Quillette Podcast

Quillette Podcast

The Quillette Podcast is a platform for rigorous, academic discussions rooted in common sense and free inquiry. Non-dogmatic and grounded in liberal values, the podcast serves as a beacon for thoughtful conversation on science, politics, philosophy, and culture. Quillette prides itself on intellectual honesty, avoiding ideological extremism in favor of evidence-based reasoning and progress. Hosted by leading voices in academia and journalism, past guests include evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, and journalist Douglas Murray, among others. Expect candid conversations that promote common sense and challenge anti-science and conspiratorial narratives from both the far left and right.

Episodes

June 12, 2025 15 mins
Writer Meghan Daum talks to Iona Italia about her new essay collection, The Catastrophe Hour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Dancer and choreographer Rosie Kay talks to Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay about the three radioactive political topics that can derail an artist’s career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Harvard professor Steven Pinker tells Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay why Donald Trump’s campaign against his university’s ‘woke’ policies goes too far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Ellie Avishai—who recently lost her affiliated position at UATX after she pushed back against the school’s strident anti-DEI messaging.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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May 16, 2025 15 mins
Iona Italia talks to engineer Paul Brown about the hidden costs of renewables and the skewed incentives that are driving some countries towards unsustainable energy policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Washington Post columnist and TED Talker Megan McArdle about the short-term pain—and long-term gain—heralded by the AI revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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May 1, 2025 14 mins
Iona Italia talks to Alan Davidson about censorship, self-censorship, the Online Safety Act and other threats to free speech in Australia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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April 25, 2025 20 mins
In advance of Monday’s nation-wide vote, Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay discusses Justin Trudeau’s resignation, Pierre Poilievre’s bad luck, the rise of Mark Carney, and the effects of Donald Trump’s aggressive protectionism on Canadian politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with author and TED Talker Lenore Skenazy, whose campaign to give children more opportunities for independent play and learning once earned her the title of ‘America’s Worst Mother.’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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April 11, 2025 16 mins
Iona Italia talks to John H. Cochrane aka "The Grumpy Economist" about the motivations, effects and implications of Donald Trump's economic policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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April 5, 2025 15 mins
Iona Italia talks to William Costello, an evolutionary psychologist whose work focuses on incels, about what the Netflix series 'Adolescence' gets right and wrong about this group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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March 27, 2025 35 mins
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with author and satirist Andrew Doyle about the worrying rise of illiberal ideologies and cultish political tendencies among conservatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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March 20, 2025 15 mins
Quillette’s Managing Editor Iona Italia talks to scholar Izabella Tabarovsky about the Soviet roots of contemporary anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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March 15, 2025 26 mins
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with book author Ira Wells about the censorship demands emanating from both sides of the political spectrum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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March 5, 2025 15 mins
Iona Italia talks to Brookings Institution senior fellow Jonathan Rauch about his latest book, Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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February 22, 2025 15 mins
Quillette editor-in-chief Claire Lehmann speaks with Bangladeshi-born Australian psychiatrist and journalist Tanveer Ahmed about the rise of Jew-hatred in their country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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February 14, 2025 17 mins
Iona Italia talks to evolutionary psychologist David C. Geary about why he believes evolved differences between the sexes have been growing more salient in western societies.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with The Line editor Jen Gerson about how U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats have affected Canada’s already fractured political landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Yale English professor-turned-essayist William Deresiewicz, who argues that Americans—many Democrats included—are fed up with campus-style progressive radicalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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January 17, 2025 17 mins
Quillette podcast host Iona Italia speaks with Dutch writer Marco Visscher, author of The Power of Nuclear: The Rise, Fall and Return of Our Mightiest Energy Source. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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