Episode description

Jesse and Katie talk about a disturbing bit of listener feedback and the recent departures from the Times, under questionable circumstances, of Andy Mills and Donald McNeil Jr. Are the worst norms of campus culture seeping into major media institutions? To hear the answer, you'll have to listen. (It's 'yes.')

(Correction: At around 8:00 in the recording, Jesse originally referred to Rukmini Callamachi as a "woman of color." She isn't one. The error has been snipped out and free listeners will never hear it. Jesse apologizes for the misracing. Also, race is a poisonous fiction.)

Show notes/Links:

The Cut on Andy Mills: https://www.thecut.com/2018/02/at-wnyc-an-uncertain-path-out-of-scandal.html

His resignation note: https://www.andymills.work/resignation 

The Times on both resignations: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/business/media/donald-mcneil-andy-mills-leave-nyt.html 

John McWhorter is skeptical of collapsing the use/mention distinction: https://johnmcwhorter.substack.com/p/the-n-word-as-slur-vs-the-n-word

NHJ not great on anonymous sources...: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1358780440774082561 

...or the question of whether the NYT has published "that word" much: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1358781725652975618 

Because it has: https://rb.gy/pm6bpc