Going Viral, Getting Fired, & What’s Beneath the Surface | Warren Smith | Ep. 1 [No Man's Friend]

I had the fortune of speaking with avid teacher, podcaster, and filmmaker Warren Smith. Initially he went viral for a clip that saw him walk through a critical thinking exercise with a student, and that student came to change his mind. It wasn't indoctrination or bullying, just good teaching - a moment of enlightenment caught on camera. Five months later the school fired him. The potential causes, the moments leading up to it, and the aftermath are all discussed in this podcast. We also talk about film school, Hollywood, the most recent writer's strike, and the space between objective and subjective that Warren calls the "illusive intangible." Being somewhat of of an objectivist myself in the case of worldview, I found that last point very interesting. I hope you enjoy watching and listening to this conversation. More to come :)

The original clip of Warren Smith teaching critical thinking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIPPpsJY39c

Warren's announcement that he was fired:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTvz9oatUiw

Contrapoints video on J. K. Rowling - I was not too familiar with this creator, please use discernment when considering our discussion, and always see for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmT0i0xG6zg&t=2634s

| Links |

For Warren Smith:

On Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@UCVnBaemGSz05OUyKmQjIJSA

On X https://twitter.com/WTSmith17?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

| Chapters |

(0:00) Intro
(0:38) Why Warren Smith went viral
(4:01) The emotion and the observer, articulating subtext
(8:11) Why Warren’s class was on camera
(9:09) Inspired by Jordan Peterson
(10:09) Going viral, Lee Harris, Elon Musk
(12:45) Positive response and backlash
(15:46) Contrapoints: frequent tactics for the perception of value
(18:14) Turning a moment into something bigger
(23:43) Is critical thinking being taught?
(26:27) Office politics: “people are trying to take each other out”
(27:22) Getting fired
(35:59) The “lost” microphone, betrayed by his best friend
(43:32) Warren’s novel - no longer lost
(45:56) The “Illusive Intangible”
(55:30) Postmodernism, perceived value, equity
(57:20) Democracy, feeling the decline
(59:47) Starting out as a filmmaker, Manhattan and LA
(1:04:31) A creative stuck on the business side, becoming a teacher
(1:08:27) What they can’t teach in film school
(1:11:48) “The unions are a logical fallacy”
(1:13:09) Thoughts on the latest writer’s strike
(1:14:28) Why is everyone pushing for equal outcome?
(1:16:27) Starter jobs are not meant to be your career
(1:21:48) The reality of truth