I’ve never been a huge fan of The Daily Wire, but I was a huge fan of Saagar, Ezra Klein, and others like them before October 7th.

With so much draaaaaama in the Middle East, this year’s NBA season has been a life raft for me. I probably listen to about ten times as much content (podcasts, YouTube, Reels, etc) than the amount of games I watch, which is an interesting phenomenon unto itself. That my return to basketball coincided with the most beloved and exciting Knicks team 30-years was a nice little coincidence.

Here are two of my favorite things from this season:

🎙️ JJ Reddick¹ has had a huge year. In addition to not aging for yet another trip around the sun, he launched a podcast with Lebron James that amassed almost a million YouTube subs in a few weeks. They go DEEP into basketball geekery, analyzing the X’s and O’s. I can make it through about 5-minutes before I’m lost– which isn’t saying much. Regardless of how much I understand, I do appreciate that they ask the “why” of a bucket instead of the “how.” Why was Lebron open for a shot? What were the other four guys doing that made it possible? It also exposes how every other basketball analyst is saying absolutely nothing, besides “he has step up here!” Here’s a clip from JJ Reddick’s other show, where he gets serious with Shaq about processing retirement.

¹ I first fell in love with JJ Reddick when I was in Maryland and saw how much Terps fans hated him. His cell phone number was posted around campus so any UMD student who wanted to could harass him, which just about tells you everything you need to know about that lovely state. COME AT ME!!

🏀 If you don’t yet know about Anthony Edwards, now is a good time to start paying attention because in a few weeks he may be the new face of the NBA. His nickname is “Ant Man” (which I don’t love but it kinda makes perfect sense), he’s in his third year in The League, and his playoff performance is being compared not to other great players of our generation– but to the greatest players of any generation: Jordan, Kobe, Magic, Bird. He is electric, charming, smooth, and a fierce competitor in an age where players prefer to be BFF’s than rivals. If his team ends up knocking off the defending champs this week, he’ll be launched into the stratosphere. If not, we’ll all just go back to living our lives and be fine.

🤣 And this is just great–

@playdatepod

Replying to @Master Jesus sayings that don’t exist part nine

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Michael Weber is a writer and former host of a Japanese gameshow called “Gefilte Fish or Vomit??” where blindfolded contestants must guess if they’re smelling gefilte fish or vomit. If you received this email, you signed up for his newsletter at some point. If you'd like to unsubscribe, you must first find somebody else to replace you. Share a link to subscribe!