Podcasts about Academic freedom

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Democrats in DC engineer a so-called government shutdown and it appears to be motivated by an insider struggle between factions of the Democratic Party. The public face of it is over funding for Medicaid but the Dems don't want you to know it's about giving illegal aliens Medicaid access. Schumer's Shutdown Another ‘Desperate' Attempt To Fend Off Upstart Far Left, Analysts Say Vance slams Dems over shutdown, sets record straight on illegal alien healthcare Speaker Johnson Lays Out How and Why Illegal Aliens Were Getting Medicaid, and What Was Done About It  Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.“Academic Freedom” has been perverted to mean things it never historically covered and teachers have been taught a false idea of what their freedom is in a public classroom. See: Charlie Kirk's murder has brought out the worst in many of the nation's teachers. Union Advises Texas A&M Faculty To ‘Resist' Reform and Accountability Four Texas Teachers Fired So Far Over Kirk Assassination Comments Democrat Talarico raises $6.2 million in first 20 days of US Senate campaign, out doing Colin Allred.Democrat rhetoric causing ‘innocent lives to be lost,' says Latina leader. Bobby Pulido has a long history of nasty talk.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The Courant's Chris Keating talks about his latest piece about Free Speech and Academic Freedom in CT.

Legal scholar David Rabban discusses academic freedom during a moment when it is at risk. Also, Gazette reporters share their answers to reader questions as part of their Curious Iowa series.

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse speaks with Raven Jard Castañeda and Nirva dela Cruz, two young Catholic leaders from the Philippines who helped pioneer the Humilitas March—a public act of reparation and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What began in 2024 as a small prayer gathering in Davao has grown into a nationwide movement offering a faithful alternative to Pride marches. Raven and Nirva share how the marches unite clergy, youth groups, and Catholic organizations in joyful witness, public prayer, and Eucharistic devotion. They discuss the symbolism of holding the march in historic places like EDSA, the powerful conversions it has inspired—including former Pride marchers turning to Christ—and how the Sacred Heart devotion speaks to today's culture of confusion and despair. Raven Jard N. Castañeda is a Catholic apologist, lay catechist, and medical student dedicated to proclaiming the love and kingship of Christ through devotion to the Sacred Heart. A summa cum laude graduate of Ateneo de Davao University in Medical Biology and now a second-year student at Davao Medical School Foundation, he continues forming young Catholics in truth, humility, and devotion. In 2024, he pioneered the HUMILITAS March, a movement of young faithful united in public witness and reparation to the Sacred Heart, and founded the Association of Catholic Apologists – Knights of Saint Justin Martyr, which hosts conferences, apologetics training, and catechetical events. With experience in writing, public speaking, and debate, he defends the faith against rising wokeism in Catholic universities, most recently presenting on Truth, Academic Freedom, and Catholic Education at a 2024 philosophy conference. His deepest desire is to lead souls back to the beauty of the Catholic faith and the burning love of the Heart of Jesus. Link to Raven's website: Humilitas FB page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569082642573 Personal Blog (Simply Human): https://rjncastaneda.substack.com/  Nirva's conversion through the Catholic charismatic movement led her to missionary work in Indonesia and East Timor before serving with the Episcopal Commission on Youth and later as associate editor of CBCP News, where she covered World Youth Days and the 2015 Synod of the Family. A former pro-life radio host, she became the first Filipino fellow of the Center for Asia Leadership in 2018, studying leadership and design thinking in Kuala Lumpur. She later served as communications officer for the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Foundation, documenting extra-judicial killings and advancing care for the homeless. An active Singles for Christ leader and international speaker, she has shared the faith across Asia and Europe. She loves the Traditional Latin Mass, baking, reading, and traveling, and most recently led Humilitas Metro Manila in June 2025 to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart. Links: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1556996025004746 - Humilitas Metro Manila FB group https://www.facebook.com/nirva.delacruz - Nirva Delacruz FB account (personal) Subscribe to our newsletter to get this amazing report: Refuting the Top 5 Gay Myths https://ruthinstitute.org/refute-the-top-five-myths/

Ryan and Noah are joined by James to discuss academic freedom and the threats to it that have emerged over the last couple years.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with UC Berkeley Professor Ussama Makdisi, who was recently informed that UC Berkeley shared his name, along with those of 159 other Berkeley faculty & students, with the federal government for "alleged incidents of antisemitism." Peter & Ussama discuss the absurdity of experience -- the accused have not been informed of any details of the allegations against them -- while looking at why UC Berkeley is not defending its faculty and students, how the Berkeley experience compares with how other universities have capitulated to the Trump administration, and whether academic freedom on campus will survive. Most urgently, they discuss how the attacks on universities are meant to distract from the genocide Israel is carrying out right now against Palestinians.  Resources on this topic include "UC Berkeley shares 160 names with Trump administration in ‘McCarthy era' move," The Guardian 9/12/25; "UC Berkeley professor warns of 'unprecedented crackdown' on academic freedom." NPR interview with Ussama Makdisi on 9/18/25 "When Universities Become Informants," by Judith Butler, 9/13/25 "Kafka-land at UC Berkeley," by Judith Butler, The Nation, 9/16/25 Dr. Ussama Makdisi is Professor of History and Chancellor's Chair at the University of California Berkeley. He was previously Professor of History and the first holder of the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair of Arab Studies at Rice University in Houston.  During AY 2019-2020, Professor Makdisi was a Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley in the Department of History. Makdisi was awarded the Berlin Prize and spent the Spring 2018 semester as a Fellow at the American Academy of Berlin. Professor Makdisi's most recent book Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World was published in 2019 by the University of California Press. He is also the author of Faith Misplaced: the Broken Promise of U.S.-Arab Relations, 1820-2001 (Public Affairs, 2010).  His previous books include Artillery of Heaven: American Missionaries and the Failed Conversion of the Middle East (Cornell University Press, 2008), which was the winner of the 2008 Albert Hourani Book Award from the Middle East Studies Association, the 2009 John Hope Franklin Prize of the American Studies Association, and a co-winner of the 2009 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize given by the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. Makdisi is also the author of The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon (University of California Press, 2000) and co-editor of Memory and Violence in the Middle East and North Africa (Indiana University Press, 2006). He has published widely on Ottoman and Arab history as well as on U.S.-Arab relations and U.S. missionary work in the Middle East. Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNBC Political Commentator. His newest book (published 2025) is Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

This Week: Educators across the country are facing investigations, professional sanctions, doxing, and being placed on public lists in states across the country for statements posted following the public execution of right wing leader Charlie Kirk. The chilling effect being felt by educators nationally, and especially in states like Florida, raises new concerns about the rights educators have to free speech and academic freedom, as well as questions about the impact this right wing backlash will have on the education our students receive. Long time friend of the show, and host of Too Dope Teachers and a Mic podcast Gerardo Muñoz joins us to discuss these important topics, and the stakes for schools and society in this moment.  MAXIMUM WOKENESS ALERT -- get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com Watch, listen and subscribe to make sure you don't miss our latest content!Listen on Apple Podcast and Spotify Website: https://AOTAshow.comStream all of our content at: linktr.ee/AOTA  Watch at: YouTube.com/AlloftheAboveFollow us at: LinkedIn, Facebook.com/AOTAshow, Twitter.com/AOTAshow

First up, Thea Abu al-Haj joins the program to discuss the unprecedented censorship she and other academic authors experienced when Harvard administration pulled the plug on an entire issue of the Harvard Educational Review, an issue that would have been dedicated to Palestine. Thea discusses this new level of censorship as an attack on the very core mission of higher education. Then Robert Talisse joins the show to talk about what he calls “civic solitude:” the need to remove ourselves – albeit temporarily – from the ever-widening divisions in US politics, for the sake of personal and social well-being. Thea Renda Abu El-Haj is Professor of Education at Columbia University, specializing in the anthropology of education. Her research explores questions about belonging, rights, citizenship and education, in the context of globalization, transnational migration, and conflict. Robert Talisse is Professor of Philosophy and Political Science at Vanderbilt University. He has lectured around the world, and is the author of over 100 scholarly articles and 15 books.   The News That Didn't Make the News. Each week, co-hosts Mickey Huff and Eleanor Goldfield conduct in depth interviews with their guests and offer hard hitting commentary on the key political, social, and economic issues of the day with an emphasis on critical media literacy. The post The End of Academic Freedom / The Need for “Civic Solitude” appeared first on KPFA.

University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen discusses working with the federal government including threats to revoke the visas of internation students and losing funding for research. He also gives his take on academic freedom and the value of a university education in this day and age.      The 21st Show is Illinois' statewide weekday public radio talk show, connecting Illinois and bringing you the news, culture, and stories that matter to the 21st state. Have thoughts on the show or one of our episodes, or want to share an idea for something we should talk about? Send us an email: talk@21stshow.org. If you'd like to have your say as we're planning conversations, join our texting group! Just send the word "TALK" to (217) 803-0730. Subscribe to our podcast and hear our latest conversations. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PT6pb0 Find past segments, links to our social media and more at our website: 21stshow.org.

Um deine Meinungsfreiheit auszuleben, brauchst du Zugang zu einer Bühne oder Plattform. Das bedeutet aber, dass die Eigentümerin dieser Plattform mit über deine Meinungsfreiheit entscheidet. Darf sie dann beliebige Meinungen „deplatformen“ oder „canceln“, nur weil es ihre Bühne ist? In der heutigen Episode lernen wir ein Argument zu dieser Frage kennen, das mit dem Zweck von Bühnen zusammenhängt. Wir spielen es versuchsweise an verschiedenen Beispielen durch : Universität, Comedy, „soziale“ Netzwerke. Literatur: [Deutschlandfunk], "Geschlechterdebatte – Ein Vortrag, eine Absage und ein gesellschaftlicher Konflikt" (Link) Christian Katzenbach, "Das Plattform-Paradox: Verantwortung und Macht in der digitalen Gesellschaft" (Vortrag) Robert Mark Simpson, Amia Srinivasan: "No Platforming", in: Academic Freedom, hrsg. von Jennifer Lackey, Oxford 2018, S. 186–209 Michael Veber: "The Epistemology of No Platforming. Defending the Defense of Stupid ideas on University Campuses", in: Journal of Controversial Ideas 1 (2021)

This week, we continue our conversation about the evolving landscape of education in Canada—this time, in post-secondary education.  Labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with David Robinson, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, to discuss the importance of academic freedom and why a strong, well-funded public post-secondary system is essential—not just for Canada's economy, but for the well-being of its society as a whole. About our guest  David Robinson is the executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and has served as a senior consultant on higher education, copyright and international trade issues to EI for the past several years. Prior to joining CAUT, David was the senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canada's leading progressive think-tank. He has also been a lecturer at Simon Fraser University and at Carleton University.  If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

Guest: Tom Korski, Managing Editor at Blacklock's Reporter https://www.blacklocks.ca/ Alex is joined by Tom Korski to break down the top political and policy stories making headlines: Austerity Budget Ahead? Prime Minister Mark Carney says he will table an “austerity budget” this fall, as the federal deficit runs 55 percent higher than projected. What are the implications for Canadians and government spending? Foreign Labour Under Fire: With unemployment among Canadian students at a 15-year high, Conservative MPs are calling for an end to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Meanwhile, the Immigration Department defends it as a way to “attract talent.” Marijuana Road Testing Lags: A Public Safety report shows that devices used to detect marijuana-impaired drivers are so unreliable that some police forces are waiting for better technology. What does this mean for roadside safety and enforcement? Academic Freedom and Global Conflict: A B.C. Supreme Court decision rules that university faculties can pass resolutions on international issues, such as the war in Gaza. The ruling comes after Simon Fraser University faculty members challenged anti-Israel motions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. - Newsom’s Posting Through It - Palestine and the American University feat. Dana El Kurd - How Democrats Passed North Carolina's New Anti-trans Laws, Part One - How Democrats Passed North Carolina's New Anti-trans Laws, Part Two - Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #31 You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone Sources/Links: Newsom’s Posting Through It https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/us/newsom-trump-social-media.html https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2025/06/california-police-sharing-license-plate-reader-data/ https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/03/gavin-newsom-podcast-judgment-problem/ https://x.com/GovPressOffice https://bsky.app/profile/grahamformaine.bsky.social/post/3lwqwj3rdgk27 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNl79l0SdMb/?igsh=bXphd3E2N3Y2N20w https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2qJw7xQfqh0 https://www.kpbs.org/news/racial-justice-social-equity/2025/03/11/san-diego-sheriff-says-disputed-ice-transfer-was-legal Palestine and the American University feat. Dana El Kurd Clifford Ando – The Crisis of the University Started Long Before Trump - https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-crisis-of-the-university-started-long-before-trump/ Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism - https://jerusalemdeclaration.org/ Ken Stern on IHRA definition - https://www.npr.org/2025/03/20/nx-s1-5326047/kenneth-stern-antimsietim-executive-order-free-speech 2023 Pew Research Center Poll on Black Lives Matter - https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/06/14/views-on-the-black-lives-matter-movement/ Marc Bousquet – How the University Works - https://nyupress.org/9780814799758/how-the-university-works/ PBS Reporting on Harvard University negotiations with Trump administration - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/harvard-nearing-settlement-with-trump-to-pay-500-million-and-regain-federal-funding The Intercept’s reporting on Columbia University settlement with the Trump administration - https://theintercept.com/2025/04/16/columbia-middle-eastern-studies-trump-attacks/ Middle East Studies Association statement on Columbia University settlement - https://mesana.org/advocacy/letters-from-the-board/2025/03/28/joint-statement-regarding-columbia-university-and-the-department-of-education Results of the Middle East Scholar Barometer - https://criticalissues.umd.edu/sites/criticalissues.umd.edu/files/November%202023%20MESB%20Results.pdf Human Rights Watch statement on the IHRA definition - https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/04/human-rights-and-other-civil-society-groups-urge-united-nations-respect-human Axios reporting on The Nexus Project and Trump’s use of antisemitism investigations - https://www.axios.com/2025/03/31/college-campus-antisemitism-trump-nexus-project American Association of University Professors – Academic Freedom - https://www.aaup.org/issues-higher-education/academic-freedom/faqs-academic-freedom 2024 Announcement of 40 new AAUP chapters - https://www.aaup.org/academe/issues/winter-2025/warm-welcome-new-or-reestablished-aaup-chapters Executive Order on Combatting Antisemitism - https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-combating-anti-semitism/ How Democrats Passed North Carolina's New Anti-trans Laws https://transnews.network/p/nc-dems-anti-trans-betrayals @davidforbes.bsky.social @avlblade.bsky.social Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #31 https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/india-us-lose-trump-tariffs-russia-wins-2025-08-27/ https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_14986.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed.htm https://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/domestic-market-operations/monetary-policy-implementation/repo-reverse-repo-agreements https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RRPONTSYD https://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/rrp_faq.html https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RPONTSYD https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2022/01/how-the-feds-overnight-reverse-repo-facility-works/ https://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/goldvault.html https://fortune.com/2025/08/09/trump-fed-pick-stephen-miran-existential-threat-central-bank-independence/ https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/the-12-trillion-u-s-repo-market-evidence-from-a-novel-panel-of-intermediaries-20250711.html https://www.stlouisfed.org/in-plain-english/who-owns-the-federal-reserve-banks https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/epr/forthcoming/1202mart.pdf https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/us/politics/lisa-cook-fed-governor.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hE8.oyr3.s4yYTqcf14ZD https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/prosecuting-burning-of-the-american-flag/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/measures-to-end-cashless-bail-and-enforce-the-law-in-the-district-of-columbia/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/taking-steps-to-end-cashless-bail-to-protect-americans/ https://www.justice.gov/maxwell-interview https://www.foxnews.com/politics/national-guard-mobilizing-19-states-immigration-crime-crackdown https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/additional-measures-to-address-the-crime-emergency-in-the-district-of-columbia/ https://nbcmontana.com/news/nation-world/kennedy-announces-nih-study-into-psych-drugs-after-second-trans-school-shooterSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Important headlines from around the state, including expansion of a drug donation program, UI Health Care budget cuts and more.

