Podcasts about academic freedom alliance

On this episode of Future of Freedom, host Scot Bertram is joined by two guests with different viewpoints about whether federal involvement safeguards or endangers free speech on college campuses. First on the show is Keith E. Whittington, is the David Boies Professor of Law at Yale Law School and founding chair of the Academic Freedom Alliance. Later, we hear from Charles Fain Lehman, fellow at the Manhattan Institute and senior editor of City Journal. You can find Keith on X @kewhittington and Charles at @CharlesFLehman. Both have written essays at The Dispatch on this topic. Whittington's can be found here while Lehman's can be found here.

The AFA's Keith Whittington interviews Cary Nelson, the Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts & Sciences Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He served for many years in the leadership of the American Association of University Professors, including terms as its president from 2006 to 2012. He is currently chair of a new organization, the Alliance for Academic Freedom, not to be confused with the Academic Freedom Alliance. In addition to his work on American poetry, he is the author of several books on higher education, including Manifesto of a Tenured Radical from 1997 and No University is an Island from 2010. His latest book is the just published Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles.  

Lee Jussim is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University, and a founding member of both the Academic Freedom Alliance and the Society for Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Sciences. In addition to being a renowned psychology researcher, Dr. Jussim is also an outspoken critic of cancel culture and the politicization of his discipline of social psychology, and of academia writ large. For his efforts, he has been the target of cancelation attempts. We discuss his upbringing, his research on stereotypes and other controversial topics, his brushes with cancel culture, the risks of becoming reactionary when facing cancelation attempts, and his tips for maintaining integrity and principles in the face of these pressures.

How does political intervention shape the landscape of higher education? Today, our guest is Keith Whittington, Ph.D, David Boies Professor of Law at Yale Law School and director of the Center for Academic Freedom. In this episode, host John Tomasi and Keith Whittington discuss the increasingly contentious legislative interventions in higher education, beginning with Florida's "Stop Woke Act." Whittington compares today's interventions to past efforts, discussing implications for academic freedom, First Amendment rights, and university regulation.Whittington shares his experiences and the work of the Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA), emphasizing the importance of defending speech rights in academia. The episode also examines legislative trends, government control in public vs. private education, and challenges arising from modern technology and increased visibility of academic speech. Join us for some insights into the critical intersection of politics, law, and academia, emphasizing the necessity for open discourse and viewpoint diversity on university campuses. In This Episode:Whittington's new book, "You Can't Teach That"The mission and efforts of the Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA)An overview of Florida's "Stop Woke Act" and its implicationsHistorical legislative interventions in educationThe role of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the evolution of academic freedomFirst Amendment challenges related to classroom speech at public and private institutionsThe impact of political and ideological trends on higher education About Keith:Keith E. Whittington, Ph.D, is the David Boies Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Whittington's teaching and scholarship span American constitutional theory, American political and constitutional history, judicial politics, the presidency, and free speech and the law. He is the author of You Can't Teach That! The Battle Over University Classrooms (2024), Repugnant Laws: Judicial Review of Acts of Congress from the Founding to the Present (2019), and Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech (2018), as well as Constitutional Interpretation (1999), Political Foundations of Judicial Supremacy (2007), and other works on constitutional theory and law and politics.Whittington serves as Founding Chair of the Academic Freedom Alliance's Academic Committee and as a Hoover Institution Visiting Fellow. He has been a John M. Olin Foundation Faculty Fellow, an American Council of Learned Societies Junior Faculty Fellow, a National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement Fellow, and a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center. A member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, Whittington served on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.  Check out Keith's new book: You Can't Teach That!Follow Keith on X: https://x.com/kewhittingtonFind out more about the American Association of University ProfessorsFind out more about the Academic Freedom Alliance Follow Heterodox Academy on:Twitter: https://bit.ly/3Fax5DyFacebook: https://bit.ly/3PMYxfwLinkedIn: https://bit.ly/48IYeuJInstagram: https://bit.ly/46HKfUgSubstack: https://bit.ly/48IhjNF

