# Favorite Public Intellectual **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2014, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582 "2014-11-25T09:46:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/41 "2014-11-26T19:39:42Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Jon certainly is his real name. The rest not so much. Well, short for Jonathan but at least it’s a nickname for his real given name. Now, if someone came in and said that Jonathan Liebowitz was their favorite intellectual, we might have let it pass… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/42 "2014-11-26T19:48:15Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > > [@adaher](#): > > > > It’s not even his real name. As a general rule, intellectuals don’t adopt showbiz names. > > Jon certainly is his real name. The rest not so much. He legally changed his last name to Stewart, so it’s about as “real” a name as you can get. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/43 "2014-11-26T20:38:40Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > Jon. It’s Jon, not John. > > Jon. > > No H. Jon. > > Jon. Jon. Jon. Jon. Jon. > > I think that the first step in listing intellectuals that you admire should be learning to spell their 3-letter name correctly. Hey, I never made any claims or assertions about my _own_ intellect. :o 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/44 "2014-11-26T23:37:43Z")
Another vote for Neil deGrassi Junior High Tyson Chicken. Love that man. Will still goof on his name, though. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/45 "2014-11-27T10:31:43Z")
Lewis Lapham is alive, btw, though he seems to have cut back on his intellectualizing. I liked Mailer, Vidal and Hitchens. I’m sure there are people just as worthy today, but I haven’t had time to keep up. But if Fran Liebowitz is an intellectual, then her, too. Since he obviously can’t post here himself, Andy Warhol (whom Vidal memorably called “a genius with a two-digit IQ”), wrote that Mailer was one of the few intellectuals he enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/46 "2014-11-27T11:00:56Z")
James Howard Kunstler — **[Clusterfuck Nation](http://kunstler.com/writings/clusterfuck-nation/)**. His insights into the built environment apply to countries other than America. Chomsky’s always good for a giggle. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/47 "2014-11-27T15:26:23Z")
John Stossel and although he doesn’t speak for himself as much as get good interviews from others, Charlie Rose. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/48 "2014-11-27T15:36:50Z")
Some of my others have already been named but I would add Rachel Maddow. I have liked and respected her since her days of being on the Radio. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/49 "2014-11-27T15:41:08Z")
The late [Pierre Elliott Trudeau](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Trudeau#Writings_by_Trudeau). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582/50 "2014-11-29T07:04:03Z")
I like Lawrence Krauss. Something of an arrogant bastard, but makes up for it with humor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-public-intellectual/705582.md?page=2)