The guest
James Lindsay: Mathematician and author known for the 'grievance studies' hoax papers; writes and speaks on critical theory, queer theory, Marxism and 'woke' ideology
What this episode covers
Joe Rogan and James Lindsay spend three hours connecting open-border policy, ESG investing, queer theory in schools, China's economic rise and climate 'degrowth' into one overarching thesis. Lindsay frames each as part of a 'neoliberal communism' model he traces to Deng Xiaoping and Western elites like Kissinger, Klaus Schwab and Rockefeller. He repeatedly invokes the 'politics of compliance' and cult dynamics to explain why people adopt these ideas. The pair also discuss Boeing's quality problems, the WHO pandemic treaty, electric-vehicle pollution, and Lindsay's books and documentaries on the subject.
Recommended on this episode
MediaRecommended
Trafficked
Mariana van Zeller
“that fantastic show trafficked”
“Mariana van Zeller who does that fantastic show trafficked yeah you ever watched that show... that lady is a gangster”— Joe Rogan
The guest's own work
BookBy the guestISBN verified
The Queering of the American Child
James Lindsay
“I just wrote a book about the trans stuff it just came out on the 29th called the queering of the American child”— James Lindsay
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
BookReferencedISBN verified
The Open Society and Its Enemies
Karl Popper
“Soros's mentor was the famous Carl Popper and Carl Popper wrote a book in 1945 called The Open Society and Its Enemies”— James Lindsay
BookReferencedISBN verified
The World Economic Forum: The First 40 Years
World Economic Forum
“my source for his mentor being Kissinger is a book called the World Economic Forum the first 40 years which was published in 2011”— James Lindsay
BookReferenced
The Critical Turn in Education
Isaac Gottesman
“there's this book I read it's called the critical turn in education it was published by a Marxist Iowa State University named Isaac Gottesman”— James Lindsay
BookReferencedISBN verified
Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism
Robert Jay Lifton
“the title of his book that he wrote off of this is called thought reform and the psychology of totalism a study of brainwashing in China”— James Lindsay
BookReferencedISBN verified
Mao's America
Xi Van Fleet
“Xi Van Fleet was in China during the red guard for example and she's got that book Mao's America out talking about what that was like”— James Lindsay
BookReferencedISBN verified
Marx in the Anthropocene
Kohei Saito
“I read this book called Marx and the anthropocene by this Japanese Marxist named Kohei and it's called toward the idea of a degrowth communism”— James Lindsay
MediaReferenced
Mr. Deng Goes to Washington
“there's a movie called Mr Deng Goes to Washington that took place in Washington DC so you can go watch the movie I'm not making this up”— James Lindsay
MediaReferenced
God's Gonna Cut You Down
Johnny Cash
“I would ask you to queue up Johnny Cash God is going to cut you down so can we just play that just for the Spotify people”— James Lindsay
ProductReferenced
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Samsung
“who do you think works really hard to make sure that the new Samsung Galaxy s24 Ultra is better than the iPhone”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- Lindsay claims a meeting of Kissinger, Brzezinski, Deng Xiaoping and Rockefeller cooked up the plan to open Chinese markets, citing the film Mr. Deng Goes to Washington.
- He explains ESG was created at the UN in 2003 by James Gifford to redirect roughly $6 trillion of pension money into activist 'impact investing.'
- Lindsay says the Chinese are funding the trans movement and ties school 'indoctrination' to a Maoist strategy of compliance.
- He cites the academic paper 'Drag Pedagogy,' quoting its phrase 'a preparatory introduction to alternate modes of kinship.'
- Lindsay says Marxists themselves claim to have captured U.S. colleges of education by 1992, the basis of his documentary Beneath the Sheep's Clothing.
- Lindsay theorizes Boeing's decline is engineered ESG-driven sabotage to let China's COMAC C919 jet replace the 737.
- He describes the 'absolute zero' UK FIRES report calling for no beef, no lamb, and zero air travel by 2050.
- Discussion of a study claiming electric vehicles release more particle pollution from brakes and tires than modern gas cars.
Worth remembering
- Joe praises Mariana van Zeller's show Trafficked, describing her filming cocaine production in Colombia and gun-running into Mexico.
- Lindsay cites a Harvard corporate law document showing governance scores can rise by giving executives bonuses for implementing ESG.
- Bud Light reportedly lost large value over the Dylan Mulvaney campaign tied to its Corporate Equality Index score.
- Lindsay was banned from Twitter for five months over the 'OK groomer' phrase until Elon Musk reinstated him.
- Robert Jay Lifton's book lists eight characteristics of brainwashing, starting with milieu (environment) control.
- A Boeing whistleblower described inspectors being given only two hours to inspect a 41 section and being kicked off the aircraft.
- Lindsay's grievance-studies hoax papers included one on 'rape culture in urban dog parks in Portland.'
- A New York Post / Wall Street Journal-cited study found EV brakes and tires release roughly 1,850 times more particle pollution than modern tailpipes.
- Both note that ice-core samples show Earth's temperature has never been static and has always fluctuated.
- Lindsay says genealogy revealed he is a seventh cousin of Robert E. Lee through a common grandfather.
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