Dan Carlin is an American podcaster and author considered by some to be part of the intellectual dark web.
Carlin has been conspicuously silent on the historic civil rights struggle of trans and gender diverse people.
Background
Daniel “Dan” Carlin was born November 14, 1965 to parents involved in film and TV production. Carlin earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Colorado, Boulder in 1989. Carlin worked as a journalist in Los Angeles.
Carlin began podcasting in 2005, eventually hosting three shows: Hardcore History, Hardcore History: Addendum, and Common Sense.
Intellectual dark web
Analysis of the DanCarlin subreddit suggests that the connection to the intellectual dark web is weak.
Carlin has been a frequent guest on The Joe Rogan Experience. Nicholas Quah stated in Vulture that both “possess politics that can be fairly hard to describe, but typically run counter to the dominant strings of liberal politics.”Â
In addition to connections to Joe Rogan, Carlin has collaborated with Bill Maher, Sam Harris, and Tim Ferriss
References
Beres, Derek (March 5, 2018). These are the women behind the Intellectual Dark Web. Big Think https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/these-are-the-women-behind-the-intellectual-dark-web/
Quah, Nicholas (November 17, 2020). The Rise of Right-Wing Podcasts Is Upon Us. Vulture https://www.vulture.com/2020/11/rise-of-right-wing-podcasting.html
Mountjoy, Anthony (Jun 6, 2018). Crawling The Intellectual Dark Web. Verboten Publishing https://medium.com/verboten-publishing/deep-data-of-the-intellectual-dark-web-5c323ee782b4
Media
Lex Fridman (November 2, 2020) Dan Carlin: Hardcore History | Lex Fridman Podcast #136. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k-ztNsBM54
Resources
Dan Carlin (dancarlin.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Patreon (patreon.com)
Substack (substack.com)
reddit (reddit.com)
Drew Pinsky is an American physician who has covered issues related to trans and gender diverse people.
Background
David Drew Pinsky was born on September 4, 1958 in Pasadena, California to physician Morton Pinsky (1926â2009) and entertainer Helene Stanton (1925â2017).
After graduating from Polytechnic School in 1976, Pinsky earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in 1980 and a medical degree from University of Southern California in 1984.
Pinsky had a longstanding goal of covering medical issues in the media. After about a decade of radio appearances, Pinsky’s radio show Loveline was syndicated in 1995. MTV premiered a television version in 1996, hosted by Pinsky and Adam Carolla. From 2007-2008 Pinsky hosted Dr. Drew Live. From 2015 to 2019, Pinsky co-hosted Dr. Drew Midday Live. Loveline continued until 2016.
Pinsky hosted several other TV programs, including Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew, Strictly Dr. Drew, Sex…with Mom and Dad, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew, Dr. Drew On Call . Pinsky has made many cameos and is often sought for comment on medical issues, especially drug and alcohol use.
Pinsky and spouse Susan Sailer married on July 21, 1991 and had triplets Douglas, Jordan, and Paulina in 1992. Pinsky has had treatments for prostate cancer. Pinksy has espoused libertarian and sometimes conservative views.
Transgender coverage
Pinsky hosted the program “Transgender in America” on August 26-27 2015 on HLN. The show included Ian Harvie, Marci Bowers, Bamby Salcedo, and DâLo.
In 2015, Pinsky invited anti-trans extremist Ben Shapiro and trans journalist Zoey Tur on an episode of Dr. Drew on Call to discuss an award won by Caitlyn Jenner. After Shapiro insulted trans people in general and Tur in particular, Tur told Shapiro “You should cut that out now, or you’ll go home in an ambulance.” Shapiro, visibly shaken, later threatened to file police reports and lawsuits, but nothing came of any of it. Pinsky later apologized to Shapiro.
Pinksky has appeared on numerous podcasts hosted by anti-transgender activists, including Greg Gutfeld, Megyn Kelly, Bill Maher, Bridget Phetasy, Dave Rubin, and Debra Soh.
References
Ennis, Dawn (August 26, 2015). Can Dr. Drew Capture the Trans Experience? The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/08/26/can-dr-drew-capture-trans-experience
Pinksky, Drew (August 25, 2015). Transgender In America: A Two-Night Event. Dr. Drew https://drdrew.com/2015/transgender-in-america-a-two-night-event/
Robinson, Judah (August 26, 2015). Dr. Drew Says Special On Transgender Issues Was Inspired By Caitlyn Jenner. HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dr-drew-special-transgender-caitlyn-jenner_n_55ddb666e4b04ae49705143e
https://www.salon.com/2015/07/17/ben_shapiro_tries_and_spectacularly_fails_to_humiliate_trans_woman_zoey_tur_what_are_your_genetics_sir/
Resources
Dr. Drew (drdrew.com)
Richard Hanania is an American political scientist, right-wing eugenicist, and anti-transgender extremist.
