In this week's episode Mark Horowitz joins us for a discussion about potential racism revealed by online daters' preferences. In a recent published critique of a book on the subject, Mark questions the authors' claims of systematic and racially exclusionary patterns in online dating. The book was based on a large dataset and we appreciate the compl…

The topic of this week's episode is the long history of biases inherent to the book reviews used for library collection decisions. Elizabeth is joined by academic librarian Pamela Hayes Bohanan to discuss 60 years of research and reflection about the limited exposure librarians get to the large corpus of potential acquisitions. While perspectives d…

Join in as Chris and Joia speak with Ken Pope, the Vice President for Academic Operations and Strategic Partnerships at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Ken discusses the importance of free speech and the need for a robust understanding of ideologies like Marxism, socialism, and communism. He also emphasizes the role of education in pr…

In this bonus episode, we share the recording of our Liberal Values in Practice livestream about the current state of libraries and librarianship, including comparisons to McCarthy era fears. Library professionals Pamela Hayes-Bohanan, Sara Hartman-Caverly and Caroline Nappo define McCarthyism in both its historic and contemporary contexts and its …

In this bonus episode, we share the recording of our Liberal Values in Practice livestream with Helen Pluckrose. ILV Director Jen Richmond and Dissidents Podcast hosts Mike and Elizabeth discuss Helen's new book, The Counterweight Handbook: Principled Strategies for Surviving and Defeating Critical Social Justice - at Work, in Schools, and Beyond. …

In this episode, co-hosts Chris and Joia have the pleasure of speaking with Pam Hayes-Bohanan, a librarian with a career spanning nearly three decades. She shares her journey and insights on the importance of free speech, including discussing how her upbringing and experiences shaped her beliefs. She emphasizes the need for diverse voices and criti…

In this week's episode Steven James Lawrence joins Elizabeth for a discussion of critical theory, teaching in K-12 and college, as well as what he calls an organic perspective on diversity, equity and inclusion. We talk about the healing value of stories and the potentially destructive nature of community prescribed victim narratives. Stephen descr…

This week's episode is a follow up with the authors of an article covered in a previous Dissidents podcast (S4, E15) about grade inflation and university faculty ideology. Mark Horowitz and Anthony Haynor generously offered to share their insights, clarifications, and elaborations based on years of research on this topic. We discuss historical tren…

In this episode, co-hosts Chris and Joia are delighted to talk with one of the Fellows of the Institute for Liberal Values, Elizabeth Spievak. Elizabeth shares her journey as a free speech advocate, highlighting the impact of cancel culture on her academic work and the importance of free speech in research and academic freedom. She emphasizes the n…

In this Legacies of Black Pioneers series of the Dissidents Podcast, Winkfield Twyman, Jr. and Jennifer Richmond speak with Professor Glenn Loury on his newly released book, Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative. We discuss authenticity, individualism, enterprise, faith, and end our conversation on the lively question of whether the …

This week Mike and Elizabeth discuss political conflict from the perspective of evolutionary psychology. While making the country (or the world) a better place for all is a commonly shared goal, the means for accomplishing it are rarely agreed upon. The authors of a recent article argue that in the simplest of terms, conservatives tend to value ama…

Join co-hosts Chris and Joia and get to know one of the founders and board members of the Institute for Liberal Values, Jennifer Richmond. Jennifer believes we are at our best when protecting individual rights and freedoms. Hear her stories and discover how Jen’s background in International Relations has shaped her understanding and advocacy for Fr…

In this week's episode we talk about public speech as a mechanism for thinking, learning, and reflection. Elizabeth is joined by the founders of 1776Forward, Chris Bush and Joia Houheneka, for a discussion about how speaking aloud may impact our worldviews and relationships. We refer to an article that inspired us to think aloud about the impacts o…

This week Mike and Elizabeth discuss how we interpret others' decision-making motives and whether our assumptions make it more difficult to have liberal conversations. As a starting point, we reference research in which participants reasoned about their own and others' choices in different contexts. One study examined motives attributed to Trump an…

Co-hosts Chris and Joia are delighted to bring on their first guest. James Petts is a barrister (the equivalent of a trial attorney) in London, England where he focuses on commercial and Chancery (property) cases, especially those involving fraud or dishonesty. To him, liberalism is fundamentally the rigorous reasoned inquiry in all aspects of life…

This week Mike and Elizabeth discuss grade inflation and beliefs about teaching and learning, particularly among radical left college professors. A recently published survey of state university professors confirmed previously documented trends of declining standards and grade inflation. Political orientation emerged as the most useful predictor of …

