My guest this week is the producer and storyteller Stephanie Lepp, who leads the independent production studio Synthesis Media, and joins me today to talk about her new project, Faces of X. I met Stephanie through her husband, who did his undergraduate at Brown, and we’ve had a kind of intermittent public dialogue for years now. She was instrumental in helping me think through the early stages of my memoir. Now, I’m trying to help her think through her new initiative.
Stephanie begins by introducing Faces of X, which seeks to integrate opposing perspectives on major issues. I’m a bit skeptical of the endeavor, but I think that’s precisely why Stephanie wanted to talk with me about it on camera. We watch clips from Faces of X videos on capitalism and race, and I offer some criticisms of the way they attempt to “synthesize” opposing perspectives. It’s an ambitious searching project that’s confronting some of the real flash points in our culture. Will synthesis, as Stephanie conceives it, move us to higher ground? I have some reservations, but I’m going to keep listening.
This post was released on Monday to paying subscribers and is now unlocked. To receive early access to TGS episodes, an ad-free podcast feed, Q&As, and other exclusive content and benefits, click below.
The Dispatch: No outrage. Just facts.
The Dispatch provides engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary informed by conservative principles.
Jonah Goldberg and Steve Hayes launched The Dispatch in 2019 to build an enduring presence on the center-right for original reporting and thoughtful analysis. No insulting clickbait, no false outrage, no annoying auto-play videos—just reliable journalism that prioritizes context, depth, and understanding.
Join 400,000+ loyal readers and start reading The Dispatch today.
The Glenn Show readers: Claim your exclusive 30-day, all-access FREE trial today.
0:20 Stephanie’s new video series, Faces of X
4:18 Glenn: “You’re taking all the fun out of the culture war”
7:30 Could we have had modernity without capitalism?
17:28 Glenn: You’re taking a side in the debate without admitting it
20:35 What comes after “heterodoxy”?
24:10 Stephanie: Seeing race as a lie may be the greatest reparation of all
32:32 Glenn: Calling race a construction doesn’t get us “past race”
38:23 Race in the next century
42:42 Transcending race without abandoning it
46:20 Awe and humility as spiritual necessities
Recorded August 13, 2024
Links and Readings
Glenn’s previous TGS episode with Stephanie
Find Stephanie on X: @stephlepp
Glenn’s 2016 conversation with Stephanie on Reckonings
Faces of X, “Can We Reframe the Capitalism Debate”
Faces of X, “Can We Reframe the Race Debate”
Glenn’s conversation with Greg Thomas, “A Future for Black Tradition”
Stephanie Lepp – Reframing the Big Questions