He is popular because he has a lot of interesting things to say, and in today's social environment quite a few of these topics are considered taboo, not because

He is popular because he has a lot of interesting things to say, and in today's social environment quite a few of these topics are considered taboo, not because they are scientifically unsound but because they run counter to the unscientific identity politics pervasive in our universities and governments. In other words, he's a minority voice of sanity in a crazy world, and while many of his points are considered objectionable by a certain subset, for the rest of the world they are mainstream and entirely conventional. However, the silent majority has for a long time lacked a voice to champion orthodoxy, and he is that voice. It's a bit ironic that the far left consider him a radical, when he's a classical liberal, and shows just how distorted our societies have become. I discovered Jordan Peterson a few months ago through Sargon of Akkad, which exposed me to a world of opinion which is almost completely absent in the mainstream media. In particular related to freedom of speech and identity politics suppressing free speech. However, that led me to his other interviews and lectures which are genuinely interesting for their own sake. In a world where most opinion is delivered through soundbites, his calm demeanour, lengthy and considered discussion, and deeper exploration of complex interesting topics is very welcome. Totally coincidentally, I bought "12 rules for life" from a bookshop on my lunchbreak today, which I hope is as interesting as his online lectures. Across the Western world we have for decades been slowly drifting relentlessly toward the left, and I think people like Professor Peterson are part of the inevitable pushback against some of the really extreme excesses we are seeing, which are beginning to have significant negative consequences such as on our freedom of speech, thought and expression.