Things I Like: Triggernometry

I bet you couldn’t guess this, but I have an abnormal attraction to intellectual discussions. 

As much as I rag on academia, I grew up within it and had the same sensibilities as academics did in the 19th and for most of the 20th century. Smart people discussing important matters respectfully, intelligently, and relevantly will grab my attention. I don’t need or want my prejudices to be reinforced, although I admit that my “Overton window,” while wide, is not infinite. 

There are people who I consider fools to whom I would not listen, but I do appreciate the opportunity to hear out smart people discussing different points of view. 

One of my intellectual guilty pleasures is watching episodes of Triggernometry, a video podcast from Great Britain featuring Konstantine Kisin and Francis Foster, both comedians, having highly intellectual discussions with public intellectuals, politicians, and other interesting people. They classify themselves as anti-woke, but it would be more accurate to say that they are relentlessly pro-Western and anti-bulls**t. 

Their content features a good mix of long and short-form material–the interviews can go on for an hour or even twice that.

Kisin, in particular, has become a favorite on the intellectual right because he is extraordinarily articulate, has a Brit’s ability to debate in an amusing but compelling fashion, and has mastered the 8-10-minute commentary that gets to the heart of the matter and lays out his point of view in a compelling and persuasive manner. 

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Kisin is an immigrant from Russia of Jewish descent and loves Britain and the West, and unapologetically so. He is also an astute critic of the recent rise of anti-Western movements in our countries and our elites’ suicidal embrace of wokeness. 

Kisin fits more easily into the conservative side of the political spectrum, but he is no partisan. In fact, he tends to have contempt for all politicians because, well, they are usually shallow. 

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Triggernometry, while hardly having the booking power of the largest MSM outlets, does get guests on that you want to spend time listening to. Not always because you agree with them but because they have enormous cultural power. And because these are not so much interviews as conversations, you get a window into their minds. 

One example is Sam Harris’ interview from about nine months ago, in which the prominent public intellectual explained why he (and many in the cultural elite) were thrilled to “conspire” to hide the Hunter Biden laptop. It was a remarkably honest explanation for one of the greatest derelictions of duty in journalism in the past 20 years. 

It caused a firestorm, and you can see why:

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I genuinely believe that what Harris is saying gets to the heart of the matter: people in the Elite, like him, see Trump as such an existential threat that any level of Biden corruption should be hidden in order to get rid of Trump, including the murder of children. 

Sound familiar? That is exactly what they think because they truly believe in their moral superiority. It is also why they routinely cover up the sins of their peers–it is more important to have the “right” people around than “good” people. 

As I have noted when speaking of the World Economic Forum, they are not actually Bond villains, because they are genuinely proud of their evil beliefs, because they believe they are actually good. The WEF has a website describing why you should eat bugs, live in 15-minute cities, and own nothing. 

Having the opportunity to hear people describe their thinking is intensely valuable, and you get that opportunity when you sit down to watch an episode of Triggernometry. Triggernometry is worth watching because you get a window into how people think, and they are willing to do that because there is no “gotcha” vibe. It’s a conversation between smart people saying what they believe are smart things. 

Others like Bill Maher, Andrew Klavan, and Neil de Grasse Tyson have sat down with Kisin and Foster. Tyson famously made his arguments about transgenderism and sexual identity on their podcast, igniting a similar firestorm. 

If what you are looking for is confirmation of your own worldview, Triggernometry is not the best place to find it. At its best, you will witness some of the best conversations without fighting with people who differ. Getting to hear how people think helps us do so ourselves.