Saree Makdisi (2024) - Tolerance is a Wasteland

Saree Makdisi (2024) - Tolerance is a Wasteland

Author: Festival of Dangerous Ideas August 5, 2025 Duration: 45:09

For some, the image of Israel, as a shining example of liberal democratic ideals has been broken by the Netanyahu Government's actions in Gaza since 7 October, 2023. Yet, for others, the positive image projected by Israel has always been a convenient myth, allowing dominant powers within the international community to turn a blind eye to decades of Palestinian suffering. 

Academic Saree Makdisi argues that we are living in a culture of denial. He says much of the West is complicit through the act of self-deception. Makdisi offers a possible outcome for both Palestinians and Israelis.

 

Saree Makdisi is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. His most recent books include Tolerance is a Wasteland: Palestine and the Culture of DenialReading William Blake and Making England Western. He is also a frequent contributor to The Nationn+1, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.


For more than a decade, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas has curated a space where provocative thinking isn't just welcomed, it's the entire point. This podcast is a direct line to that stage, offering an archive of talks that deliberately unsettle comfortable opinions and interrogate the stubborn problems we often agree to ignore. Each episode captures a live conversation from Australia's original disruptive ideas festival, presenting arguments that can be exhilarating, uncomfortable, and vitally important. You’ll hear from a compelling roster of festival alumni-including leading experts, intellectual troublemakers, and visionary authors-who share perspectives that conventional discourse frequently sidelines. The discussions here aren't theoretical exercises; they grapple with the pressing and difficult issues shaping our society and culture right now. Tuning in means granting yourself access to a decade-long tradition of intellectual courage, where the core assumption is that some truths are only reached by first entertaining a dangerous idea. It’s a chance to listen as boundaries are pushed, not for shock value, but for clarity. The result is a consistently challenging and refreshing audio experience that complicates simple narratives and expands what feels possible to talk about.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Festival of Dangerous Ideas
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