Elon Musk, Texas & Men Leaving College - Zack Telander | Modern Wisdom Podcast 372

Zack Telander is a weightlifter, coach & YouTuber. ZT joins me to talk about the world's most pressing issues like why Elon Musk's silence is violence, why The Satanic Temple is stepping into Texas' abortion debate, the implications of men leaving college at record rates, whether Joe Rogan will sue CNN, why the new Matrix trailer is so good, my new obsession with AirSoft YouTube and much more... Sponsors: Get 5 days unlimited access to Shortform for free at https://www.shortform.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get a free gift from Tiege Hanley when you try their skincare range at http://tiege.com/modernwisdom (deal automatically applied) Extra Stuff: Subscribe to Zack's YouTube Channel -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC94_fvLx7abZgs9LIkM7jxw Get Zack's Program for $1 - https://www.patreon.com/zacktelander Follow Zack on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coach_zt Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #elonmusk #joerogan #texas - 00:00 Intro 01:19 Elon Musk’s Silence 08:48 Texas Abortion Law Reactions 26:21 The Wild-West of Social Media 41:12 Joe Rogan Suing CNN 48:36 Impact of Education for Men 1:03:05 Evolution of Online Dating 1:09:22 Where to Find Zack - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Zack TelanderguestChris Williamsonhost

Sep 15, 20211h 10mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Politics, Porn, and Tinder: Modern Masculinity in a Digital Age

Chris Williamson and Zack Telander explore how political outrage, social media, and shifting gender dynamics are reshaping culture, especially for men. They discuss expectations placed on public figures like Elon Musk and Joe Rogan to take political stances, and how institutions from the FDA to corporations now chase clout with meme-like messaging. The conversation then moves to Texas politics, abortion laws, guns, and the surprising data on women’s and men’s attitudes toward abortion. Finally, they dig into men leaving college, skewed sex ratios, online dating, and how hyperabundance of attention and information is warping relationships, ego, and mental health.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Influence now comes with an assumed obligation to speak on every controversy.

Public figures like Elon Musk and Joe Rogan are criticized not just for what they say, but for what they don’t say; audiences often demand they take ‘the right’ stance, treating silence itself as political.

Outrage and status games drive much of modern political and media behavior.

People selectively amplify or dismiss celebrities’ opinions based on whose ‘side’ they appear to help, turning every issue—from abortion to COVID treatments—into an opportunity to score points rather than seek truth.

Institutions and brands now chase attention using meme language and snark.

From the FDA tweeting “you are not a horse” about ivermectin to MLB joking on TikTok, official bodies increasingly use internet humor to be ‘relatable,’ blurring lines between authority, advertising, and clout-chasing.

Men are leaving college in large numbers, creating a major sex-ratio and status imbalance.

Women now make up about 60% of U.S. college students, and men account for most of the enrollment decline; this undermines the old narrative of male educational dominance and sets up future social and dating tensions.

Skewed sex ratios and education gaps are reshaping the dating market in favor of a small minority of men.

With more educated women than men and women preferring to date across or up in status, a smaller pool of high-performing men gains disproportionate leverage, promoting more casual sex and leaving many men and women dissatisfied.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

What requirement do you have as a person of influence to weigh in on a conversation that you don't care about?

— Chris Williamson

When somebody's on your side, you back them up. When somebody's on the other side, you try to diminish their impact.

— Chris Williamson

People are so easily propagandized. It has to be right or wrong, good or evil… it's your fault for not doing it fast enough.

— Zack Telander

We are still in this loading screen for online dating.

— Zack Telander

Humans aren't designed to consume the entire world's news in real time 24 hours a day.

— Chris Williamson

Moral obligations of influential figures (Elon Musk, Joe Rogan) to comment on politicsCulture-war dynamics, virtue signaling, and weaponizing status and platformsTexas abortion law, gun policy, and public reactions (including The Satanic Temple)Media behavior, social media “Wild West” vs. algorithmic censorship and corporate clout-chasingMen’s declining college enrollment and the growing female–male education gapMating markets, sex ratios, and how education and online dating reshape relationshipsPsychological impact of social media and dating apps on ego, expectations, and attention

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