Welcome to the Free Speech Forward Podcast! Co-hosts Chris and Joia introduce the unique format of the show and tease our first episodes. Join us on this journey exploring the different stories, perspectives, and communication advice of various free speech activists.See: www.1776forward.com

In this introductory episode, co-host Joia interviews co-host Chris. In addition to being one of the co-founders of 1776 Forward, Chris is a real estate investment and development executive and entrepreneur who is currently focused on a mission to bring greater beauty, efficiency, and new modes of living and working to the built environment. His ph…

In this second introductory episode, co-host Chris interviews co-host Joia. Joia is not only one of the co-founders of 1776 Forward, she is also an Excellence Coach and a leader in luxury entrepreneurship with a background in luxury travel and luxury retreats. She is on a mission to elevate luxury to make it synonymous with excellence, human greatn…

This week Mike and Elizabeth discuss the potential fall of diversity statements as a condition of university employment. In such statements job candidates are required to describe how they can enhance their future employer's diversity goals. MIT president Sally Korbluth recently announced that the statements will no longer be mandatory, calling the…

In this week's episode Mike and Elizabeth talk about research that contradicts the commonly accepted belief that prejudice has increased in recent years. While expectations of day-to-day discrimination were especially high during Donald Trump's presidency, evidence suggests that overall levels of prejudice have continued to be flat or in decline fo…

This week we talk about research on the potential effects of race on the type of feedback and grades that students receive. In a recent study, poorly written college essays believed to be submitted by Black students were more leniently scored. White raters gave Black writers more overt praise and encouragement, but offered less helpful feedback and…

In this week's episode Mike and Elizabeth talk about trends in the censorship of scientific results. Recent research suggests one explanation for censorship behavior is misguided hyper-concern for others reactions. Scientific findings were rated as potentially harmful, and less beneficial, if they were controversial or confusing. We discuss the imp…

In this series of the Dissidents Podcast, Legacies of Black Pioneers, we speak with Ada Akpala of the Equiano Project on her problem with the term “black excellence”. Co-hosts, Winkfield Twyman, Jr. & Jennifer Richmond speak often of black resilience and triumph in their book, Letters in Black and White. After reading Ada's piece, My Problem with t…

In this week's podcast, Mike Burke meets with Jewish intellectual Dmitri Shufutinsky to discuss his upcoming book, "Jew-Jitsu". The conversation ranges across a number of topics, including how to identify and push back against a worryingly widespread and apparently growing antisemitism and historic illiteracy. Resources:Neo-Confederacy & Palestinia…

Welcome to our the new monthly series of the Dissidents Podcast on the legacies of black pioneers, brought to you by the Black Institute of Liberal Values (a joint project of ⁠Free Black Thought⁠ and the Institute for Liberal Values). In this episode, Winkfield Twyman, Jr & Jennifer Richmond, speak with Mark Brown on his common cousin with Wink, Da…

In this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth discuss an article that outlines some of the reasons we might choose to quietly or more openly protest wrongdoing within our organizations. It often seems futile to stay in a partially corrupt institution, even in an attempt to influence reform, but is it really preferable to resign in protest when the mov…

In this week's episode Mike and Elizabeth discuss a recent journal article about reminders of bias. The authors found that women who read about sexism tended to report lower achievement expectations and career motivation. Our perspectives and interpretations diverge somewhat from that of the authors. We evaluate the study design, findings, and impl…

Welcome to our the first episode of our monthly series of the Dissidents Podcast on the legacies of black pioneers, brought to you by the Black Institute of Liberal Values (a joint project of Free Black Thought and the Institute for Liberal Values). In this inaugural episode, Winkfield Twyman, Jr & Jennifer Richmond, speak with Bill Paine and Tom M…

This week, Mike and Elizabeth ask whether illiberalism is unethical (spoiler alert: we think so) A couple of brave psychologists recently suggested the same when they advocated for adding the protection and defense of free speech to the American Psychological Association's ethics codes. We find their premise regarding illiberalism sound, even if th…

In this week's episode Mike and Elizabeth talk about personal and institutional neutrality with academic librarian Pam Hayes-Bohanan. While many of us think about free speech and academic freedom in the abstract, they are concrete and routine considerations for libraries and librarians. Institutions release statements and professional organizations…

In this week's episode we challenge liberal communicators to make better use of emotional language and imagery to boost their logical arguments. Mike refers to philosophical and historical references to the conflict between reason and sentimentality. Elizabeth describes what research in psychology has to say about the the important contributions of…

