The Dissidents

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 distribut...

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...

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 communi...

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...

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 under...

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 dis...

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 prom...

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, philosoph...

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 int...

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 in...

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 ta...

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 sci...

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 he...

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 Prejudi...

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 D...