There are no liberal pop intellectuals that hold opinions informed primarily by

There are no liberal pop intellectuals that hold opinions informed primarily by data and evidence rather than instinct, bias and preference. I’ve explained why elsewhere but it’s unavoidable. Not sure why you would wan’t some of YT rather than academic level?

That said:
(A) Jon Haidt (psych/soc) for ‘ways of thinking’ @JonHaidt
and;
(b) Brad Delong (econ) for history @delong
Both would talk to you and it would improve your reputation. You should about have enough influence that they’d take the discussion.
The right person is Delong because he takes the history of human development very seriously, even if he’s a liberal.
(He exasperates me, but he knows his material and he’s very bright. And there is no point in arguing with people who are midwits.)