The book explores how financial pressures, cancel culture, well-intentioned progressivism, and the online environment are shaping the creative industries.

https://quillette.com/2025/08/22/how-cancel-culture-and-sensitivity-readers-are-shaping-the-publishing-industry-and-silencing-dissent-quillette-cetera-ep-51/

"In this interview, Adam Szetela explores how progressive orthodoxy and societal pressure are silencing dissenting voices, why certain authors are targeted for persecution, and how identity politics have created a climate of fear in literature. Drawing on his research at Cornell's Social Dynamics Lab, he explains how conformity can be weaponized. He also discusses gender dynamics in the publishing industry, the marginalization of working-class voices, and why combat sports like weightlifting and wrestling can build greater cultural resilience than elite education. If you're concerned about free speech, artistic freedom, or the ideological takeover of the creative industries, this is a conversation you won't want to miss."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background on Sensitivity Readers

03:05 The Role and Impact of Sensitivity Readers 05:50 Hypocrisy in Sensitivity Reader Culture

07:50 Militant Fragility and Social Dynamics

10:48 Personal Experiences and Perspectives on Academia 13:42 The State of the Publishing Industry and Cancel Culture

15:56 Infighting Among Progressives

18:43 Challenges for Right-Wing Authors

21:47 Emerging Publishing Alternatives

24:06 Social Psychology and Cancel Culture

27:04 The Influence of Peer Pressure

29:51 Resilience Through Weightlifting and Wrestling

30:56 The Impact of Combat Sports on Mindset

33:38 Consequences of Cancel Culture

36:00 Case Study: Jessica Cluess

39:00 The Indecision of Some in the Publishing Industry

41:59 Gender Dynamics in the Publishing Industry

44:41 The Future of Men's Literature

47:36 Conclusion and Final Reflections