How did it go so far off the rails?
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“I have been a fan of this podcast since at least 2016 when it stood out from the crowd for its critical thinking, deep dives into complex issues, and discussions of intriguing white papers. In its first iteration, you always had the sense that the hosts—Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, Dara Lind, and Sarah Kliff—had meticulously researched their topics rather than relying on Twitter or the media narrative of the moment. I also felt that, while the hosts themselves had fairly openly left-leaning views, they nonetheless strove to present issues as objectively as the could and generally tried to avoid relying too heavily on opinions that couldn’t really be supported except through moralistic appeals.
I’ve held on and continued to listen to the show through many changes of hosts and all the upheaval at Vox. I think I’m finally turning in my card after the recent Affirmative Action episode. While I support Affirmative Action in hiring and admissions to various degrees, the whole presentation of the subject was so biased and just disingenuous it really left a terrible taste in my mouth. Aside from essentially equating any opponent of the policy to white supremacists, the podcast also minimized the data Harvard was forced to release in which they systematically downgraded the “personality” scores of applicants of East Asian descent.
Moreover, they began the historical discussion of these policies with the civil rights movement, employing an out of context MLK quote in a totally bogus way, conveniently neglecting the checkered origin of “holistic admissions” as a means of minimizing the number of Jewish applicants that Ivy League universities would have been forced in a system based solely on aptitude testing. There was also little to no reckoning with the fact that Affirmative Action has become democratically unpopular across all demographic groups, including 60% of Black Americans who oppose race being a consideration in admissions. At this point, considering race in college admissions has about an identical degree of support and disapproval as the use of legacy admissions (about 5-7% approval for each as a major factor in admissions, and about 75% of Americans saying that both should “not be a factor” in admissions).
There are good cases to be made for racial preference in admissions and hiring, but the notion that this is self-evident to anyone but a blatant racist is ridiculous.
It’s all just a shame because this really was a great show that seemed to avoid some of the more divisive elements of political debate by drilling down to the facts and embraced complexity. Now it seems to have all the journalistic integrity of Fox News, but just on behalf of the other team.”
JmitchK via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
05/24/23
More reviews of The Weeds
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“On the most recent episode, Ezra thought maybe the group got a bit far out into the details of wonky policy, and was looking for feedback on that point. I disagree entirely. There is an awful lot of media doing superficial policy coverage, and my understanding is that Vox was created to permit...”Read full review »
Khimbar via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
10/13/15
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“This podcast has such great potential and the hosts deliver the information in a very entertaining manner that keeps you focused and interested. I'm definitely looking forward to future episodes.”Read full review »
sthack99 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
10/08/15
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“Excellent pod, love the analysis about gun control and single payer as well as the white paper. I really enjoyed the attempt to give balanced, data driven arguments and an attempt to discuss both sides of the issues.”
Rocketeer1125 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
10/14/15
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