Both/And with Jay Michaelson | Substack

Recent posts

F—k the Jews: The Recipe of Antisemitism, from Roald Dahl to the Manosphere

Intellectual scaffolding, affective appeal

Apr 17 • Jay Michaelson

4:59

A Five-Minute Meditation Check-In

Because you are probably feeling some stuff about the news

Apr 9 • Jay Michaelson

What the Manosphere Has in Common with Martin Luther, Jacob Frank, and Allen Ginsberg

The frisson of Meaning Crisis antinomianism is as old as the New Testament.

Apr 3 • Jay Michaelson

Links

Booking Information

Politics

What the Manosphere Has in Common with Martin Luther, Jacob Frank, and Allen Ginsberg

The frisson of Meaning Crisis antinomianism is as old as the New Testament.

Apr 3 • Jay Michaelson

Antisemitism Explodes on the Right, Watchdogs Blame the Left (but the Left has problems too)

The Anti-Antisemitism industry is myopically focused on the Left -- while some on the Left are starting to sound like the Right.

Mar 20 • Jay Michaelson

There is No Single Reason for the Iran War (or Anything Else)

Oversimplification is the handmaiden of dogmatism.

Mar 6 • Jay Michaelson

How to Round Up a Whirlwind

A loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires

Feb 19 • Jay Michaelson

This is Not Polarization

The worlds of Bad Bunny and Kid Rock are not "two Americas." The first is a large, diverse majority, and the second is an angry, nativist minority.

Feb 10 • Jay Michaelson

An Epstein Roundup for Non-Epsteiners

What you should know and why you should care.

Feb 6 • Jay Michaelson

The Nakedness of the King

We have entered a new phase of madness and cognitive dissonance.

Jan 21 • Jay Michaelson

What Must Be Done and What You Can Do

If ICE is allowed to grow as currently budgeted, more people like Renee Good will die and we won’t have a fair 2026 election. Here’s what you can do.

Jan 12 • Jay Michaelson

Psychedelics

Claude and I Talk About Waterslides and Ego Death

And then I talk about Claude.

May 5 • Jay Michaelson

Making Sense of Psychedelics After April 18

The most important and potentially liberating change in American drug policy came from Donald Trump and Joe Rogan. Here are some ways to think about…

Apr 29 • Jay Michaelson

In Pluribus, Enlightenment Mostly Sucks

The fascinating dharma of Apple TV's most-streamed show

Dec 16, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Does Mysticism Prove the Existence of God?

Welcome to our new subscriber-only series: Inflection Points.

Aug 28, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

The Closest Thing I Have to Optimism

On better days, I conceive of the global rise in nationalist authoritarianism as an inevitable counter-movement in the dialectic of world history.

Jul 17, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Taking Psychedelic Spiritualities (More) Seriously

The release of a long-awaited study on psychedelics and religion ought to prompt new questions, not old cliches.

May 23, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

The Religious Functions of Psychedelics

A dispatch from the first-ever conference on psychedelics and monotheistic traditions

Mar 14, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Psychedelics and Judaism: New Skin for the Old Ceremony

Did my ancient Hebrew ancestors use psychotropic substances? Probably not, but the grammar of the visionary experience is similar.

Dec 12, 2024 • Jay Michaelson

Spirituality & Meditation

4:59

A Five-Minute Meditation Check-In

Because you are probably feeling some stuff about the news

Apr 9 • Jay Michaelson

Which Zohran Can You Be?

A personal reflection on finding ways to make a difference and finding your place in the family of things.

Mar 10 • Jay Michaelson

Maybe Nihilism is the Real Enemy?

And if so, what non-oppressive things can be done about it? (Trigger warning: somewhat uplifting ending.)

Feb 26 • Jay Michaelson

What Meditation Feels Like Now

A conversation on contemplative practice during a national crisis, plus links to several guided meditations.

Feb 9 • Jay Michaelson

29:01

Politics and Spirituality | Circle and Line

Taking a step back to reframe the current psychodynamic moment.

