- https://PayPal.Me/lukeisback
"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
- Strange Bedfellows in the Academy: Alliance Theory and the Straussian Schism
- Tournier on Desmond Ford
- The Fence and the Blessing: How Jews Have Thought About Gentiles
- Tournier on Luke Ford
- Tournier on The Nostradamus Kid
- An Alliance Theory of Antisemitism
- Tournier on Cinema Paradiso and Desmond Ford
BEST POSTS:
- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Category Archives: Expertise
Why Are Journalists Embracing ‘Goldilocks’ Descriptions?
The word “Goldilocks” comes from a 19th-century fairy tale in which a girl tests three versions of the same thing and finds the middle option just right. The porridge is neither too hot nor too cold. The bed is neither … Continue reading
Posted in Elites, Expertise, Iran, Journalism
Comments Off on Why Are Journalists Embracing ‘Goldilocks’ Descriptions?
The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the Battle to Define Legitimate Power in the Trump Presidency
Thomas Edsall writes in the New York Times: Trump’s Smash-and-Grab Presidency Reaches New Heights Moynihan agreed that “there are significant strategic motivations for the U.S. military action” against Iran. But for Trump, “the key point seems to be the impulsiveness, … Continue reading
Posted in America, Elites, Expertise, Stephen Turner
Comments Off on The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the Battle to Define Legitimate Power in the Trump Presidency
High-Brow New York Times Op/Ed By Iran Expert Destroyed By Reality
Eyal Yakoby posts: “BREAKING: Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly severely injured, one of his legs has been amputated, and he may not even be aware that he is the Supreme Leader.” I spent my weekend reading the 2025 book “Iran’s Grand … Continue reading
Posted in Blob, Expertise, Iran, Journalism, Pundits
Comments Off on High-Brow New York Times Op/Ed By Iran Expert Destroyed By Reality
Reluctant Relief That Trump Is Bombing Iran Seeps Through Elite Commentary
You can see hints of it. It rarely appears as open approval. It leaks out in tone, framing, and what journalists choose to emphasize. One signal is the grudging competence frame. Analysts who strongly dislike Trump will write things like … Continue reading
Posted in Blob, Expertise, Iran, Journalism
Comments Off on Reluctant Relief That Trump Is Bombing Iran Seeps Through Elite Commentary
MSM Symmetry In Iran Coverage
Most national security reporters sit inside the same information ecosystem as the officials they cover. Their sources are Pentagon officers, intelligence briefers, congressional staff, and think tank analysts. When a crisis hits, those relationships become the primary pipeline of information. … Continue reading
Posted in Blob, Expertise, Iran, Journalism
Comments Off on MSM Symmetry In Iran Coverage
Where Is The Expert Herd Going On The Iran War?
Elite expert opinion on the Iran war does not shift all at once. It moves the way a herd moves, with a few animals at the edge turning first while the center holds its position a little longer. The useful … Continue reading
How Expert Are International Relations Experts?
I am fascinated by expertise and by decoding what is real expertise and what is self-aggrandizement and socially destructive. I grew up on college campuses, the youngest son of a Religion professor. I love ideas. I love learning. And I … Continue reading
Experts Love Proportionate Response
In the real world, when a deliberate harm is inflicted, the victim rarely responds proportionately. They tend to up the ante. The appeal to “proportionate response” comes from two places. One is international law, especially the doctrine of proportionality in … Continue reading
Posted in Expertise
Comments Off on Experts Love Proportionate Response
Decoding Richard Haass
Richard N. Haass is a useful case for Alliance Theory because he sits at the center of the American foreign policy establishment. His career is not primarily about commanding armies or winning elections. It is about coordinating elites. Council on … Continue reading
The Pitt
I love this TV show, but its propaganda is hard to take. It’s all doctor knows best, expert knows best. It’s always pushing the ideology of the expert class, but maybe that is the norm for doctor shows? Yes, that … Continue reading
Posted in Expertise
Comments Off on The Pitt