Episode 48: Ethan Watters On The Latest Skirmish In The Never-Ending Memory Wars

Katie and Jesse bring on Ethan Watters, an author and freelance journalist who helped debunk the recovered-memory craze back in the 1990s, to discuss the most recent development in that area: an article in The Cut that Watters does not think does a good and accurate job relating the (scant) scientific evidence for recovered memories. The hosts and Watters also discuss certain arguable therapeutic parallels between the recovered-memory movement and treatment for youth gender dysphoria, as well as the general tendency of liberals to violate their "We <3 Science" stance fairly regulary when moral outrage is afoot.

Show notes/Links:

The Cut article in question: https://www.thecut.com/article/false-memory-syndrome-controversy.html

And the podcast: https://www.thecut.com/2021/01/the-cut-podcast-the-truth-about-false-memories.html

Ethan's books:

Making Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, And Sexual Hysteria: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Monsters-Memories-Psychotherapy-Hysteria/dp/0520205839 

Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche: 

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Crazy-Like-Us/Ethan-Watters/9781416587095