Joe Rogan’s debate between Dave Smith and Douglas Murray has dominated online discourse for days, with supporters spinning for both sides as if it was a presidential election debate. Even President Trump himself seemingly picked a team, when he posted a glowing endorsement of Murray’s new book the very next day.
Almost as interesting as the main debate were some of the issues it raised about the way debate has transformed in the digital age. Do you need to travel to a specific country, or experience a war, to have valid opinions about what’s happening there? And should the podcasters who now wield more influence than any TV network be more judicious about who they platform? And who really won Murray vs Smith?
Joining Piers Morgan to debate all this is Professor John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, who took issue with a number of Dave’s points and felt he was “epically dismantled” by Murray. Plus Dave Smith himself, comedian and host of ‘Part of the Problem’ defends himself, before being delving into deeper discussion on war discourse with Harvard mathematician and podcaster Dr Eric Weinstein.
Outline:
00:00 – Introduction and monologue
02:50 – Smith on the reaction to his Rogan debate with Douglas Murray
08:40 – John Spencer on why Dave was ‘epically dismantled’ by Murray
15:45 – Is Israel intentionally killing civilians and children?
21:00 – Smith calls Murray a hypocrite
26:40 – Piers asks: When is a war morally just?
37:10 – Conspiracy theorists on Rogan being platformed
38:49 – Eric Weinstein on heterodox thinkers
48:57 – Weinstein’s verdict on the Smith vs Murray Rogan debate
50:30 – Where are we with the Gaza war?
