Long-Form Content

 

 

Today’s content builds on one I posted eight years ago, entitled “Walk a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes.” Then, I lamented most people’s willingness to consider other people’s opinions from other people’s perspectives, choosing instead to assume the worst of others or be shut off from others. 

Alas, our society seems to have only gotten more divisive. Not coincidentally, social media has ascended in cultural importance. And given its emphasis on optics and sound bites, it’s only natural that we’ve gotten more segregated, more aggrieved, and more helpless to find connection with others who think different from us. 

It is healthy to take a break from doom-scrolling at times. But it is also important to lean into ways to harness social media for good too. Because these platforms can be quite harmful, truly, but they can also be a positive force. 

I have found long-form podcasts to be a good way to counteract the quick-hitting nature of the most destructive forms of social media, where we find a particularly inartful or seemingly evil statement, isolate it from its broader context, put it out as red meat for those who will be similarly outraged as we are, and watch the anger go viral. 

Podcaster Lex Fridman is sometimes a little bit too accommodating of his guests than I’d like him to be – in the spirit of being welcoming and open, he oftentimes devolves into fanboy status and seldom pushes back on positions that deserve to be further explained if not recanted – but what I do like is his willingness to give famous people very long amounts of time to hold court, not only on their subject matter expertise but on many other topics important to a functioning society. 

I will confess a preference for the science and technology guests, so I can geek out with them on things like AI and space travel and neuroscience. I also enjoy when the topic du jour is business or sports or entertainment. But culture and politics are where this long-form content really shines, because you’re able to hear directly and at length from people who have otherwise been rendered in small bites on social. Consider some of the following guests whose Fridman podcasts I’ve recently listened to, and make a snap judgment as you review the names as to a few things you immediately think about them: 

Bill Ackman 

Tulsi Gabbard

Andrew Huberman

Vivek Ramaswamy 

Ivanka Trump

Mark Zuckerberg

Some may say some of these people (and others like Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson and Donald Trump) hold beliefs so vile that they do not deserve to have a platform for their opinions because they are inherently inflammatory and dehumanizing. I will not argue with that position. But I will say, why not listen to them for an hour or two? You may or may not change your mind, but you will likely leave with a broader understanding of that person and his or her views. After all, over a 4 hour long conversation, a person will end up showing their true colors and cannot hide behind good editing, filters, and prepared notes. I consider myself someone who works really hard to not get sucked in by sound bites, but I can say that many of Fridman’s podcasts have been profoundly helpful in understanding someone beyond the clearly shallow view of them I previously had. 

We will likely never go back to the time of Lincoln and Douglas, when presidential debate statements lasted hours rather than seconds. But that doesn’t mean that long-form content isn’t available and accessible. Kudos to Fridman for having all kinds of guests on his show, and being earnest and honest in drawing out their views on issues key to our human race.