The "Democracy and Academic Freedom: A Forum" series kicks off on the College of Wooster's campus on Sept 3.

The Trump administration's crackdown on both tertiary education and immigration is creating an uncertain environment for students in the United States, particularly international students.  It also comes as the administration has slashed research funding, rolled back protections for disadvantaged student groups, threatened lawsuits against colleges, dismantled the education department and more. For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Yale Daily News' Andre Fa'aoso, about what it's like to be an international student in the United States right now. 

As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe In this episode, I speak with Frederic Schuller, an award-winning theoretical physicist and professor, who insists the undergrad tale of energy sloshing between kinetic and potential is just talk unless the math says so. Borrowing Port-Hamiltonian thinking, he's building probability ports to pull measurement talk into actual quantum formalism—no change to QM, just sharper math. He also flips gravity: start from the matter action and construct the compatible gravitational dynamics—Maxwell in, Einstein–Hilbert out. And if nature ever breaks our current causal picture, the scheme points to richer structures (and the gravity to match)—a modest idea, pushed hard. Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: - 00:00 - Deriving Einstein from Maxwell Alone - 05:55 - Why Energy Doesn't Flow in Quantum Systems - 11:45 - How Modest Ideas Lead to Spacetime Revolution - 19:00 - Matter Dynamics Dictate Spacetime Geometry - 24:03 - Maxwell to Einstein-Hilbert Action - 31:00 - If Light Rays Split in Vacuum Then Einstein is Wrong - 38:04 - When Your Theory is Wrong - 46:10 - From Propositional Logic to Differential Geometry - 54:00 - Never Use Motivating Examples - 1:02:00 - Why Only Active Researchers Should Teach - 1:09:40 - High Demands as Greatest Motivator - 1:16:00 - Is Gravity a Force? - 1:27:00 - Academic Freedom vs Bureaucratic Science - 1:38:00 - Why String Theory Didn't Feel Right - 1:46:05 - Formal vs Conceptual Understanding - 1:54:10 - Master Any Subject: Check Every Equal Sign - 2:04:00 - The Drama of Blackboard Teaching - 2:13:15 - Why Physical Presence Matters in Universities Links Mentioned: - Frederic's Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations - Frederic's Lectures: https://www.youtube.com/@FredericSchuller - Frederic's Bio: https://people.utwente.nl/f.p.schuller - General Relativity Lecture Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist - Quantum Harmonic Oscillator [Lecture]: https://youtu.be/s3I_MGfGm-w - Constructive Gravity [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.09726 - Geometry Of Manifolds [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/0508170 - Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/7oWip00iXbo - Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU - All Possible Paths [TOE]: https://youtu.be/XcY3ZtgYis0 - Neil Turok [TOE]: https://youtu.be/ZUp9x44N3uE - Space-Time Structure [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Space-Time-Structure-Cambridge-Science-Classics/dp/0521315204 - Greg Chaitin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/PoEuav8G6sY - Ivette Fuentes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/cUj2TcZSlZc - Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8 - Eva Miranda [TOE]: https://youtu.be/6XyMepn-AZo - Jonathan Oppenheim [TOE]: https://youtu.be/6Z_p3viqW1g - String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY - Sabine Hossenfelder [TOE]: https://youtu.be/E3y-Z0pgupg - Leonard Susskind [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2p_Hlm6aCok - What Is Energy? [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hQk9GLZ0Fms - Claudia De Rham [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ve_Mpd6dGv8 SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when the President plays mob boss - “How much can I get away with? Who's going to stop me?” I talk with American legal scholar ROBERT POST of Yale Law School about the rule of law, the American legal system, free speech, academic freedom, public morality, and the Supreme Court's weakness in the age of Trump. You can learn more at law.yale.edu/robert-c-post Robert Post 2025 Transcript

In this week's episode of then & now, LCHP Director Professor David N. Myers is joined by Dr. Ben Zdencanovic to discuss their collaborative work on a new LCHP report, The Challenge to University Autonomy in an Illiberal Age: Historical and Comparative Perspectives. Compiled over the past year as higher education in the U.S. faces heightened scrutiny and mounting political pressures from the U.S. government, this report situates present debates within a longue durée of institutional vulnerability to political pressures. The report analyzes historical case studies from the U.S. in which universities were subjected to external intervention alongside contemporary international examples of academic institutions confronting encroachments by illiberal regimes. Through historical precedent, cross-national analysis, and policy recommendations, David and Ben illuminate both the recurring struggles between universities and political powers and consider the strategies by which universities and academics might preserve autonomy, defend academic freedom, and fulfill their civic responsibilities in the present.   You can read the full report on our LCHP website here. David N. Myers is a Distinguished Professor of History at UCLA and the Director of the Luskin Center for History and Policy and the UCLA Initiative to Study Hate. A leading scholar of Jewish history, he has authored six books and edited thirteen others, including The Stakes of History: On the Use and Abuse of Jewish History for Life (Yale University Press, 2018). His research addresses Jewish intellectual and cultural history, with a focus on how historical narratives shape identity, politics, and social movements.Ben Zdencanovic is a Postdoctoral Associate at the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy. Ben is a historian of the United States in the world, domestic and international politics, and economic and social policy. He has a particular interest in the relationship between U.S. global power and the politics of redistribution and the welfare state. Ben is currently working on two book projects: Island of Enterprise: The United States in a World of Welfare, 1940–1955 (forthcoming, Princeton University Press), and The Cold War on Poverty: Race, Labor, and Manpower in the U.S. Warfare/Welfare State.

