Who is the Ben Shapiro of liberal politics?

[Adam Zapple]

I have spent a lot of time listening to and watching Ben Shapiro lately.  Like him or dislike him, you have to admit he is brilliant and makes a lot of logical points.  I'm looking to learn more and would like some recommendations for comparable people on the left if anyone has suggestions.

[golden1]

He isn't "brilliant" IMO.  I see him more of a pundit than a true intellectual.  Occasionally he says something that I agree with, but most of the time, he just seems like he likes to provoke to get clicks.   He rides on his charisma, but his arguments are usually pretty easily rebutted. 

https://medium.com/@tomo.albanese/debunking-ben-shapiros-transgender-denialism-c39b090116e1

For smart conservatives I like David Frum (The Atlantic) and David French (National Review).  Reihan Salam is also good.  These are all never trumpers like Shapiro.  I have a hard time recommending a pro-trump pundit/intellectual, except maybe Scott Adams, who at least is interesting about his support of Trump.  I still think most of his approaches amount to gaslighting. 

If you want a smart liberal pundit type, Chris Hayes, Rachael Maddow, Ezra Klein are on that level.  Chris Hitchens comes to mind too.  I prefer reading books to watching TV, and Rachael Maddow's book "Drift" was really excellent.  Hayes book "Twilight of the Elites" was also fairly good, and described a lot of the institutional and structural precursors to the Trump phenomenon. 

[marty998]

I have spent a lot of time listening to and watching Ben Shapiro lately.  Like him or dislike him, you have to admit he is brilliant and makes a lot of logical points.  I'm looking to learn more and would like some recommendations for comparable people on the left if anyone has suggestions.

Ever notice that the loudest voices are the most objectionable and unpalatable? It's because you have to be extreme to be heard in this day and age.

Perhaps instead of seeking out the far right and far left, try and understand why the majority of people don't like to be whipped up into a frothing-at-the-mouth frenzy and prefer to occupy the middle....?

Or maybe appreciate that these figureheads are pushing an agenda (for profit or otherwise) and you shouldn't buy into it, just because they sound slick?

[One]

I would recommend Jordan B Peterson as a classic liberal.

[vern]

The thug life chose Ben.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhuGzzZpDCA

[Adam Zapple]

I have spent a lot of time listening to and watching Ben Shapiro lately.  Like him or dislike him, you have to admit he is brilliant and makes a lot of logical points.  I'm looking to learn more and would like some recommendations for comparable people on the left if anyone has suggestions.

Ever notice that the loudest voices are the most objectionable and unpalatable? It's because you have to be extreme to be heard in this day and age.

Perhaps instead of seeking out the far right and far left, try and understand why the majority of people don't like to be whipped up into a frothing-at-the-mouth frenzy and prefer to occupy the middle....?

Or maybe appreciate that these figureheads are pushing an agenda (for profit or otherwise) and you shouldn't buy into it, just because they sound slick?

I don't find Shapiro loud or unpalatable which is why I was looking for someone similar on the left.  I don't agree with everything he says but he's no Rush Limbaugh or Alex Jones.

[J Boogie]

Cenk Uygur has often risen to the occasion of playing Ben Shapiro's liberal counterpart. He's an ideological hack too :)

As you can probably tell, I don't respect either all that much - Both use rhetoric to their advantage and preach to the choir while mostly expressing contempt for those who they disagree with.


David Pakman is in my opinion the best liberal thinker/pundit.  He puts out too much constant content, and some of it is low quality, but his deep dives are good and he's a thorough thinker. He doesn't have many blind spots, which really turn me off most partisan pundits.

Interesting conservative thinkers that are more insightful than Ben Shapiro... probably Ben Sasse, Peter Thiel, or even the devil himself Steve Bannon :) No, I'm not a Trump supporter - but Steve is worth listening to if you want to understand the rise of populism just like Bin Laden was worth listening to you in 2001 if you wanted to understand the rise of Islamic terrorism.