Angel Eduardo: Free Speech on Substack and Facebook
KEY MOMENTS
0:00 – Intro: Angel Eduardo of FIRE
1:47 – Real books and whether people still read
6:50 – Book clubs and Steven Millhauser's short stories
9:00 – Phones, focus, and Sarah Haider on quitting the news
10:56 – Phones at movies, dance shows, and fireworks
14:44 – Social media algorithms and street fight videos
17:29 – Haters on Substack and X
19:23 – FIRE, trolls, and James Baldwin on hatred
22:00 – Improving discourse instead of hitting back
23:18 – Facebook drops fact-checking
26:54 – Paying for reach and how platforms decline
29:10 – Bluesky, Jesse Singal, and conversations not worth having
34:06 – Free speech after the election
35:28 – The Home Depot cancellation and Elon Musk
37:59 – Why he wants critics to stay on X
40:41 – Silos and the boogeyman version of the other side
41:45 – The H-1B visa debate on the right
43:58 – Productive vs. unproductive engagement
45:17 – Manhattan congestion pricing
49:17 – Short-term politics and long-term problems
52:30 – Taking people's concerns seriously
57:34 – Dominican Instagram
59:40 – Why he can't sell his hot sauce
1:03:04 – FIRE videos and wrap-up
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Angel Eduardo, senior writer and editor at FIRE and Lou's former colleague, joins Lou to talk about whether people still read, haters on Substack and X, Facebook dropping fact-checking, and free speech after the election.
We also get into Steven Millhauser's short story "The Disappearance of Elaine Coleman," phones at movies and fireworks, street fight videos and the algorithm, a James Baldwin quote from The Fire Next Time about why people cling to their hates, Bluesky and Jesse Singal, the Home Depot cancellation, the H-1B debate on the right, Manhattan congestion pricing, why Dominican Instagram is the best Instagram, and why he can't sell his hot sauce. ¿Eso son Reebok o son Nike?