Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Holding the Line: Why Some Things Should Still Be Taboo – DTH Episode 326 with Erez Levin

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) (https://www.buzzsprout.com/969574/fan_mail/new) Erez Levin spent nearly a decade inside Google's ad tech world before becoming one of the loudest internal voices warning that the industry was built to reward quantity over quality — and that those same broken incentives are what fuel outrage, fear, and grievance across the wider internet. Now Erez writes at Holding the Line, where he makes the case for what he calls principled ostracism: real social consequences for people who cross clear moral lines, paired with a genuine path back for anyone willing to own it. He draws a hard line between that and cancel culture, which he says punishes disagreement instead of actual hatred. Wilk and Erez dig into how norms actually change, why celebrating political violence deserves real cost, and how a single memo from a Wall Street investor got a group of Harvard students to retract a petition within three days. It's a conversation about where accountability ends and cruelty begins — and why courageous citizenship means holding a line without writing people off for good. We've forgotten what it feels like to have a real conversation. The week of August 10th, join AllSides for a live conversation about the American Dream — how we’re thinking about it and navigating the challenges. Your insights will be anonymized and included in a report to help leaders better understand how people see this issue. Sign up today at allsides.com/derate-hate  (http://allsides.com/derate-hate) The world is a better place if we are better people. Be grateful for all you’ve got. Make every day the day that you want it to be! Please follow the DTH podcast on: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DerateTheHate) , Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/derate_the_hate/) , Twitter(X) (https://twitter.com/deratethehate) ,  YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@DerateTheHate) ,  Substack  (https://wilkwilkinson.substack.com/) Subscribe to us wherever you enjoy your audio or from our site. Please leave us a rating and feedback on Apple podcasts or other platforms. You can share your thoughts or request Wilk for a speaking engagement on our contact page: DerateTheHate.com/Contact (https://deratethehate.com/contact) The Derate The Hate podcast is proudly produced in collaboration with Braver Angels — America’s largest grassroots, cross-partisan organization working toward civic renewal and bridging partisan divides. Learn more: BraverAngels.org (https://braverangels.org) Welcome to the Derate The Hate Podcast! *The views expressed by Wilk, his guest hosts &/or guests on the Derate The Hate podcast are their own and should not be attributed to any organization they may otherwise be affiliated with.