The Dissidents

In On Censorship James LaRue issues a balanced and reasonable call to action for all citizens. It is a combination of personal reflection and deep dive into specifics of book banning. James LaRue has been a public library director for many years, and was director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, and ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. He has written, spoken, and consulted extensively on intel...

Welcome to the latest episode of the Free Speech Forward podcast in which hosts Joia and Chris engage with Ilana Cohen, the Community Engagement Director at the Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies. They discuss Ilana's background as a child refugee from the Soviet Union and her journey towards advocating for free speech and critical thinking in education. The conversation highlights the impor...

This podcast features a recording of a live-stream event hosted by Maccabi Lec-Ari and Mike Burke. The discussion focuses on Israel, liberal democracy and rising Antisemitism, particularly within the UK.

Chocolate is the top-selling Halloween candy and is considered a must-have treat for the trick-or-treaters and eaters of leftovers alike.  But do you think about where your chocolate comes from?  Listen to this week's podcast to find out! _________ This week's episode is part of an occasional series about coffee,  and this week we actually take time to discuss a closely related commodity--chocolat...

In this episode of the Free Speech Forward podcast, host Chris Bush engages with Frank Xu, President of Californians for Equal Rights Foundation (CFER) and Founding President of San Diego Asian Americans for Equality (SDAAFE). Frank shares his journey as an activist, highlighting the interconnectedness of free speech and equal opportunity. He discusses his experiences in California and the importa...

In this week's episode Elizabeth and Matt Watson discuss ideology in his field of social work. A recently published survey study confirmed that a trend toward liberalism in higher education faculty is even stronger in social work and the researchers expressed less concern about this than we'd hoped. We consider what the findings and the tone of the article mean for the field.  We also discuss the...

In this week’s Dissidents Podcast, Jennifer Richmond and Winkfield Twyman, Jr. talk about the meaning of life through the eyes of black sheep and non-conformists. Like Martin Buber in I and Thou, we find meaning in relationships. When we can see each other as they are, and make room for that, we end up expanding ourselves. Unlike social media that constrains us to a narrow lens that boxes us into...

Welcome to another episode in which co-hosts and co-founders of 1776 Forward, Joia & Chris, speak with one of the Board Members of the Institute of Liberal Values, David Bernstein. David shares his experiences growing up in a politically liberal environment and how his belief in free speech was shaped by personal and historical events. He also emphasizes the importance of free speech in societ...

This week's episode is the first in an occasional series about coffee and chocolate. Our guest, James Hayes-Bohanan, has been doing research on political, social, cultural, and environmental geography of coffee for 20 years. In this episode James gives us an overview of historical and contemporary coffee culture and the sociopolitical impact of coffee shops. He describes the growing process, intro...

In this week’s Dissidents Podcast, Jennifer Richmond and Winkfield Twyman, Jr. speak with Ian Rowe. Ian recently wrote a review of their book (Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America), which he entitled Three Cheers for Colorblindness. Wink and Jen, much like they start their book, start the conversation with Ian by getting his “origin story,” i.e. what makes you tick??...

In this episode of the Free Speech Forward podcast, your hosts Joia and Chris interview Mars Cheung, an advocate for free speech and enlightenment values. Mars shares his journey into the realm of free speech advocacy, emphasizing the importance of free speech for societal flourishing. He discusses the nuances of communication, effective interview techniques, and the significance of critical think...

In recognition of Banned Books Week (September 22-28) we’re reading James LaRue's On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US. Join us for a live meeting with the author on Wednesday, Oct 2 at 7pm ET. (https://youtube.com/live/8IGf08uvIK4?feature=share) In preparation for the live stream, read along with our ILV advisors who will discuss the book in 4 brief special epis...

We left our Critical vs Classical Social Justice in Social Work panel discussion wanting more and were inspired to do a series of follow ups! The third week each of the upcoming months, we will focus on a related topic, with guests, personal stories, and the latest research on the state of social work education. In case you missed it, we are re-releasing the panel discussion as a Bonus episode of...

