The Dissidents

On the eve of America's 250th anniversary, 1776 Forward co-founders K. Joia Houheneka and Chris Bush hosted an evening that accomplished what few conversations manage: it modeled the very thing it celebrated. The event brought together original contributors to the Free Society Coalition's Philadelphia Declaration as well as current active members, including David Kelley, Lawrence Reed, Bre...

"Bad ideas survive when people are too afraid to speak up." Shelly Norden, Ken Pope, and Leigh Vlasblom join hosts Chris and Joia for a special episode promoting the America at 250 initiative—including an event in June to reclaim the founding principles of free speech, civil discourse, and limited government as America approaches its 250th birthday.  Ken notes a disturbing ripple effect...

“If it bleeds, it leads," they say—and in the algorithm age, we're all drowning in egregiously hyperbolic content designed to polarize. In the wake of the third assassination attempt on President Trump, plus Charlie Kirk's tragic murder and attacks on the UnitedHealthcare CEO and various state representatives, Chris and Joia launch a new Hot Takes mini-series confronting what the data...

"I always loved school. I was one of those people who played school with my siblings." Dana Stangel-Plowe, now Chief Program Officer at the North American Values Institute (NAVI), went from lawyer to beloved high school English teacher at her kids' private school in suburban New Jersey—until she watched "an anti-intellectual, anti-liberal ideology" infiltrate the curriculum...

"You're not allowed to say that." Those four words changed everything for Joshua David "JoDavi" Washington, Director of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI) and world-touring recording artist. Sharing what he thought were just "fun experiences" about Israel with college friends, Josh watched conversations shut down cold: "It went from 'I...

"Ideas are more powerful than all the armies of the world. Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come." Victor Hugo’s observation resonates with Lawrence Reed, FEE's President Emeritus and author of the forthcoming  Born of Ideas , who traces his liberty awakening to 1968 when Soviet tanks crushed Prague Spring. Then, he was a 14-year-old watching people who simply wanted...

Why do we celebrate America's birthday on July 4th and not July 2nd when the Declaration was actually voted on, or 1775 when shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, or 1783 when Britain finally acknowledged our independence in the Treaty of Paris? In this special episode, co-hosts Chris and Joia dive into why the Declaration of Independence—an act of speech—became the defining moment of Ame...

"The other side of the free speech coin is listening well." Shaka Mitchell, senior fellow at the American Federation for Children and creator of the Come Together Music Project, believes we've "forgotten how to listen"—and music is his solution. A Nashville-based lawyer and education reform leader, Shaka uses songs to bridge political divides by asking simple questions: Wha...

"Is this going to be in my neck or in my back? And will it be fast?" Those were Carob Marcelle Bartholomew's thoughts as she lay on the ground during Charlie Kirk's assassination listening for bullets whizzing overhead that tragic day in Utah. A homeschool teacher to 83 students and Utah State Director for Moms for America, Carob had been assaulted in the past in Seattle for hold...

This week Ryan Tsapatsaris is back and joins Elizabeth for discussion about bullying behaviors.  A recent study of Middle and High School aged participants revealed that bullied students admitted to also engaging in bullying behaviors.  The relationship was stronger for gender non-conforming students than for cisgender students.  Transgender identities were also more strongly associated with perpe...

"If you can't state the truth, you can't really pursue it either." Scott, project coordinator with the Atlas Society and partner with the Free Society Coalition, left his comfortable career in financial services after a health scare made him realize it was "worth spending my time left advocating for the future I hope for."  Drawing parallels between Thomas Paine's r...

This week the Dissident's Podcast highlights our partner, Prosocial Workers, ProSocial Podcast. ProSocial Workers executive director and ILV senior advisor Matt Watson invites licensed clinical social worker Paul Stayback to discuss the intersection of social work, gun violence, and mental health. They explore the challenges of engaging with firearms owners in therapy, the importance of viewpo...

This week Mike Burke is back and joins Elizabeth for discussion about the neuroscience of polarized attitudes.  A recent article suggests that regardless of which side of the political aisle we inhabit, those with more extreme views may experience similar neural activity and physiological responses to the same political content and emotionally charged language. Research participants who self-ident...

This week Elizabeth is joined by librarian and frequent contributor, Pamela Hayes-Bohanan who, in anticipation of Banned Books Week, gives us the latest news on attempts to remove books from our libraries. The majority of book censorship attempts now originate from organized movements, pressure groups, and government entities, including elected officials. While concerns about content or appropriat...

"I'm that person you hate." That's what attorney and activist Kofi Montzka says when coworkers start ranting about conservatives—and it stops them in their tracks. After being told she couldn't speak anymore at a mandatory anti-racism training (despite being one of only two Black people in the room), Kofi fought back by organizing a political civility presentation that drew o...

This week Elizabeth is joined by Mark Horowitz. We discuss two very different articles about viewpoint diversity. In one (unpublished) paper the authors examined thousands of college course syllabi for evidence that diverse perspectives were being introduced. In all 3 areas of focus (racism in the criminal justice system, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the ethics of abortion), faculty overwhel...

In this urgent and unplanned episode of Free Speech Forward, hosts Joia and Chris respond to the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025—the most horrific attack on free speech on US soil in their lifetimes. Recording in the immediate aftermath of this tragedy, they grapple with what Kirk's murder means for America's future as we approach the 250th anniversary of the D...

In this next special episode of Free Speech Forward in celebration of the Declaration of Independence, Chris and Joia speak with Episcopal chaplain Dan Isadore. He reveals why the loneliness epidemic plaguing America's youth isn't solved by offering more "belonging"—but instead by restoring individual agency and the sacred value of each person. Drawing from his transformative fri...

This week Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky speak with Sarah Mchlaughlin on her recently released book – Authoritarians in the Academy. As universities are run more and more like corporations with increasing numbers of administrators, priorities have shifted. As part of this shift, we often see universities making financial decisions that can be at odds with their values, namely freedom of...

In 2022 Counterweight, the organization that Helen Pluckrose founded and that was absorbed into the Institute for Liberal Values had a virtual conference on Alternatives to Diversity and Inclusion. Starting in 2025, we will be rolling out one talk a month that was presented at the conference. We sit down with the original presenters throughout 2025 to see what has changed since 2022. With Diversit...

n this powerful episode of Free Speech Forward, Chris and Joia speak with Muslim feminist reformer Soraya M. Deen, who reveals the shocking reality of advocating for women's rights within religious orthodoxy—where speaking truth can mean exile from your own community. From her awakening moment watching Ayaan Hirsi Ali on C-SPAN as a young mother to co-founding the Clarity Coalition, Deen expos...

We have a lot of questions about AI. Maybe you do too. If you follow our work you’ll note that we’ve done several presentations on AI (Reimaging the Academy Panel Discussion, and This is Your Brain on AI Dissidents Podcast). To get a better grasp on both the problems and opportunities, we invited Robert “RSnake” Hansen, a tech security guru and author of the book, AI’s Best Friend, to our podcast....

Dr. Nafees Alam and Matt Watson interview Andrew Hartz, founder of the Open Therapy Institute. They discuss the impact of political issues on mental health training, the importance of addressing bias in therapy, and the need for cultural competence that includes diverse sociopolitical values. Hartz shares insights on diverse approaches in therapy, the significance of self-censorship, and the chall...

Today we’re delighted to begin a new series of episodes under the Free Speech Forward banner, an exploration of free speech and its connection to the Declaration of Independence. This series is a celebration of the Declaration in honor of its upcoming anniversary, a project conducted in partnership by 1776 Forward, the Institute for Liberal Values, and the Free Society Coalition.   Today's gue...

This week Elizabeth is joined by Ryan Tsapatsaris for a discussion about the complex world of online communities focused on aggression and hate. We draw insights from the book  Social Processes of Online Hate  as well as Ryan’s own research and expertise in the area. While most of us assume that attackers are laser focused on their targets and on affecting some change, the evidence suggests that a...