WATCH FULL EPISODE: https://youtu.be/1VxW1NjaRC0?si=Pl5m74sC24ES6qq6 Subscribe Here: @JulianDoreyDaily NEEMA's LINKS: - YT: https://www.youtube.com/@AcademicAgent - WEBSITE: https://www.academic-agency.com/ - SUBSTACK: https://forbiddentexts.substack.com/ Neema joins Julian to break down why the entire left vs. right political paradigm might actually be a vertical one — up vs. down — and why issues people genuinely care about are kept artificially separated and bundled into whichever party package happens to be on offer. The conversation moves through Baudrillard’s concept of hyperreality and the simulacrum: the idea that protests, podcasts, tweets, and even elections can function as simulations of politics rather than politics itself — Neema argues this is exactly why Tony Blair let the 2003 Iraq War march happen, and why Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign was, in his view, set up to lose from the start. From there, the discussion turns to who’s actually running things: not a shadowy cabal, Neema argues, but a diffuse, bureaucratic “managerial class” that emerged once ownership of major institutions became separated from control of them — a shift he traces through Henry Ford, Walt Disney, and the rise of giants like BlackRock, pointing to Larry Fink’s annual letters to CEOs as a window into how that control actually operates today. The two also get into the psychological cost of “taking the red pill” — the real risk of spiraling into a new, different hyperreality rather than genuine clarity — and what practical steps might actually help: smaller expectations, tighter in-person communities, and simply learning to be present. The Epstein files, the Tony Blair Institute’s funding by Larry Ellison, and the idea of a “counter-gang” round out a wide-ranging look at power, perception, and how to stay sane while questioning all of it. ***TIMESTAMPS*** @JulianDoreyDaily