Spotify's Platform Problem, Putin War Games & Biden's Covid Curse

Happy Tuesday, and welcome back to The Daily Courant. Here's a look at what's new at Puck.

First up, Baratunde Thurston offers nine thoughts on Spotify's Joe Rogan problem, a media and public relations debacle that reveals more about Spotify's platform economics than it does about Rogan himself. (You can also sign up for Baratunde's private email to get these missives directly in your inbox.)

Plus, below the fold, Julia Ioffe uncovers the diplomatic game theory behind this week's escalating U.S.-Russia crisis, and explains how Joe Biden may have backed Putin into a trap of his own bizarre design. And Peter Hamby considers whether Democratic leadership can execute a hard pivot back to post-Covid normalcy before a midterm catastrophe in November.

My Joe Rogan Playlist

Nine thoughts on Spotify, “free speech,” deplatforming, and what the Rogan crisis really means.

It’s been a few weeks now, and I still don’t have a grand unified theory to explain Joe Rogan, misinformation, racism, and deplatforming. Instead, in the spirit of the platform on which this discussion is playing out, here’s my playlist of sometimes-contradictory thoughts about the entire situation.

1. This is not how I wanted to spend my Black History Month.

I usually look forward to Black History Month. It’s a time when companies try to flex their pro-Black bonafides by linking Civil Rights battles for freedom to our freedom to buy things we don’t need, or by making pledges to “elevate Black voices.” 

This month, however, many of us have been preoccupied by the decision of a company based in Sweden (very white) to invest millions in elevating an American podcaster (also very white) who has spread contrary takes on COVID-19 and used the N-word on multiple occasions over a multi-year period. The fact that this February is only 28 days long further heightens the misappropriation of these weeks. We have literally 11 other months to spend dissecting a white man’s potential racism, but no, we’re doing this now, apparently. 

2. The N-word is ours exclusively.

It should go without saying, but clearly we need to keep saying it: Unless you’re Black, you don’t get to say the N-word. Given the history of the United States, it’s especially fraught for white people to use this word, and anyone who pretends to not understand this is doing just that: pretending. I’m Black, and even I write and say “the N-word” much more than I would ever use the actual word. Yes, Black rappers say it a lot. No, that doesn’t mean you can. Haven’t Black folks given up enough to the broader culture? The Blues, barbecue, Barack Obama, and Kanye. We in the West collectively have let white people hold on to many things that weren’t theirs to take: indigenous lands, capital gains from slave labor, Brooklyn, and yoga. We’re holding on to this one word.

3. This isn’t about “silencing.”

One easy way to win an argument is to engage on terms different from those of your opponent. When President Obama tried to use the conservative Heritage Foundation’s framework to extend healthcare to all Americans, the Republican Party said they weren’t going to let him run death panels to determine if your grandma lived...

FOUR STORIES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT