Hold my Drink: Recent Episodes
J.D. Richmond
Navigating culture with a chaser of civility. Join us as we explore the truths of a chaotic and beautiful world, together. All views, all drinks are welcome.
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 amassing resources while liberals value the distribution of resources. Both are necessary for a flourishing society, but the difference in focus makes compromise difficult. The authors suggest that the alternation of power common in the history of the United States may be quite beneficial in meeting the shared goals of both parties.
Podcast Notes:
Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2023). Cultural Animal Theory of Political Partisan Conflict and Hostility. Psychological Inquiry, 34(1), 1–16.
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 Free Speech. And don’t forget to check out the book she recently co-wrote with W.F. Twyman, Jr: Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America
See: https://ilvalues.org/
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 of community, word choice, and modes of communication on private and public attitudes, decision making, and creativity. We end on a positive note by considering how relevant metaphors (thinking of speech as play and free speech advocacy as a journey, not a fight) might help us all enjoy participating in liberal discourse.
Podcast noteshttps://1776forward.com/https://www.compactmag.com/article/private-thought-and-public-speech/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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 and Clinton voters just days before the 2016 election. In all cases, others' decisions were assumed to reflect superficial motives.
Podcast Notes:
Barasz, K., Kim, T., & Evangelidis, I. (2019). I know why you voted for Trump: (Over)inferring motives based on choice. Cognition, 188, 85–97.
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, particularly in ethics – this includes the understanding that concentrated coercive power is inherently dangerous.
Podcast Notes:https://institute-for-liberal-values.circle.so/c/liberal-values-concepts/
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 beliefs and attitudes about these trends. We discuss the numerical findings, the open-ended responses, and authors' interpretation regarding diversity, equity, inclusion, merit, and the future of higher education.
Podcast Notes:
Horowitz, M., Haynor, A. L., & Kickham, K. (2023). “Undeserved” Grades or “Underserved” Students? Faculty Anxieties and Eroding Standards in the Corporate University. Higher Education Politics & Economics, 9(1), 43–84
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 philosophical approach includes a dedication to promoting the cause of philosophical liberalism. See: www.1776forward.com
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 greatness, and human flourishing. In her view, philosophical liberalism is all about grounding the proper approach to politics in a wider philosophy of human flourishing.
See: www.1776forward.com
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 them a version of compelled speech which may interfere with freedom of expression. A few states are pressuring public institutions to do away with the diversity litmus tests and to dismantle DEI offices, or alter their focus. Interest in narrow applications of DEI as a strategic mission may be waning in some businesses and professional organizations. Public enthusiasm may also be weaker. It is not clear, however, that educational institutions will willingly shift to broader considerations of diversity and viewpoint tolerance for many years to come.
Podcast Notes:https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliekratz/2024/03/05/are-companies-quiet-quitting-dei/?sh=29b44fcc16bb
https://www.axios.com/2024/04/02/dei-backlash-diversity
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 for 15 years. Several studies have found increased willingness to express prejudices, particularly after exposure to Trump rhetoric, however such findings were limited to Trump supporters, and were not found among self-described Republicans, conservatives, Democrats and progressives who did not support Trump.
Podcast notes:
Ruisch, B. C., & Ferguson, M. J. (2023). Did Donald Trump’s presidency reshape Americans’ prejudices? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27(3), 207–209.
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 critical analysis. Discomfort with the grading task exacerbated the effects. Mike and Elizabeth discuss bias born of egalitarian values, the tyranny of low expectations, and what what research like this may reveal about the value of education.
Podcast Notes:
Harber, K. D., Reeves, S., Gorman, J. L., Williams, C. H., Malin, J., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2019). The conflicted language of interracial feedback. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(7), 1220–1242.
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 implications for the marketplace of ideas and scientific inquiry in the current socio political environment. Biased cost-benefit analyses can undermine the advancement of research and influence funding decisions. Hypervigilant concerns may fuel academic cancellation campaigns, paper and presentation rejections, and journal article retractions.
Podcast notes:
Clark, C. J., Graso, M., Redstone, I., & Tetlock, P. E. (2023). Harm Hypervigilance in Public Reactions to Scientific Evidence. Psychological Science, 34(7), 834–848.
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 the Term Black Excellence, Wink sent her a note saying, "Jen has used the phrase "black excellence" in a recent tweet. I have devoted a month to exploring Pioneer Black Lawyers. Maybe, Jen and I missed the mark..."
We talk with Ada about the limitations of a well-intended phrase, black excellence. Does the phrase frame blackness in a negative light? Are there circumstances where black excellence conveys a constructive and positive good? Our discussion takes us from London to Virginia and Nigeria. Does black excellence make sense in a world containing over 1 billion people of Sub-Saharan descent? The question deserves more than a yes or a no answer. Enjoy a thoughtful conversation about a word many take for granted, black excellence.
Sign up on Circle to be a part of our live events and to join the conversations, and visit our website to sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep in the loop of all our new offerings.
Resources:
My Problem with the Term Black Excellence, Ada Akpala
Letters in Black and White, Winkfield Twyman, Jr & Jennifer Richmond
The Problem with 'Black Community', Ada Akpala on the Patience Xina podcast
The Equiano Project
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 & Palestinian Ultranationalism: How Prejudice is Justified Through the Myth of “Lost Civilization",Dmitri Shufutinsky
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, Daniel Brown. According to Wink, who writes of Daniel often in his book with Jen, Letters in Black and White, Daniel was a “founding father” for his family.
Mark, Wink and Jen talk about the relevance of genealogy for seeing each other as “Old Americans”, the role of faith in this mission, the possibility of “Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome”, and the curative effects of narrative therapy and writing for coming together across the color line.
Follow us on Circle for more resources and materials on black pioneers in American history.
Circle
Institute for Liberal Values
Podcast Resources:
Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America, Jennifer Richmond & Winkfield Twyman, Jr.
Find out more about the book on Truth in Between
The Dead Hand of Daniel Brown, Jennifer Richmond & Winkfield Twyman, Jr.
On the Road to Oak Lawn, Winkfield Twyman, Jr.
Greatness as Character, Winkfield Twyman, Jr.
A Race Story, Winkfield Twyman, Jr.
Find other resources, including Wink’s Pioneering Black Lawyers, on the Black Institute for Liberal Values on Circle.
Circle
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 move is unlikely to have an impact? Can we recognize our own motivations for protest, or are we hopelessly biased in that assessment? We discuss these ideas in the context of contemporary culture and events, including criticism of college campus leaders.
Podcast notes:
Hill Jr, T. E. (1979). Symbolic protest and calculated silence. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 9, 83–102.
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 implications through the lens of cancel culture, and consider what a similar study on reminders of racism might reveal.
Podcast Notes:
Doolaard, F. T., Lelieveld, G., Noordewier, M. K., Beest, I., & Dijk, E. (2022). How information on sexism may increase women’s perceptions of being excluded, threaten fundamental needs, and lower career motivation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 52, 405-419.
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 Miller, two descendants of the first ordained black minister, Lemuel Haynes. Jen & Wink talk about what it means for people to come together across the color line in celebration of pioneering ancestors and in community as “Old Americans”.
Lemuel Haynes Resources:
Sketches of the Life and Character of the Rev. Lemuel Haynes, for Many Years Pastor of a Church in Rutland, and Late in Granville, New York. Timothy Mather Cooley. Publisher: John S. Taylor, NY. 1839
Black Puritan, Black Republican The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes, 1753-1833. John Saillant. Oxford University Press, 2003
Lemuel Haynes, a bio-bibliography. Richard Newman. Lambeth, Press, NY. 1984
Black preacher to white America : the collected writings of Lemuel Haynes, 1774-1833 / edited by Richard Newman; introduction by Helen MacLam ; preface by Mechal Sobel.
Haynes, Lemuel, 1753-1833.
Brooklyn, N.Y. : Carlson Pub., 1989
Liberty Further Extended-https://www.jstor.org/stable/1919529
John Saillant SEA Scholar of the Month June, 2023 https://www.societyofearlyamericanists.org/whats-new-announcements/sea-scholar-of-the-month-june-2023-john-saillant
https://www.jstor.org/stable/365942 "Not OnlyExtreme Poverty, but the Worst Kind of Orphanage": Lemuel Haynes and the Boundaries of Racial Tolerance on the Yankee Frontier, 1770-1820 Author(s): Richard D. Brown Source: The New England Quarterly , Dec., 1988, Vol. 61, No. 4 (Dec., 1988), pp. 502-518 Published by: The New England Quarterly, Inc.
https://we-ha.com/memorial-to-lemuel-haynes-dedicated-in-west-hartford/
https://granbydrummer.com/2020/08/lemuel-haynes-an-eloquent-man-of-god/
https://granbydrummer.com/2020/09/lemuel-haynes-an-eloquent-man-of-god-2/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AaYsRYojDc *The Lemuel Haynes part starts at 32:28
Andanother small segment from West Rutland a couple years ago
https://vermonthistory.org/lemuel-haynes
https://jwhamil.com/Hamil/Family.htm (Family website)
Other related resources:
Discovering Black Vermont, African American Farmers in Hinesburgh, 1790-1890. Elise A. Guyette. Vermont Historical Society. 2020
The Little Professor of Piney Woods, The Story of Professor Laurence Jones. Beth Day. Julian Messner, Inc. NY. 1956
Benjamin Bannekerand Us, Eleven Generations of an American Family. Rachel JamisonWebster. Henry Holt and Company. NY. 2023
Vermont AfricanAmerican Heritage Trail: https://www.vermontvacation.com/~/media/files/pdfs/itineraries/vermont-african-american-heritage-trail-2015.ashx?la=en
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 their arguments are somewhat weak, and make strong arguments of our own that illiberal behaviors are difficult to reconcile with ethical standards.
Podcast notes:
O’Donohue, W., & Fisher, J. E. (2022). Are illiberal acts unethical? APA’s Ethics Code and the protection of free speech. American Psychologist, 77(8), 875–886.
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 issue ethical guidelines, but no one knows better than librarians the often conflicting impracticalities these can pose. We discuss the challenges of book bans, collection policies, socio-political culture, and what they mean for community and academic libraries and staff.
Institute for Liberal Values
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 the brain's emotional system to everyday functioning. Reason and emotion are not in conflict; they work in concert.
Institute for Liberal Values
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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-semetism, and seemingly inexplicable endorsements of terroristic activities past and present.
Podcast Notes:
Antoniou, G., Dinas, E., & Kosmidis, S. (2020). Collective victimhood and social prejudice: A post‐Holocaust theory of Anti‐Semitism. Political Psychology, 41(5), 861–886.
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 as objective information, but did not linger over portions that were clearly presented as the author's opinion. We hope this episode may be helpful to listeners who are facing their own workplace DEI seminars.
Podcast Notes
Watch Coleman Hughes Colorblindness Ted Talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/coleman_hughes_a_case_for_color_blindness
Watch Doyin Richards Tedx Talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/doyin_richards_racism_from_the_perspective_of_a_non_threatening_black_man
Listen to Our Podcast with Wilfred Reily:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-017-talking-taboo-data-racism-wilfred-reilly/id1537516628?i=1000622605770
Listen to Glenn Lowery and John McWhorter talk about Ibram X Kendi:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/john-mcwhorter-dan-subotnik-the-ibram-x-kendi-scandal/id505824976?i=1000630478139
See Barack Obama reconnect with the boy (now a young adult) who wanted to touch the former president's hair:
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/05/27/obama-hair-like-mine-photo-kid-orig-kj.cnn
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 are very skeptical that the overall strength and vastness of DEI influences have been diminished and see more evidence of continued vulnerability to a belief system that is baked into the consciousness of so many. Policies, procedures, and commitments have been made that will require institutional compliance with DEI initiatives for many years to come, and DEI administrators, true believers or not, are unlikely to abandon their posts. Mike wonders if shifts in public sentiment will further fuel the skepticism and distrust already reflected in public sentiments about elite institutions. Podcast Notes:Our podcast with Helen Pluckrose and Rio Veradonir:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-033-slippery-slopes-helen-pluckrose-rio-veradonir/id1537516628?i=1000638524042From the Chronicle of Higher Education:https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-decade-of-ideological-transformation-comes-undone?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_8675282_nl_Academe-Today_date_20240103&cid=at&source=&sourceid=&sra=trueLee Jussim's Substackhttps://unsafescience.substack.com/p/2023-academic-self-delegitimizationhttps://unsafescience.substack.com/p/victory-lapFrom the Atlantic:https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/05/dei-training-initiatives-consultants-companies-skepticism/674237/From the Boston Globe:https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/04/opinion/dei-college-woke-universities-harvard/ An example of long term commitments to DEI:https://www.michigandaily.com/news/umich-to-invest-79m-toward-hiring-30-professors-as-part-of-dei-program-with-nih/
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 tenure as president. The conversation was inspired by a popular online opinion piece proposing that “pathological kindness” (the author’s term, not ours!) leads individuals to act in ways that are ultimately unproductive or socially harmful.
Institute for Liberal Values
Podcast notes:
Waldfogel, H. B., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Hauser, O. P., Ho, A. K., & Kteily, N. S. (2021). Ideology selectively shapes attention to inequality. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(14). https://doi-org.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/10.1073/pnas.2023985118
https://unherd.com/2023/10/the-tyranny-of-pathological-kindness/
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 campuses and beyond. We talk about what it means to have a moral compass, historical and contemporary examples of moral courage, and what can and should be expected of leaders. Throughout, the issues and challenges are framed in the context of liberal values.
Institute for Liberal Values
Podcast Notes:
Wink's Substack on this topic:
https://twyman.substack.com/p/please-resign-harvard-university
https://twyman.substack.com/p/what-does-moral-competence-look-like
https://twyman.substack.com/p/toby-ziegler-and-a-moral-moment
https://twyman.substack.com/p/can-you-help-a-sister-out
Bari Weiss Free Press Articles: https://www.thefp.com/archive?gclid=CjwKCAiA1fqrBhA1EiwAMU5m_wJQhpNBLyx_TMgEC2p8eJyaacI7qCLA-hZXadnZkEmoQluoeR6ZIxoCaykQAvD_BwE
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 share their reasons to celebrate and be hopeful.
Podcast Notes:
Queer Majority: https://www.queermajority.com/
Bi Foundation: https://bi.org/en/about
Bailey, Allison (2014). The Unlevelled Knowing Field: An Engagement with Dotson's Third-Order Epistemic Oppression. Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective. The Unlevel Knowing Field: An Engagement with Dotson’s Third-Order Epistemic Oppression, Alison Bailey - Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective (social-epistemology.com)
Burke, Edmund (1790). Reflections on the Revolution in France. The Project Gutenberg eBook of Burke's Writings and Speeches, Volume the Third, by Edmund Burke.
Dotson, Kristie (2011). Tracking Epistemic Violence: Tracking Practices of Silencing. Hypatia. Tracking Epistemic Violence, Tracking Practices of Silencing on JSTOR
Mills, Charles (2005). "Ideal Theory" as Ideology. Hypatia. Wiley. "Ideal Theory" as Ideology on JSTOR
Paine, Thomas (1791). The Rights of Man. Project Gutenberg. The Writings of Thomas Paine, Complete by Thomas Paine | Project Gutenberg
Pluckrose, Helen & James Lindsay (2005). Cynical Theories. Pitchstone Publishing. Amazon.com: Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity - and Why This Harms Everybody (Audible Audio Edition): Helen Pluckrose, James Lindsay, Helen Pluckrose, Pitchstone Publishing: Books
Pluckrose, Helen (2023). The Perilous Pendulum Swing Threatening LGBT Rights. Queer Majority. The Perilous Pendulum Swing Threatening LGBT Rights — Queer Majority
Stenner, Karen (2012). The Authoritarian Dynamic. Cambridge University Press. Authoritarian Dynamic (05) by Stenner, Karen [Paperback (2005)]: Stener: Amazon.com: Books
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 empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with Izabella Tabarovsky, a Soviet Jewish Immigrant who has dedicated her research to exploring the spread of Soviet propaganda throughout the modern world. In this podcast she shares with the Soviet origins of antisemitic & anti-zionist propaganda & tropes, both the right & left’s adoption of these ideologies, its influence in today’s American media landscape and education system, and how Hamas used the same protocols put forth by the Russians and subsequently the Nazis to justify a Jewish genocide.
Coalition for Empowered Education
Institute for Liberal Values
Podcast Notes:
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Potemkin Village
Find out more about Izabella, a Senior Advisor at the Wilson Center, and see her most recent media interviews.
How Soviet Propaganda Informs Contemporary Left Anti-Zionism, Izabella Tabarovsky for Tablet Magazine
Let Russian Jews Lead, Izabella Tabarovsky for Tablet Magazine
The Cult of ‘Antizionism’, Izabella Tabarovsky for Tablet Magazine
Read Izabella’s Afterword for Letters in Black & White
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 the Death of Irony — Queer Majority
- Female Saudi anchor on Al Arabiya confronts Hamas leader Khaled Mashal on his group's terrorism in Israel - Hamas Leader Abroad Rejects Accusations of Transgressions against Civilians on October 7 Attack - YouTube
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 sources was concurrent with reported increases in antisemitism and with challenges to norms of free expression. Elizabeth expresses skepticism regarding any causal inferences. Mike shares his views about the likely goals of donors from authoritarian countries and specifically discusses funds from Qatar. Both agree with the authors that more research is warranted.
Podcast Notes:
The Corruption of the American Mind: How Concealed Foreign Funding of U.S. Higher Education Predicts Erosion of Democratic Values and Antisemitic Incidents on Campus.
From the Network Contagion Research Institute:
https://networkcontagion.us/wp-content/uploads/NCRI-Report_The-Corruption-of-the-American-Mind.pdf
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 empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.This week we speak with Carob Marcelle, an educator, mother and host of Be Not Afraid. Carob moved her family from Washington to Utah in search of a K-12 education for her child that was free of indoctrination. What she found instead was a growing institutionalization of critical social justice throughout both the education system and religious environment. In her concern over the “colonization” of our minds, she has gone in search of ways to promote black history free of critical “resentment” theory. Podcast Notes:Be Not Afraid: https://www.youtube.com/@CarobMarcelle
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 employs his background and training to take us through some of the most important historical challenges to balance in the region, from the Ottoman Empire to the crisis unfolding today.
Institute for Liberal Values
Podcast Notes:
Antal, T., Krapivsky, P. L., & Redner, S. (2006). Social balance on networks: The dynamics of friendship and enmity. Physica D, 224(1/2), 130–136. https://doi-org.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/10.1016/j.physd.2006.09.028
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 the podcast, Mike and James continue to discuss how dangerously close institutional statements can come to compelling speech. In both segments we talk about antisemitism, war, and the difference between personal and organizational neutrality.
Institute for Liberal Values
Podcast notes:
https://provost.uchicago.edu/reports/report-universitys-role-political-and-social-action
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 refugee who spoke no English and who had been denied 4 years of education. Channy went on to earn an advanced degree in Applied Mathematics and spent 30 years working in Silicon Valley as an engineer. She is the founder of Angkor Cambodian Food, and works with schools and other organizations, like the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, to promote awareness of the Cambodian Genocide.
Institute for Liberal Values
Podcast Notes:
Channy’s memoir: Short Hair Detention: Memoir of a Thirteen-Year-Old Girl Surviving the Cambodian Genocide(Bloomington, IN: Archway Publishing, 2017).
Learn about the California Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education: https://holocaustcenter.jfcs.org/california-collaborative/
Access a preview of Channy's Cambodian Genocide educational materials: https://cambodiangenocideresourcecenter.com/lesson-plan-download/
See Channy's Victims of Communism page here: https://victimsofcommunism.org/speaker/channy-chhi-laux/
Check out Angkor Cambodian Food:
https://www.angkorfood.com/
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 the original recording, made just a few days later but in what felt like a totally different era, Mike and Brandy included a follow-up conversation on the outpourings of antisemitic madness erupting across Western world, including direct incitements to violence by academics at prestigious universities, hordes of people taking to the streets to celebrate some of the worst of atrocities of the 21st century and schools in London having to temporarily close due to the very real fear of violent mobs attacking Jewish children.
Podcast Notes:
Podcast notes:
You can find the Coalition for Empowered Education’s downloadable letter to California superintendents on the Institute for Liberal Values website.
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 empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
Hamas’ recent terrorist attack in Israel has garnered the support of the Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies (CLES), a group that is designing curricula for K12 education and is involved in teacher training, funded in large part by California taxpayers. In this episode we discuss CLES’ support of Hamas, the subtle and sloganized language used by CLES and Hamas supporters that conflates hatred and terrorism with “resistance”, CLES Ethnic Studies curricula’s ideological emphasis on Palestine, and the release of recent curricula surrounding the attack that fails to address the nuance and complexity of the conflict.
Coalition for Empowered Education
Institute for Liberal Values
Podcast Notes:
Neo-Confederacy & Palestinian Ultranationalism: How Prejudice is Justified Through the Myth of “Lost Civilization”, Dmitri Shufutinsky in ISGAP Flashpoint, Feb 27, 2023
The Cult of ‘Antizionism’, Izabella Tabarovsky in Tablet Magazine, Sept 19, 2023
You can find Izabella’s Afterword to Letters in Black and White on the Truth in Between website.
*You can find the Coalition for Empowered Education’s downloadable letter to California superintendents on the Institute for Liberal Values website.”
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, databases, and physical objects are at risk. Also at risk is exposure to diverse and challenging ideas in anthropology research and education. We talk about contemporary social and political challenges surrounding the categorization of bones and the related ideological hypocrisies the field is actively avoiding. Elizabeth gives us a brief overview of her most recent cancellation experience: a panel discussion originally accepted for the American Anthropological Association conference was deemed potentially harmful and removed from the schedule. She invites us to hear the canceled panel discussion on November 8, offered through Heterodox Academy.
Podcast Notes:
Sign up for "[UNCANCELED] Let's Talk About Sex Baby: Why Biological Sex Remains A Necessary Analytic Category in Anthropology" by clicking here: https://t.co/hrsArQWnun Wednesday, November 8th at 4 - 6 pm ET
Books by Elizabeth Weiss: Reading the Bones: Activity, Biology, and Culture (2017) and Repatriation and Erasing the Past (2020).
Materials about the AAA cancellation: https://elizabethweiss74.wordpress.com/discussing-sex-is-no-longer-allowed-at-anthropology-conferences/
Elizabeth Weiss article in Quillette: The Problem of Sex Discrimination in Indigenous Archaeology (quillette.com)
Elizabeth Weiss piece in Spiked: There’s no such thing as a nonbinary skeleton - spiked (spiked-online.com)
Article by Kathleen Lowrey about the canceled AAA panel: https://compactmag.com/article/how-anthropology-canceled-sex
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 build strength and resilience, as well as the difficulties faced by students and faculty alike in the current socio political climate. Throughout, the issues and challenges of free speech are framed in the context of liberal values.
Podcast Notes
https://speechfirst.org/
https://twitter.com/cherisetrump
In this week's podcast, Mike and Elizabeth discuss an article about the responsibility of journalists in reporting, specifically reports about the war in Ukraine. The authors suggest that consumers of the news may be traumatized by seeing 24/7 coverage, perhaps even more traumatized and demoralized than those who are living in a war zone. The description of potential harm and the fragility of readers or viewers is reminiscent of that which is leveraged by some social justice advocates, and the authors narrowly escape a call for censorship.
Podcast notes:
Su, Z., McDonnell, D., Cheshmehzangi, A., Bentley, B. L., Ahmad, J., Šegalo, S., da Veiga, C. P., & Xiang, Y.-T. (2023). Media-induced war trauma amid conflicts in Ukraine. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(4), 908–911.
Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics: spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Institute for Liberal Values
In this week's podcast, Mike and Elizabeth discuss research on leadership and stress. In what may at first seem like counterintuitive findings, military and government leaders had lower levels of the stress related hormone cortisol than non-leaders. A sense of control was a significant mediator of anxiety and stress. We talk about contemporary labor relations and social applications of the findings, as well as some similar research that clarifies who may benefit the most from a sense of control in the workplace.
Podcast notes:
Sherman, G. D., Lee, J. J., Cuddy, A. J. C., Renshon, J., Oveis, C., Gross, J. J., & Lerner, J. S. (2012). Leadership is associated with lower levels of stress. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(44), 17903–17907.
Welcome to a new 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 empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with David Smolansky, a mayor in exile from Venezuela. David tells his personal story living through the transition from democracy to socialism in Venezuela. His experience guides our discussion on various trends in education then & there in Venezuela to the here & now in the United States.
Podcast References:
David’s Victim’s Of Communism Witness Video: https://victimsofcommunism.org/witness/david-smolansky-urosa/
Politicization of the Classroom: From Radical Roots to Government Mandate Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnUmScJhEKs&t=5s
In this week's podcast Elizabeth and Mike talk with Lee Jussim about the new "Princeton Principles for a Campus Culture of Free Inquiry." Lee, distinguished professor of psychology at Rutgers, joined an interdisciplinary group of professors from many institutions in creating a set of principles that offer contemporary guidelines for the revitalization of higher education's core mission. The document addresses the special and honorable duties of universities to foster freedom of thought and to actively avoid becoming political or ideological battlegrounds. We alternate between frustration, worry, and hope in our discussion and examples of the challenges ahead for ensuring access to a truly liberal education.
Podcast Notes
Princeton Principles:
https://jmp.princeton.edu/princeton-principles-campus-culture-free-inquiry
Chicago Statement:
https://provost.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/FOECommitteeReport.pdf
Kalven Report:
https://provost.uchicago.edu/reports/report-universitys-role-political-and-social-action
Political Compass:
https://www.politicalcompass.org/
Society for Open Inquiry in Behavioral Science:
https://openinquirybehavio.wixsite.com/oibs
Lee's Substack:
Unsafe ScienceSocial science, common sense, and skepticism applied to controversial topics, and occasional personal takes and twists.By Lee Jussim
Welcome to a special “Liberal Conversations Series” of the Dissidents Podcast.
In this series we invite guests who have resources, ideas, and viewpoints that will challenge us to reflect on liberal values, what they are, how they are applied, their impact on us as individuals, and why they matter for the larger communities in which we live.
In this episode, Brandy Shufutinsky and Elizabeth Spievak discuss intercultural and academic opportunities that can enhance liberal democratic ideals. Brandy gives us an overview of her upcoming course and its usefulness for teachers, parents, and laypeople. The course and our discussion of current challenges in education, from the broad and sociopolitical to the personal and specific, are framed in the context of liberal values.
Podcast Notes
https://freeblackthought.substack.com/p/i-am-not-your-negro
https://sapirjournal.org/education/2022/08/day-schools-and-dei-a-parents-perspective/
https://www.jns.org/jns/antisemitism/23/6/11/294273/
Register for Brandy’s course starting October 26, 2023:
https://bit.ly/464tnH8
In this week's episode Mike and Elizabeth discuss the group based emotions we experience as a result of our membership in, or identification with, a group. The article we chose focuses on the motivations for those emotions: first, it feels good to feel like we belong, and second, experiencing group emotions enhances our sense of connectedness. We discuss the good and the bad of group emotions, and explore examples that span the abstract and philosophical, to the personal and political.
Podcast Notes:
Porat, R., Tamir, M., & Halperin, E. (2020). Group-based emotion regulation: A motivated approach. Emotion, 20, 16–20.
Welcome to a new 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 empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with Kofi Montzka, an attorney, wife and mother. In March, Kofi spoke out at a Minnesota Legislature assembly against a bill mandating ethnic studies. According to Kofi, radical or critical ethnic studies may assuage white guilt, but teaches kids of color a hopelessness that affects their ability to succeed. These educational agendas institutionalize a bigotry of low expectations, amounting to a new form of racism in our schools.
https://empowered-ed.org/https://ilvalues.org/
Podcast References:
Teaching Hopelessness to Kids of Color
Kofi Montzka Addresses the MN Legislature
In this week's episode Mike and Elizabeth discuss the ease with which we engage in outgroup accusations and denunciations, use language that divides us, and even accept accusations of conspiracy without skepticism. After being alerted to one potential conspiracy to indoctrinate children, we did a deep dive into UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and their "Comprehensive Sexuality Education" initiative. Elizabeth enrolled in their course for teachers and went through the materials. Mike examined their website for red flags. We report on our findings, including a lack of evidence for a conspiracy.Podcast Notes:https://www.unesco.org/en/brief https://www.unesco.org/en/health-education/cse-campaign
Welcome to a special “Liberal Conversations Series” of the Dissidents Podcast.
In this series we invite guests who have resources, ideas, and viewpoints that will challenge us to reflect on liberal values, what they are, how they are applied, their impact on us as individuals, and why they matter for the larger communities in which we live.
This week, Zander Keig and Elizabeth Spievak discuss the importance of wellness, and wellbeing in complex times. He gives us an overview of his upcoming course and its usefulness for both the ordinary and the extraordinary in our daily lives. The course and our discussion are framed in the context of liberal values.
Podcast References:
https://www.zanderkeig.net/
https://braverangels.org/
Welcome to a special “Liberal Conversations Series” of the Dissidents Podcast.
In this series we invite guests who have resources, ideas, and viewpoints that will challenge us to reflect on liberal values, what they are, how they are applied, their impact on us as individuals, and why they matter for the larger communities in which we live.
This week, Zander Keig and Elizabeth Spievak discuss the importance of wellness, and wellbeing in complex times. He gives us an overview of his upcoming course and its usefulness for both the ordinary and the extraordinary in our daily lives. The course and our discussion are framed in the context of liberal values.
Register for Zander's Course, Know Thyself, starting on January 11, 2024 at 7pm ET: https://bit.ly/3EBnjtH
Podcast References:
https://www.zanderkeig.net/
https://braverangels.org/
In this week's episode Mike and Elizabeth discuss the motivation to appear moral without incurring the losses that may accompany actually behaving morally (like being thought of as a cheater or liar). In one paper, researchers showed that in order to appear fair in the eyes of others, participants engaged in social deception to disguise their selfish behavior. In another paper, participants were more unethical and self-serving in ambiguous situations, and in a third paper ambiguity led participants to behave unethically in order to benefit a person for whom they were induced to feel compassion. Results are discussed in the context of contemporary virtue signaling.
Podcast notes:
Lönnqvist, J.-E., Irlenbusch, B., & Walkowitz, G. (2014). Moral hypocrisy: Impression management or self-deception? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 55, 53–62.
Pittarello, A., Leib, M., Gordon-Hecker, T., & Shalvi, S. (2015). Justifications shape ethical blind spots. Psychological Science, 26, 794–804.
Fang, X., Chen, L., Wang, J., Zhang, Q., & Mo, L. (2020). Do all types of compassion increase prosocial lying? Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 13.
In this week's episode Mike and Elizabeth talk about getting comfortable with discomfort. We discuss a series of studies in which people who were prompted to seek discomfort as a sign of growth and learning demonstrated increased willingness to engage in challenging activities. Some spent more time on improvisational exercises, others read more about COVID 19, gun violence, or opposing political viewpoints. The article resonated with us on personal and professional levels, and is quite relevant in this culture of victimhood, anxiety, and discomfort avoidance. We also link the article to methods commonly used in diversity training.
Podcast Article:
Woolley, K., & Fishbach, A. (2022). Motivating personal growth by seeking discomfort. Psychological Science, 33(4), 510–523.
Welcome to a new 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 empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with Amy Lesserman, an English and Social Studies teacher with a long career in the Los Angeles Unified School District. We discuss the importance of more inclusive history curricula to replace current ethnic studies curricula, the exclusionary aspects of liberated ethnic studies, e.g. those of “inconvenient” minorities, and the alarming exodus of students from K-12 public schools.
https://empowered-ed.org/
Welcome to a new 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 empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with the President of the Asian American Coalition for Education, Mike Zhao. Zhao, the author of Critical Race Theory and Woke Culture: America’s Dangerous Repeat of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, shares his personal story of living through the Chinese Cultural Revolution, his eventual immigration to the West, and his alarm at seeing similar Marxist trends infiltrating the American K-12 education system.
In this episode Mike and Elizabeth discuss the idealistic hopes of utopianism and the difficulties of implementing them in real life. Mike covers philosophy, and Elizabeth includes references to some famous psychologists who suggested that their field would be at the center of successful utopian community life. We connect utopianism to current politics and communism.
Podcast notes:
Nagel, T. (1991). The Problem of Utopianism. Equality and Partiality, 21.
https://ilvalues.org/
During this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth discuss a unique study in which, over the course of a week, 5 co authors agreed to be ostracized by the other 4, each for 1 day. The authors documented their experiences of being targets and perpetrators. Despite foreknowledge and consent, the co authors reported feeling rejected, confused and guilty. Their work and personal relationships were strained. The authors advise that, while the project was an important contribution to the field (specifically the psychology of ostracism), future research be undertaken with caution. Mike and Elizabeth agree. Ostracism is so powerful that even obvious and orchestrated simulations have the potential for serious negative outcomes for individuals and groups.
Reference:
Williams, K. D., Bernieri, F. J., Faulkner, S. L., Gada-Jain, N., & Grahe, J. E. (2000). The Scarlet Letter Study: Five Days of Social Ostracism. Journal of Personal & Interpersonal Loss, 5(1), 19–63.
Welcome to a new 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 empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality. Join us.
https://empowered-ed.org/
https://ilvalues.org/
In this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth discuss a recent article on cancel culture. The title of the article, "Blame, then shame," reflects the author's findings that assessment of personal character followed cancellation decisions and demands for apology. Few participants were interested in debating diverse perspectives. We talk about what the study's methods and results might mean to further research on cancel culture, as well as our surprise that the project was published. Kudos to the author and to the journal for starting the process.
Podcast Notes:
Thomas S. Mueller (2021) Blame, then shame? Psychological predictors in cancel culture behavior, The Social Science Journal, DOI: 10.1080/03623319.2021.1949552
In this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth talk with Wilfred Reilly, Associate Professor of Political Science at Kentucky State University and author of Hate Crime Hoax: How the Left is Selling a Fake Race War and Taboo: 10 Facts You Can't Talk About. We discuss COVID learning loss, affirmative action, race, culture, what modern quantitative methods reveal about privilege, and how to talk about taboo topics.
Podcast Notes:
Reilly W. (2019). Hate crime hoax : how the left is selling a fake race war. Regnery Publishing a division of Salem Media Group.
Reilly W. (2020). Taboo : 10 facts you can't talk about.Regnery Publishing a division of Salem Media Group.
In this week's Dissidents Podcast Mike Burke and Elizabeth Spievak have their second conversation with Winkfield Twyman, Jr. & Jennifer Richmond about their new book Letters in Black and White. In this episode they explore their debate over Wink’s suggestion of creating a common American identity premised on “Old Americans” and Jen’s criticism that this would be seen as “Sidestepping History”. Additionally, they discuss and debate the meaning of authenticity in a culture that prefers that we segregate into binary black and white identities laced with stereotypes and caricatures.
References:
Letters in Black & White
To see the original documents from the book, visit Truth In Between
In this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth talk with Ken Pope, CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Ken had a 34 year career in the US Army, consulting and academia. While in uniform, he served in a variety of Foreign Area Officer assignments in Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and Central America. He had over 12 years of operational fieldwork with a variety of assignments in Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kosovo. We discuss a broad range of topics relevant to communism and democracy in the world, including Russia, China, and the current state of US military recruitment and training. We think listeners will agree that there is much more to learn from Ken, so we hope this is just the first in a series of appearances on The Dissidents Podcast!
Podcast Notes:
Link to Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation website:
https://victimsofcommunism.org/
Report of the National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness:
https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/report-the-national-independent-panel-military-service-and-readiness
In this second episode about moral identity, Mike and Elizabeth talk about whether threats to ingroup image, specifically the image some liberal leaning whites might prefer to hold about themselves, could prompt dissociation with their ingroup. The authors of the article we chose believe so, and that this dissociation might be good for social justice causes, but Mike and Elizabeth aren’t so sure. We have a lively discussion about the authors’ claims and our own interpretation of their findings.
References:
Dai, J. D., Eason, A. E., Brady, L. M., & Fryberg, S. A. (2021). #NotAllWhites: Liberal-leaning White Americans racially disidentify and increase support for racial equity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(11), 1612–1632.
In this first of two episodes about moral identity, Mike and Elizabeth discuss the possibility that the outrage emblematic of cancel culture may not always be the prosocial justice-focused emotion that the activists claim. Moral outrage might also be used to enhance personal beliefs about moral character. The research we discuss in this podcast suggests that reminders of personal moral failings increased the motivation to blame and punish a third-party (country, company or industry). Expressions of moral outrage served to both alleviate guilt and repair moral identity.
Rothschild, Z. K., & Keefer, L. A. (2017). A cleansing fire: Moral outrage alleviates guilt and buffers threats to one’s moral identity. Motivation and Emotion, 41(2), 209–229.
Simler, K., & Hanson, R. (2018). The elephant in the brain: Hidden motives in everyday life. Oxford University Press.
Jordan, J. J., Hoffman, M., Bloom, P., & Rand, D. G. (2016). Third-party punishment as a costly signal of trustworthiness. Nature, 530(7591), 473–476.
In this week’s podcast, cohosts Mike and Elizabeth discuss the tension between the free flow of information and censorship that is ostensibly practiced to assure the well-being of society. We talk about an article that focuses on how the spirit of patriotism often motivates journalists, citizens, and other information gatekeepers, to practice self-censorship. The author is focused on factually based knowledge and verified information that is withheld, despite that there is no formal obstacle to sharing, to preserve unity and solidarity, particularly during times of war or civil unrest.
Reference:
Bar-Tal, D. (2017). Self‐censorship as a socio‐political‐psychological phenomenon: Conception and research. Political Psychology, 38 (Suppl 1), 37–65.
In this week’s podcast, cohosts Mike and Elizabeth discuss how our perceptions of public opinion influence what we are willing to express, which in turn influences the perceptions and willingness of others to speak up (hence the “spiral” of self-censorship). We talk about why political self-silencing creates challenges that can undermine a well-functioning democracy and the results of a qualitative study of politically divided communities in which people described employing a variety of self-censorship motivations and practices.
References: Masullo, G. M., & Duchovnay, M. (2022). Extending the spiral of silence: Theorizing a typology of political self-silencing. Communication Studies. Vol. 73 Issue 5/6, 607-622.
In the second of two podcasts about personality, Mike and Elizabeth discuss a series of experimental studies that linked a group of traits often referred to as the “dark triad” (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) to claims of victimhood and virtue signaling. We talk about the validity of the dark triad as a construct and the suggestion that those who score high in dark triad traits may be more inclined to make exaggerated claims of harm.
References:
Ok, E., Qian, Y., Strejcek, B., & Aquino, K. (2021). Signaling virtuous victimhood as indicators of Dark Triad personalities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(6), 1634–1661.
and
Campbell, B. & Manning, J. (2018) The rise of victimhood culture: Microaggressions, safe spaces and the new culture wars. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillian.
This is Letters in Black & White, a short series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the newly released book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America.
Today's guest is Samuel Hayes III, a Chief Facilities Officer at the College of William and Mary. Sam was responsible for connecting Wink to his Twyman deep roots via the magic of genetic genealogy. Can genetic genealogy bring us together across the color line? Can truth and reconciliation be found at the outer limits of 4th and 5th cousins on 23 and Me, Ancestry,com and Gedmatch? Welcome to a master expert who can teach us how we bear the same DNA, whether we black or white in the South.
References: Letters in Black & White: A New Correspondence on Race in America
In the first of two podcasts about personality, Mike and Elizabeth discuss a group of traits often referred to as the “dark triad” (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) and their potential relationship with authoritarian political correctness and alt-right attitudes. We talk about the validity of the dark triad as a construct and a correlational study suggesting that dark triad traits may be linked to left- and right-wing authoritarianism.
References: Moss J., & O'Connor P. J. (2020). The Dark Triad traits predict authoritarian political correctness and alt-right attitudes. Heliyon, 6(7), e04453. pmid:32715130
This is Letters in Black & White, a short series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the newly released book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America.
The following is the fourth in a series of podcast conversations with interesting people on the topic of race in America. Today's guest is Mary Burkey Owens, a prominent attorney in Chesterfield County, Virginia today. When we were young, Mary and Wink were classmates at Thomas Dale High School, Class of 1979, in Chester, Virginia. Wink served as President of Student Council and Mary was the Senior Class Treasurer. Welcome to a class reunion and memories of race in the New South in the 1970s.
Order Letters in Black & White
In this week's Dissidents Podcast Mike Burke and Elizabeth Spievak speak to Winkfield Twyman, Jr. & Jennifer Richmond about their new book Letters in Black and White. We discuss what it means to be both authentic and a dissident in an age of mass conformity.
References:
Letters in Black & White
To see the original documents from the book, visit Truth In Between
This is Letters in Black & White, ashort series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America.
The book comes out TODAY. As a bonus for anyone who purchases the book this week, we will send you Wink's manuscript - On the Road to Oak Lawn. Send an email to richmond@truthinbetween.com with proof of purchase and we'll send you a PDF of the manuscript to the email or your choice.
Order Letters in Black & White
The following is the third in a series of podcast conversations with interesting people on the topic of race in America. Today's guest is Nancy Williamson, a resident of Virginia. Nancy and Wink are distant cousins who learned of each other on 23 and Me. Even those of good intentions can fall prey to caricatures and stereotypes based on race. Welcome to a meeting of cousins across the color line and the dangers of misperceiving others.
In this week's Dissidents Podcast Jennifer Richmond and Mike Burke speak with geopolitical guru and bestselling author, Peter Zeihan. We discuss illiberalism in places like China and Russia and how it is shaping illiberal trends throughout the Western World, especially the United States.
References:
https://zeihan.com/
The End of the World is Just the Beginning
This is Letters in Black & White, ashort series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the forthcoming book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America.
The following is the second in a series of podcast conversations with interesting people on the topic of race in America. Today's guest is Maya Valmon, a sophomore at Stanford University who is an impressive member of the school's track and field team. What does it mean to be Black and an Old American? Does appearance align with racial identity or not? These are fascinating questions Maya has encountered in her young life. A thoughtful pre-med athlete from Montgomery County, Maryland, Maya represents the best of the future.
This week's Dissidents Podcast is a crossover with the Reformation Radio Podcast. Mike Burke and Jason Littlefield break down concepts of "Liberalism" and "Conservatism" in hopes a critical mass will come together to conserve Liberalism. They also get into how there's a growing sense of "good vs. evil/light vs. dark" in the world today. Finally, the importance of abandoning political attachments and assumptions of others is vital for human liberty to maintain.
This is Letters in Black & White, ashort series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the forthcoming book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America.
The following is the first in the series of podcast conversations with interesting people on the topic of race in America. Today's guest is Sahil Handa, a young graduate of Harvard College who has written stirring essays about the generation gap between the Old and the Young, Coleman Hughes, James Baldwin and the infamous book Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. Sahil brings the fresh perspective of an outsider to questions of the color line today. A writer, a philosopher, a Renaissance Man -- welcome to a non-conformist, Sahil Handa, who rejects the idea that a person's skin color ought to determine one's views.
References:
https://sahilhanda.com/
Rebel Rebel: https://www.discoursemagazine.com/culture-and-society/2022/02/11/rebel-rebel/
What the Old Don't Get About the Woke: https://www.persuasion.community/p/what-the-old-dont-get-about-the-woke
What the Woke Don't Get About the Old: https://www.persuasion.community/p/what-the-woke-dont-get-about-the
James Baldwin's Radicalism: https://www.persuasion.community/p/james-baldwins-radicalism
In Defense of Coleman Hughes: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/coleman-hughes-slavery-reparations-defense/
Why I’m No Longer Talking to Anyone About Anything: https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/06/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-anyone-about-anything/
In this week’s Dissidents Podcast, cohosts Mike and Elizabeth talk about applications of the Overton Window, which is a model for describing the slow evolution of societal values and norms. The Overton Window suggests that we are all more followers than we are leaders and that our social institutions are more important to shaping our politics than we typically credit them for. The Overton Window has been used in political decision making and to define the range of ideas people can support without risking social rejection.
References:
https://www.mackinac.org/OvertonWindow
Otteson, James R. (2019). Escaping the Social Pull: Nonconformists and Self-Censorship, Society, 56(3), 559–568.
In this week’s Dissidents podcast, cohosts Mike and Elizabeth talk about the lure of unfalsifiable arguments over testable scientific data, particularly when motives like maintaining positive self-worth or preserving group membership overtake accuracy motives. The authors of the article we will discuss conducted 4 studies on religion and political ideological beliefs and speculate about whether unfalsifiability may lead people and societies to continually make truth defying decisions.
https://ilvalues.org/
References:
Friesen, J. P., Campbell, T. H., & Kay, A. C. (2015). The psychological advantage of unfalsifiability: The appeal of untestable religious and political ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(3), 515–529.
Welcome to the The Dissidents Podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, Winkfield Twyman, Jr. and Jennifer Richmond speak with author Matt Johnson on his new book How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-enlightenment. We discuss themes in his book including Hitchens' staunch adherence to liberalism, his defense of the freedom of speech, dismissal of identarianism, and the ways extremism have affected how we operate today and what we can do using Hitchens as a model to reverse damaging trends. Join us.
https://ilvalues.org/
References:
How Hitchens Can Save the Left: https://www.amazon.com/Hitchens-Save-Left-Rediscovering-Counter-Enlightenment/dp/B0BVXB21XN/
Welcome to the The Dissidents Podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week's podcast, in honor of National Librarian Day (April 16 in the United States) Mike Burke & Elizabeth Spievak talk with academic librarian Pamela Hayes-Bohanan about banned books, contemporary challenges in the field, and whether librarians are okay. Join us.
https://ilvalues.org/
References:
“The Librarians are not Okay.”
The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/book-bans-censorship-librarian-challenges/673398/
The Chronicle of Higher Education https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-librarians-are-not-ok?
Anne Helen Peterson’s Substack https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-librarians-are-not-okay
Welcome to the The Dissidents Podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week's podcast, in honor of National Librarian Day (April 16 in the United States) Mike Burke & Elizabeth Spievak talk with academic librarian Pamela Hayes-Bohanan about banned books, contemporary challenges in the field, and whether librarians are okay. Join us.
https://ilvalues.org/
References:
“The Librarians are not Okay.”
The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/book-bans-censorship-librarian-challenges/673398/
The Chronicle of Higher Education https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-librarians-are-not-ok?
Anne Helen Peterson’s Substack https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-librarians-are-not-okay
Welcome to the first episode of The Dissidents Podcast, a continuation of the Counterweight Podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week's podcast Mike Burke & Elizabeth Spievak discuss academic mobbing and critical social justice.
https://ilvalues.org/
Reference:
Khoo, S. (2010). Academic mobbing: hidden health hazard at workplace. Malaysian Family Physician : The Official Journal of the Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia, 5(2), 61–67.
Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, we have Eric Smith as a guest co-host. We speak with Ildi Tillmann, a writer, photographer, immigrant from Hungary, and a professor of Africana Studies at SUNY, Stony Brook. She shares with us both her challenges and triumphs in her journey through the unexpected politics of her chosen field.
Ildi Tillmann's articles:
https://freeblackthought.substack.com/p/knowledge-art-and-the-musical-world
https://freeblackthought.substack.com/p/from-hungary-to-haiti-unique-histories
Ildi Tillmann's website:
https://www.ildikotillmann.com/
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Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, our hosts Mike Burke and Elizabeth Spievak discuss activism as a heroic quest for symbolic immortality, terror management, the COVID-19 pandemic, and how and why critical social justice and woke activism absolutely exploded during that period.
Elad-Strenger, J. (2016). Activism as a heroic quest for symbolic immortality: An existential perspective on collective action. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 4(1), 44–65. https://doi-org.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.430 Pyszczynski, T., Lockett, M., Greenberg, J., & Solomon, S. (2021).
Terror management theory and the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 61(2), 173–189. https://doi-org.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/10.1177/0022167820959488
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Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, our hosts Mike Burke and Elizabeth Spievak talk about “groupthink” and its application to cancel culture.
Groupthink article: Hart, P. T. (1991). Irving L Janis’ victims of groupthink. Political Psychology, 12(2), 247–278. Minimal group paradigm article: Otten, S. (2016). The minimal group paradigm and its maximal impact in research on social categorization. Current Opinion in Psychology, 11, 85–89.
Bar-Joseph, U. (2005) The Watchman Fell Asleep: The Surprise Of Yom Kippur And Its Sources. State University of New York Press, Albany. Amazon.co.jp: The Watchman Fell Asleep: The Surprise Of Yom Kippur And Its Sources (Suny Series in Israeli Studies) : Bar-Joseph, Uri: Foreign Language Books
Gentry, J.A. & Gordon, J.S. (2019). Strategic warning intelligence : history, challenges, and prospects. Georgetown University Press, Washington, DChttps://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0849PHHH3/ref=sr_1_1crid=4ASSA0XJGL10&keywords=strategic+warning+intelligence&qid=1668652091&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjg1IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&s=english-books&sprefix=strategic+warning+intelligenc%2Cenglish-books%2C162&sr=1-1
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Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, we speak with Amiel Handelsman. Amiel shares his ideas on how we can expand on diversity to find our commonalities.
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Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, we speak with Spencer Case about patriotism and its malcontents.
Spencer Jay Case website: https://www.spencercasephilosophy.com/
Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/956725
Case, S. Political Conviction and Epistemic Injustice. Philosophia 49, 197–216 (2021). https://doi-org.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/10.1007/s11406-020-00263-w
Gottman Institute: https://www.gottman.com/
Fricker,M. (2007). Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stephen J. Flusberg, Teenie Matlock & Paul H. Thibodeau (2018) War metaphors in public discourse, Metaphor and Symbol, 33:1, 1-18, DOI: 10.1080/10926488.2018.1407992
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Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, we speak with Greg Thomas and Carlos Hoyt. Carlos and Greg share with us their efforts to move beyond race in their diversity initiatives, including their latest effort, moving beyond just lip service to real action in an effort to change how we classify race in the US census.
Read more about the petition: https://www.carloshoyt.com/post/a-way-to-achieve-a-meaningful-feasible-and-essential-form-of-reparation-right-now
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Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, we speak with Ellie Avishai, Director of Strategy and Programmes for The Mill Institute. We discuss how we can teach leaders to innovate around complex socio-economic challenges.
The Mill Institute at UATX: https://www.uaustin.org/mill
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Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, our host Jennifer Richmond speaks with attorney Jon O’Brien and his clients Richard and Rebecca Yuengling. We cover their freedom of speech lawsuit against a school in Florida and its implications for larger issues around freedom of speech.
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Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, our hosts Elizabeth Spievak and Mike Burke discuss shame, its impact on social life, and a recent article in which the authors found that expressions of shame broadcasted signals about social norms, and that people adjusted their behavior to align with those norms.
Schaumberg, R.L. & Skowronek, S.E. (2022). Shame Broadcasts Social Norms: The Positive Social Effects of Shame on Norm Acquisition and Normative Behavior. Psychological Science, 33(8), 1257-1277. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976221075303
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In this week’s podcast, we speak to Niel Thin, a very recently retired senior lecturer of Cultural Anthropology at The University of Edinburgh. We cover the culture of victimhood, social wellbeing, gross national happiness, personal strategies and the potential consequences of a critical social justice movement on communal wellbeing.
@NeilThin
@Mike_Burke_UK
Thin, N. (2020). A Research Agenda for Social Wellbeing. (Elgar Research Agendas). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
ISBN (Electronic)9781788976466
ISBN (Print)9781788976459
Campbell, Bradley & Jason Manning. (2018) The Rise of Victimhood Culture: Microaggressions, Safe Spaces and the New Culture Wars. Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN (Electronic) 978-3-319-70329-9
ISBN (Softcover) 978-3-319-70328-2
Centre for Bhutan Studies (2018) Happiness: Transforming the Development Landscape. Bhutan: Centre for Bhutan Studies https://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/happiness-transforming-the-development-landscape/
Winterson, Jeanette (2012) Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? London: Vintage https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Why_be_Happy_when_You_Could_be_Normal/I-RYAa22dV4C?hl=en&gbpv=0
Lichter, A., Loffler, M., & Siegloch, S. (2021). The Long-Term Costs of Government Surveillance: Insights from Stasi Spying in East Germany. Journal of the European Economic Association, 19(2), 741–789.
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In this week’s podcast, we speak with Eric Vieth, an academic, trial lawyer and host of The Jury is Out podcast. We discuss Brandolini's law, strange bedfellows, listening to people, and the importance of community.
Erich Vieth’s attorney website: https://www.erichviethattorney.com
Erich’s podcast for trial attorneys: https://simonlawpc.com/podcasts/the-jury-is-out/
Erich’s blog: https://dangerousintersection.org
Take the time and effort to correct misinformation: https://www.nature.com/articles/540171a
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In this week's podcast, we speak to Lee Jussim, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University who has recently started the Society of Open Inquiry in Behavioural Sciences. We discuss the nature of critical social justice, the corrosive effects of political bias, the lack of evidence for implicit bias in daily interactions, and the need to play the long game.
Society for Open Inquiry in Behavioral Science: https://www.soibs.com
Lee’s Substack: https://substack.com/profile/14401534-lee-jussim
A Model of Political Bias in Social Science Research: https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2020.1722600
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Welcome to the Counterweight podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, we speak with Steven Pinker, Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, and author of 12 books, including The Language Instinct, Enlightenment Now, and Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters. In the podcast, we discuss reason, rationality, enlightenment values, and their interplay with the polarisation that is affecting our communities today.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 81, I speak with professed “leftie” and global citizen, Roifield Brown. We knew we had different views, and that delighted rather than detracted us from discussion. We take a nuanced view of America (and a peek at the UK too) - a 360 degree view - and explore ideas like individuality, community, agency and where they intersect. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and an orange beer.
To read more on our discussion and for podcast resources, visit our post 360 Degrees of America on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 80, I speak with Stoic Kai Whiting. Kai explains how applying Stoicism to practices of diversity and inclusion, both provides important context and introduces the complexity and nuance of our various identities. When we focus on our common humanity, and also recognize that we are not locked into static identities, we open up conversations and cross divides. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a Red Bull.
To read more on our discussion and to see what we're reading, visit our post Diversity, Inclusion & Stoicism on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 79, we continue our conversation with Elizabeth Weiss. In our first discussion Elizabeth gave us the backstory on her kerfuffle over the repatriation of bones that had her dismissed as the curator of skeletal remains at her university. In this podcast, she joins us with her lawyers from the Pacific Legal Foundation, to discuss the danger in stifling academic inquiry, especially research that is unpopular, in our continued search for accuracy and truth, no matter how uncomfortable. Disagreement, rather than stifling research, is often the heartbeat of discovery and breakthroughs, which is now in danger itself of flatlining. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, a beer, and a blackberry cider.
To read more on our discussion and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post The Politics of Bones on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 78, co-author & co-host, W.F. Twyman, Jr. (aka Wink) and I discuss his recent encounter with “Mr. Klingon” in a book club dedicated to the topic of Reconstruction. The language of Klingons, completely foreign to Wink, is one of slogans, manipulations and bullying. The imposed outlook of “blackness is oppression” doesn’t speak to his own lived experience. When dogmatic adherence to oppression negates one’s worldview, what can we do to build hope and resiliency for the Next Generation?
To read more on our discussion and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post The Language of Klingons on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 77, I have coffee with James Joyce III, Founder of Coffee with a Black Guy. James and I don’t always see eye-to-eye, but we have a lot of common ground, namely that conversation and even disagreement are good, and are needed if we’re going to do this democracy thing together. There was no walking on eggshells or shaming in this sometimes uncomfortable conversation, just curiosity and open-minds to hear each other out, with the promise to keep the connection and conversation going. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and you know… coffee.
To read more on our discussion and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Coffee with a Black Guy on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 76, Neil and Jeff speak with James Esses on his expulsion from his psychotherapy course and his abrupt removal as a volunteer therapist in the UK. While attending school and volunteering for a national helpline, James was taken aback by the rise in gender dysphoria among children and the resulting therapy prescription that not only advocated but also pushed for gender transition as the only and best solution for children struggling through the confusion of puberty. James likens this therapeutic trend to a new kind of conversion therapy, which has had damaging effects on the health and well-being of children. James discusses his efforts to safeguard – not outlaw – gender affirming therapy as one of many alternatives, and his resulting defamation and cancellation. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a beer.
To read more on our discussion and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post A New Kind of Conversion on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 75, we continue our conversation with Carlos Hoyt on how to do diversity without division. In the fraught dynamics of what to teach, how to teach, and when to teach about history, justice, and social issues, we come together across our differences to seek solutions to one of America’s most polarizing topics. Despite our differences we find common ground in our belief that a new American identity is a real possibility, if only we hold space for difficult conversations. In our latest conversation we explore “systems” and conclude that a singular focus on systems doesn’t reflect reality or result in lasting solutions. Systemic bias, however, remains an enduring part of the human mindset. How to outwit this human tendency is the key to a new national dialogue that brings our commonalities into sharper focus. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a whiskey & coke, a chocolate Rooibos tea, and a bottle of cool and lucid water for Carlos.
To read more on our discussion and to see what we are both are reading, visit our post United Notions on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 74, we speak with frequent guest Debbie Hayton on the latest transgender debate involving Lia Thomas and Rachel Levine in the U.S. and the recent developments in the U.K. As trans issues dominate our public discourse, we lament the missed opportunities to generate real solutions that adhere to the simple truth of human dignity and worth, as illiberalism festers across the political spectrum. The result is a power play between the authoritarian left and right that has implications for both the trans community and our larger national identity. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a mango chile michelada.
To read more on our discussion and to see what we are both are reading, visit our post Truth, Power & Gender on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 73, we speak with Dr. Elizabeth Weiss on the problems with critical social justice ideology in the field of anthropology and archeology. Dr. Weiss, who studies skeletal remains, has been repeatedly cancelled for her views on repatriation and the reburial of bones. Too often claims of cultural insensitivity have resulted, literally, in burying history that may have implications for the future of not just select tribes, but all of humanity. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a mojito.
To read more on our discussion and to see what we are both are reading, visit our post Archeological Decolonization: Burying the Past on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
You can read more from Elizabeth at https://elizabethweiss74.wordpress.com/
And follow her on Twitter at @eweissunburied
Her book, Repatriation and Erasing the Past, is available for 55% off ($40 instead of $90) by ordering directly from University of Florida Press and applying the code: ARCH22.
Lawsuit: The Pacific Legal Foundation is representing Dr. Weiss’ in her Free Speech lawsuit against San Jose State University, and they have put out these statements:
Tenured professor sues San Jose State University officials for stifling free speech and blocking research
Professor challenges university’s unlawful viewpoint discrimination
In the Hold my Drink - navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 72, we speak with Brandy Shufutinsky on the problems with Critical Social Justice in the United States as viewed through the current Ukrainian crisis. When applied to existential crises in the “real world”, CSJ ideology crumbles under the weight. As we debate the “whiteness” of Ukraine, a real catastrophe is underway that cares not for the pedantic elite allegiance to identities. All discussed with a sober chaser of civility, of course.
To read more from Brandy and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Ukraine & CSJ in the USA on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page, and subscribe to Truth in Between on Substack to never miss a show.
In the Hold my Drink - navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 71, Jeff speaks with Trygve Taranger, a young musician from Norway interested in the why of things. Trygve gives us insight into how Critical Social Justice has appeared in Norway and offers thoughts on the origins and dissemination of this ideology beyond the shores of the United States. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and some kava tea.
To read more from Trygve and to see what he and Jeff are reading, visit our post Critical Social Justice: A View from Norway on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink - navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 70, we speak with new co-hosts and crew members, Andrew “AT” of Aspiring Thinkers, Jeff Fullington, and Neil Barnes. Andrew was a Human Intelligence Collector in the U.S. Army who promotes intellectual growth and reasonable discourse; Jeff is a peer counselor and community builder; Neil brings his perspective from the UK with a focus on the role of individual sovereignty in health communities.
The conversation flows, along with the drinks, from personal background and political perspective, through the importance of locus of control and personal agency in therapy, education, and social programs, before arriving at thoughts on autonomy, sovereign citizenship and the role of the state. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and among other concoctions, homemade blackberry wine.
To read more and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Power of Agency on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 69, we speak with Carlos Hoyt in the first of a two part series on teaching Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Carlos’ approach, which marries DEI with Critical Thinking, questions identity frameworks and dominant narratives. In this episode, Carlos lays out his blueprint for DEI work. In a surprisingly open and candid dialogue we explore where our perspectives merge and diverge. Stay tuned for our next podcast where we go beyond DEI theory to explore it in practice. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a fireball whiskey.
To read more from Carlos and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Teaching DEI: Part I on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 68 we speak with Michael DC Bowen founder of the Conservative Brotherhood, Rights Universal and Free Black Thought. Mike shares his story of growing up as a Black Nationalist until coming to the realization that diversity, not only the black community, but also across humanity, necessitates a more universalist approach to achieve real unity and equality. Ignoring this diversity has kept us locked in a vicious cycle of past grievances, and Mike gives us a key to the future of unity and solidarity in his imagination of a new American identity. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and coffee whiskey.
To read more from Mike and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Solidarity in Diversity on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 67, we speak with Lee Jussim, Chair and Distinguished Professor in the Psychology Department at Rutgers University. Lee shares his thoughts on a growing American illiberalism, the divide in American academia and his own experiences with cancellation. He explains how our polarization is not really ideological but rather affective, which creates new challenges in our discourse. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, an Arnold Palmer, Michelada and a scotch on the rocks.
To read more from Lee and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post American Illiberalism on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 66, we speak with Ian Asencio (nee Jenny). Ian shares the truths of his personal transition story, including his 43 years living as a woman, and the difficulties he’s faced navigating between the expectation and reality of his experience. This includes a backlash within a segment of the transgender community who hold a rigid gender ideology. Despite it all, Ian has found his “authentic self” accepting the woman that coexists with the trans man. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and an orange soda & vodka concoction and a cucumber mint tea.
To read more from Ian and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Truth & Transition on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 65, we speak with David Bernstein on the existence of culture, it’s use as a short-hand, where it can hem us in, and the myopia of current discourse and debate. We agree to live life “out loud”, speaking honestly of our individual experiences, in the hope of creating an inclusive community of dissidents honoring diversity and difference. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a glass of champagne.
To read co-host W.F. Twyman, Jr.'s thoughts, and for podcast resources, visit our post The Dissidents on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 64, David speaks with psychologist and writer, Valerie Tarico. Valerie, a former evangelical, shares the overlap she’s found in woke ideology and religious fundamentalism, which she finds disturbing. More concerning is the way this ideology has crept into psychotherapy and its damaging impact on patients. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a kombucha.
To read more from Valerie, and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Diagnosing Woke Therapy on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 63, we speak with Emmett Gardner, the President of Students Unite. Students Unite founded with the help of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and Parents Unite, promotes a Culture of Disagreement, and seeks to normalize dissent. Part of normalizing disagreement and dissent is turning debate into discourse, as Emmett did in his high school. Stripping the negative connotation of disagreement and dissent promotes a healthy culture of democracy and the marketplace of ideas. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and spiked cherry limeade.
To read a recap of the conversation, additional thoughts, and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Culture of Disagreement on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 62, we speak with Shemeka Michelle, author of Keep It Naked and co-host of the Cut the Bull podcast. Shemeka helps us to ring in the new year with wit and a raw authenticity that goes beyond “keeping it real” to getting naked. From divorce to Facebook jail to politics, she navigates it all with humor and a refreshing transparency. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and another pinot noir in a holiday cup.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, visit our post Keeping it Naked on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 61, David Bernstein interviews W.F. Twyman, Jr. (aka Wink) & Jennifer Richmond (Jen) on their forthcoming book of letters - Letters in Black & White: A New Correspondence on Race in America. Wink & Jen share how they met and started an extraordinary correspondence that developed into a friendship across the color line, devoid of the slogans that segregate us into avatars for race. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, a ginger beer, hard kombucha and Diet Coke.
To read an excerpt from the forthcoming book and for podcast resources, visit our post Letters in Black & White on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 60, we speak with Adam B. Coleman, founder of Wrong Speak Publishing and author of Black Victim to Black Victor. Adam shares with us his life story and struggles — from an absent father to homelessness — his political transition, thoughts on racialized politics, communist concerns and his victor mindset. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, an iced tea, Christmas coffee & a rum and Diet Coke.
To read a recap of the conversation, additional thoughts, and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Black Victim to Black Victor on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 59, we speak with Wai Wah Chin and George Lee, both who are active in the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Greater New York (CACAGNY). As a result of new policies to downgrade merit in our school systems, both have been at the forefront of discrimination battles in education, including the discrimination against studying. And they don’t apologize. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, a tea, pinot noir and a fireball whiskey.
To read a recap of the conversation, additional thoughts, and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Don't Apologize for Studying on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 58, we speak with Laura Becker on her journey through transition and de-transition. On this path she not only found radical self acceptance, but also came to realize that the chaos of both our post-modernist and online culture is exacerbating a mental health exigency among our youth. At this crossroads we have seen a rise in identity crisis that distances us from each other and from our own authenticity. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a Stella Artois, scotch, and spiked watermelon seltzer.
To read a recap of the conversation, additional thoughts, and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Transition & De-Transition on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 57, we speak with Greg Thomas, CEO of the Jazz Leadership Project and an Omni-American. Greg explains how using the principles of Jazz - individual excellence, antagonistic cooperation, and shared leadership - all lead to an ensemble mindset, a mindset that created a Jazz movement, which became a symbol of American freedom. He explains how we can apply those same principles to our lives today and free ourselves from the bigotry and division that has us playing out of tune.
To read a recap of the conversation, additional thoughts, and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post An Omni-American Ensemble on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 56, we speak to Dr. Sheena Mason, the Founder of the Theory of Racelessness. By continuing to label people and stuff them into different racial categories or boxes, Sheena argues that we are perpetuating racism. While there may be different cultures and ethnicities, race doesn’t exist. Until we recognize that conflating ethnicity and culture with race is a false equivalence, we will forever be in a cycle of race(ism). She suggests that the way out of this is to imagine a new identity that accepts all our differences, our complexities, our history – that we see each other as Americans. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a peanut butter cup whiskey coffee.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Theory of Racelessness on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 55, we speak with Jessie Mannisto, the Editor of Third Factor Magazine. Jessie’s passion is exploring Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration. TPD sees psychological tension or disintegration as necessary for growth, the development of courage, and ultimately, to realizing our fullest potential. Becoming positively maladjusted can be painful but the resulting authenticity and agency, so desperately needed in our world, are important not only for us individually but also as a community. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and just another pinot noir.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what each of us is reading, visit our post Positive Disintegration on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 54, we speak with Dustin Clark & Jeremy Story, two fathers arrested for disrupting a school board meeting in Round Rock, Texas. Headlines made them out as anti-mask mandate marauders and the face of “domestic terrorism”, but the truth is stranger than this fiction. Their stories unmask the internal machinations of a school board that was unprepared for public and parent scrutiny after COVID forced school and school board transparency, which led to a revival of civic engagement and participation. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a round of water.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and for podcast resources, visit our post Unmasking "Domestic Terrorism" on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the first episode of season two of Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 53, we speak with Andrew Gutmann & Paul Rossi on the Long March of Marxism and its application through Critical Theory in our institutions, with its many permutations. Andrew & Paul have been on the battlefront of a social revolution that has trickled down from theory to practice, from university to elementary school, which threatens to erupt into an all-out culture war. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a hard kombucha.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and for podcast resources, visit our post Marxism 4.0 on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the final episode of Season One of Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 52, we speak with Zander Keig and Debbie Hayton. Zander (FTM) and Debbie (MTF) share with us their different experiences with transition, the socialization of different genders, their thoughts on the current debate on puberty blockers, questions on gender dysphoria, autogynephilia and their fierce commitment to living their authentic lives. All with a chaser of civility, of course, and a lot of coffee.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and for podcast resources, visit our post Rebels & Counterculture in the Trans Community on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 51, we speak with Jason Miller, host of Native Liberty. Jason hails from the Hopi and Miwok tribes and has spent much of his professional career working within tribal communities. We discuss his issues with tribal injustices and his adherence to classical liberal values to realize a Native Liberty that benefits both tribal communities and civilization in general
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and for podcast resources, visit our post Native Liberty & the Nirvana Fallacy on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 50, we speak with Steven Welliever a former STEM teacher, now construction worker, who has dedicated his time to revealing the problems with critical theory in K-12 education. Steve shares with us tips and insights that help parents reveal hidden ideological agendas, become their own educational investigators, and combat critical theory and Marxist indoctrination in the classroom. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a homemade ginger beer and a Bloody Mary.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and for podcast resources, visit our post Combatting Critical Theory in the Classroom on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 49, we speak with Naama Kates, host of the Incel Podcast. Naama gives insight into the counter-cultural movement of incels and black pill ideology, unveiling both uncomfortable truths and dispelling shadowy myths. We also explore the current social justice narrative of oppressor and oppressed and the mismatch this creates for incels. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, a mango smoothie and a shot of bourbon.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Understanding Black Pill Ideology on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 48, we speak with Aaron Sibarium. Aaron first addressed our country’s growing polarization while covering issues such as “Halloweengate” at Yale. He now carries on what he started as a journalist for the Washington Free Beacon exposing the inner machinations of ideologues in our institutions. He shares with us his investigations on both private school and law school accreditation practices and proposals that jeopardize the free market of ideas, not to mention the rule of law, and the latest ideological policy agenda of the CDC. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a shot of Fireball whiskey and memories of cold sake.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Polarization & Accreditation on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 47, we speak with Bonnie Snyder, Director of High School Programs for the Foundation of Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and author of the newly released book, Undoctrinate. Bonnie shares with us stories of ideological indoctrination that has become mainstream in K-12 education, and her efforts at FIRE and through her research to provide alternative solutions, bringing back robust discourse and constructive disagreement into the classroom. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a Shotgun spiked sparkling water.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Undoctrinating the Classroom on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 46, we speak with the Jon O’Brien, the first civil rights attorney to take on Critical Race Theory in the classroom. He outlines both the logistical and financial challenges of his groundbreaking lawsuit with Gabrielle Clark, as well as his first-hand impressions of those who are now leading the charge. Those who often come from lower to middle class backgrounds who aren’t concerned with the intellectual debate on the evolution of Critical Social Justice pedagogy, but who are instead fighting its impact in the classrooms in real time. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a grape Power-Ade, a vodka appletini and a boring ole Pinot Noir.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post CRT In The Trenches on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 45, we speak with the King of Star-manning and a Warrior of Compassion, Angel Eduardo. We discuss the problems with colorblindness and how to be color-blah. We share our different views on MLK’s dream, legacy, and the challenges to America in reference to the Dream Coalition letter and discussion. And Angel outlines the blueprint for being a warrior of compassion and his commitment to fighting bad ideas while not making monsters out of our opponents. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a spicy Ranch Water with jalapeno.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post On Being Color-blah on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 44, we speak with social workers Zander Keig & Matthew Watson. Zander and Matt are on a mission to promote viewpoint and political diversity in social work. Social workers advocate for social justice, but a strict definition of social justice and adherence to rigid ideologies often places politics over people. Social workers face a diverse constituency and therefore themselves, must also embrace diversity within their profession to create the greatest social impact. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a pina colada popsicle, guava nectar, a grapefruit Radler and a spiked root beer float.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post People Over Politics on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 43, we speak with Charles Love on his views on conservatism, our culture and his forthcoming book Race Crazy. Charles engages our different ideas around the criminal justice system, the impact of slavery, and the American obsession with race. Are we going race crazy? Join us as we navigate the growing insanity and its resulting divisions. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, a scotch on the rocks and a pinot noir.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Race Crazy on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 42, we speak with Professor Lyell Asher on the dysfunction of education schools and their growing influence on higher education. Education schools are infused with ideology, which became apparent in many K-12 virtual classrooms in 2020. This ideology is also seeping into higher education as education school graduates take student-facing roles in various administrative positions. Join us as we discuss the inequities baked into the education school paradigm and solutions to uplift our most disadvantaged children. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, a sip of scotch and a michelada.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and for podcast resources, visit our post Understanding Ed School Ideology & Dysfunction on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 41, we speak with Kenny Xu, author of An Inconvenient Minority. Kenny explains the disadvantages Asian Americans face as new anti-racist paradigms have denigrated meritocracy. The general strategy of accomplishment for many Asian American immigrants has rested almost exclusively on meritocratic principles, and now in some instances, they have become victims of their own success. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a coffee.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and for podcast resources, visit our post An Inconvenient Minority on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 40, we speak with Zander Keig and Jason Littlefield who together are working on a new model of Belonging and Diversity training at Empower ED. We discuss the Repressive Tolerance of current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Belonging programs, and their alternative program that centers on Human Dignity. Join us as we dig deep into the meaning of Successor Ideology, including Equal Outcomes, Marxist Philosophy, and Identarian Politics to find solutions and heal our divisions in Shared Values, Appreciative Inquiry and Truth and Reconciliation. All discussed with a chaser of civility of course, and a lemon shandy and a vodka creamsicle.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Belonging & Repressive Tolerance on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 39, we speak with David Ben Moshe. David is an American ex-con, heterodox thinker, personal trainer, and Orthodox Jewish convert, fighting for citizenship in Israel. You know he has a few stories to tell! David shares with us his journey through the prison system, his fight with racism, his conversion, and his life in Israel where he is now married with two children. Through it all, he never stopped reading, learning, or believing. He is an advocate for personal responsibility and community connection. He tells us how he navigates between the two through critical thinking, open-minded debate and tradition. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, a coffee and a green tea with honey (with promises to spike our drinks with whiskey for our next conversation).
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post From Incarceration to Emancipation on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 38, we speak with Gabs Clark, a biracial and widowed mother of five children. After recently recovering from a disability that had her in a wheelchair for years, she stayed at home during the pandemic so her children could attend school online. What she discovered shocked her. In addition to the struggle to find a school that taught her daughter how to be a scientist instead of a social justice warrior, she found her pale-skinned son was being forced to identify as an oppressor or fail his civics class. After numerous attempts to negotiate with teachers, she filed a First Amendment lawsuit. Join us as we discuss her story, all with a chaser of civility, of course, and a peach tea, a shot of Southern Comfort, and a mojito.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Education & Indoctrination on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 37, we speak with Erec Smith and Jason Littlefield. Both Erec and Jason are working to introduce empowerment and compassionate humanism back into education. The theory of empowerment, which takes a tiered approach to social and emotional learning starting with the individual, has recently been subsumed in anti-racist pedagogy that focuses on group identity at its foundation. This focus on the group segregates us making it harder to see ourselves in each other. It has also led to a mistrust of liberal values such as individualism, freedom of speech and deliberative democracy, promoting the destruction of current systems to usher in a new framework for social interaction and governance. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a virgin vodka with lime (aka water), bourbon, Gatorade & coffee.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Empowerment & Indvidualism on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating the news and politics with a chaser of civility — and Counterweight podcast, Episode 36, we speak with the President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and best-selling author, Greg Lukianoff. As things evolve since the publishing of the book, The Coddling of the American Mind in 2018, Greg has been “catching up with coddling” in a series of blog posts, and we catch-up with him here. He tells us that 2020 was the worst year he’s seen in terms of ideological censorship, and one of the busiest years for FIRE. This freedom of speech warrior shares with us his concerns, but also his hopes and aspirations for navigating us through the rhetorical battleground. It took us a long time to get here and it is going to take time to get out, but with FIRE at the helm, there is a light ahead. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a pink lemonade Spendrift, a Diet Coke and a coffee.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Catch-up with Coddling on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating the news and politics with a chaser of civility — and Counterweight podcast, Episode 35, we speak with the Executive Director of the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation, Wenyuan Wu. Wenyuan’s grassroots group was instrumental in voting down Prop 16 in California, which aimed to repeal part of the state constitution to keep discrimination illegal. The Foundation is currently working to expose initiatives in public education that seek to center racial identity and racial essentialism in K-12 curricula. We speak with Wenyuan about education, educational activism in Asian communities, and what it means to be an American. All discussed with La Croix Pamplemousse sparkling water (which as Wenyuan says is a sign of her successful assimilation into American culture!), a MacDonald’s $0.99 Diet Coke and a spiked lemonade.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post American Values: Beyond the Hyphen on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating the news and politics with a chaser of civility — and Counterweight podcast, Episode 34, we speak with Buck Angel on the difference between transsexual and transgender, generational differences in the trans community, new language and labels, and his own experience and transition. Buck, who is also affectionately called Tranpa, speaks to people on perseverance and overcoming hardship, self-acceptance, and moving beyond stereotypes to live authentic lives. A former model, who later experienced homelessness, addiction and prostitution before transitioning and becoming the first transsexual porn star and now a successful entrepreneur, Buck does not allow what’s in between his legs to define him. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course (plus some bonus tips on Buck’s work-out routines), and some water and wine.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to learn more about Buck, visit our post Talking with Tranpa on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating the news and politics with a chaser of civility — and Counterweight podcast, Episode 33, we speak with Wilfred Reilly, a Political Science Professor at Kentucky State University and author of the book Taboo. Reilly is a master of assessing and debunking current narratives on race and identity with quantitative and comparative analysis using factual data. In essence, he gives language and insight around many issues that have become taboo in our society, including policing and race in America. In this episode we discuss the taboo, the spread of critical social justice theories and Reilly’s optimism that we can move beyond this moment of cultural revolution with an emphasis on objective reality. All discussed with a chaser of civility of course, and some Kentucky bourbon libations.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Talking Taboo on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink – navigating the news and politics with a chaser of civility – and Counterweight podcast, Episode 32, we speak with Debbie Hayton, a controversial trans activist who embraces viewpoint diversity within the community. We speak about her transition, definitions of sexuality, gender and the importance of individual experiences. She shares with us her views on biology that have sparked offense within the trans community and the difficulties of navigating monolithic views of a trans identity in a complex world. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a diet Mountain Dew, a pinot noir and a beer.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Heterodox Humanity in Trans-Activism on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating the news and politics with a chaser of civility — and Counterweight podcast, Episode 31, Izabella Tabarovsky, a Russian-Jewish American immigrant, and Asra Nomani, an Indian-Muslim American immigrant join me to talk about the framing of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The new social justice movement has replaced the nuance and complexity of the situation with binary stereotypes of oppressor and oppressed. We discuss how the real-world application of such simplistic dogma has dangerous implications beyond the rise of antisemitism. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a shot of humanity.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Antisemitism's New Narrative on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week's Hold my Drink + Counterweight podcast, we speak with Angel Eduardo, who penned the idea of star-manning. Angel shares with us how he star-mans his conversations and interactions, especially in the divisive world of social media. His motto is to reject, refute and refuse bad faith actors and hostile conversations, but never reciprocate. All discussed with a chaser of civility of course, and a hot tea (in a Superman mug), a watermelon spritzer (now I sound like my mom), and a glass of white wine.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post A Lesson in Star-manning on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week’s Hold my Drink + Counterweight podcast, we speak with Neil Shenvi, writer and author of a forthcoming book on Christian apologetics. Neil explains how the basic foundation of Critical Social Justice is not compatible with Christianity, especially some of the most important principles of unity and kinship under Christ. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a pinot noir, bourbon and a seltzer water.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Christianity and Critical Social Justice on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week’s Hold my Drink + Counterweight podcast, we speak with Izabella Tabarovsky. Izabella is a Russian-Jewish immigrant whose article, The American Soviet Mentality (among many others), was paramount in framing our ideas on the current American experience. The collective demonization and polarization that has captured our country has frightening parallels to Izabella’s experiences behind the “Iron Curtain” in the Soviet Union. Join us as we discuss black American consciousness, viewpoint diversity, and collective mentalities. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and an herbal tea, bourbon, mimosa and watermelon vodka.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post The American Soviet Mentality on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week’s Hold my Drink + Counterweight podcast, we speak with the author of Reinventing Racism, Jonathan Church. Jonathan uses Stoicism as his basis for pushing back against racism, and an evolving neo-racism found in tropes like White Fragility. Join us as we discuss how Stoicism may be an answer to resolving inequities and injustices in our societies and so much more. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and water (because you know, that seemed like a solid Stoic choice!)
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Stoicism and Racial Justice on Substack or on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
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In this week’s Hold my Drink + Counterweight podcast, we speak with the author of Reinventing Racism, Jonathan Church. Jonathan uses Stoicism as his basis for pushing back against racism, and an evolving neo-racism found in tropes like White Fragility. Join us as we discuss how Stoicism may be an answer to resolving inequities and injustices in our societies and so much more. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and water (because you know, that seemed like a solid Stoic choice!)
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Stoicism and Racial Justice on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this Bonus Episode, our guest is author, Shane Ahalt, Sr. Shane is a former Naval Aviator, Teacher, Father and Husband. He recently released his crime novel, Out of the Red and into the Black. We discuss the inspiration for his novel as well as the challenges and resiliency in black America. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a virgin Irish Coffee.
You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week's Hold my Drink + Counterweight Podcast , we speak with Dr Monica Osborne, an author, professor and mother. Monica, a former professor of critical theory, speaks of her own struggles with critical social justice in her son's California school. As a student and teacher of critical theory, she sees the distortions in its implementation, especially in early education. Everything has been simplified into a binary of good and evil, which fails to capture the nuance and complexity that defines the human experience. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a scotch.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post The Dangerous Journey Beyond the Binary on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week's Hold my Drink + Counterweight Podcast , we speak with Zander Keig, a Wellness & Belonging Consultant, Social Worker of the Year, Coast Guard Veteran and a first-generation Mexican-American Transexual Man. His appreciation of viewpoint diversity sometimes has him at odds within the trans community and he speaks with us about his challenges to find his “way” or his Tao, and how he shares this in his own practice. Like all communities, the transgender community is not monolithic, but comprised of unique individuals with different experiences. Zander shares with us his own journey, all with a chaser of civility, of course, and an Argentinian Malbec.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post The Tao of Transitioning on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week's Hold my Drink + Counterweight podcast, our guest is writer Steve Peters (aka Steve QJ). We discuss how our obsession with Critical Theory and anti-racism has created a communication gap. If we cannot speak to each other across our differences, then we are lost. Honest and good-faith communication is key, and we are determined to keep the conversation going. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a tea.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Conversations in Black & White on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week's Hold my Drink + Counterweight podcast I speak with Jennifer Friend, a volunteer case worker for Counterweight, and therapist in private practice in the Washington DC area. Jennifer shares with us her own experience pushing back on a toxic county-wide diversity initiative with a former employer, and how she helps others navigate similar challenges as a therapist. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a vodka and tonic with a splash of lime.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Toxic Diversity on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this Hold my Drink + Counterweight Podcast , David Bernstein and I speak with Irshad Manji, author of Don't Label Me and Founder of Moral Courage. She shares with us her revolutionary methods for creating community and "honest diversity". Moral Courage reaches beyond our differences to build on our commonalities. It welcomes disagreement and seeks engagement to produce actionable steps towards an enduring diversity. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a cucumber vodka concoction (milk + protein for Irshad).
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post The Tao of Diversity on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week's podcast I team up with co-host David Bernstein to create a joint podcast with Counterweight; the first of many to come. David and I sit down with Amna Khalid, a Professor at Carleton College and the former John Stuart Mill Faculty Fellow at the Heterodox Academy to discuss how we can promote diversity without division. Amna suggests imagination, curiosity and education as the cornerstones for building a new diversity paradigm. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a rum punch.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post In Support of Imagination and Viewpoint Diversity on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
In this week's podcast, co-host Timothy Mayo and I discuss Affirmative Education and how we can create equal opportunities for our children, regardless of race or socio-economic background. Timm, an entrepreneur, elite soccer referee and musician, is a patriot and a proud American Descendent of Slavery (ADOS), whose family was victimized in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, OK, aka "Black Wall Street". He believes in diversity and diversity of thought and seeks to throw off the shackles of what he calls Liberal Racism to promote victors and not victims. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a chai tea.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Affirmative Education on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
International journalist and Breaklines podcast host, Ioannis Gatsiounis, co-hosts this week's podcast to discuss the radical center. Join us as we discuss what it means to be "in the middle" and how to combat identity politics of both the right and the left to move away from "wokeness" and find our center. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a glass of pinot noir.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Radical Centrism on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
An economist and a lawyer walk into a bar... and discuss affirmative action. Economist Jon Haveman believes that equity and efficiency are the results of affirmative action. The life experiences of lawyer, W.F. Twyman, Jr, suggest the path is not necessarily as linear. All of us agree that we need to ensure everyone has a more equitable starting point. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a shot of brandy.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Affirmative Action 2021 on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
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An economist and a lawyer walk into a bar... and discuss affirmative action. Economist Jon Haveman believes that equity and efficiency are the results of affirmative action. The life experiences of lawyer, W.F. Twyman, Jr, suggest the path is not necessarily as linear. All of us agree that we need to ensure everyone has a more equitable starting point. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a shot of brandy.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Affirmative Action 2021 on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
Author and attorney W.F. Twyman, Jr. and the CEO and Founder of Democracy Counts, Daniel Wolf, join me to discuss their opposing views on reparations. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a glass of champagne.
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For our President's Day podcast, George Washington in Black & White, co-host W.F. Twyman, Jr. and I speak with his distant cousin Kiernan Twyman, a senior in high school in Missouri. These two distant relatives weigh in on their common cousin, George Washington, and his legacy, across generational and racial boundaries in 2021. W.F. Twyman wonders - can we see beyond slaveholding to appreciate Washington's role in the founding of the United States of America? All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a cherry limeade (with a splash of lime vodka).
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post George Washington in Black & White on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
This week co-host W.F. Twyman, Jr. and I speak with Obaid Omer, host of the podcast Dangerous Speech. Can we have honest and authentic discussions in a time where some speech is considered off-limits? Wink, Obaid and I discuss what topics are off-limits, cultural allegiance and destruction, identity politics, and how and if we can move beyond the current cultural dogma that separates us. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a shot of peanut butter whiskey in my coffee.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Dangerous Speech on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
Wayne Watters, author of The Psychology of Leadership, discusses the various forms of leadership and how leadership impacts our democracy, communities and personal relationships. In the end, we are all better leaders when we lean into our differences and vulnerabilities with a dose of humility. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a beer.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post The Psychology of Leadership on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
Author and attorney W.F. Twyman, Jr. and the CEO and Founder of Democracy Counts, Daniel Wolf, join me to discuss their differing views on reparations. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a glass of champagne.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post Causation and Reparation on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
Constitutional Attorney, Tom Eastmond, co-hosts again to discuss the Perils of Political Violence in a Republic. Can political violence ever be justified? Grab your favorite beverage and join us as we assess the Capitol riots, the law of incitement and the preconditions for an insurrection. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a virgin screwdriver (aka, orange juice).
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are each reading, visit our post The Perils of Political Violence on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
Peter Zeihan - author of the Accidental Superpower, the Absent Superpower and Disunited Nations - and I meet in the mountains of Colorado for a big picture view of the future of the American economy, international status, and political transitions. Spoiler alert - the world as we've known it will never be the same, and it didn't start with the Coronavirus... All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a Bloody Mary (or as Peter calls it, a Malevolent Mary).
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are reading, visit our post Disunited Nations on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
Tom Eastmond, a Constitutional Attorney currently litigating a major First Amendment case, gives us some insight into the Constitution. He explains the controversial doctrine of qualified immunity and how it can give a “free pass” to officials to violate the Constitution, proposes solutions to the social media and free speech dilemma, shares his thoughts on the Trump legacy, and offers a definition of authoritarianism. Whew... what a conversation. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a root beer.
To read some of Tom's additional thoughts and see what we are each reading, see his post, A Constitutional Moment, on the Hold my Drink website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
Allen Hilton, founder of House United Movement, tells us that polarization is a habit. Like all habits, it is something we can break with a little intention. It is his intention and mission to work within our polarized echo chambers in 2021 so that we can venture out of them with courage and compassion. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a ginger ale.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are reading, visit our post The Polarization Habit or our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
W.F. Twyman, Jr and his cousin Nathan Twyman, connect across racial lines in their family tree to discuss how they embrace their full family heritage - both the angels & devils, heroes & villains - in the spirit of Christmas and with a Christmas Heart.
To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are reading, visit our post Angels, Devils & a Christmas Heart, or visit our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
Mike Yates is working to change the landscape of learning, helping our kids to become stakeholders and investors in their own education. In this episode, we discuss his vision for moving beyond anti-racism to being pro-black in our education system. He suggests a whole new way to do education in general, and especially for the empowerment of black and brown students. We don't always see eye-to-eye in this episode, but we come together in our commitment to finding new ways for our kids to thrive. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a coffee.
To read a recap of our conversation and see what we are each reading, visit our post Anti-racism vs Pro-black, or visit our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
W.F. Twyman Jr and James Twyman join me to discuss coming together as family across racial divisions, all over a ginger beer. A multicultural family reunion in time for Thanksgiving! To see what we were reading this week, check out of our blog, Family Reunion in Black and White.
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Ilana Redstone, creator of the YouTube series Beyond Bigots & Snowflakes, joins me as the co-host to discuss how we do diversity and diversity training in America and how we can do it better. All with a chaser of civility of course, for me this week it was with a splash of Jamesons for a hot toddy.
To read a recap of our conversation and to see what each of us is reading, see our post Doing Diversity Different or visit our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
There are approximately 40 million Black Americans, and 40 million different life stories. Ron McFarland, aka Sugar Bear, has his own story to tell. His bottom line - he is a Republican because of Frederick Douglass. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course. For Mr Sugar Bear, that included a nice cold beer and a hot toddy for me.
To see what we were reading this week, check out our blog Red & Blue in Black & White or visit us on our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
W.F. Twyman Jr and James Twyman join me to discuss coming together as family across racial divisions, all over a ginger beer. A multicultural family reunion in time for Thanksgiving!
To see what we were reading this week, check out our blog, Family Reunion in Black & White or visit us on our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.
After last week's episode, Finn expressed his concerns over the latest Supreme Court appointment so I asked him to join me again for another conversation. In this episode we discuss fear, freedom and Amy Coney Barrett's appointment to the Supreme Court, and the impact it may have in shaping our American landscape.
To read more about our conversation and to see what each of us is reading for this episode, see our blog post Fear, Freedom & the Law.
On this week's podcast my co-host is my son, Finn. We discuss how we survived a divided household during the 2020 Election, all over a cup of hot chocolate.
To read our Family Survival Guide and see what we're reading this week, see our blog post Red v Blue: Family Survival.
A Republican and a Democrat walk into a bar and .... Not exactly in a bar in this age of Covid 19, but two people with different views, different genders and different ethnicity talk about how Cancel Culture is affecting American's ability to talk all while having a drink. Grab your favorite beverage, sit back and learn how someone on the other side thinks and talks about things you care about, without the barroom brawl... well, mostly...
To read more of what we're thinking and to see what we are reading - different news with different views - see our accompanying blog Disagreement and Offense.
Have you noticed how conversations about politics quickly devolve into bitter arguments and it seems the facts being discussed are not the same. Well, Bronchae a former Military Information Operation planner explains how this is not by chance.
To read more on this topic and to see what each of us reading - different news and different views - visit our accompanying blog Information Warfare.
Navigating the news and politics with a chaser of civility. Join us as we imagine a new American identity, together. All views, all drinks are welcome.