Adam Szetela on How Cancel Culture and Sensitivity Readers Are Shaping the Publishing Industry and Silencing Dissent
Quillette Cetera22 Aug 2025

Adam Szetela on How Cancel Culture and Sensitivity Readers Are Shaping the Publishing Industry and Silencing Dissent

In this episode of Quillette Cetera, Zoe Booth speaks with Harvard fellow and Cornell PhD Adam Szetela—author of new book That Book Is Dangerous: How Moral Panic, Social Media, and the Culture Wars Are Remaking Publishing (MIT Press, 2025). A working-class kid turned literary insider, Szetela exposes what he calls “the sensitivity era”: a cultural climate in which books are cancelled before they’re published, authors are shamed into grovelling apologies, and sensitivity readers act as ideological enforcers—surveilling fiction for offence. Drawing on eye-opening examples and experimental research conducted at Cornell’s Social Dynamics Lab, Szetela explains how peer pressure alone can turn readers against even canonical figures like Allen Ginsberg. He also reflects on the publishing industry’s class divide, the fragility of elite institutions, and why pro wrestling and bodybuilding may offer a better education than the Ivy League. From J.K. Rowling and Goodreads mobs to the politics of soccer and masculinity—this is a frank and timely discussion about literary freedom in an age of moral panic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(67)

The NGO Industrial Complex: Gerald Steinberg on How Human Rights Became a Racket

The NGO Industrial Complex: Gerald Steinberg on How Human Rights Became a Racket

NGOs have a great deal of influence over our lives. This episode uncovers the hidden power structures behind the world's most powerful non-governmental organisations — and why they deserve far more sc...

3 Jul 1h 5min

Oikophobia: Why the West Hates Itself | Benedict Beckeld

Oikophobia: Why the West Hates Itself | Benedict Beckeld

What does it mean for a civilisation to turn against itself? In this episode, Quillette's Zoe Sankey speaks with philosopher and author Benedict Beckeld — whose 2019 Quillette essay on oikophobia rema...

29 Jun 1h 9min

Hava Mendelle: From Climate Activist to Critic of Radical Left and Gaza Flotilla

Hava Mendelle: From Climate Activist to Critic of Radical Left and Gaza Flotilla

Hava Mendelle defies easy categorisation. Openly gay and proudly Jewish, she is a fifteen-year Australian Army veteran, emergency department nurse, published author, and co-founder of Minority Impact ...

9 Jun 1h 12min

Australia's Broken Justice System with Andrew Bushnell

Australia's Broken Justice System with Andrew Bushnell

Zoe Sankey speaks with Andrew Bushnell — policy researcher, criminal justice expert, and fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs — about crime, justice, and some of the most urgent and uncomfortable...

22 Mai 1h 4min

Does Western Civilisation Exist? James Kierstead on Ancient Greece, Christianity, and the West

Does Western Civilisation Exist? James Kierstead on Ancient Greece, Christianity, and the West

Does Western civilisation actually exist — or is it just a modern political myth? In this episode of the Quillette Cetera podcast, Zoe Booth speaks with classicist James Kierstead about the origins o...

7 Mai 1h 15min

Oikophobia and the Crisis of Western Democracy with Shany Mor

Oikophobia and the Crisis of Western Democracy with Shany Mor

In this conversation, Zoe Booth and Shany Mor discuss the complex interplay between Australia's reputation in relation to Israel, the impact of anti-Israel activism, and the cultural and intellectual ...

20 Feb 57min

Inside Iran’s Deadly Protests with Shay Khatiri

Inside Iran’s Deadly Protests with Shay Khatiri

Shay Khatiri is one of the most clear-eyed analysts of Iran’s regime and its role in global geopolitics. Raised in the Islamic Republic before escaping to the U.S., he now serves as Vice President and...

20 Jan 1h 1min

Adam Louis-Klein on Why He Founded the Movement Against Antizionism

Adam Louis-Klein on Why He Founded the Movement Against Antizionism

In this conversation, Zoe Booth and Adam Louis-Klein delve into the complexities of antizionism, exploring its ideological roots, the language used to propagate it, and its normalisation in contempora...

14 Jan 1h 8min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
fotballpodden-2
forklart
stopp-verden
popradet
rss-gukild-johaug
det-store-bildet
hanna-de-heldige
aftenbla-bla
rss-ness
dine-penger-pengeradet
nokon-ma-ga
bt-dokumentar-2
unitedno
e24-podden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
oppdatert
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene