Chattering Class War: Punching Pundits from Chait to Chapo and Brooks to Breitbart

by Noah Berlatsky

Pundits are going to talk us into the abyss, but you might as well feel some schadenfreude as you take the plunge. Jonathan Chait, Andrew Sullivan, Ross Douthat, David Brooks, Megan McArdle—they are handed sacks of money to prattle and opine at length, mostly about how great it is we live in a world in which Chait and Sullivan and Douthat and Brooks and McArdle can be paid sacks of money for opining. Well, if that self-satisfied prattling and opining has ever annoyed you, this is the book for you! 77,000 words on why Jonathan Chait should shut up forever, why Sam Harris is an irrational bigot, why Angela Nagle should maybe stop taking the arguments of Nazis at face value, why Jordan Peterson loves lobsters, and why free speech doesn't just mean free speech for pompous overpaid pundits. The essays were published between 2010 and 2018, mostly on the website Splice Today; and include exciting headlines like:

"The Left Wing Pro-War Pundits and How They Sucked"
"Is Jesse Singal a Bigot?"
"Bill Maher Is a Dick"
"Ross Douthat Stumbles Into Fascism"
"Chapo Traphouse, Masters of Clintonian Triangulation"
"Megan McArdle's Hard Times and Troubles"

...and many more!

389 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 17, 2018

Reviews

[Daniel Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick punchy articles from a leftist against the right, center and fellow lefties

This was the perfect little book to carry with me on my phone and read a chapter whenever I had 2-3 minutes to spare. It was also a nice historical review of the past decade: the brutality with a calm face representing Obamas drone war, mass shootings, liberals who do nothing but talk, leftists who lack humanity or sufficient solidarity. Trump comes more to the fore over time.

You should read this book. If nothing else, the writing is skillful and the content to dollar ratio is excellent.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often find myself agreeing with Noah Berlatsky on Twitter. He's reasonable and consistent. I think he would describe himself as a leftist, based on what he's written here. The whole book is essays that resemble his, and other pundits', Twitter feeds. I appreciated the takedowns of Angela Nagle and Jordan Peterson. The Peterson essay is entitled "Lobsters Don't Have Shoulders." Ha! The problem with these essays is that they are about tiresome things--the in-the-weeds politics of political writers. I guess my takeaway is, it's better to read Noah Berlatsky's takedowns when they are fresh and new and can provide salve to my feelings. Especially my feeling of isolation in being disgusted by how foolish the supposedly smart people are. Reading them when they're not brand new is like nibbling at a box of day old doughnuts. They're still a little sweet, but heavy and it doesn't feel as wholesome to consume them now.