Bill Maher: A boozy, stoned, liberal take on classic anti-vax tropes

Decoding the Gurus

Bill Maher is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host from the tail end of the baby-boomer generation. He's principally a centrist liberal in terms of his political leanings, being well known for his anti-religious and pro-animal rights positions, as well as a supporter of things like cannabis legalisation. On the other hand, he's something of a contrarian and styles himself as anti-political correctness and anti-woke, identifying as a disenchanted liberal, like Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris.

Now, all of that is well and good, let a hundred flowers bloom! But... on the less-salubrious side, he's also a contrarian when it comes to his extreme scepticism of conventional medicine, and vaccines in particular. And as we'll see in the two interviews we cover, with Sam Harris ^ and Richard Dawkins, it never seems to take him very long before the conversation is steered back to vaccines.

So, will Maher make the gurometer go 'DING'? Let's face it, probably not. But if not, why not? It is worth checking to tune up the old instrument. And it is indeed something to behold as a boozy, stoned Maher tries (and manifestly fails) to coax Richard Dawkins out of his prim and proper shell.

Also features discussions of Chris' run-ins with the rationalists, a new 'Whinge of the Week' segment, and the rhetorical technique of 'pouncing'.

Links

• Richard Dawkins on Club Random with Bill Maher
• Sam Harris on Club Random with Bill Maher
• Astral Codex Ten- Contra Kavanagh On Fideism
• Medium Article by Chris - Am I a Fideist?
• Astral Codex Ten - Trying Again on Fideism
• Making Sense with Sam Harris - Did SARS-COV-2 escape from a lab?
• Konstantin Kisin - Reflections on Dealing With Bad Faith Criticism
• Upcoming discussion with John Vervaeke & Chris Mastropietro at The Stoa