#300 — A Tale of Cancellation
Making Sense with Sam Harris
Waking Up with Sam Harris
4.6 • 29.7K Ratings
🗓️ 12 October 2022
⏱️ 188 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sam Harris speaks with Meg Smaker about the controversy around her documentary, "The Unredacted (Jihad Rehab)." They discuss her background as a firefighter; the effect that 9/11 had on the firefighting community; her subsequent adventures in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia; the deprogramming of jihadists; the organized campaign to silence her film; the capitulations Sundance, SXSW, and other festivals; and other topics.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Making Sense podcast. |
| 0:24.3 | This is Sam Harris. |
| 0:26.1 | Well, there's been a lot of chatter online about Ukraine that is new. |
| 0:32.5 | Many people are concerned that we could be edging closer to nuclear war with Russia. |
| 0:38.6 | Anyway, I reacted to some of that online, but I think I'll do a podcast on Ukraine in |
| 0:44.6 | the next couple of weeks. |
| 0:47.2 | Today's episode is a tale of cancellation. |
| 0:51.9 | Anyone who has any doubts about whether cancellation is a thing, this episode is for you. |
| 0:59.2 | In particular, it's a tale of a truly ridiculous cancellation, as you'll hear the mob pick |
| 1:06.3 | the wrong target as it often does. |
| 1:09.8 | Today I'm speaking with Meg Smaker. |
| 1:12.8 | Meg is a documentarian with a very interesting and unusual backstory. |
| 1:19.0 | In the first half hour or so, you'll get a sense of just how intrepid and resilient a person |
| 1:24.6 | she is. |
| 1:25.6 | There's been some important coverage of her and her story. |
| 1:29.4 | Michael Powell wrote a good piece for The New York Times. |
| 1:32.3 | I believe Graham Wood might be doing something for the Atlantic. |
| 1:35.6 | But what there's been much more of is noise on social media, among the winging hysterics |
| 1:42.8 | and malcontents and grievance entrepreneurs. |
| 1:48.7 | Briefly what happened is that Meg made a film, originally titled G-Hod Rehab, about a |
| 1:55.2 | program in Saudi Arabia that seeks to rehabilitate former terrorists. |
| 2:01.1 | Her film was accepted at the best film festivals, like Sundance and South by Southwest. |
... |
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