Jan 28 • Jay Michaelson

Featured

The Real America is Not About Blood and Soil

Ethnonationalist Garbage vs. Six Flags Great Adventure

Oct 22, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

How to Steal the 2026 Election

Here is what I think will happen.

Jul 25, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

How Meditation Helped Me in the Hospital (And After)

Actually, those years of practice really made a difference.

Jun 18, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Andor and the Banality of Totalitarianism

The psychologies of complicity and resistance -- a parable for our times.

Apr 30, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

AI

Claude and I Talk About Waterslides and Ego Death

And then I talk about Claude.

May 5 • Jay Michaelson

In Pluribus, Enlightenment Mostly Sucks

The fascinating dharma of Apple TV's most-streamed show

Dec 16, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Ghosts in the Machine

What’s unnerving about AI isn’t how it’s unlike us, but how it's like us.

Dec 3, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

The Closest Thing I Have to Optimism

On better days, I conceive of the global rise in nationalist authoritarianism as an inevitable counter-movement in the dialectic of world history.

Jul 17, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Eyes Right

How Candace Owens Learned Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories from an Orthodox Rabbi

Why is the world broken? Because the Sabbatean Illuminati keep ruining it, of course.

Apr 21 • Jay Michaelson

It Matters that Marc Andreessen is Sometimes Really Dumb

Optimizing for wealth is different from optimizing for wisdom. Why can't powerful tech elites see that?

Mar 26 • Jay Michaelson

Antisemitism Explodes on the Right, Watchdogs Blame the Left (but the Left has problems too)

The Anti-Antisemitism industry is myopically focused on the Left -- while some on the Left are starting to sound like the Right.

Mar 20 • Jay Michaelson

This is Not Polarization

The worlds of Bad Bunny and Kid Rock are not "two Americas." The first is a large, diverse majority, and the second is an angry, nativist minority.

Feb 10 • Jay Michaelson

Review

F—k the Jews: The Recipe of Antisemitism, from Roald Dahl to the Manosphere

Intellectual scaffolding, affective appeal

Apr 17 • Jay Michaelson

Heated Rivalry's Closet and Mine

I'd forgotten what my former life was like. HBO's hit show reminded me.

Jan 2 • Jay Michaelson

My Favorite Music, Film, and TV of 2025

Including a playlist of refuge and transcendence

Dec 23, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Why a ‘Meditation Rabbi’ is Watching Horror Films

In 2025, catharsis takes a little more energy.

Aug 20, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Meaning Crisis

Claude and I Talk About Waterslides and Ego Death

And then I talk about Claude.

May 5 • Jay Michaelson

What the Manosphere Has in Common with Martin Luther, Jacob Frank, and Allen Ginsberg

The frisson of Meaning Crisis antinomianism is as old as the New Testament.

Apr 3 • Jay Michaelson

Maybe Nihilism is the Real Enemy?

And if so, what non-oppressive things can be done about it? (Trigger warning: somewhat uplifting ending.)

Feb 26 • Jay Michaelson

Universalizing Personal Experience into Cultural Critique

Your personal solution to the Meaning Crisis is not the objectively right solution for everyone.

Nov 26, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Religion with a lower-case r

A great remedy for the meaning crisis that few people seem to want.

Nov 13, 2025 • Jay Michaelson

Judaism

How Candace Owens Learned Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories from an Orthodox Rabbi

Why is the world broken? Because the Sabbatean Illuminati keep ruining it, of course.

Apr 21 • Jay Michaelson

F—k the Jews: The Recipe of Antisemitism, from Roald Dahl to the Manosphere

Intellectual scaffolding, affective appeal

Apr 17 • Jay Michaelson

Antisemitism Explodes on the Right, Watchdogs Blame the Left (but the Left has problems too)

The Anti-Antisemitism industry is myopically focused on the Left -- while some on the Left are starting to sound like the Right.

Mar 20 • Jay Michaelson

Politics and Spirituality | Circle and Line

Taking a step back to reframe the current psychodynamic moment.

Jan 28 • Jay Michaelson

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