FAIR News Weekly | 8/8/2025

As the school year kicks off, Adam Louis-Klein shares his unexpected journey from researching the Desano tribe in the Amazon to confronting rising antisemitism in academic circles after October 7. He discusses his academic work, which explores the parallels between indigenous identity and Jewish peoplehood, and unpacks the politics of historical narrative.  *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. Listen – AJC Podcasts: The Forgotten Exodus: Untold stories of Jews who left or were driven from Arab nations and Iran People of the Pod:  Latest Episodes:  War and Poetry: Owen Lewis on Being a Jewish Poet in a Time of Crisis An Orange Tie and A Grieving Crowd: Comedian Yohay Sponder on Jewish Resilience From Broadway to Jewish Advocacy: Jonah Platt on Identity, Antisemitism, and Israel Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Transcript of the Interview: Manya Brachear Pashman:   Adam Louis-Klein is a PhD candidate in anthropology at McGill University, where he researches antisemitism, Zionism, Jewish peoplehood, and broader questions of indigeneity and historical narrative. His work bridges academic scholarship and public commentary, drawing on field work with indigenous communities in the Amazon and studies in philosophy at Yale, The New School and the University of Chicago.  He writes on translation and the politics of peoplehood across traditions, and is committed to developing a Jewish intellectual voice grounded in historical depth and moral clarity. He blogs for The Times of Israel, and he's with us today to talk about his experience emerging from the Amazon, where he was doing research after October 7, 2023, and discovering what had happened in Israel. Adam, welcome to People of the Pod. Adam Louis-Klein:   Thank you so much for having me. It's a real pleasure to be here on this podcast with the American Jewish community. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So tell us about the research that you are doing that took you into the depths of the Amazon rainforest. Adam Louis-Klein:   So I work with a group called the Desano people who live in the Vaupés region, which is a tributary of the upper Rio Negro. Part of it's in Brazil, part of it's in Colombia today. I went there because I was really interested in trying to understand how people were often seen at the margins of the world, the periphery of the global economy. See themselves and their own sort of role in the cosmos and in the world in general.  And what I found actually is that these people see themselves at the center of it all, as a unique people, as a chosen people. And that was something that really inspired me, and later led me to rethink my own relationship to Jewish peoplehood and chosenness, and what it means to be a kind of indigenous people struggling for survival and recognition. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So were you raised Jewish? Did you have a Jewish upbringing? Adam Louis-Klein:   Yeah, I was raised as kind of a cultural and reform Jew. I wouldn't say that Israel was super present in our lives, but we did travel there for my younger brother's Bar Mitzvah at the Kotel, and that did have an impression on me. And then later on, I wear a wristband of Brothers for Life, which is a charity for injured Israeli soldiers. But as time went on, I got involved in these radical academic scenes.  And you know, my own field, anthropology, has fundamentally turned against Jewish peoplehood and Israel, unfortunately. But it was really in the Amazon, actually, that my journey of Teshuvah and rediscovering my Jewishness and the importance of Jewish peoplehood was really re-awoken for me. Manya Brachear Pashman:   You were involved in these radical circles. Did you ascribe to some of the beliefs that a lot of your academic colleagues were ascribing to? Did you start to question the legitimacy of Israel or the actions of the Israeli government?  Adam Louis-Klein:   I think I started to ascribe to them in a kind of background and passive way. In the way that I think that many people in these communities do. So I had actually learned about Israel. I did know something. But as I wanted to kind of ascribe to a broader social justice narrative, I sort of immediately assumed when people told me, that Israelis were the ones doing the oppression and the injustice, that that had to be true. And I didn't question it so much.  So it's ironic that those spaces, I think, that are built around critical thought, have become spaces, in my opinion, that are not so critical today. And I think we really need a critical discourse around this kind of criticism, sort of to develop our own critical discourse of what anti-Zionism is today. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So what inspired the research? In other words, so you're involved in these radical circles, and then you go and immerse yourself with these tribes to do the research. What inspired you to do it, and was it your Jewishness? Adam Louis-Klein:   So I think what led me to anthropology was probably a kind of diasporic Jewish sensibility. So I'd studied philosophy before, and I was very entrenched in the Western tradition. But I was kind of seeking to think across worlds and think in translation. I've always kind of moved between countries and cities, and I think that's always been an intuitive part of who I am as a Jew.  And anthropology was founded by Jews, by Franz Boas, Emile Durkheim, Claude Lévi-Strauss, so I think that's kind of part of what brought me there. But I ended up rediscovering also the meaning of, you know, homeland as well, and what it means to be part of a people with a unique destiny and relationship to territory and land. And that made me understand Zionism in a completely new light. Manya Brachear Pashman:   And did you understand it when you were there? Did you come to these realizations when you were there, or did you start to piece all of that together and connect the dots after you emerged? Adam Louis-Klein:   So part of my research looks at how indigenous people engage with Christian missionaries who try and translate the Bible into indigenous languages. So when that encounter happens, it's actually quite common throughout the world, that a lot of indigenous people identify with the Jewish people quite strongly. So this might sound a little counterintuitive, especially if someone's used to certain activist networks in which indigeneity is highly associated with Palestinians, Jews are treated now as settler colonists, which is basically the opposite of indigeneity. And that's become a kind of consensus in academia, even though it seems to fly in the face of both facts and our own self understanding as Jews. So I saw that in the Amazon, in the way people at the margins of the world who might not already be integrated in the academic, activist kind of scene, sort of organically identify with the Jewish people and Israel.  And they admire the Jewish people and Israel, because they see in us, a people that's managed to maintain our cultural identity, our specific and distinct civilization, while also being able to use the tools of modernity and technology to benefit us and to benefit the world. So I think that also kind of disrupts some primitivist notions about indigenous people, that they should remain sort of technologically backwards, so to speak. I think that they have a more nuanced approach. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So I guess, what did you discover when you did emerge from the Amazon? In other words, October 7 had happened. When did you emerge and how did you find out? Adam Louis-Klein:   So I'd been living in a remote Desano village without internet or a phone or any connection to the outside world for months. And then I returned a couple days after October 7 to a local town, so still in the Amazon, but I was signing onto my computer for the first time in months, and I remember signing onto Facebook and I saw the images of people running from the Nova Festival. And that was the first thing that I saw in months from the world. So that was a very traumatic experience that sort of ruptured my sense of reality in many ways, but the most difficult thing was seeing my intellectual milieu immediately transform into a space of denial or justification or even just straightforward aggression and hate to anyone who showed any solidarity with Israelis in that moment, or who saw it as a moment to to say something positive and inspiring and helpful about the Jewish people. That was actually seen as an act of violence.  So I went to Facebook, and I don't remember exactly what I said, I stand with the Jewish people, or with Israelis, or Am Yisrael Chai, or something like that. And many people in my circles, really interpreted that as an aggression. So at that point, it was really strange, because I'd been living in the Amazon, trying to help people with their own cultural survival, you know, their own struggle to reproduce their own civilization in the face of assimilation and surrounding society that refuses to validate their unique identity. And then I came back to the world, and I was seeing the exact same thing happening to my own people.  And even stranger than that, it was happening to my own people, but in the language of critique and solidarity. So the very language I'd learned in anthropology, of how to support indigenous people and sort of to align myself with their struggles was now being weaponized against me in this kind of horrible inversion of reality. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Had you sensed this aggressive tone prior to your time in the Amazon and when you were involved with these circles? Adam Louis-Klein:   No, I'd never witnessed anything like this in my life, and so it took some real searching and going inward, and I was still in the jungle, but encountering all this anti-Zionist hate online from people I thought were my friends. And I had to really ask myself, you know, maybe I'm in the wrong, because I've never seen people act like . . .  people who are scholars, intellectuals who should be thinking critically about antisemitism. Because antisemitism, you know, we talk a lot about in the academy, critical race theory. So we look at ideologies, tropes, and symbols that are used to dehumanize minority groups, and we learn to be skeptical.  So we learn that there are discourses that speak at times, in languages of reason, of justice, even that are actually biased, structurally biased, against minorities. So then I was deeply confused. Why did these same people not know how to apply those same analytics to Jews? And not only did they not know how, they seemed to think it was offensive to even try. So that was really strange, and I had to kind of think, well, you know, maybe I'm wrong, you know, I think there's a process of they've attempted to sort of stabilize this consensus at such a degree. That Israel is committing genocide, that Israel is a settler colonial entity that is fundamentally evil, basically. And Israelis are fundamentally oppressors. They've created a space it's almost impossible to question them.  And it took me a long time to emerge and to come to that realization that I think anti-Zionism is really a discourse of libel, fundamentally. And these accusations, I wouldn't say, are offered in good faith. And it's unfortunately, not much use to try and refute them. And so instead, I started writing, and I started trying to analyze anti-Zionism itself as an object of critique and as an ideology that we can deconstruct. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So did this change the course of your academic research? In other words, you said you started writing, are you writing academic articles, or is it more The Times of Israel blog and your more public writings? Adam Louis-Klein:   So I've been writing publicly. I started writing on Facebook, and then the readership on Facebook started to grow, and then I sent it to the Times of Israel. And I do have some plans lined up to try and get this material out in the academic context as well. Because I think that's really important, that we build parallel academic spaces and our own language of academic legitimacy. Because I think that academic language, and as well, that kind of activist language, critique of oppression is valuable, but it's also culturally hegemonic today. And so I think that as Jews, if we abandon that language, we will have trouble telling our story. So I think there are also projects like this. I'd like to mention the London Center for the Study of contemporary antisemitism. I think that's a great model. So they're doing serious academic work on contemporary antisemitism, not just classical antiSemitism, which we're all familiar with, Neo Nazis, etc. You know, what does it look like today? You know, red triangles, Hamas headbands. This is a new language of hate that I think we need to be on top of. Manya Brachear Pashman:   In fact, you presented a paper recently, there, correct, at the London Center, or at a conference sponsored by the London Center? Adam Louis-Klein:   Yeah, I did. I presented a paper. It was called the Dissolving the Denotational Account of Antisemitism. So denotational means, what words refer to. Because what I found very often is that it's a trope that's become really familiar now. Anti-Zionists, they say, we don't hate Jews, we only hate Zionists. We don't hate Judaism, we hate Zionism. We're not antisemitic, we're critical of Israel.  So these distinctions that are made are all about saying, you can't point to us as attacking Jews, because our language is such that we are denoting we are referring to something else. So in my talk, I was trying to explain that I like look at anti-Zionism more like a symbolic anthropologist. So when an anthropologist goes and works with an indigenous culture, we look at the kinds of symbols that they use to articulate their vision of the world. The Jaguar, for example, becomes a symbol of certain kinds of potency or predation, for example. So I look at anti-Zionism in the same way. It's not important to me whether they think they're referring to Israel or Jews. What's important to me is the use of conspiratorial symbols, or a symbol of child killing, for example. So we see that classical antisemitism accused Jews of killing children. Anti-Zionism today constructs Israelis as bloodthirsty and desiring to kill children. So when we see that, we see that even if they say not Jews, Zionists, they're using similar symbols that have mutated. So I think that's what I'm trying to track, is both the mutation of classical antisemitism into anti-Zionism, and also the continuities between the two. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Did you ever experience antisemitism from your academic circles or really anywhere in life through from childhood on? Adam Louis-Klein:   Not particularly. So I went to a northeastern prep school, and we were, there were very few Jews, so I think we were sort of seen as another to the kind of traditional northeast New England aristocracy. But it wasn't something that overt, I would say. I think that antisemitism is something that occurs more so in cycles. So if you look at the 19th century, emancipation of Jews and integration of Jews into society, that was the up part of the cycle, and then the reaction to that came on the down part of the cycle. So unfortunately, I think we're in the same thing today.  So Jews have very successfully assimilated into American society and became very successful and integrated into American society. But now we're seeing the backlash. And the backlash is taking a new form, which is anti-Zionism, which allows itself to evade what classical antisemitism looks like, and what we're used to identifying as classical antisemitism. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So I do want to talk about the word indigenous or indigeneity. Jews celebrate the creation of Israel as a return to their indigenous homeland, and Palestinians also consider it their indigenous homeland. So how are their definitions of indigeneity, how are those definitions different or distinct? I mean, how are their experiences distinct from each other's and from the people and the tribes with whom you immersed yourself in the Amazon? Adam Louis-Klein:   So I think indigeneity, in its fundamental meaning, captures something very real that's common to tons of different groups across the world. Which is a certain conception of the way that one's genealogical ancestry is connected to a specific territory where one emerged as a people, and through which one's own peoplehood  is defined. So as Jews, our own peoplehood is connected to the land of Israel. It's the Promised Land, it's the place where our civilization first flourished, and it's the place we've always looked to return to. And so that is very similar to indigenous groups around the world.  Now, at the same time, I think there's another concept of indigeneity that gets thrown in and sometimes confuses the issue a little bit, and that's that being indigenous relates to a specific history of dispossession, usually by European colonialism, starting in the 16th century. Now, in fact, there have been many colonialism throughout history. So there have been Islamic civilization practiced widespread colonialism. The Romans practiced colonialism. The Babylonians. But there is a tendency to only look at this form of colonialism.  And now when we look at the Middle East, what we find then is these analytics are becoming confused and applied in strange ways. So we see that Palestinians, for example, their genealogical traditions, they understand themselves as tribally derived from tribes in Arabia that expanded with Muhammad's conquest, and that's very common. And Arabian culture and Arabic language is what they practice.  And so at that level, from a factual perspective, Palestinians are not indigenous in the genealogical sense. However, there's a tendency to believe, since Jews have a state today, then since they appear not as dispossessed, because Jews have actually repossessed our ancestral land, that Jews can't be indigenous. But so I think that's a confusion. The basic understanding of what indigenous means, and largely what the UN definition is based on, is this notion of continuous identification with the territory.  So I really think that this isn't so much a question of who can live where. I think Palestinians' right to live in the land has largely been recognized by the UN Partition Plan in 1947, or the Oslo Accords, and other peace deals, but it's a question of conceptual clarity and fact. And so at this level, I believe that the UN and other institutions should formally recognize Jews as indigenous to the land of Israel. Manya Brachear Pashman:   You have written, and I want to read this line, because it's so rich you have written that the recursive logic of an antiSemitic consensus builds upon itself, feeds on moral certainty, and shields its participants from having to ask whether what they are reproducing is not justice at all, but a new iteration of a very old lie. I. So are there other examples of that phenomenon in academia, either currently or in the past? Adam Louis-Klein:   So what I was trying to grasp with that was my sense of despair in seeing that it was impossible to even point to people, point people to fact within academia, or debate these issues, or explain to non Jews who Jews even are. So I got the sense that people are talking quite a lot about Jews, but don't seem to really care about our voices.  So some of that writing that you're quoting is an attempt to understand anti Zionism, not just not only as libel, but also as a kind of practice of exclusion, where Jews feel silenced in spaces. And where, where for all the talk of Academic Freedom versus antisemitism, which I think can sometimes be a tricky issue, I believe that Jews own academic freedom has fundamentally been violated by this discourse so that recursive logic is the way rumor and repeating slogans and repeating notions, regardless of their factual content, like the Jews or settler colonists, sort of builds on itself, as well as on social media, with this algorithmic escalation until it's almost impossible to talk back to it.  So an example would be in 2024 the American Anthropological Association had its big conference, and the Gaza genocide was the main theme. But it wasn't a theme we were all going to go and debate. It was a theme that we assumed was true, and we were going to talk about it as a thing in the world, and then the Society for cultural anthropology released an issue with the exact same premise.  It was glorifying Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and Nasrallah of Hezbollah. And then, interestingly enough, just the other day, they released another edition, which was about settler colonialism, and saying, We want to come back to this issue and and reaffirm that settler colonialism applies to Israel and Palestine against people who are attacking the concept, and we're against the exceptionalization of Israel in their terms.  And so I searched through the document, but I couldn't find anywhere where Jews were talked about as indigenous, not even as a fact, but even as a claim. I couldn't find anywhere in this journal where Jew it was even acknowledged that Jews might believe that we are indigenous. So it's almost as if the very notion is just completely erased by consciousness within academia. Which is quite frightening. Manya Brachear Pashman:   And do you feel able to push back on that. In other words, as a fellow anthropologist, are you able to ask, why is this omitted from this paper, from this journal? Adam Louis-Klein:   No, because they will simply ignore you. So that's why I believe these parallel spaces are so important and what I see my work trying to do is to help build a Jewish intellectual discourse. And unfortunately, I think we have to start a little bit internally. So we've been somewhat ghettoized.  But if we build up that space, and construct these spaces where we have, where we can share the same premises and we don't have to argue from the bottom up every time. I think that will give us strength and also more clarity on our own understanding of what's happening. You know, both of the level of what is anti-Zionism, what is this new discourse? And at the level of, how can we speak from Jewish peoplehood as a legitimate place to even theorize from or build academic theories from. Manya Brachear Pashman:   You mentioned earlier that you held on to doubt. You kept open the possibility that Israel is in the wrong here, and you were watching for, looking for signs or evidence that your colleagues were correct. But as you've watched the horrors unfold, and wondered to yourself whether maybe Israel isn't really defending itself, why have you not concluded that that is indeed the case? Why have you reached the opposite conclusion? Adam Louis-Klein:   Yeah, so I talked earlier about using, like a critical race theory analysis, so thinking about ideologies and the kind of tropes they're using and the way they're talking about Israelis, but I think that's only one part of the picture. So what I noticed is, one, they didn't want to do that kind of analysis, but two, they also weren't interested in empirical fact. So when I would sometimes try and do that analysis like this. This sounds like antisemitic, right? They would say, oh, but it's true. Israel is doing this stuff. Israel is intentionally killing Palestinian children. Israel is going completely beyond the laws of war. This is a genocide of unique proportions. Completely irrational and exaggerated statements.  They also didn't want to engage with fact. I spent a lot of time digging up the sources of this material, given disinformation. For example, the Al-Ahli incident, where it was claimed by the Hamas health ministry that Israel had intentionally bombed the Al-Ahli hospital, killing 500 people. Al Jazeera promoted it. Western outlets also promoted it, and I had people all over my wall attacking me, saying that I'm justifying this by standing with Israel. And I saw what happened after, which was that they looked into it. The casualty count was tragic, but it was far lower than reported. It was about 50 people, and it was an Islamic Jihad rocket, so Israel was not even responsible.  So I think that any rational person who sees what happened in that incident becomes skeptical of everything else they're being told and of the information circuits. And so when I also saw that the people who were talking about the Gaza genocide, weren't seemed completely unfazed by that. That made me have to rethink also what they were doing, because if they're unfazed by something like that, that suggests this isn't a truth that they're being forced to acknowledge, it sounds a bit more like a truth that has its own sort of incentive to believe in despite fact, rather than being pushed towards it because of fact. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So I'm curious, if you went back to the people that you had been immersed with and had been studying for the matter of months before October 7, did you go back to them and tell them what had happened, or did they somehow know what had happened? And I'm just curious if there was any kind of response from them? Adam Louis-Klein:   Interesting. Yeah, I speak with them regularly, on a regular basis. They don't know exactly what's happened. I think they see sometimes news, but it's largely their understanding, is that there's a lot of wars in the Western world. And they ask why? Why is there so much war? Why is there so much suffering?  I mean, they were particularly interested in in the Ukraine war, because they couldn't wrap their head around why Putin was doing this, which I think is pretty similar to a lot of people, but they do see, some of them see Israel as kind of, you know, a figure of strength, and compare Israel almost to their own notions of ancestral, sort of potency or power. So they have a very different understanding of the relationship between, let's say, power and victimhood. They don't necessarily fetishize being powerless. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Tell me a little bit about this tribe, these people that you spent time with.  Adam Louis-Klein: So the Desano there, they're one of a number of many ethnicities who inhabit the Northwest Amazonian region in northwest Brazil and southeast Columbia. They live in an extremely complex world in which there are over 25 languages in the region. And they have a very unique form of marriage, where you have to marry someone who speaks a different language than you. And so any community has a kind of nucleus of people who speak the same language, and they're from the same tribe. But the women in the community all speak different languages and come from different tribes.  So I think it's a kind of space where you have to think across difference. You're constantly confronted with people who are other than you, who are from different tribes and different communities, as well as the relationship between the Western world and the indigenous world itself. And I think that's really part of the promise of anthropology, like coming back to what I was saying earlier about a diasporic Jewish sensibility, I think it's also just a Jewish sensibility. Part of being a distinct people is that we need to think with other people, and I think that includes Muslims and Arabs and Christians as well. Manya Brachear Pashman:   That is such an enlightened approach that they have taken to marriage. Isn't that what marriage is all about, crossing those differences and figuring out and they just do it from the very beginning. And I'm also curious, though, are they also mixing with Western cultures. In other words, have they broadened that, or do they keep it within those villages? Adam Louis-Klein:   Yeah, so they've taken on a lot of features of the surrounding, Colombian Spanish language culture, and that is the struggle today. Because there's a lot of economic pressures to move to the towns and the cities in order to get work and employment. And that can pose problems to the reproduction of the traditional village community.  And so that's part of what we've been struggling with and part of the project with them. So we're currently translating an old book about anthropology, about them into their language, so they have the Bible, which was translated into the language by missionaries. And now we also want to translate their own cultural material into their language so that can help them preserve the language and preserve their own cultural knowledge. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So what's next for you, Adam? Adam Louis-Klein:   So I'm hoping to continue writing and to continue getting out this work. I'm hoping to also work with grassroots organizers to try to put some activist meat onto this opposition to anti-Zionism. So I believe that, as I was talking about parallel academic spaces are really important, I also think it's important to be able to speak back to anti-Zionism with activist language. Not only the academic side, but the activist side. So I'm working with the group now, a decentralized group, developing infographics, memes, things that can circulate to educate people about anti-Zionism as the new form of antisemitism today. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Thank you for taking on this work and for sharing your story. Adam Louis-Klein:   Thank you so much. It was a pleasure.  

