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"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:
- Robert Putnam: The Man Who Counted What America Lost
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- 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
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: Alliance Theory
Why Do Intellectuals Love R. JB Soloveitchik?
Intellectuals love Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik because he provides a high-status “handshake” between the world of the Lithuanian yeshiva and the world of Continental philosophy. In the lens of Alliance Theory, Soloveitchik represents a rare “dual-loyalty” figure who successfully maintained … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, R. J. B. Soloveitchik
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Saul Lieberman and the Orthodox by Marc B. Shapiro (2006)
In Marc B. Shapiro’s study of Saul Lieberman, the central conflict illustrates the “coordination failure” that occurs when a high-status individual holds dual citizenship in rival coalitions. David Pinsof’s Alliance Theory suggests that social groups maintain their borders by demanding … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy, R. Saul Lieberman
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The Last Kings of Hollywood: Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg—and the Battle for the Soul of American Cinema (2026)
David Pinsof’s Alliance Theory suggests that human morality and social behavior serve as strategic tools to attract allies and marginalize rivals. Under this framework, the rise of the New Hollywood titans represents a massive coordination game where artistic “purity” functions … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Hollywood
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NYT: Paul Weiss Partners Turned on Brad Karp After Learning Extent of His Epstein Ties
The New York Times reports: Mr. Karp’s problems began months ago when embarrassing revelations about his dealings with Mr. Epstein began to dribble out of the Justice Department’s files. Over the past week, the firm had informally surveyed clients about … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Law
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Is Rahm Emmanuel A Viable Democratic Candidate?
In the context of Alliance Theory, Rahm Emanuel’s potential 2028 bid represents an attempt to re-establish a “Centrist-Pragmatist Alliance” in a party currently fractured by ideology. Since returning from his ambassadorship in Japan in early 2025, Emanuel has been vocal … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory
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The Right Lacks A Prestige Economy
Lomez posts: …the absence of a prestige economy on the right. This part of the cultural assymetry is far too often overlooked. Money is good. People are motivated by money. But perhaps even more so they are motivated by prestige/status. … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory
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NYT: Seven Pages of a Sealed Watergate File Sat Undiscovered. Until Now.
James Rosen writes for the New York Times: Radford enlisted in the Navy in 1963. Skinny and mustachioed, he possessed “a gift for disarming people and collecting information,” according to “Silent Coup,” a groundbreaking book about the Watergate scandal. Stationed … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Watergate
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Marty Supreme – Coalition Hacker
Marty Supreme makes more sense if you read it through David Pinsof’s Alliance Theory, not as a sports or biopic story but as a coalition drama about status, loyalty, and rule-breaking. We do not hold beliefs because they are true … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Ethics, Hollywood
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Why Virtue Signalling Is Virtuous
Philosopher Neil Levy writes: * Animals use signals for a variety of purposes. For instance, gazelles famously signal their fitness by stotting (jumping up and down on the spot) in front of predators (FitzGibbon and Fanshawe 1988). Peacocks even more … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Australia, Bondi Beach, Ethics
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Decoding The Scam Economy
Tom Owens writes: Much has been in the news of late regarding fake daycares, fake autism therapy centers, and fake hospices. The scale of the fraud is almost unbelievable, on the order of tens of billions. Since none of these … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Fraud
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