The Dissidents

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 sp...

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 bina...

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 cour...

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 no...

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 t...

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...

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 co...

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 bee...

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 h...

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 chas...

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...

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 toward...

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 corn...

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 Stre...

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 re...

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 c...

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 apprec...

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 disc...

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 conversatio...

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 . Y...

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...

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...

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 definitio...

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 co...

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 Ch...