------------------Support the channel------------ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenter PayPal: paypal.me/thedissenter PayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuy PayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9l PayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpz PayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9m PayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao   ------------------Follow me on--------------------- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDissenterYT   This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/   Dr. Nadine Strossen is the John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School and past President of the American Civil Liberties Union (1991-2008). She is also a Senior Fellow with FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education). She serves on the advisory boards of the ACLU, Academic Freedom Alliance, Heterodox Academy, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the University of Austin. Her latest book is Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know.   In this episode, we focus on Free Speech. We start by discussing what free speech is, and what free speech advocates really argue for. We talk about what society gains from free speech, and what the limitations on speech should be. We discuss the particular case of hate speech, the concept of the marketplace of ideas, how we should deal with misinformation, and whether social media companies can censor speech. We talk about freedom of the press, and academic freedom. Finally, we discuss whether the US is a special case in how free speech is approached politically and legally, and the current state of free speech across the globe. -- A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, JERRY MULLER, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BERNARDO SEIXAS, OLAF ALEX, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, JOHN CONNORS, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, DAN DEMETRIOU, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, PHIL KAVANAGH, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, ADANER USMANI, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, PAULO TOLENTINO, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, EDWARD HALL, HEDIN BRØNNER, DOUGLAS FRY, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, DANIEL FRIEDMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, PAUL-GEORGE ARNAUD, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ANTON ERIKSSON, CHARLES MOREY, ALEX CHAU, AMAURI MARTÍNEZ, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, MICHAEL BAILEY, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, IGOR N, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, BARNABAS RADICS, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, BENJAMIN GELBART, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, NIKLAS CARLSSON, ISMAËL BENSLIMANE, GEORGE CHORIATIS, VALENTIN STEINMANN, PER KRAULIS, KATE VON GOELER, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, LIAM DUNAWAY, BR, MASOUD ALIMOHAMMADI, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, ERIK ENGMAN, LUCY, AND YHONATAN SHEMESH! A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, AL NICK ORTIZ, AND NICK GOLDEN! AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MATTHEW LAVENDER, SERGIU CODREANU, BOGDAN KANIVETS, ROSEY, AND GREGORY HASTINGS!

In 2021, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) canceled a high-profile lecture by Dr. Dorian Abbot, a renowned geophysicist from the University of Chicago. The topic of the lecture was not the issue. Rather, Dorian was targeted by Social Justice activists because of his critique of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) ideology. MIT buckled to the demands of a handful of ideologues, inadvertently contributing to discussions about academic censorship. MIT did not expect the blowback it received for hobbling scientific inquiry in favor of ideological conformity. MIT alumni formed the Free Speech Alliance and its faculty overwhelmingly voted to adopt a university statement regarding freedom of expression. Since then, Dorian has become a leading figure in the fight for academic freedom of thought, speech, and inquiry. In this conversation, Peter Boghossian and Dorian discuss the MIT fiasco, the proper aim of academia, the immorality of DEI, speech as “violence,” University of Chicago's commitment to academic freedom, finding meaning through religion and naturalism, Dorian's rejection of tyrannical “equality” mandates, and much more. Dorian Abbot is associate professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago. He has written more than 90 scientific papers on the climates of Earth and other planets. He is a member of the Council of the Faculty Senate, a co-founder of the faculty group U-Chicago Free, a founding member of the Academic Freedom Alliance, and a co-founder and moderator of the Heterodox Academy STEM Community.  Dorian won the 2021 “Hero of Intellectual Freedom Award” from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and the 2022 “Courage Award” from the Heterodox Academy.Read the MIT Freedom of Expression & Academic Freedom statement.Watch this episode on YouTube. 

This week Beth and Andrew speak with geophysicist Dorian Abbot, an outspoken activist for academic freedom. