Smart people?
December 18, 2011 5:42 PM Subscribe
I'm feeling a bit sad about Christopher Hitchens' death. I'm starting to feel like everyone super-smart and erudite is either dead or close, so I think I need to be pointed at some of the younger smart crowd.
Who do you think is fascinating, especially those who are younger and might have decades of interesting production still to come? I'm interested in political thinkers, literary types, scientists — anyone who is very bright, outspoken, energetic, witty, and great at verbal or written sparring. I'd specifically like links to blogs or links to archives of their work, if available, and I'd be interested in specific people rather than groups (like TED, which is great — but really I'm looking for individuals with big brains and big personalities).
I need to feel like we're going to survive as a thinking species, so please hope me!
Who do you think is fascinating, especially those who are younger and might have decades of interesting production still to come? I'm interested in political thinkers, literary types, scientists — anyone who is very bright, outspoken, energetic, witty, and great at verbal or written sparring. I'd specifically like links to blogs or links to archives of their work, if available, and I'd be interested in specific people rather than groups (like TED, which is great — but really I'm looking for individuals with big brains and big personalities).
I need to feel like we're going to survive as a thinking species, so please hope me!
Definitely Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Brilliant, accessible, witty, & quite entertaining when taking on anti-science nonsense.
posted by SugarAndSass at 5:49 PM on December 18, 2011 [13 favorites]
posted by SugarAndSass at 5:49 PM on December 18, 2011 [13 favorites]
Malcolm Gladwell, I would think. Atul Gawande. Adam Gopnik.
Maybe you need a subscription to The New Yorker, come to think of it?
posted by musofire at 5:50 PM on December 18, 2011 [7 favorites]
Maybe you need a subscription to The New Yorker, come to think of it?
posted by musofire at 5:50 PM on December 18, 2011 [7 favorites]
Erez Aiden perhaps who is truly multi-disciplinary.
posted by Lucubrator at 5:52 PM on December 18, 2011
posted by Lucubrator at 5:52 PM on December 18, 2011
Ben Goldacre. Who is a year younger than me. Fucker.
posted by rodgerd at 5:53 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by rodgerd at 5:53 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
Do we have a definition for "younger?" Malcolm Gladwell's nearly 50; Tyson - while one of my personal heroes - is 53.
I do think Klein's a perfect example though, and I'm always taken aback when I realize I'm only six months younger than him.
posted by Tomorrowful at 5:54 PM on December 18, 2011
I do think Klein's a perfect example though, and I'm always taken aback when I realize I'm only six months younger than him.
posted by Tomorrowful at 5:54 PM on December 18, 2011
There's a cluster of young Hitchens types--good, punchy, polemical leftist writers, but much more comfortable with capital-T Theory than Hitchens ever was--associated with the magazine Jacobin. I'd suggest subscribing to their group blog, which will let you pick out the proclivities and talents of the individuals associated with the project. Personally I find this stuff a lot more exciting than the liberal Ezra Klein/Malcom Gladwell/TED-talk types that litter the internet, but that's a personal matter.
posted by wwwwwhatt at 5:59 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by wwwwwhatt at 5:59 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Jonah Lehrer. Neuroscientist whiz kid with a great blog.
Sam Harris.
Jeremy Scahill is ultra hacky IMO. His book on Blackwater was worse than useless.
posted by eugenen at 6:16 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sam Harris.
Jeremy Scahill is ultra hacky IMO. His book on Blackwater was worse than useless.
posted by eugenen at 6:16 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
There's a cluster of young Hitchens types--good, punchy, polemical leftist writers, but much more comfortable with capital-T Theory than Hitchens ever was
Isn't Jacobin a little too comfortable with Theory to serve as a replacement for a polemicist like Hitchens?
posted by atrazine at 6:31 PM on December 18, 2011
Isn't Jacobin a little too comfortable with Theory to serve as a replacement for a polemicist like Hitchens?
posted by atrazine at 6:31 PM on December 18, 2011
Joey Barton
posted by the cuban at 6:32 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by the cuban at 6:32 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
Do we have a definition for "younger?" Malcolm Gladwell's nearly 50; Tyson - while one of my personal heroes - is 53.>>
Well, I certainly hope we're not calling nearly 50 and 53 "dead or close"...
posted by FlyByDay at 6:43 PM on December 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
Well, I certainly hope we're not calling nearly 50 and 53 "dead or close"...
posted by FlyByDay at 6:43 PM on December 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
Mark Steyn. His politics is a bit different than most of those listed here, but there's no doubt about his wit and intelligence.
Victor Davis Hanson.
Walter Russell Mead.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:49 PM on December 18, 2011
Victor Davis Hanson.
Walter Russell Mead.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:49 PM on December 18, 2011
Mark Steyn, Victor Davis Hanson, Walter Russell Mead.
All of those writers are quite conservative; Steyn and Hanson, at least, are in their 50s. if you want someone who's written for the National Review who is also youngish, you might be more interested in Reihan Salam or Ross Douhat, the NY Times od-ed guy.
posted by Diablevert at 7:05 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
All of those writers are quite conservative; Steyn and Hanson, at least, are in their 50s. if you want someone who's written for the National Review who is also youngish, you might be more interested in Reihan Salam or Ross Douhat, the NY Times od-ed guy.
posted by Diablevert at 7:05 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Alan Beattie of the Financial Times. Strongly recommend his book False Economy, reviewed here.
Also, Sasha Abramsky, writer of Breadline USA and other works.
posted by motty at 7:14 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, Sasha Abramsky, writer of Breadline USA and other works.
posted by motty at 7:14 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Rachel Maddow.
posted by SisterHavana at 7:22 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by SisterHavana at 7:22 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
Nthing Ta Nehisi Coates. He's in his early 30's and is, for my money, the smartest guy on the web. (Or at least the smartest guy who can also write in an engaging, accessible way.)
Andrew Sullivan (and occasional intellectual sparring partner of TNC) is also a good read.
You might also check out 3 Quarks Daily.
posted by elizeh at 7:24 PM on December 18, 2011
Andrew Sullivan (and occasional intellectual sparring partner of TNC) is also a good read.
You might also check out 3 Quarks Daily.
posted by elizeh at 7:24 PM on December 18, 2011
I'd also say just wait. 20 years ago Hitchens wasn't considered such a lion; there were others occupying that role.
posted by Miko at 7:29 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Miko at 7:29 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
What is so great about Ezra Klein or Rachel Maddow? Are they "super-smart and erudite", even by the impoverished standards of mainstream U.S. punditry? If now is the time to hold up commentators as sparkling intellects because we're sympathetic to their politics, I'll add anthropologist David Graeber.
Terrence Tao is by all reports a pretty fantastic mathematician.
posted by phrontist at 7:32 PM on December 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
Terrence Tao is by all reports a pretty fantastic mathematician.
posted by phrontist at 7:32 PM on December 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
Tim Minchin without a doubt. Watch it. Seriously. I'll give you your money back if you don't enjoy him.
posted by taff at 7:43 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by taff at 7:43 PM on December 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
She doesn't write much on the web, but Sarah Vowell has brilliant and extremely witty things to say about American history and culture.
Compassionate and wry where Hitchens would be combative, though.
posted by pantarei70 at 8:44 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Compassionate and wry where Hitchens would be combative, though.
posted by pantarei70 at 8:44 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Scientists?
In the "theoretical computer science" world, two top young people are at MIT and are producing interesting work that is occasionally accessible to the outside world, one in a more arty way, and the other in a more bloggy way. Terrence Tao also has a blog, and is one of the best mathematicians on the planet. Luis von Ahn is 32 and does amazing things in CS, and Johnny Chung Lee is lurking out there making cool things (like the Kinect).
Cosma Shalizi is a statistician who is so well-read and articulate that he may actually belong in the next category. (His series on genetics and IQ is particularly good.)
Verbal skill?
Verbal skill and politics, then maybe Rachel Maddow or Ta-Nehesi Coates or Melissa Harris-Perry. Ross Douthat seems a little too much of a concern troll for me to really buy him being a future star. Most of the people who you might think of as being lions, were, in their time, not famous for being that when they were that. Which is a sentence that kind of got away from me, but hopefully you know what I mean. Reputation points are doled out after good clever actions, not before, and usually not even during. Also of interest may be Jon Favreau (Obama's speechwriter). Sam Harris is intermittently great, Jay Smooth talks eloquently about race, and nobody ever successfully accused Ayaan Hirsi Ali of being dumb. Sarah Vowell and John Hodgman are coming from a completely different area, but are also neat. Those last three are all early-40s, however, which may be "young" or not, depending on where you are standing.
Writers?
I got nothin'. I need to read more new fiction.
Artists?
Reggie Watts and Jason Polan.
posted by pmb at 9:23 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
In the "theoretical computer science" world, two top young people are at MIT and are producing interesting work that is occasionally accessible to the outside world, one in a more arty way, and the other in a more bloggy way. Terrence Tao also has a blog, and is one of the best mathematicians on the planet. Luis von Ahn is 32 and does amazing things in CS, and Johnny Chung Lee is lurking out there making cool things (like the Kinect).
Cosma Shalizi is a statistician who is so well-read and articulate that he may actually belong in the next category. (His series on genetics and IQ is particularly good.)
Verbal skill?
Verbal skill and politics, then maybe Rachel Maddow or Ta-Nehesi Coates or Melissa Harris-Perry. Ross Douthat seems a little too much of a concern troll for me to really buy him being a future star. Most of the people who you might think of as being lions, were, in their time, not famous for being that when they were that. Which is a sentence that kind of got away from me, but hopefully you know what I mean. Reputation points are doled out after good clever actions, not before, and usually not even during. Also of interest may be Jon Favreau (Obama's speechwriter). Sam Harris is intermittently great, Jay Smooth talks eloquently about race, and nobody ever successfully accused Ayaan Hirsi Ali of being dumb. Sarah Vowell and John Hodgman are coming from a completely different area, but are also neat. Those last three are all early-40s, however, which may be "young" or not, depending on where you are standing.
Writers?
I got nothin'. I need to read more new fiction.
Artists?
Reggie Watts and Jason Polan.
posted by pmb at 9:23 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Not really a subject I care about, but this girl seems to be pretty damned fearless for a high schooler. Never would have heard of her save the fact she lives close by.
posted by timsteil at 10:32 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by timsteil at 10:32 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
David Graeber - he just published his masterpiece, Debt: The First 5,000 Years, earlier this year and is very of the moment owing to his well-publicized involvement in the OWS movement. Whatever you think of his politics, you have to respect the intellect and work he has done as an anthropologist.
posted by clark at 10:44 PM on December 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by clark at 10:44 PM on December 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
I usually can't stand to read economics but Mike Konczal's Rortybomb is good.
GinandTacos is an anonymous blog written by a history professor. It's not at all wonky, however.
Charlie Brooker is consistently funny, bitter, and insightful.
James Wolcott is quite funny as well.
Skepchick is an atheist/free thinker/feminist group blog that's fun to go through.
I think the days of "Grand, All-Knowing Pundit" are pretty much over, and that's a good thing. As mentioned, a site like 3 Quarks Daily is great because it rounds up a lot of interesting stuff.
posted by bardic at 10:47 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
GinandTacos is an anonymous blog written by a history professor. It's not at all wonky, however.
Charlie Brooker is consistently funny, bitter, and insightful.
James Wolcott is quite funny as well.
Skepchick is an atheist/free thinker/feminist group blog that's fun to go through.
I think the days of "Grand, All-Knowing Pundit" are pretty much over, and that's a good thing. As mentioned, a site like 3 Quarks Daily is great because it rounds up a lot of interesting stuff.
posted by bardic at 10:47 PM on December 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you're looking for an outspoken atheist, I like Penn Jillette. He has a podcast called Penn Point, and a previous one called Penn Says.
posted by IndigoRain at 12:10 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by IndigoRain at 12:10 AM on December 19, 2011
Stephen Pinker is not young - I was studying his work as an undergrad ten years ago. I think OP is asking about who we will be studying in the future.
posted by mippy at 4:37 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by mippy at 4:37 AM on December 19, 2011
Andrew Gelman is a good statistician blogger. Also I second the mention of Cosma Shalizi.
Two good libertarian thinkers and writers are Jacob Sullum and Radley Balko.
A bunch of the economics faculty (and connected folks) at GMU are pretty interesting and thought provoking bloggers (e.g., Tyler Cowen, Alex Tabarrok, Arnold Kling, etc...).
posted by noahpoah at 5:04 AM on December 19, 2011
Two good libertarian thinkers and writers are Jacob Sullum and Radley Balko.
A bunch of the economics faculty (and connected folks) at GMU are pretty interesting and thought provoking bloggers (e.g., Tyler Cowen, Alex Tabarrok, Arnold Kling, etc...).
posted by noahpoah at 5:04 AM on December 19, 2011
The top twenty on this years Longform Best of 2011, as well as the accompanying subtopics, skewed quite young. My personal favorites I found through the site being Mac McClelland and Natasha Vargas-Cooper. The site itself is a great way to discover new favorite voices, they have great taste.
posted by itsonreserve at 6:54 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by itsonreserve at 6:54 AM on December 19, 2011
Gore Vidal is decidedly not one of the younger crowd, but if you're looking for an up-and-coming Hitchens-type, you'd do well to look at who receives his endorsement.
Let me explain: one of the very most important 'heraldings' Hitchens received as a public intellectual was when Gore Vidal declared Hitchens to be his 'intellectual heir.' (This designation was taken away after Hitchen's far swing to the right after 9/11.) Therefore, if you're looking for "today's Hitchens", you might look to the opinion of Vidal, a literary giant who was one of the first to give Hitchens his public reputation.
Looking at the Library Thing blurbers database, Vidal has provided blurbs for the following living writers:
Robert Hughes
Harry Matthews
Roberto Colasso
These are admittedly not really writers in the "online essay every week" mold. That being said, you might also do well to look at his website and recent interviews to see who he's talking up these days - I'm sure you'll find some good leads there. (Vidal himself is still an entertaining and sharp commentator, but beware that the crazy-to-stable ratio has increased considerably in recent years - note the prominent "FDR provoked Pearl Harbor" link at the top of his website right now, a position I believe he always held but didn't used to promote quite so much.)
posted by Ash3000 at 8:18 AM on December 19, 2011
Let me explain: one of the very most important 'heraldings' Hitchens received as a public intellectual was when Gore Vidal declared Hitchens to be his 'intellectual heir.' (This designation was taken away after Hitchen's far swing to the right after 9/11.) Therefore, if you're looking for "today's Hitchens", you might look to the opinion of Vidal, a literary giant who was one of the first to give Hitchens his public reputation.
Looking at the Library Thing blurbers database, Vidal has provided blurbs for the following living writers:
Robert Hughes
Harry Matthews
Roberto Colasso
These are admittedly not really writers in the "online essay every week" mold. That being said, you might also do well to look at his website and recent interviews to see who he's talking up these days - I'm sure you'll find some good leads there. (Vidal himself is still an entertaining and sharp commentator, but beware that the crazy-to-stable ratio has increased considerably in recent years - note the prominent "FDR provoked Pearl Harbor" link at the top of his website right now, a position I believe he always held but didn't used to promote quite so much.)
posted by Ash3000 at 8:18 AM on December 19, 2011
What is so great about Ezra Klein or Rachel Maddow? Are they "super-smart and erudite", even by the impoverished standards of mainstream U.S. punditry? If now is the time to hold up commentators as sparkling intellects because we're sympathetic to their politics,
Now that I'm at a real keyboard -
The reason I recommend Ezra Klein isn't because of sharing his politics but because he does an excellent job of providing fact-based (if not fact-overwhelming) reporting with good synthesis and excellent completion and contextualizing. It's exceptionally hard, IMNSHO, to find someone writing about ongoing legislation and economic issues who both puts arguments and situations into a full context while still making sure to acknowledge all the sides and supporting facts. While he's got a personal bias he's never ambiguous about it and doesn't omit inconvenient information.
I believe you could have read nothing other than what Klein wrote and linked to during the healthcare legislation lead-up and you'd have a better understanding of the nature of the fights and what ended up in the final legislation than if you'd consumed any other media. You might not have shared his belief about what the best outcome was but you'd know what the fight really was and the final outcome.
posted by phearlez at 8:26 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Now that I'm at a real keyboard -
The reason I recommend Ezra Klein isn't because of sharing his politics but because he does an excellent job of providing fact-based (if not fact-overwhelming) reporting with good synthesis and excellent completion and contextualizing. It's exceptionally hard, IMNSHO, to find someone writing about ongoing legislation and economic issues who both puts arguments and situations into a full context while still making sure to acknowledge all the sides and supporting facts. While he's got a personal bias he's never ambiguous about it and doesn't omit inconvenient information.
I believe you could have read nothing other than what Klein wrote and linked to during the healthcare legislation lead-up and you'd have a better understanding of the nature of the fights and what ended up in the final legislation than if you'd consumed any other media. You might not have shared his belief about what the best outcome was but you'd know what the fight really was and the final outcome.
posted by phearlez at 8:26 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Professor Robert Sapolsky (mentioned on the blue here and here). I've learned so much from his Stanford lectures; his hypotheses of how primates behave have changed the way I look at the world and how I relate with other (less hairy) primates.
posted by PixieS at 9:00 AM on December 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by PixieS at 9:00 AM on December 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
In a similar vein to Ezra Klein but more economics focused is Matt Yglesias.
posted by John Frum at 10:51 AM on December 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by John Frum at 10:51 AM on December 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Wow, thanks for the thoughtful answers, everyone. A lot to sift through before I can pick a best. Several I was already aware of (Gawande, Tyson, Gladwell, Maddow, Lessig, Jillette, etc.) and many I have not been exposed to yet. So thanks! And please feel free to keep them coming.
posted by clone boulevard at 12:54 PM on December 19, 2011
posted by clone boulevard at 12:54 PM on December 19, 2011
Assuming you are interested in more than just traditional US liberals, how about Tyler Cowen? I may be overexposed to him (he's local to my area), but he seems to write fairly interesting things on a regular basis that provoke good discussion. He's in his 40s, so likely to be around for a while.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:27 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:27 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Brad DeLong, an economics professor at UC Berkeley and liberal wag. His blog covers history and politics in addition to economics.
posted by neuron at 1:32 PM on December 19, 2011
posted by neuron at 1:32 PM on December 19, 2011
We'll always have Hitchens, though, and while I too regret that he's no putting out more works, I'm also slightly relieved that I may now rationalize to myself that I could conceivably consume his works in my own lifetime.
That said, don't forget we'll always have the works of the dead polemicists, critics, satirists and parodists, and deep thinkers, left and right: Orwell, Chesterton, Dickens, Wodehouse, and Sagan to name my favorites. The late Hitch is in good company.
Also, to the above commentators, bloggers in their 50s are not "dead or nearly so" as the OP worded it, and the fact that you've got thinking (late-)boomers who are engaged to blogging and do it well should be a major sign of cerebral vitality.
posted by Sunburnt at 2:37 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
That said, don't forget we'll always have the works of the dead polemicists, critics, satirists and parodists, and deep thinkers, left and right: Orwell, Chesterton, Dickens, Wodehouse, and Sagan to name my favorites. The late Hitch is in good company.
Also, to the above commentators, bloggers in their 50s are not "dead or nearly so" as the OP worded it, and the fact that you've got thinking (late-)boomers who are engaged to blogging and do it well should be a major sign of cerebral vitality.
posted by Sunburnt at 2:37 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sady Doyle, and her army of contributors.
posted by Laura Macbeth at 6:21 PM on December 19, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Laura Macbeth at 6:21 PM on December 19, 2011 [3 favorites]
Well, he isn't that young, but damn if Stephen Fry one of the greatest modern thinkers.
posted by triggerfinger at 7:11 PM on December 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by triggerfinger at 7:11 PM on December 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
Brian Cox.
Nthing Minchin, he is just great.
posted by getawaysticks at 6:19 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Nthing Minchin, he is just great.
posted by getawaysticks at 6:19 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Naomi Wolf and George Monbiot both have the incisive rational fury of Hitchens, if not the scathing drunken louchness.
Wolf's Democracy 101 is a brilliant seminar on effective adult protest, and she engages directly with her public through Facebook.
Monbiot's about-turn on nuclear power reminds me of Hitchens' principled and dogged espousal of the Iraq War (except that Hitchens' views were wrong and Monbiot's are merely unpopular with his natural audience).
posted by iffley at 7:11 AM on December 20, 2011
Wolf's Democracy 101 is a brilliant seminar on effective adult protest, and she engages directly with her public through Facebook.
Monbiot's about-turn on nuclear power reminds me of Hitchens' principled and dogged espousal of the Iraq War (except that Hitchens' views were wrong and Monbiot's are merely unpopular with his natural audience).
posted by iffley at 7:11 AM on December 20, 2011
Ira Glass has been doing some pretty great investigative journalism lately, in addition to the general awesomeness of This American Life.
Similarly, George Dawes Green, founder of The Moth.
I also think of Daniel Handler as crazy smart in a non-smirky way.
posted by missrachael at 8:48 AM on December 20, 2011
Similarly, George Dawes Green, founder of The Moth.
I also think of Daniel Handler as crazy smart in a non-smirky way.
posted by missrachael at 8:48 AM on December 20, 2011
polemicists:
Matt Taibbi
As'ad AbuKhalil
Arundhati Roy
Richard Seymour
Louis Proyect
Derrick Jensen
contrarians:
Slavoj Zizek (but he's no spring chicken)
Norman Finkelstein (ditto)
The War Nerd
Ken MacLeod
pundits:
Bill Fletcher Jr
Cenk Uygur
Glenn Greenwald
misc (professional academics, writers, etc):
Lauren Berlant
Rey Chow
Robin D. G. Kelley
RSA's who's who
Raj Patel
The China Beat
Wood s Lot
Helen DeWitt
posted by dustyasymptotes at 5:06 PM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
Matt Taibbi
As'ad AbuKhalil
Arundhati Roy
Richard Seymour
Louis Proyect
Derrick Jensen
contrarians:
Slavoj Zizek (but he's no spring chicken)
Norman Finkelstein (ditto)
The War Nerd
Ken MacLeod
pundits:
Bill Fletcher Jr
Cenk Uygur
Glenn Greenwald
misc (professional academics, writers, etc):
Lauren Berlant
Rey Chow
Robin D. G. Kelley
RSA's who's who
Raj Patel
The China Beat
Wood s Lot
Helen DeWitt
posted by dustyasymptotes at 5:06 PM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
I wasn't aware of Hitchens's death :(
Last I heard of him was on CSPAN last year, in an Intelligence Squared debate (where he kicked ass, of course).
My vote for person in the "smart crowd" has to be Stephen Colbert, for his quick wit and mastery of satire. He's always great at making people blurt out their hypocritical thoughts.
posted by carielewyn at 2:48 AM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Last I heard of him was on CSPAN last year, in an Intelligence Squared debate (where he kicked ass, of course).
My vote for person in the "smart crowd" has to be Stephen Colbert, for his quick wit and mastery of satire. He's always great at making people blurt out their hypocritical thoughts.
posted by carielewyn at 2:48 AM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Richard Dawkin's is in Hitch's court. Here's an interview he did with our dearly departed recently.
Brave people.
posted by cassini at 12:55 PM on December 21, 2011
Brave people.
posted by cassini at 12:55 PM on December 21, 2011
Yeah! More help with other gendered thinkers. Keep the suggestions comin!
posted by MidSouthern Mouth at 12:36 PM on December 26, 2011
posted by MidSouthern Mouth at 12:36 PM on December 26, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by iamscott at 5:49 PM on December 18, 2011 [2 favorites]