On this episode of Anchored, Jeremy is joined by Jim Gash, President of Pepperdine University. They unpack his recent viral U.S. News & World Report article titled “Can Belief in God Strengthen Academic Freedom?” They also explore the value of a traditional brick-and-mortar school in the age of unlimited information access, and conclude by discussing why students from the classical renewal movement are well-suited for a Pepperdine education.

This episode was recorded on July 16th, 2025. What really happened at the Kamloops residential school site, and why are so many questions still unanswered? In this episode, I sit down with political science professor Frances Widdowson to discuss the controversial claims about unmarked graves in Canada, the role of ground-penetrating radar, and how these narratives have shaped public policy and academic discourse. Frances, known for her work on indigenous policy and her commitment to defending academic freedom, brings a wealth of insight into how misinformation can take hold and the importance of open inquiry, even when the topics are difficult. We also talk about the impact of censorship and how universities are failing in their mission to foster real debate. I would love to hear your thoughts—please leave a comment, subscribe for more conversations like this, and share this episode with anyone who cares about truth and accountability.   Find more from Frances: Exposing the Kamloops Mass Grave Deception's Impact on Powell River: https://youtu.be/PE6OEpz0xyQ Fund raiser: https://fundrazr.com/52XKmf?ref=ab_63AIcaxpJgN63AIcaxpJgN   Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammy.m.peterson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TammyPetersonPodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tammypetersonpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tammy1Peterson Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TammyPetersonPodcast

Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Oliver Traldi challenges the standard conservative model of academic freedom in his article, "Defusing Academic Freedom." Link here:Defusing Academic FreedomSpencer and Oliver discuss. Topics include: does the university have a univocal purpose? Does a truth norm really justify academic freedom as it's ordinarily understood and practiced. 

In this episode, Jessica Levinson unpacks the major legal clash between Harvard University and the Trump administration over a $2.6 billion freeze on federal research funding that impacts vital medical studies. Harvard argues the cuts violate its First Amendment rights and the Administrative Procedures Act, claiming they're being punished for not complying with federal demands related to antisemitism policies. The Trump administration insists it's merely a contract dispute, asserting their right to cut funding if Harvard doesn't align with federal priorities. Jessica highlights that the judge in the case seems skeptical of the Trump administration's stance and notes that the outcome could have sweeping effects on academic freedom and federal funding for universities across the country.Here are three key takeaways you don't want to miss:The Legal Battle Over Federal Funding and Academic Freedom: The episode centers on the case of Harvard University vs. the Trump administration over a $2.6 billion freeze in federal research funding to Harvard. Jessica Levinson explains that this legal clash is significant because it questions the extent of federal power over universities and touches on core issues of academic independence and freedom.Harvard's Arguments: First Amendment and Administrative Procedures Act: Harvard argues that the funding freeze violates its First Amendment rights—claiming it's being punished for not complying with federal demands that affect speech and institutional governance. Additionally, Harvard contends the Trump administration failed to follow the correct legal processes outlined in the Administrative Procedures Act, making the funding cuts arbitrary and lacking proper justification.The Trump Administration's Position and Judicial Skepticism: The Trump administration frames the dispute as a simple breach-of-contract issue, saying grant contracts allow for cancellation when an institution's actions don't align with federal priorities. In court, however, the judge sounded skeptical of the administration's position, questioning whether the funding cut was improperly suppressing speech and whether there was enough evidence to justify such a drastic move.Follow Our Host: @LevinsonJessica