In recognition of Banned Books Week (September 22-28) we are launching our inaugural book club with James LaRue's On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US. Join us for a live meeting with the author on Wednesday, Oct 2 at 7pm ET. In preparation for the live stream, read along with our ILV advisors who will discuss the book in 4 brief special episodes of the Dissident...

Join ILV Director, Jennifer Richmond, and ILV Advisor, Jason Littlefield every month for Reformation Radio's live conversation on ILV's X ( ⁠@ilvalues ). Each month we explore current and unfolding events with the aim of finding strategies for uniting people for the cause of liberty. Bring a cup of coffee, a headful of thoughts and a heart full of hope. This bonus podcast is the inaugural...

In recognition of Banned Books Week (September 22-28) we are launching our inaugural book club with James LaRue's On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US. Join us for a live meeting with the author on Wednesday, Oct 2 at 7pm ET. In preparation for the live stream, read along with our ILV advisors who will discuss the book in 4 brief special episodes of the Dissident...

Join us for today’s episode with Joia and Chris in conversation with Cherise Trump, the Executive Director of Speech First. Cherise discusses the unique free speech protections in the United States and the need to educate the public on the value of free speech. She points out how the United States Supreme Court has ruled time and time again, as recently as 2019, unanimously that there is no offens...

In this week's episode Elizabeth and Professors of Sociology Mark Horowitz and Anthony Haynor talk about the pitfalls of trying to publish research findings that challenge progressive orthodoxy. They describe their own experiences with editors and reviewers (one of their papers about grade inflation was the topic of prior episodes). We also discuss public complaints about the editorial process...

In recognition of Banned Books Week (September 22-28) we are launching our inaugural book club with James LaRue's  On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US . Join us for a live meeting with the author on Wednesday, Oct 2 at 7pm ET.   In preparation for the live stream, read along with our ILV advisors who will discuss the book in 4 brief special episodes of the Dissi...

Writer and activist Helen Raleigh has paired up with Professor and economist Paul Prentice to provide “three counterpunches” to socialism. The first counterpunch is about defining our terms. What is Democratic Socialism? According to Helen and Paul, it is a oxymoronic term we simply made up to “soften” socialism. However, when they ask others what it means the typical response is sharing and carin...

Today’s episode features what turns out to be a succinct masterclass in public speaking as Chris and Joia chat with Zander Keig, one of the senior leaders of the Institute for Liberal Values and an expert public speaker with over 30 years of experience. Zander discusses his early involvement in advocating for gay and lesbian rights in the 1980s (and the importance of freedom of speech in articulat...

In the second of our two-part series, Jennifer Richmond and Winkfield Twyman, Jr. talk with Brent Hamachek about his book Dissidently Speaking. As self-proclaimed Dissidents in their own book, Letters in Black and White, Jen and Wink were excited to hear from Brent on how he defines “dissidently speaking.”  In this episode, we work to define labels like “left,” and “right,” examine how we’ve co-op...

In the first of our two-part series, Jennifer Richmond and Winkfield Twyman, Jr. talk with Brent Hamachek about his book Dissidently Speaking. As self-proclaimed Dissidents in their own book, Letters in Black and White, Jen and Wink were excited to hear from Brent on how he defines “dissidently speaking.”  We discuss the power of language, including changing the statement “it is” to the question “...

In today’s episode, Chris and Joia interview Dr. Brandy Shufutinsky, who has been the Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values. Brandy discusses the importance of free speech and the erosion of this right in recent years, which makes us become more “robot-like”. She also emphasizes the need for education on democratic values and free speech in K-12...

In this week's episode Mark Horowitz joins us for a discussion about potential racism revealed by online daters' preferences. In a recent published critique of a book on the subject, Mark questions the authors' claims of systematic and racially exclusionary patterns in online dating. The book was based on a large dataset and we appreciate the complexity of the process used to compile t...