Let's Give A Damn – Episode 277: Taylor Lorenz
Date: April 9, 2025
Host: Nick Laparra
Guest: Taylor Lorenz (Tech Journalist, Author of Extremely Online, Founder of User Mag)
Episode Overview
This episode features a wide-ranging, impassioned conversation between Nick Laparra and Taylor Lorenz about digital culture, the state of independent journalism, the toxicity of establishment media, the ongoing relevance of COVID-19 precautions, the dangers of complacency in liberal resistance, and the vital role of collective solidarity. Lorenz speaks candidly about being a frequent target for online hate, her experiences navigating both legacy and independent media, and why she believes genuine resistance and mutual care are urgently needed in an era of political and societal crisis.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Life in the Crosshairs: Taylor Lorenz on Being “The Face of Evil”
- The episode opens by referencing a recent hate-filled Substack article calling Lorenz “the face of evil.” Taylor laughs it off and recounts her “end of an era” tweet about a closed Planned Parenthood clinic, which led to fervent attacks from right-wing media.
“I had so many great abortions there, like, joking, obviously. And they were like, how dare you admit to slaughtering a child?... Like, it's not that deep.”
– Taylor Lorenz (05:04)
- She discusses how online hate and right-wing projection follow her work, noting that even mainstream media often piles on.
2. Early Days & Becoming Extremely Online
- Lorenz details her background: growing up in New York/Connecticut, enduring ADHD, working retail and food service from age 13, and finding her footing on Tumblr in 2009.
“Work was like the only thing that I was good at, I think, because I was so bad at school.”
– Taylor Lorenz (12:09)
- She shares how being a “professional interneter” and navigating early social media communities led her into journalism.
“I was good at basically making things that people would share.”
– Taylor Lorenz (13:15)
3. Legacy vs. Independent Journalism
- Taylor describes jobs at The Atlantic, NYT, Washington Post, and others, recounting her decision to leave mainstream media due to editorial constraints and ideological shifts.
“The worst thing you can do when you’re young is go into establishment anything, because you get no respect... [They] run all over you.”
– Taylor Lorenz (24:54)
- She stresses how institutional loyalty rarely pays off for journalists, and how quitting opened space for independence and authenticity.
- The “credentialism” and gatekeeping of legacy newsrooms leave little room for writers to challenge the status quo or serve the public, she argues.
- She details strategic timing in going independent before 2024’s election, foreseeing the growing division and importance of unfiltered voices.
4. The Rise and Fall of the Resistance
- Nick praises Taylor’s YouTube video, “The Rise and Fall of the Resistance,” which examines liberal hashtag activism post-Trump’s election.
“So many of my people... were head over heels into this hashtag resistance... These people on the Internet... are not principled people.”
– Nick Laparra (36:33)
- Lorenz critiques media-branded “resistance” as a distraction from systemic action and actual solidarity:
“These conservative resistance influencers... made millions of dollars... It did fuck all for actually getting us closer to liberation.”
– Taylor Lorenz (38:19)
- She highlights how liberal complacency allowed the incremental slide towards authoritarianism:
“If you incrementally move closer and closer to fascism every single election cycle while telling your base to shut up and vote for you, that’s a losing strategy.”
– Taylor Lorenz (42:00)
- She warns against both right-wing and Democratic tribalism, stressing that establishment figures sell out the working class and progressive movements when convenient.
5. Institutional Power, “Both Sides” Media, and the Need for Accountability
- Taylor denounces the myth of “neutral” mainstream media and their role in sanitizing or hiding atrocities (e.g., COVID-19 denial, Gaza coverage, policing):
“There is an ideology that they push. There’s no such thing as neutral media. It just doesn’t exist.”
– Taylor Lorenz (40:39)
- She calls for more leftist media but notes that even outlets like NYT or WaPo cater to elite, corporate interests:
“The entire media establishment... is an elite neoliberal worldview and it’s a pro-corporation worldview. It’s pro establishment.” (48:16)
6. The Internet and Social Media as Tools for Both Liberation and Control
- Both guest and host wrestle with digital media’s double edge—enabling activism and connection while also fueling surveillance and radicalization.
- Lorenz cautions against anti-internet rhetoric, especially given its necessity for disabled communities and international solidarity:
“Logging off is not the solution... Online activism can be very powerful.”
