Discourse Lab
An Age of Violence w/ Alex DeVitry
In this episode Clay is joined by friend of the pod Alex DeVitry. Alex is currently a Master’s student at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), where he is studying international conflict resolution, foreign policy and diplomacy, and the Middle East. He also writes excellent articles about political violence in the 21st century on his Substack . This conversation covers two main topics. First, the Houthi’s rise in Yemen: their origins, relationship with Iran, recent military successes, and the threat they pose to Red Sea shipping and the balance of power in the Gulf. Next, political violence: how it takes on a logic of its own, why it’s often misunderstood, and what its normalization means for national identity and civic life. Alex is a man with an outstandingly fascinating and unique origin story, which you can hear all about in his first appearance on TDL . You can follow Alex on Instagram & TikTok , and subscribe to him (for free!) on Substack . Books Mentioned in this episode: Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire by Richard B. Frank. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle. Aristotle’s Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages by Richard E. Rubenstein. The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich
