What I saw at The Free Press/FIRE debate: "Does the West need a religious revival?"
Scenes from the debate plus the VIP afterparty with Ross Douthat, Bari Weiss, Adam Corolla, Greg Lukianoff and more.
I have been a longtime reader of The Free Press and a supporter of the mission of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). I try to read a variety of news media and The Free Press is one source I’ve found invaluable (and often entertaining).1 FIRE has helped fight back against incursions on free speech from the right and the left, filing lawsuits against Florida’s Stop WOKE Act and California’s DEI policies.
So I was thrilled to hear both organizations were hosting a debate in Austin. I would have gone to the debate regardless of the topic, but “Does the West Need a Religious Revival?” was too good to resist.
I was also thrilled to see that VIP tickets were available that provided seats in the front section of the theater and access to an afterparty with the debaters. Ross Douthat is one of my favorite New York Times columnists and the chance to see him debate in person was a bonus.
But most importantly, maybe this would be my chance to meet my favorite content creator in all of the internet—Nellie Bowles.
Before the show
When I arrived at The Paramount Theater in Austin, I spotted Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of FIRE and co-author (with Jonathan Haidt) of “The Coddling of the American Mind.” His distinctive beard gave him away. I had finished “Coddling” just weeks before and it lived up to its reputation.
Just eaves-dropping on people’s conversations, this was a highly educated crowd. Very well dressed. Sitting there in my flannel and Northface vest, I couldn’t help but notice the many people wearing business suits and evening wear. One gentleman, sitting in the front row, was wearing a black-and-white houndstooth suit and black fedora. Very classy.
According to the The Free Press’ recap:
In the audience were a monk from Marblehead, Massachusetts; a couple from Portland; a father and daughter from Toronto; metalworkers from Detroit; and Entourage star Adrian Grenier.
The lights dimmed and the melodious, husky voice of Nellie Bowles could be heard asking the audience to find their seats, turn off their phones and avoid any filming.
Was she somewhere in the crowd? Was this my chance?
The debate
Arguing that yes, the West does need a religious revival, was Ross Douthat and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Somalian-born Dutch-American writer and former member of the Dutch Parliament. Arguing against was founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine, Michael Shermer, and comedian/podcaster Adam Carolla.
I would argue these groups were not equally matched but perhaps that is my bias showing.
Founder and editor of The Free Press (and wife to Nellie Bowles), Bari Weiss, moderated the event. At the beginning, the audience was asked to vote on which side they agreed with, for or against. A full 73% of the audience (including me) voted that yes, the West needs a religious revival.
Douthat kicked off the night with a fiery speech about how the rise in secularism coincided with a rise in mental health issues, polarization, skepticism of science and deaths of despair. Shermer countered that if you look at countries with a strong tradition of Judeo-Christian values, you see a number of harmful trends like higher rates of murder, suicides, divorce and so on.
One member at the after party remarked that the opposing side’s argument amounted to, “if something bad happened and Christians were in the neighborhood, then it was their fault.”
Hirsi Ali argued that, yes, countries with religious traditions also had slavery, segregation, and various forms of oppression but it was arguments based in Christianity that helped societies move beyond those practices.
Carolla shared some jokes: “I worry about religion the same way I worry about Ozempic.” I think there was a cogent argument there that I wish Carolla had developed more. If I understood him correctly, at its worst, religion can keep people from really wrestling with moral questions and instead provides simple answers that go unexamined.
My feeling about Douthat is that he is great in small doses. I enjoy his columns, but I struggled to get far into his latest book. This was probably true of the debate. His 5-minute opening statement was brilliant, but as the night went on, he became more cerebral and I think lost some people.
At the end of the night, the group who believed that no, the West does not need a spiritual revival, gained 12 points and therefore won the debate (I was not part of this group).
The VIP afterparty
When the lights came on and we started to slowly filter out of the theater, I heard someone behind me say my name. A friend from grad school, whom I hadn’t seen in almost a decade, happened to be sitting two seats away from me during the show, his friend sitting directly next to me.
As we caught up, the three of us then made our way to the VIP after-party a few blocks away. There was a line down the street and around the corner. The president of the University of Austin, Dr. Pano Kanelos, was a few people behind us. I pointed him out to my friends and they informed me they all went to the same Greek Orthodox church together. When we got to the door, Adam Carolla and his entourage slipped in just before us.
Once we arrived, we made our way to the open bar, where just a few feet away, Bari Weiss was deeply engaged with a line of people waiting to talk and take pictures. I saw Ross Douthat deep in conversation with a group of people. Greg Lukianoff was wandering around. Yet Nellie Bowles was nowhere to be seen.
When we arrived at the open bar, I ordered the night’s specialty drink, The Free Press Fizz, a concoction of gin and other flavors (it was fine). Armed with a drink, I then mustered the courage to talk to one of my favorite New York Times columnists (and the star of the night, in my opinion), Ross Douthat.
Let me pause here to say the beautiful venue also had a live band, which made real conversation difficult. Even though we were on the opposite end of the venue, you had to shout a bit to be heard.
I waited my turn as a man wrapped up a debate he was having with Douthat about…something. It went over my head. Then, a family of parents and their late high school/college age kids spoke with Douthat. Their son was a student at the University of Austin.
Then I got to take a picture!
High on my list of people to meet and get a picture with was Greg Lukianoff. I hovered near him as he wrapped up a conversation and then got another drink at the bar. Once he had a new drink (looked like a martini?) I pounced.
The music was so loud that the interaction was basically:
Me: I JUST FINISHED THE CODDLING OF THE AMERICAN MIND!
Greg: SO DID YOU THINK IT WAS GOOD OR BAD?
Me: IT WAS GREAT! IT HELPED ME UNDERSTAND MY GEN Z FRIENDS … CAN I TAKE A PICTURE?
End scene.
Not far from Lukianoff was a gaggle of people around Bari Weiss, who either knew everyone or is the warmest person I’ve ever seen. She was so engaged with every person and would often grab their shoulders in excitement and give them a hug at the end.
There was no real line, just an amorphous crowd. Just as I was about to position myself as the next in line, Weiss’ handlers whisked her away to her next location. Maybe next time.
I never saw Nellie’s face in the crowd. Another dream deferred.
Once I regrouped with my old friend from grad school and new friend I had just met, we made our way to say hi to Dr. Kanelos. Glass of red wine in hand, he was having a spirited conversation with a small group. He eventually saw his fellow churchgoers and my friends made the introduction.
We discussed how the night went and critiques of the arguments (and by “we” I mean I just listened as someone who went to seminary at Princeton talked with a university president). We wrapped up and said our goodbyes (Dr. Kanelos remembered by name).
I looked around the room one last time for Nellie Bowles. No luck. Despite not getting to meet the snarky San Franscisco native, I still had an incredible night.
"I always tell people they should read 'The Art of the Deal.'"
Chris Cillizza is a veteran political journalist whose long career includes time at The Washington Post and CNN, and as a frequent panelist on “Meet the Press.”
John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Bill Murray and Will Ferrell all hated Chevy Chase. Everyone did.
“I don’t think it will ever work because the audience for which it’s designed will never come home on Saturday night to watch it.”
Some have criticized The Free Press as having a conservative lean, and that’s probably fair. You’ll also likely get a narrow perspective on Israel. But, in general, I think the variety of writers and opinions are a helpful source of news and Nellie Bowle’s TGIF is a must-read.
Thanks for the post. Sorry I missed it. The debate reminds me of a book I just read called “Bullies and Saints” by John Dickson. Even though he is a Christian I think he gives a very fair compliment and critique to Christian history.