The Dissidents

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...

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,...

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 int...

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 Paci...

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 “bla...

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 walkin...

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 resulti...

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 polar...

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...

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 i...

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 c...

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 di...

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 h...

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 sur...

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 m...

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 real...

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 transge...

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 di...

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...

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 dis...

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...

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 int...

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 victo...

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 d...

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 cro...