In this episode, I discuss the Trump administration's war on higher education and place it within the context of the history of academic freedom and previous assaults on it. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MintMobile.com/Blindness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the show merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, perfect for gifts!  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclusive episodes!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out my novel, Manuscript Found!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find a transcript of this episode with source citations and related imagery at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.historicalblindness.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Direct all advertising inquiries to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to find other high-quality podcasts! Some music on this episode was licensed under a Blue Dot Sessions blanket license at the time of this episode's publication. Tracks include "Cicle DR Valga," "Bauxite," "The Gran Dias," "Minister Creek," "Leatherbound," "Cicle Gerano," JoDon," "Kettl etopper," and "Delicates." Additional music, including "Remedy for Melancholy," is by Kai Engel, licensed under Creative Commons. Other music: "Leaving Home" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid escalating federal pressure on universities, Stanford Law School alum Greg Lukianoff, JD '00, joins host Professor Pam Karlan for a sharp look at the free speech firestorms engulfing universities like Harvard and Columbia. First Amendment champion, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind, Lukianoff recently penned an essay for The Atlantic titled “Trump's Attacks Threaten Much More Than Harvard.” In this episode, Lukianoff expands on his essay, breaking down the Trump administration's tactics to punish elite institutions, from defunding threats and faculty interference to student visa crackdowns, while also calling out universities themselves for stifling dissent and eroding public trust in higher education.Links:Greg Lukianoff  >>> FIRE pageThe Canceling of the American Mind >>> web pageThe Coddling of the American Mind >>> web page“Trump's Attacks Threaten Much More Than Harvard” >>> The Atlantic pageConnect:Episode Transcripts >>> Stanford Legal Podcast WebsiteStanford Legal Podcast >>> LinkedIn PageRich Ford >>>  Twitter/XPam Karlan >>> Stanford Law School PageStanford Law School >>> Twitter/XStanford Lawyer Magazine >>> Twitter/X(00:00:00) Introduction of Greg Lukianoff(00:05:01) Free Speech and Academic Freedom(00:10:01) Challenges to Free Speech(00:15:01) Legal Cases and Free Speech(00:20:01) Free Speech and the Government (00:30:01) Future of Free Speech

Today Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci discuss an article Tim found in the New York Times about a law student at the University of Florida. This student wrote an academic paper which made controversial arguments suggesting that the United States constitution only applies to white people. What happens when an academic work doesn't just approach the line of decency but breaks right through it? What obligations do educators and administrators have as they weigh their competing duties to protect both academic freedom and safe and diverse campuses? The Drs. discuss. Producer Jakob is a free speech supporter, and he thinks that this guy seems like a jerk to him. BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Go to bustedpencils.com for swag, all of our episodes, and for information on partnering with us! For information on all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

In this episode, Stanford Law Professor Evelyn Douek, a First Amendment scholar and permanent U.S. resident, expands on her recent Atlantic essay, “Can I Teach the First Amendment If I Only Have a Green Card?” She reflects on the paradox of teaching constitutional protections for free speech while watching the U.S. government detain or revoke visas for foreign students and other non-citizen residents engaged in protest or student journalism. Douek joins fellow Stanford Law professor Pamela Karlan to explore what these developments could mean for the future of American universities, long known for drawing global talent. Their conversation highlights the growing tension between the nation's commitment to free expression and policies that penalize dissent by non-citizens.Links:Evelyn Douek  >>> Stanford Law page“Can I Teach the First Amendment If I Only Have a Green Card?” >>> The Atlantic pageModerated Content podcast >>>  Stanford Law pageConnect:Episode Transcripts >>> Stanford Legal Podcast WebsiteStanford Legal Podcast >>> LinkedIn PageRich Ford >>>  Twitter/XPam Karlan >>> Stanford Law School PageStanford Law School >>> Twitter/XStanford Lawyer Magazine >>> Twitter/X(00:00:00) Introduction and Exercising First Amendment Rights(00:01:53) Writing the Essay(00:02:27) Teaching the First Amendment(00:15:25) Freedom of Speech and Religion(00:16:11) Challenges of Teaching the First Amendment

Our guest: Luiza Anna Bialasiewicz Democracy in Question? is brought to you by:• Central European University: CEU• The Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy in Geneva: AHCD• The Podcast Company: scopeaudio Follow us on social media!• Central European University: @weareceu.bsky.social• Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy in Geneva: @ahcdemocracy.bsky.social Subscribe to the show. If you enjoyed what you listened to, you can support us by leaving a review and sharing our podcast in your networks! 

Ellen Schrecker is the preeminent historian of McCarthyism/The Red Scare in America and we had a really great conversation with her about the resurgence of political repression today . . . Professor Schrecker argues that what we're seeing right now under the Trump administration, especially the attack on Palestine advocates on campuses, is already worse than the early Cold War years. We discussed how the two periods compare: what the motivation was (charges of communism and anti-semitism); the ways in which targeted groups, such as universities and unions, purged themselves before the government had to do it; how the resistance today is so much larger than it was in the 1950s; and what we can do to combat it.Bio//Ellen Schrecker is professor emerita at Yeshiva University and has published extensively on McCarthyism in America, especially the red scare and the universities. Her books include: . . . The Lost Promise: American Universities in the 1960s . . . The Lost Soul of Higher Education: Corporatization, the Assault on Academic Freedom, and the End of the American University. . . . Cold War Triumphalism: Exposing the Misuse of History after the Fall of Communism (Editor). . . . American Inquisition: The Era of McCarthyism (compact disc). . . . The Age of McCarthyism: A Brief History with Documents . . . Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America. . . . No Ivory Tower: McCarthyism and the Universities-------------------------------------------Outro- "Green and Red Blues" by MoodyLinks//+ Prof. Schrecker's Website: https://www.ellenschrecker.com/+ Ellen Schrecker: Worse Than McCarthyism: Universities in the Age of Trump (https://bit.ly/4kDh7Fa)Follow Green and Red// +G&R Linktree: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast⁠⁠⁠ +Our rad website: ⁠⁠⁠https://greenandredpodcast.org/⁠⁠⁠ + Join our Discord community (https://discord.gg/3a6AX7Qy)+Follow us on Substack (https://greenandredpodcast.substack.com)+Follow us on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/podcastgreenred.bsky.social)Support the Green and Red Podcast// +Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast +Or make a one time donation here: ⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/DonateGandR⁠⁠⁠ Our Networks// +We're part of the Labor Podcast Network: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.laborradionetwork.org/⁠⁠ +We're part of the Anti-Capitalist Podcast Network: linktr.ee/anticapitalistpodcastnetwork +Listen to us on WAMF (90.3 FM) in New Orleans (https://wamf.org/) + Check us out! We made it into the top 100 Progressive Podcasts lists (#68) (https://bit.ly/432XNJT) This is a Green and Red Podcast (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). Edited by Scott.

2/2: #HARVARD: ANTISEMITISM IS NEITHER FREEDOM OF SPEECH NOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM. TAL FORTGANG, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE, CIVITAS INSTITUTE 1917 YALE

1/2: #HARVARD: ANTISEMITISM IS NEITHER FREEDOM OF SPEECH NOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM. TAL FORTGANG, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE, CIVITAS INSTITUTE 1910 HARVARD YALE

Preview: Colleague Tal Fortgang of the Manhattan Institute comments on Harvard University President Alan Garber asserting academic freedom to fend off Trump administration alarm at antisemitism tolerated on campus and in departments. More later. 1910

What if the recent crackdown on elite universities didn't start with Trump—but with Obama? In this episode, we trace a surprising through-line connecting Obama's Title IX enforcement to Trump's Title VI threats. Harvard Law Professor Jacob Gersen joins us to reveal how both presidents used informal bureaucratic tools to reshape higher education—often without Congress. What does this say about presidential power and academic freedom in America?Papers discussed:“The Sex Bureaucracy”: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2750143“The Six Bureaucracy”: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5199652

 Today:Greg Weiner, President of Assumption University, argues Trump has a point about liberal campus ideology. And Rick Steves joins for a conversation about the importance of immersing yourself in other cultures.

