Responding to the Right, Nathan J. Robinson
Responding to the Right, Nathan J. Robinson
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Responding to the Right
Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments

Author: Nathan J. Robinson

Narrator: Nathan J. Robinson

Unabridged: 11 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/14/2023


Synopsis

"[Robinson's] clipped and rapid narration conveys the air of a terrifically excited professor eager to share his enthusiasm with his audience. Recommended for those on either side of the aisle seeking to engage on the big questions of our day with clarity and truth."- Booklist

This program is read by the author.

The editor of Current Affairs artfully and efficiently debunks a series of common right-wing arguments.

Are taxes theft? Is abortion murder? Does regulation destroy jobs? Is white privilege a lie? Conservative talking points are everywhere, and through well-funded media like Fox News, Breitbart, and YouTube’s "Prager University," the right has an impressive record of packaging its views for a general audience. Clearly, the left needs to do a better job of fighting back.

Luckily, Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson has developed a reputation as a meticulous slayer of irrational and bigoted arguments. He has tangled with the likes of Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, and Charles Murray, exposing their flimsy logic and distorted facts with forensic thoroughness and savage wit. In Responding to the Right, Robinson blasts right-wing nonsense with devastating intellectual weaponry, revealing how everyone from Ann Coulter to the National Review uses fear and lies to manipulate the public. He gives a detailed explanation of how conservative arguments work and why we need to resist them, then goes through twenty-five separate talking points, showing precisely why each one fails.

This essential handbook is a stimulating source of issues to debate and a comprehensive challenge to dozens of dominant orthodoxies. It sets a new standard for leftist critique, and would be an invaluable addition to the arsenals of the millions of progressives fighting the political battles of our age.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

About Nathan J. Robinson

Nathan J. Robinson is a leading voice of millennial left politics. He is the editor of Current Affairs. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Nation, Salon, The Guardian, and elsewhere. A graduate of Yale Law School, he is a PhD student in Sociology and Social Policy at Harvard University, where his work focuses on contemporary left social movements. He is the author of Why You Should Be A Socialist.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Scott on February 23, 2024

I’m sure something similar has happened to you: You are sitting in the break room at work, when one of your co-workers—-someone with whom you normally get along but also happen to know that their political leanings are diametrically opposed to yours—-says something along the lines of “Universal heal......more

Goodreads review by Andy on May 07, 2023

Some debates are matters of faith/opinion, but others hinge on facts and logic. It's important to separate these two big categories. Robinson does this. He also spends a lot of the book quoting Right authors and spokespeople, so it can't be said that he is misrepresenting their points, which he then......more

Goodreads review by Ivonne on February 12, 2023

Nathan J. Robinson, editor-in-chief of Current Affairs magazine, has penned the book you didn’t know you couldn’t live without. So many books lay out the rhetoric and machinations of the Right, but do not provide any resolution of what to do about it. Robinson meticulously examines the rhetoric of t......more

Goodreads review by Janalyn, the blind reviewer on January 05, 2023

I have said it before and I’m going to say it again anytime you start an argument with the with everyone who blank does blah blah blah your argument is flawed. If you say all white people have privilege that’s a flawed argument because not all white people have privilege. Secondly anytime someone sa......more

Goodreads review by Stephen on December 11, 2024

A well-researched and well-written rebuttal to common conservative talking points. I really liked the author’s style. He communicated clearly, used very little sarcasm, and seemed to do a good job of attacking right-wing steel men, rather than straw men arguments. My main takeaway is this: conservat......more


Quotes

"Robinson reads the right so you don't have to (though maybe you should) and tells you what they say, why it wins converts, and how to beat them at their own game." —Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized and co-author of Chokepoint Capitalism

"Nathan Robinson is that rare and brilliant radical thinker who is unafraid to be witty while he's challenging your preconceptions. Come for the analysis, stay for the rhetoric." —Laurie Penny, author of Bitch Doctrine and Unspeakable Things

"The bulk of the book is a run-through of 25 common points of debate that Robinson dismantles by calling out their rhetorical hyperbole, disingenuous misreadings of history, willful manipulation of data, or outright bigotry...Robinson’s approach is snark-free, and though he’s confident in his rebuttals, he never postures as superior." —Kirkus

"[An] insightful guide to debunking conservative arguments...Progressives will savor this lucid handbook." —Publishers Weekly

"Responding to the Right is a delightfully readable book from an author who never fails to charm. It deflates the right’s more bombastic claims while making a compelling case for a more progressive standpoint." —Aero Magazine