In 2021 Hanania began hosting a podcast via Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology (CSPI). Guests include other anti-trans extremists, including Chris Rufo, Aaron Sibarium, Eric Kaufmann, Michael Shellenberger, Razib Khan, Steven Pinker, and Jesse Singal.
2023
- Brian Riedl NOV 20, 2023
- Niklas Anzinger OCT 30, 2023
- Chris Rufo JUL 24, 2023
- Leopold Aschenbrenner MAY 15, 2023
- Bryan Caplan MAY 1, 2023
- Robin Hanson MAR 13, 2023
- Nicholas Bagley FEB 27, 2023
- Tim Miller FEB 13, 2023
- Jobst Landgrebe, Barry Smith JAN 30, 2023
- Joe Henrich JAN 16, 2023
- Garett Jones JAN 2, 2023
2022
- Alexander Young DEC 19, 2022
- Aaron Sibarium DEC 5, 2022
- Jonathan Anomaly NOV 21, 2022
- Rob Henderson, Zach Goldberg NOV 7, 2022
- Eric Kaufmann OCT 24, 2022
- Alex Tabarrok OCT 10, 2022
- Bryan Caplan SEP 26, 2022
- Tyler Cowen SEP 12, 2022
- Amy Wax AUG 29, 2022
- Stephen Grugett, James Grugett AUG 15, 2022
- Andrew Kenneson, Maxwell Tabarrok, Brent Skorup AUG 1, 2022
- Richard Lowery JUL 18, 2022
- David Bernstein JUL 4, 2022
- Seth Stephens-Davidowitz JUN 20, 2022
- Eric Kaufmann JUN 6, 2022
- Bryan Caplan MAY 23, 2022
- Eron Wolf MAY 18, 2022
- Jordan Lasker MAY 9, 2022
- Philippe Lemoine APR 25, 2022
- Gail Heriot APR 11, 2022
- Noah Carl MAR 28, 2022
- Steve Hsu MAR 14, 2022
- Jimmy Soni FEB 28, 2022
- Steve Hsu FEB 14, 2022
- Alec Stapp JAN 31, 2022
- Freddie deBoer JAN 17, 2022
- Jonah Davids JAN 3, 2022
2021
- Charles Fain Lehman, Gabriel Rossman DEC 20, 2021
- Philippe Lemoine DEC 6, 2021
- Leif Rasmussen NOV 22, 2021
- Robert Plomin NOV 8, 2021
- Michael Shellenberger OCT 25, 2021
- Razib Khan OCT 11, 2021
- Steven Pinker SEP 27, 2021
- Robin Hanson SEP 13, 2021
- Noor Siddiqui AUG 30, 2021
- Marc Andreessen AUG 16, 2021
- Philippe Lemoine AUG 2, 2021
- Eric Posner JUL 19, 2021
- Razib Khan JUL 5, 2021
- Mark Lutter JUN 21, 2021
- Sean McMeekin JUN 7, 2021
- Jesse Singal MAY 24, 2021
- Bryan Caplan MAY 10, 2021
- Garett Jones APR 26, 2021
- John Mueller APR 12, 2021
- Philippe Lemoine MAR 15, 2021
- Eric Kaufmann MAR 2, 2021 & MAR 29, 2021
- Razib Khan FEB 4, 2021
- Zach Goldberg JAN 22, 2021
- George Hawley JAN 9, 2021
Aaron Terrell is a conservative American transgender activist opposed to US medical consensus on care for gender diverse youth.
Terrell is affiliated with the website Gender Dysphoria Alliance and co-hosts the Transparency podcast.
Background
Terrell was born in ~1984 and grew up in a conservative Evangelical Christian environment.
Terrell self-identifies as having a controversial disease called “autoandrophilia”: “I found gay men most attractive, and fantasized about being one.” Terrell transitioned in ~2011 and lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Activism
In 2021 Terrell was reportedly radicalized by J.K. Rowling.
Terrell co-founded the Gender Dysphoria Alliance website in 2020.