In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has escalated intimidation efforts against Harvard University and other private colleges, by canceling billions in federal funding and threatening to revoke tax-exempt status unless the schools make major changes to their hiring and teaching practices.  Andrew Manuel Crespo joins Taongal Leslie to discuss the legal strategies behind the administration's attacks on higher education and how the academy can defend its independence.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACSGuest: Andrew Manuel Crespo, Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law at Harvard University and General Counsel of AAUP-Harvard Faculty ChapterLink: Complaint, AAUP-Harvard v. United States Dept. of JusticeLink: Federal Workers Legal Defense NetworkLink: ACS National Convention SeriesVisit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube -----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn't.----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

As student protests over Gaza sweep college campuses, one case is testing the limits of free speech and immigration law in America. Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia student and lawful permanent resident, was arrested by ICE without a warrant and sent to a remote detention center in Louisiana—allegedly for his political advocacy.In this episode, we sit down with Khalil's lawyer Baher Azmy, who is also the Legal Director of the Center of Constitutional Rights, to unpack the disturbing legal maneuver behind Khalil's detention: a rarely used immigration clause that gives the Secretary of State near-total discretion to deport individuals deemed a “foreign policy risk.” What does this case reveal about the future of dissent and academic freedom?

Christopher Rufo and Glenn Greenwald debate the role of government in higher education, the meaning of academic freedom, the American Founders' vision for universities, and more.  ------------ Watch full episodes on Rumble, streamed LIVE 7pm ET. Follow Christopher Rufo Become part of our Locals community Follow System Update:  Twitter Instagram TikTok Facebook   LinkedIn  

The Trump administration has embarked on a campaign aiming to remake how universities operate. The efforts to crack down on protests and diversity initiatives are part of what the White House says is a push to address antisemitism. But there are concerns about how these moves could impact academic freedom and free speech on campuses. Jeffrey Brown reports for our series, Rethinking College. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In this episode of Passing Judgment, host Jessica Levinson speaks with NPR's Elissa Nadworny to unpack the Trump administration's efforts to withhold federal funding from colleges and universities over issues like antisemitism and DEI practices. They discuss how these unprecedented moves are impacting not campus life, but vital medical and scientific research nationwide. Elissa explains the legal challenges schools like Harvard are mounting in response, the stakes involved for the entire higher education sector, and the broader implications for public policy.Here are three key takeaways you don't want to miss:Federal Funding as a Lever in Higher Education Policy: The episode opens by surveying recent actions from the Trump administration regarding federal funding for colleges and universities. The administration is using financial levers—pausing, freezing, or cutting funds—to influence policies on campus, particularly tied to issues like DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and antisemitism. Mechanisms and Legality of Federal Control: The speakers discuss how and why the administration has the power to control this funding. The complexities of federal funding—who controls the purse strings, when Congress vs. the executive branch has authority, and what legal mechanisms are at play—come up. The episode highlights that while presidents can make funding conditional, the legality often hinges on whether proper procedures are followed (Administrative Procedures Act), not just on broad authority.Who Really Loses When Funds Are Cut: The speakers emphasize that federal research dollars are not just about student amenities—they fund major scientific, medical, and technological research. The implications of large-scale cuts ripple well beyond campuses, potentially hurting national health, technological innovation, and local economies (since universities are major employers and research hubs).Follow Our Host: @LevinsonJessica

Harvard University is taking legal action after the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal grants, citing failure to address antisemitism and comply with vague new rules about “merit-based” practices and “viewpoint diversity.”The panel discusses the implications for academic freedom, student activism, and how terms like antisemitism may be misused to silence dissent. Is this a crackdown on hate or a political power play? News SourceAP News by Michael Casey, April 14, 2025https://apnews.com/article/harvard-trump-administration-federal-cuts-antisemitism-0a1fb70a2c1055bda7c4c5a5c476e18dThe Non-Prophets, Episode 24.17.2 featuring Jimmy Jr., Rob, Tracy Wilbert and The Ejector SeatTrump Freezes $2.2B in Harvard Grants Over Campus Protests

Hosts Renato Mariotti and Asha Rangappa dive into the escalating legal showdown between Harvard University and the Trump administration, a clash that raises critical questions about academic freedom and government overreach. Before diving in, make sure to subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive access to deeper insights and behind-the-scenes content: patreon.com/reallyamericanmedia. This episode unpacks the administration's controversial push to impose “ideological diversity” requirements on universities, with Harvard at the center of the storm. The hosts reveal how federal funding threats have been used as leverage to pressure the university into adopting policies that align with MAGA-friendly ideals—an effort both Renato and Asha argue undermines academic integrity and freedom. Harvard's response? A swift lawsuit challenging the administration's demands as unconstitutional, citing First Amendment protections against viewpoint discrimination. The stakes are high, as this case could set a precedent for how far the government can go in dictating the policies of educational institutions. The drama doesn't stop there. Trump's personal attacks on one of Harvard's attorneys via social media highlight his direct involvement in the fight, further underscoring the administration's strategy of using executive power to reshape American institutions. Renato and Asha explore the broader implications of this battle, emphasizing that Harvard's resistance is about more than one university—it's about safeguarding the academic freedom of all institutions. They warn that weaponizing federal funding as a tool for ideological enforcement could have far-reaching consequences, from stifling innovation to undermining public health initiatives. As more universities rally behind Harvard, signing letters of support, the hosts stress the importance of collective action in pushing back against governmental overreach. They remind listeners that protecting democratic principles requires vigilance and engagement from every corner of society. Don't miss this compelling episode, where Renato and Asha dissect the legal, social, and political stakes of this ongoing saga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) have become integral components of Canadian science funding. In this episode, we explore Pierre Poilievre's plan to strip funding from research programs that incorporate so-called "woke" policies like EDI. We examine how EDI policies are currently embedded in major grants from NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR, and more, and discuss what could be at stake for Canada's research innovation if these changes move forward. Pierre Poilievre's proposal has sparked a broader debate within the Canadian academic and scientific communities. Many fear that removing EDI requirements could turn back progress made toward ensuring more inclusive and impactful research environments. We'll dive into what these policies actually achieve, why they were implemented, and the potential future of science in Canada. Follow a career in conservation: https://www.conservation-careers.com/online-training/ Use the code SUFB to get 33% off courses and the careers program.   Do you want to join my Ocean Community? Sign Up for Updates on the process: www.speakupforblue.com/oceanapp   Sign up for our Newsletter: http://www.speakupforblue.com/newsletter   Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3NmYvsI Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube  

Today on the show, Fareed speaks with former President of Columbia University Lee Bollinger about the Trump administration's attacks on universities and what America stands to lose in the rollback of academic freedom.    Then, author Michael Lewis joins the show to discuss his new book, “Who Is Government.” As DOGE moves to dismantle government agencies and paint federal workers as lazy, Lewis' book chronicles the untold and crucial work being done by America's civil servants.    GUESTS: Lee Bollinger, Michael Lewis  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Norman Finkelstein talks about Gaza, the attack on free speech, and Chuck Schumer's book 'Antisemitism In America: A Warning.' Whitney Webb talks about her latest investigation into Sean “Diddy” Combs. Ashley Bishop plays some tape she recorded at the Global Strike For Gaza protest in NYC where a pro-Israeli threw bleach and feces on the Norman Finkelstein is a political scientist, prolific author, and son of Holocaust survivors. He received his PhD from the Princeton University Politics Department in 1987. He is the author of many books that have been translated into 60 foreign editions, including THE HOLOCAUST INDUSTRY: Reflections on the exploitation of Jewish suffering, and GAZA: An inquest into its martyrdom, I'LL BURN THAT BRIDGE WHEN I GET TO IT! Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom. In the year 2020, Norman Finkelstein was named the fifth most influential political scientist in the world. Whitney Webb has been a professional writer, researcher and journalist since 2016. She has written for several websites and, from 2017 to 2020, was a staff writer and senior investigative reporter for Mint Press News. She currently writes for Unlimited Hangout. She is the author of the book One Nation Under Blackmail. Recently her work was referenced by Ian Carroll on the Joe Rogan Podcast. Follow Whitney on X https://x.com/_whitneywebb Ashley Bishop is a New York-based reporter and documentary filmmaker covering labor, climate, and social movements. ***Please support The Katie Halper Show *** For bonus content, exclusive interviews, to support independent media & to help make this program possible, please join us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow Get your Katie Halper Show Merch here! https://katiehalper.myspreadshop.com/all Follow Katie on Twitter: https://x.com/kthalps Follow Katie on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kthalps/