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This week on The Deep Dive: The limits of finding a middle ground, a gripping explanation behind why humans don’t have tails, Juul’s fall was just in time for China’s rise and now everyone vapes, a look back at the disappointing ending of How I Met Your Mother, and Girl Defined’s deconstruction arc is so shocking I think I might make a literal u-turn.

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CULTURE

how liberalism exploits the Culture Wars by Alice Cappelle (18:20)

If you’ve ever found yourself watching a Jubilee video on YouTube and feeling good about the supposed middle ground two groups on either side of the spectrum of a specific issue were able to reach, you’re not alone. But what do we lose when we prioritize empathy above all else, the same way contemporary liberalism seems to love capitalizing on it? In this video, Alice Cappelle makes the case against debate-style conversations with people who disagree on human rights-related issues, especially if one side of the debate happens to hold genuinely harmful opinions. What is deference politics? Why should we be expected to hold all anger (and extremism) equally? And when we show empathy, who are we most likely to extend it to?

Out of my own curiosity – if you’ve ever successfully changed someone’s problematic views about an issue through dialogue, conversation, or debate, feel free to hit reply and share your story with me. I’ve been struggling with this on a personal level recently and would love to hear your thoughts.

SCIENCE

Why did We Apes Lose Our Tails? by Gutsick Gibbon (33:43)

No but actually, why don’t humans have tails? And I don’t mean tailbones – you and I both know that doesn’t count. In this video, Gutsick Gibbon’s passion for evolutionary biology shines through with this explanation of not only why, but how we lost our tails. Did I get nervous when this video started busting out academic journals I knew I wouldn’t be able to follow? You bet. Did I get lost a few times? Sure. Did I learn something new about primate evolution? 1000%. Did I have more fun watching this video than I ever did in AP Bio? Absolutely. I’ve also never been more proud to be a gentle, modern (and strong) ape. 🥹

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POLITICS

How Disposable Vapes Explain US-China Tensions by Tom Nicholas (38:44)

Whether the US likes it or not, China is on the rise – and vaping can tell us a lot about how we might be moving away from a global economic system defined by “designed in California, assembled in China.” In this video, the second installment in a series about how today’s disposable vapes tell the story of a transforming global economy, Tom Nicholas explains how the West strong-armed its way into maintaining the upper hand in globalization for the foreseeable future…until it unexpectedly lost its grip. Are the days of cushy design and marketing jobs in the US that are dependent on overseas manufacturing over? What’s behind China’s unseriousness when it comes to copyright and intellectual property laws? How is the US taking this shift in economic power? Hint: not well. Another hint: Trying to ban TikTok.

TV

The Ending of How I Met Your Mother: 10 Years Later by Friendly Space Ninja (40:22)

If you had a pulse in 2014, you probably remember the finale of How I Met Your Mother. More specifically, you probably remember the intense reactions to it, whether or not you spent the previous nine years keeping up with the show. In this video, Friendly Space Ninja offers a retrospective of the hated series finale that inadvertently set a precedent for other hated series finales and how it all happened in the first place. Why did HIMYM fans feel so betrayed by its final episode? How much do you remember about the backlash? How did good writing contribute to what’s so widely considered to be a bad episode? And even if the show was essentially bound to an ending it developed in its early seasons, why did it have to end like that?

SOCIAL MEDIA

Girl Defined Updates #7 | Dav is Deconstructing by Fundie Fridays (1:39:57)

I know, I know, Dav from Girl Defined deconstructing his Christianity is already old news by TikTok standards, but I was late to the game and just couldn’t resist this analysis. In this video, Fundie Fridays offers a fascinating look into the mental processes, cognitive dissonance, and general confusion that comes with religious deconstruction. Quick note that this video is in part a reaction to a string of events that came before, but I still managed to get the gist of it – and I’ll probably be up late tonight doing research about a Christian Youtuber couple by the names of Paul and Morgan. Aside from that, this video was super interesting and surprisingly transparent. 2018 me would’ve been horrified to write the sentence you’re about to read, but here we go: I’m proud of Bethany Beal (only a little, though).

The Deep Dive’s Bonus Video of the Week

Yet another fantastic subscriber recommendation! From the moment I pressed play to the end of this video, I couldn’t look away from the screen. This is the story of a truly impressive classic Big Brother contestant who stopped at nothing, and I mean nothing, to win that $500K grand prize. Mad respect – but if I ever see Jun Song out in the streets, I’m running as fast as I can in the opposite direction.

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