Socialism & Zero-Sum Foolishness w/ Holly Jean Soto
In this episode Clay is joined by Holly Jean Soto (https://www.joinyv.org/talent/holly-jean-soto). Holly is an economics and liberty communicator who seeks to distill complex economic concepts into content that anyone can understand. In addition to her social media activity, she also writes. Her work can be found in publications such as The Daily Wire (https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-mamdanis-working-class-promises-are-a-slippery-slope-toward-communism?author=Holly+Jean+Soto&category=News&elementPosition=0&row=0&rowType=Vertical+List&title=Why+Mamdani%E2%80%99s+Working+Class+Promises+Are+A+Slippery+Slope+Tow) and Real Clear Politics (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/07/09/whats_different_about_democratic_socialismand_what_isnt_154313.html).
You can follow Holly on X (https://x.com/TheHollyJean), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@thehollyjean), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thehollyjeansoto/).
If you want to understand the differences between socialism, communism, social democracy, and democratic socialism, and get Holly’s take on why the DSA seems to be rising in popularity, then this is the conversation for you.
6 Oct 2026
"I know what bloodthirsty hatred looks like." - David Christopher Kaufman
In this episode, Clay is joined by David Christopher Kaufman. David is a New York based journalist whose writing can be found in many notable publications, including The New York Post, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Tablet, The Jerusalem Post, and Commentary, just to name a few. He has also worked as an editor for The New York Times.
David’s writing often focuses on identity. A subject on which he has a somewhat unique vantage point, given that he is black, gay, and Jewish. He is also quite adamant, as you will hear at the top of this episode, that he is first and foremost, an American.
David is also hard at work on The Octagon Project, an organization dedicated to combat the rise of the DSA by creating coalitions of groups who share the values of the Jewish community. The website will be up and running very soon, so keep an eye out!
In this conversation David and Clay discuss his understanding of identity, Nikole Hannah Jones’ recent article in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/magazine/ny-public-schools-black-students-segregation.html) questioning her decision to enroll her daughter in an underprivileged school, the double standard Jews face when talking about antisemitism, his potentially controversial term for Jews that disavow Israel and Zionism, and much more.
You can follow David on X (https://x.com/KaufmanDavidNYC) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/kaufmandavidnyc/).
A selection of David’s writing:
Choosing Between My Two Identities (https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/choosing-identities-black-jewish-gaza-hamas?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Woke Jews are sacrificing their own at the altar of wokeness (https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-819558?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
How America’s Jews Became America’s ‘New Blacks’ (https://www.commentary.org/articles/david-christopher-kaufman/jews-americas-new-blacks/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
How #Palestine became the ultimate elitist pursuit (https://spectator.com/article/how-palestine-became-the-ultimate-elitist-pursuit/?edition=us)
**Correction** -> at around the 41 minute mark Clay accidentally says “Adrian Brody” instead of “Adam Brody”. He was in fact talking about Adam Brody.
29 Sept 2026
An Age of Violence w/ Alex DeVitry
In this episode Clay is joined by friend of the pod Alex DeVitry. Alex is currently a Master’s student at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), where he is studying international conflict resolution, foreign policy and diplomacy, and the Middle East. He also writes excellent articles about political violence in the 21st century on his Substack (https://substack.com/@alexdevitry?utm_source=global-search).
This conversation covers two main topics. First, the Houthi’s rise in Yemen: their origins, relationship with Iran, recent military successes, and the threat they pose to Red Sea shipping and the balance of power in the Gulf. Next, political violence: how it takes on a logic of its own, why it’s often misunderstood, and what its normalization means for national identity and civic life.
Alex is a man with an outstandingly fascinating and unique origin story, which you can hear all about in his first appearance on TDL (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-discourse-lab/id1821077076?i=1000748909233).
You can follow Alex on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/alexdevitry/) & TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@alexdevitry2), and subscribe to him (for free!) on Substack (https://substack.com/@alexdevitry?utm_source=global-search).
Books Mentioned in this episode:
Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire by Richard B. Frank.
The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang.
Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.
Aristotle’s Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages by Richard E. Rubenstein.
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
17 ratings
Spotify
4.8 / 5
17 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 15 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
17
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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