– Taylor Lorenz (57:51, 58:25)
- She underscores the urgency of protecting digital free speech amid coordinated legislative attacks (e.g., the TikTok ban):
“I care a lot about free speech... Both political parties have worked together so closely to dismantle free speech.”
– Taylor Lorenz (49:37)
7. The Permanence of COVID-19 and Culture Wars Over Public Health
- Lorenz gives an extended, passionate plea for ongoing masking, POH (protecting others’ health), and collective resistance to eugenicist policy:
“Covid is such a litmus test for so many things. I know people don’t want to hear about it anymore, but it really is.”
– Taylor Lorenz (66:46)
- She likens COVID denialism to the AIDS crisis, seatbelt laws, and drunk driving:
“You don’t say, God, seatbelts. I’m so sick of the flu... why are we still wearing condoms?... These are precautionary measures that you take to ensure the safety of yourself and others.”
– Taylor Lorenz (68:39)
- Masking and mutual aid are described as radical acts of solidarity and the baseline for a caring society.
- She notes that calls to “get back to normal” or minimize precautions reflect widespread right-wing propaganda—even among liberals and the left:
“That’s a eugenics mindset... now that is what normal mainstream liberals and leftists are saying.”
– Taylor Lorenz (69:08)
Memorable Quotes and Moments
-
On Online Hate and Ignoring the Noise:
"It's so much projection. It's like, okay, this woman made like a mildly silly joke... and I’m going to now project like crazy.”
– Taylor Lorenz (05:57) -
On the Need for Direct Action:
“Resistance shouldn’t be a media brand or personality culture. Reactionary politics can’t be countered by smug tweets, hashtags, cable news talking points, or RBG merch.”
– Nick Laparra, quoting Lorenz’s video (51:33) -
On Institutional Betrayal:
“Stop listening to these establishment, neoliberal elite people. They do not have your back. They will always sell you out tomorrow.”
– Taylor Lorenz (40:35) -
On the Media’s True Mission:
“There’s no such thing as neutral media. It just doesn’t exist.”
– Taylor Lorenz (40:39) -
On the False Binary of Voting ‘Blue No Matter Who’:
“That’s ridiculous nonsense that I hope is currently dissolving... You had, and they would say, how are you so—like, okay, we didn’t put the hats on and we didn’t put the shirts on, but we still... defended our dear leader.”
– Nick Laparra (43:00) -
On COVID-19’s Political Function:
“Disease is a tool of the state and we should not... Capitalism requires sort of this endless churn of bodies and we need to protect ourselves...”
– Taylor Lorenz (69:08)
Important Timestamps
- 03:24: Taylor Lorenz on right-wing hate and the “face of evil” article.
- 10:37: On being targeted by Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, and others.
- 12:09: Early work and finding a path through Tumblr.
- 24:54: Why legacy “establishment” media fails young journalists.
- 36:33: The grift and delusion of liberal “resistance” media.
- 40:35: Media complicity and why Democrats “will always sell you out tomorrow.”
- 42:00: The incremental slide toward authoritarianism; why “lesser evil” politics is a dead end.
- 48:16: “There is no leftist media... it’s an elite neoliberal worldview... pro-corporation worldview.”
- 49:37: The bipartisan assault on free speech (TikTok ban, censorship laws).
- 53:28: The “pandemic is over” myth, why COVID precautions still matter.
- 57:51: The internet as a critical space for activism and solidarity—especially for disabled people.
- 66:46: COVID denialism and collective responsibility as a “litmus test.”
- 69:08: Precautions (seat belts, condoms, mask-wearing) as radical collective care.
How to Support Taylor Lorenz
- Newsletter: Usermag.com (with paid options and free content)
- YouTube: Taylor Lorenz YouTube Channel (“Please subscribe!”)
- Book: Extremely Online (now available in paperback with a new cover)
- Mutual Aid: Taylor encourages supporting independent media over legacy subscriptions and emphasizes that direct support enables vital, uncompromised reporting.
Tone and Takeaways
The tone is candid, fierce, and darkly humorous—both Lorenz and Laparra openly criticize establishment power, media complacency, and “resistance” grifting. They emphasize the necessity of solidarity, mutual care, and direct support for independent, principled journalism and activism. COVID-19 is treated as an ongoing crisis, not a past event, and masking/mutual aid are reframed as acts of radical compassion.
This episode is a rallying cry for people to support independent media, question establishment narratives, defend public health, and get serious about dismantling both reactionary and neoliberal forms of oppression—online and off.