This week's focus is on research suggesting a link between anti-semitism and a culture of competitive victimhood. Elizabeth and Mike briefly describe research designed to test the hypothesis that the Holocaust serves as a standard for comparing victim status. We consider how the research might help us understand outgroup bias, including anti-semeti…

n this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth discuss diversity training, specifically an "Anti-Racist Fight Club" pamphlet, forwarded to us anonymously. We go through the materials, click on embedded links, and fact check where appropriate. This is a long episode, but it could have easily been longer still. For example, we focused on aspects presented…

Recent editorial headlines and social media posts suggest the resignation of Harvard's president, combined with shifting public sentiment, are signals that DEI initiatives are losing their grip on education and government. In this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth discuss why a few small cracks in the DEI facade are unlikely to turn the tide. We a…

This week, Mike and Elizabeth talk about research linking ideology to our habits of attention and memory, including our interpretation of cues related to social status and behaviors. The episode was recorded before Harvard’s president resigned, but our discussion is relevant to the ongoing controversy about her path to leadership and short lived te…

Winkfield Twyman Jr., former law school professor, writer, and Harvard Law School graduate, joins Elizabeth Spievak for a discussion about Claudine Gay. Wink questions the moral courage of Harvard's president and has called for her resignation. Gay's recent congressional testimony is discussed as an example of what is a larger problem on college ca…

This week we talk culture, ideological politics, philosophy, and law with the celebrated author of Cynical Theories (Helen Pluckrose) and the Assistant Director at the Bi Foundation and editor-in-chief of Queer Majority (Rio Veradonir). Helen and Rio speak with Mike and Elizabeth about challenges to liberalism, past, present, and future. They also …

In this Liberal Conversation series of the Dissident’s Podcast, Mike and James discuss the history of liberalism, how power is abused by those factions traditionally associated with the left and the right and how those labels are themselves arbitrary rather than principled. Institute for Liberal Values…

Welcome to the Radical Roots of Ethnic Studies, a series of the Dissidents Podcast， with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to e…

In this week's podcast Armin Navabi, David Bernstein & Mike Burke discuss homophobia in relation to Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, "pink washing", the future of the two state solution (or lack thereof) and the role that religion plays in how different cultures conceive of power and weakness. Podcast Notes: Armin Navabi, “Queers for Palestine” and …

In this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth talk about a report that links receipt of undisclosed foreign donations with the erosion of tolerance on U.S. campuses. Larger donations from Middle Eastern and authoritarian countries appeared especially troublesome. Correlational results indicate that a lack of university transparency about their funding…

Welcome to the Radical Roots of Ethnic Studies, a series of the Dissidents Podcast， with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to e…

In this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth go back to basics with a discussion about balance. We begin and end with contemporary challenges to balance in our personal and professional lives, particularly those posed by DEI initiatives. Sandwiched between is a deep dive on balance in international relations, with a focus on the Middle East. Mike emp…

In this week's episode ILV fellows Mike, Elizabeth, and James discuss position statements and ILV's commitment to liberal conversations. First, Mike talks with Elizabeth who argues that organizational statements are of little practical use and may jeopardize the non-partisan and non-sectarian missions of consortiums like ILV. In the second part of …

Channy Chhi Laux joins us to discuss her perspectives on communism, free speech, individual rights and responsibilities, and contemporary challenges to liberal values. Channy was just 13 when the Khmer Rouge seized Cambodia in 1975. She endured 4 years of starvation, forced labor, and disease before arriving in Lincoln, Nebraska as a Cambodian refu…

On October the 5th Brandy Shufutinsky, David Bernstein and Mike Burke met to discuss the growing problem of antisemitism on both the political left and right. Little could any of them know what was about to happen just a couple of days later on October the 7th, which was the worst attack on the Jewish people, since the Holocaust. In an addendum to …

Welcome to the Radical Roots of Ethnic Studies, a series of the Dissidents Podcast, with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to e…

In this week's podcast Elizabeth Weiss, Professor of Anthropology and fellow at the Center for Academic Pluralism, joins us to talk about bones! We discuss research ethics, respect for artifacts, the preservation of research materials, and academic freedom in anthropology and beyond. Current and future access to documents, laboratory spaces, databa…

Executive Director of Speech First, Cherise Trump, and Elizabeth Spievak discuss the state of free speech on college campuses. Cherise gives us an overview of her work at Speech First to promote open discourse as an essential component of a comprehensive education. We talk about the importance of being exposed to different and challenging ideas to …