November 9, 2021

EP. 130 — What is Xenophobia Exactly? with George Makari

Human beings have long been afraid of the “other.” But is this fear ingrained in our psyche, or a product of our surroundings? And where does the word even come from? To answer, on the show this week is historian and psychiatrist George Makari. Check out his book Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia, at http://factuallypod.com/books

Transcript

FACT-130-20211108-Makari-RCv02-DYN.mp3 Speaker 1 [00:00:22] Hello and welcome to Factually. My name is Adam Conover. Thank you once again for joining me as I talk to another amazing expert from around the world of human knowledge about all the amazing shit that they know, that I don’t know and that you probably don’t know. My mind is going to be blown. Your mind is going to be blown. Our minds are going to be blown together. Today we are going to talk about xenophobia. See, humankind always seems to have a deep seated aversion to the other. We have a story that we tell ourselves about where this came from, a folk understanding of it. It goes something like this: long ago, in the cave person years, we used to live in tribes and those on the outside of our tribe were defacto threats. In the world of scarce resources and saber toothed everything, it made sense for our ancestors to pick up a club and bonk first, ask questions later. That story continues: to the way we talk abou

Recent Episodes

July 26, 2022

How can we best help animals, when it’s we humans who cause their suffering? Animal Crisis authors Alice Crary and Lori Gruen join Adam to explain how the same systems that hurt and kill animals also harm humans. They discuss the human rights abuses that happen in industrial slaughterhouses and how palm oil monocrops are devastating the world’s rainforests. They also share how we can have solidarity with animals in our daily lives. You can purchase their book at http://factuallypod.com/books

July 19, 2022

In times of turmoil, it can be useful to take a longer view of history. Like, a LOT longer. Paleontologist and author of “The Rise and Reign of the Mammals” Stephen Brusatte joins Adam to explain how mammals took over the Earth hundreds of millions of years ago, and why we survived and achieve sentience when dinosaurs died out. Stephen goes on to discuss why taking a deep look at our history can help prepare us for the crises of the near future. You can purchase Stephen’s book at http://factuallypod.com/books

July 13, 2022

Trans people have existed as long as, you know, people have. But the barriers to legal inclusion and equality are still higher than most people realize. “Sex is as Sex Does” author Paisley Currah joins Adam to discuss why institutions have been slow to give legal recognition to trans identities, why Republicans have shifted their attacks from bathroom policies to trans youth in sports, and why the struggle for trans equality is tied to feminism and women’s liberation. You can purchase Paisley’s book at http://factuallypod.com/books