Welcome to Episode 87 of the Charles C.W. Cook podcast. I am recording this week's episode from Alcatraz, which I have taken over and do not intend to relinquish.

This week's show is brought to you by the otherwise objectionable podcast.

Let's talk about Section 230, the law that protects the internet services we rely on from being sued into oblivion.

As important as it is, Section 230 is also the most

misunderstood law on the internet. So why do pundits and politicians on both sides of the aisle

want it gone? In the new series otherwise objectionable, tech journalist Mike Maznick takes

you inside its origins. This immersive podcast

docu-series traces the story of this controversial law, examining its past to understand how we got

here and how we can move forward. Here from experts who witnessed the birth of the web, the lawmakers who

wrote Section 230, and the tech pioneers who

couldn't have succeeded without it. How did Section 230 shape the internet? What happens if it's

repealed? And how does it apply to today's biggest challenges like AI? Find out in otherwise

objectionable. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest today is Ross Douthat, who is a columnist at the New York Times, and an author of many books, the latest of which is called Believe,

why everyone should be religious. Ross, welcome to the Charles C.W. Cook podcast.

It is a pleasure to join the Charles C.W. Cook podcast. Thank you for having me.

My pleasure. So before we get to some of the

detailed arguments made in the book, I quite like you to give me an outline. The book's title has

an instruction in it, or a piece of advice believe and then why everyone

should be religious but there are different ways of making that case and you although you don't

shy away from it you don't focus on what you might call the normative argument for religion or the cultural argument for religion.

Basically, it's good for people to be religious.

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