References
Sahakian, Teny (August 10, 2023). A trans man asked this simple question about kids at a trans conference. He was kicked out. Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/trans-man-asked-simple-question-kids-trans-conference-kicked
Media
Benjamin Boyce (October 27, 2021) Being A Woman Being A Man | A Transitioner’s Tale, with Aaron Terrell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS2rLY_jVQI
Benjamin Boyce (May 27, 2023). Fatal Flaws in “Gender Affirming” Care | with Eliza Mondegreen & Aaron Terrell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f2-a7fY9Zc
Resources
Gender Dysphoria Alliance (genderdysphoriaalliance.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Substack (substack.com)
Aaron Kimberly is a nurse and conservative transgender activist. Kimberly is an advisor to anti-trans group Genspect.
References
Laval, Mary (July 26, 2021). Transition in hindsight: Aaron Kimberlyâs story. Genspect https://genspect.org/transition-in-hindsight-aaron-kimberlys-story/
Resources
Aaron Kimberly (aaronkimberly.com)
Gender Dysphoria Alliance (genderdysphoriaalliance.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Blaire White is a conservative transgender activist and YouTuber. White hosts a “drama” channel focusing on the easiest targets, usually whatever trans person has done the most controversial thing that week. White also hosts a similar podcast called The Blaire White Project. White makes frequent appearances with other conservative trans people and anti-trans activists. White has been affiliated with extremist group Gays Against Groomers and is a favored source for conservative media outlets and anti-trans journalists.
Resources
YouTube (youtube.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Blaire White Merch Store (blairemerch.com)
Gloria Steinem is an American author and activist. Steinem is a key historic figure in second-wave feminism.
After publishing anti-transgender writings in the 1970s, Steinem revised some of those views and now supports trans-inclusive feminism.
Background
Gloria Marie Steinem was born March 25, 1934 in Toledo to Leo Steinem, a Jewish traveling antiques dealer, and Ruth Nuneviller Steinem, a Presbyterian homemaker. Steinem’s parents split in 1944.
Ruth Steinem grew increasingly unstable, leading Steinem to move in with older sibling Susanne Steinem Patch in Washington DC. After graduating from high school there, Steinem earned a bachelor’s degree from Smith College in 1956.
In 1957, Steinem had an abortion in London while traveling to India. After two years in India, Steinem returned to the United States and began researching and writing, publishing work in Help! Show, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, and New York.
In 1972, Steinem co-founded Ms. magazine. In July 1974, the magazine published an excerpt from trans travel writer Jan Morris, which led to backlash.
Throughout the 1970s, Steinem played a central role in the women’s rights movement and became a favored author and source on the subject.
Anti-trans views and reconsideration
In February 1977, amid increasing anti-trans sentiment surrounding transgender athletes in general and Renee Richards in particular, Steinem published an anti-trans article titled “If the Shoe Doesnât Fit, Change the Foot.” Steinem claimed “transsexuals are paying an extreme tribute to the power of sex roles. In order to set their real human personalities free, they surgically mutilate their own bodies…” Steinem also embraced the conspiracy theory of “the transsexual empire” promoted by Janice Raymond.
In 2013, Steinem addressed “words circulated out of time and context” from those previous writings:
So now I want to be unequivocal in my words: I believe that transgender people, including those who have transitioned, are living out real, authentic lives. Those lives should be celebrated, not questioned. Their health care decisions should be theirs and theirs alone to make. And what I wrote decades ago does not reflect what we know today as we move away from only the binary boxes of “masculine” or “feminine” and begin to live along the full human continuum of identity and expression.
Steinem (2013)
In 2021, Steinem signed an open letter supporting trans women and girls, saying, “I am proud to sign this letter because we all must fight against the unnecessary barriers placed on trans women and girls by lawmakers and those who co-opt the feminist label in the name of division and hatred.”
References
Morris, Jan (July 1974) Conundrum [excerpt]. Ms. pp. 57ff.
Steinem, Gloria (February 1977). If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit, Change the Foot. Ms. p. 76ff.
Steinem, Gloria (1983). Transsexualism. in Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions. pp. 224â226. Henry Holt & Co, ISBN 978-0030632365
Robert, Monica (September 28, 2012). Gloria Steinem-Transphobe. TransGriot https://transgriot.blogspot.com/2012/09/gloria-steinem-transphobe.html
Steinem, Gloria (October 2, 2013). Op-ed: On Working Together Over Time. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2013/10/02/op-ed-working-together-over-time
GLAAD (March 31, 2021). Open Letter Supporting Trans Women and Girls. https://glaad.org/tdovletter/
Media
Holly Lawford-Smith [narrator]. (June 3, 2023). Gloria Steinem | Transsexualism (1977). Feminist Heretics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7IeYPYBnGY
Resources
Gloria Steinem (gloriasteinem.com)
National Women’s History Museum (womenshistory.org)
- Gloria Steinem
- womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/gloria-steinem
Instagram (instagram.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Jess de Wahls is an East German-born artist and anti-transgender activist based in London.
Background
Jess De Wahls was born in 1983. She grew up in East Berlin and moved to the UK in 2004. Her medium is embroidery.
De Wahls’ father crossdresses: “My father doesn’t do labels other than sometimes jokingly calling himself a paradise bird.”
Anti-transgender activism
in 2019, de Wahls published a long statement accompanying an embroidered artwork. In it, she revealed herself to be deeply involved in anti-transgender activism.
In 2021 she became a cause célÚbre for anti-transgender activists when the Royal Academy pulled her work from their gift shop after complaints about her transphobia. They later apologized.
She has gone on to write for anti-transgender publications, including UnHerd and The Spectator.
References
De Wahls, Jess (August 5, 2019). Somewhere over the Rainbow, something went terribly wrong… https://www.jessdewahls.com/blog/2019/8/5/somewhere-over-the-rainbow-something-went-terribly-wrong
Perry, Louise (29 June 2021). “The Jess De Wahls debacle shows you can only really be cancelled by your friends”. New Statesman. London. Archived
RA (23 June 2021). “Media Statement from the Royal Academy of Arts” (PDF). Royal Academy of Arts. Archived
Whitworth, Damian (22 June 2021). “Jess de Wahls: Death wishes and fear after the Royal Academy cancelled me”. The Times UK. Archived
de Walhls, Jess (December 31, 2021). The heretics will not be silenced. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/12/the-heretics-will-not-be-silenced/
de Walhls, Jess (June 15, 2022). How the RA uncancelled me. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/06/how-the-royal-academy-uncancelled-me/
Resources
Jess de Wahls (jessdewahls.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Andrew Doyle is a writer and anti-transgender activist who created the Titania McGrath character, a satire of social justice warriors.
Background
Doyle was born in Derry, Northern Ireland and grew up Catholic. Doyle cearned a bachelor’s degree at Aberystwyth University, a master’s degree at University of York, and a doctorate from University of Oxford.
Doyle co-wrote satiric news reporter Jonathan Pie and has published two books as Titania McGrath: Woke: A Guide to Social Justice (2019) and My First Little Book of Intersectional Activism (2020).
Doyle joined GB News in 2021 as host of Free Speech Nation.
Anti-trans activism
UnHerd published an overview of Doyle’s anti-transgender views, which center on the “gay erasure” conspiracy theory that claims trans people are a plot to eliminate gay people like Doyle:
certain Left-leaning activists are doing their utmost to advance a social constructionist view of both sex and gender. The result has been a curious theoretical alliance between gender ideologues â for whom outmoded stereotypes are taken to signify an authentic self â and traditionalists who similarly feel that male and female behaviour ought to be strictly defined.
[…]
In her new book Time to Think, Hannah Barnes has revealed that between 80-90% of adolescents who were referred to the Tavistock paediatric gender clinic were same-sex attracted. Other writers, such as Helen Joyce, have already drawn on studies that confirm a strong correlation between gender non-conformity in youth and homosexuality in adult life. Members of the staff at the Tavistock itself joked that soon âthere would be no gay people leftâ and whistle-blowers revealed that homophobia was endemic.
[…]
It is significant that activists who insist that stereotypes of male and female behaviour are suggestive of an innate âgender identityâ should also seek to deny the reality of sexual dimorphism. The view that sex is a âspectrumâ has even infiltrated major academic literature, including the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
References
Doyle, Andrew (March 24, 2022). Have we reached peak trans? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/03/have-we-reached-peak-trans/
Doyle, Andrew (February 19, 2023). JK Rowling is NOT a transphobe, says Andrew Doyle. GBNews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sPytU-qgq8
Doyle, Andrew (January 29, 2023). Nicola Sturgeon ‘not being honest’ over transgender bill, Andrew Doyle says. GBNews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxTy5ZXMN1U
Doyle, Andrew (March 20, 2022). Andrew Doyle on trans debate: If murderers get upset about being misgendered my sympathy is limited. GBNews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW5TuawAjig
Doyle, Andrew (March 1, 2023). The gender wars started in 1531. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2023/03/the-gender-wars-started-in-1531/
Resources
Andrew Doyle (andrewdoyle.co.uk)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Miquel Missé Sånchez is a Spanish sociologist. Missé, who is transgender, has been published in anti-trans publication UnHerd.
Background
Miquel MissĂ© SĂĄnchez was born in 1986 in Barcelona. MissĂ© graduated from Universitat AutĂČnoma de Barcelona.
Missé has written several works about the intersection of gender and medicine:
- El gĂ©nero desordenado: crĂticas en torno al patologizaciĂłn de la transexualidad (Egales: 2010)
- PolĂticas trans. Una antologĂa de textos desde los estudios trans norteamericanos (Egales: 2015)
- Transexualidades, otras miradas posibles (Egales: 2013)
- A la conquista del cuerpo equivocado (Egales: 2018)
The Myth of the Wrong Body
In 2018 MissĂ© published The Myth of the Wrong Body (A la conquista del cuerpo equivocado). As philosopher Talia Mae Bettcher and author Janet Mock have explained, the “wrong body” metaphor has a number of versions:
- born in the wrong body
- trapped in the wrong body
- soul of a [woman] in the body of a [man] (or vice versa)
Unfortunately, many cisgender people and some trans people take these metaphors literally. Critics will retort “no one is born in the wrong body.”
Most trans people reject all forms of the “wrong body” idea. That’s why this convenient and lazy description is mainly used by cisgender people, gender-diverse children, and low-information trans adults.
As I wrote in the academic journal Gender Medicine in 2006:
Gender identity and expression take on different meanings within different systems of thought. Because medical technologies are available to assist in the somatic expression of these identities, several medicalized disease models of the phenomena have developed.
Both Missé and I are critical of these medicalized approaches to gender identity and expression. Being transgender is a trait, neither good nor bad. Disease models are a major historical source of our oppression.
The traditional focus on the so-called “triadic therapy” of hormones, genital surgery, and living “in role” has diminished in my lifetime. Trans and gender diverse people have many more choices for how to express themselves. Unfortunately, some people believe that medical transition will make them a new person or solve problems it can’t. As my therapist once said, “There’s never a happy ending to an unhappy journey.”
The reason anti-trans publication UnHerd excerpted MissĂ©’s book was because they had just published “You can’t be born in the wrong body” by Ellen Pasternack. They felt that MissĂ© backs this up. UnHerd also promotes the anti-transgender conspiracy theory that transgender healthcare is a money grab by Big Pharma and greedy surgeons who are luring people into expensive medical options.
Missé does have a point that under consumer capitalism, some medical professionals are guilty of profiting off trans insecurity. Unfortunately, many trans people are gender schematic, meaning they very much believe in a rigid gender binary and traditional gender roles. These are people most likely to believe medical interventions will make them happy. In many cases, they might. Missé is right to question these assumptions and criticize the unethical, inept, and predatory healthcare providers selling a bill of goods to anxious and insecure trans people.
If UnHerd editors grasped the more radical ideas underpinning what MissĂ© is saying, they would almost certainly not have published this excerpt. You do not need hormones or surgery to claim your identity as a man, woman, or any other identity. Trans people existed long before those technologies were available, and we are the vanguard of humanity’s future possibilities.
References
Halberstram, Jack; MissĂ©, Miquel (March 18, 2022). Jack Halberstam: «There are many different ways of being masculine, but do we know how to bring the structure that we call âmasculinityâ down?» Idee No. 54: Rethinking Masculinity to Transform Society. https://revistaidees.cat/en/jack-halberstam-there-are-many-different-ways-of-being-masculine-but-do-we-know-how-to-bring-the-structure-that-we-call-masculinity-down/
Missé, Miquel (June 1, 2022). The doctors profiting from trans surgery. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/06/the-doctors-profiting-from-trans-surgery/
Bettcher TM (2014). Trapped in the Wrong Theory: Rethinking Trans Oppression and Resistance. Signs Vol. 39, No. 2 (Winter 2014), pp. 383-406 https://doi.org/10.1086/673088
Mock, Janet (2012). Unlearning the âTrappedâ Narrative & Taking Ownership of Our Bodies. https://janetmock.com/2012/07/09/josie-romero-dateline-transgender-trapped-body/
Resources
Miquel Missé (miguelmisse.com)
Wikipedia (es.wikipedia.org)
CCCB (cccb.org)