Blocked and Reported

<p>Thanks to everyone who joined Brad Polumbo and me on Substack Live, where we discussed right-wing infighting, the Turning Point USA reality TV conference, drama at CBS News, and more. (Just for the record, that thumbnail is <em>not</em> AI. We really look like that.)</p> <br/><br/>To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.blockedandreported.org?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.blockedandreported.org</a>

<p>This week, Saint Helen Lewis joins us to discuss Jesse’s shortcomings, the state of publishing, the state of social media, the Riyadh Comedy Festival, the Olivia Nuzzi scandal, and more. Plus, our annual end-of-year extremely online pub quiz. Note: This is our last free episode of the year. Primos have more coming, but for everyone else, see you next year.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803542/the-genius-myth-by-helen-lewis/">Helen’s book</a> </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Drink-Your-Way-Sober-Science-Based/dp/163774739X?adgrpid=186996878628&#38;hvpone=&#38;hvptwo=&#38;hvadid=748008426888&#38;hvpos=&#38;hvnetw=g&#38;hvrand=977851995272792405&#38;hvqmt=&#38;hvdev=c&#38;hvdvcmdl=&#38;hvlocint=&#38;hvlocphy=1020991&#38;hvtargid=dsa-2414841787166&#38;hydadcr=&#38;mcid=&#38;hvocijid=977851995272792405--&#38;hvexpln=m-dsad&#38;tag=googhydr-20&#38;hvsb=Healthmedia_d&#38;hvcampaign=dsadesk">Katie’s book</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://my.thelongcenter.org/4232">Jesse’s Austin event</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://provost.duke.edu/independent-thinkers-conversation-katie-herzog/">Katie’s Duke event</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/opinion/transgender-rights-strangio-douthat.html">Opinion | The Shifting Politics of Transgender Rights - The New York Times</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/10/fear-laughing-riyadh-comedy-louis-ck/684527/">I Watched Stand-Up in Saudi Arabia - The Atlantic</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/12/olivia-nuzzi-memoir/685106/">Olivia Nuzzi’s Tell-Nothing Memoir - The Atlantic</a></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe</a>

<p>This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss the fallout from chess world champ Vladimir Kramnik’s obsessive campaign against alleged cheaters, including grandmaster Danya Naroditsky. Plus, AI comes for podcasters.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/12/11/2025/washington-posts-ai-generated-podcasts-rife-with-errors-fictional-quotes">Washington Post’s AI-generated podcasts rife with errors, fictional quotes | Semafor</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.indy100.com/sport/hikaru-cheating-vladimir-kramnik-chess?utm_source=chatgpt.com#">Hikaru hits out at grandmaster Kramnik over cheating accusations | indy100</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/chess-gm-vladimir-kramnik-suspended-for-impersonating-another-player-2628241/">Chess GM Vladimir Kramnik suspended for impersonating another player - Dexerto</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.nss24.com/kramnik%27s-controversial-cheating-allegations-in-titled-tuesdays--grandmaster-navara%27s-response">Kramnik’s Controversial Cheating Allegations in Titled Tuesdays: | NSS.cz</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.chess.com/news/view/fair-play-team-estimates-cheating-rate-titled-tuesday">Fair Play Report Estimates Low Cheating Rate In Titled Tuesday, New Public Closure Policy - Chess.com</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@VBKramnik">Vladimir Kramnik’s YouTube channel</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://en.chessbase.com/post/clash-of-claims-2024-d1">Martínez beats Kramnik in controversial match | ChessBase</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@DanielNaroditskyGM/videos">Danya’s YouTube channel</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/24/chess-fide-to-discipline-vladimir-kramnik-over-daniel-naroditsky-cheating-allegations">Chess: Fide to ‘discipline’ Kramnik over Naroditsky cheating allegations | Chess | The Guardian</a></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe</a>

<p>This week on the Primo show, Jesse and Katie discuss Turning Point USA’s attempts to get a University of Oklahoma instructor canceled over claims of anti-Christian discrimination. Plus, Candace Owens’s ongoing investigation into who really killed Charlie Kirk (bees). </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/MichaelARothman/status/1971054797982941624">Candace Owens on bees</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://fortune.com/2025/12/02/candace-owens-brigitte-macron-lawsuit/">Inside Candace Owens’ media empire and the Macron lawsuit threaten…</a></p> <br/><br/>To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.blockedandreported.org?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.blockedandreported.org</a>

<p>This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss the politics of poetry and a controversy surrounding an indie lit magazine. Plus, a Chuck Johnson update. </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://calendar.duke.edu/show?fq=id%3ACAL-8a00ec9e-9a83ce7f-019a-e0759b10-000074abdemobedework%40mysite.edu">Katie’s Duke event</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Ej4Mc8m4quEuPYlH0zpz3kCE-RLqTueYdXUH8flmtZQ/edit">Jesse’s Austin event</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/10/16/2024/business-partner-sues-chuck-johnson-for-falsely-presenting-as-intelligence-agent">Investor sues Chuck Johnson for “falsely presenting ... as intelligence agent” | Semafor</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2025/12/04/where-wokeness-went-wrong-desire-and-fate-rieff/">Where Wokeness Went Wrong | Susan Neiman | The New York Review of Books</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://quillette.com/2019/06/28/a-metoo-mob-tried-to-destroy-my-life-as-a-poet-this-is-how-i-survived/">A MeToo Mob Tried to Destroy My Life as a Poet. This Is How I Survived</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.unqualified-reservations.org/2008/04/open-letter-to-open-minded-progressives/">Open Letter to Open-Minded Progressives</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250402055139/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets">Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/09/curtis-yarvin-profile">Curtis Yarvin’s Plot Against America</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/18/magazine/curtis-yarvin-interview.html">‘The Interview’: Curtis Yarvin Says Democracy is Done - The New York Times</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://spectrapoets.org/Menu-Page">Spectra Poets</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://spectrapoets.org/Group-Think-by-Chloe-Wheeler">Group Think</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://spectrapoets.org/For-William-and-Kristine-by-Curtis-Yarvin">For William and Kristine</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://avmarraccini.com/Yarvin-Poem-Close-Reading">A Close Reading of Curtis Yarvin</a></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe</a>