Video Podcast: JJ McCullough
Welcome to Doomscroll. For episode #04, I sat down with guest JJ McCullough for a long form conversation. The topic of online radicalism has been the subject of an on-going dialogue between myself, JJ and Jreg for several years. I’m excited to share this episode with all of you.
A quick reminder, this is a subscriber supported project. If you like this series and want to see more episodes, you can support the show by becoming a monthly paid subscriber. Your contribution allows me to continue doing this work:
My guest for this week is YouTuber JJ McCullough. McCullough has previously worked as a TV political commentator at Sun News, often described as “the Fox News of Canada”. He has written for the National Review and has served as a columnist for the Washington Post. In this episode we discuss:
Generational shifts from left to right, including; the Trotskyite to Neocon pipeline, bourgeois bohemian boomers and the California ideology
The role of alternative media and our declining trust in the mainstream. Is this trend reversible or should it continue?
The cultural and material origins of right-wing populism. Can liberal democracy continue in the 21st century?
I first encountered JJ McCullough through his influential Washington Post article, “Are Millennial Leftists Aging into Right-wingers?”. He writes:
I was listening to a podcast the other day featuring two hard-left Americans in their late 30s. I won’t name names, but you know the type — socialist intellectuals who use terms like “dissident” to describe themselves.
At the time, I vaguely suspected that he was responding to my podcast episode with author Angela Nagle (mostly because Jreg had just recently told me that he sent the episode to JJ). In fairness, this does describe a wide swath of contrarian former-Berniecrats who have now settled comfortably into the New Right (the recent appearance of a certain podcast commentator on Fox News comes to mind).
JJ and I have had an on-going dialogue about these topics for several years. While we disagree on several core issues, we have always maintained patience and granted the other person space to fully argue their ideas. I find that my analysis and understanding is strengthened through our conversations. If we are in pursuit of the truth, its essential that we talk with people who do not share our exact same worldview.
Watch the full episode here. Drop a ‘Like’ and subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already. It really does help out. These episodes are only available on YouTube right now. I’m going to be posting a lot more content in the next few weeks and months.
Doomscroll #04: JJ McCullough: Are Millennial Leftists Aging into Right-Wingers?