Hasan Piker has become one of the most prominent leftist voices in the US, serving as an online guide for a Democratic Party trying to navigate the new internet. But his rapid rise has sparked a furious backlash from the party's centrist establishment.

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Vox’s Astead Herndon sits down with Jonathan Cowan, president of the premier centrist think tank Third Way, who argues that Piker’s history of inflammatory rhetoric makes him a toxic liability that Democrats must cast out. Then, we put those exact claims to the Twitch streamer himself.

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00:00 — Introduction: Is Hasan Piker toxic?

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01:12 — The centrist case against Piker with Third Way's Jonathan Cowan

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04:47 — Comparing Piker to far-right extremists

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07:34 — Evaluating rhetoric and the threat of violence

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10:19 — Electoral strategy: Moderates vs. deep blue progressive pushes

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18:14 — The apology question: Third Way's challenges for Hasan

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21:26 — Hasan Piker responds: Addressing the "cringe" past content

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23:55 — "Pig dog" and allegations of antisemitic tropes

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26:01 — Rick Scott hyperbole and streaming accountability

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30:37 — Quadrupling down on Hamas and Israel stances

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35:19 — Piker’s theory of political change and the Democratic Party

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40:45 — Why liberals fail to capture Twitch and streaming culture

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44:00 — Closing message to the Democratic establishment

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Sources and further reading:

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Democrats Are Too Cozy With Hasan Piker, WSJ Opinion:

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https://www.wsj.com/opinion/free-expression/democrats-are-too-cozy-with-hasan-piker-2ecee4cc

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Sean talks with writer Sigal Samuel about AI successionism, the growing movement that sees artificial intelligence as humanity’s rightful successor. They discuss why some people in the AI world think humanity should be replaced, how this vision borrows from old religious ideas about salvation and transcendence, and why artificial intelligence is a dangerous thing to worship.

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Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO

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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)

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Guest: Sigal Samuel (@SigalSamuel)

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Click here to read Sigal’s article on AI successionism.

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00:00 Intro

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01:15 What is AI successionism?

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07:26 Intelligence vs consciousness

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09:59 The disturbing politics of AI successionism

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12:12 Is AI secessionism a religion?

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23:04 Is this a way to escape our mortality?

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24:49 Is intelligence the most valuable thing in the universe?

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33:28 Is it wrong to put humans first?

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44:49 Is successionism a way of reframing the ‘AI takeover?’

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We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show.

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And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. New episodes drop every Monday and Friday.

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Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.

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Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE

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Sean talks with dream scientist Michelle Carr about what dreams are, why we have them, and what they might reveal about the mind. They discuss nightmares, lucid dreaming, memory, consciousness, and whether dreams are just random brain noise or a kind of overnight therapy. They also explore why dreams feel so real and what the strange world of sleep can teach us about waking life.

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Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO

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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)

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Guest: Michelle Carr

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00:00 Intro

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00:53 What are dreams for?

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05:14 Are dreams simulations?

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10:45 Why do we forget our dreams?

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17:31 Why do we have nightmares?

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26:31 What are lucid dreams?

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41:28 Can lucid dreaming backfire?

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42:51 Is there a connection between dreams and consciousness?

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We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show.

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And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. New episodes drop every Monday and Friday.

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Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members.

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Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.

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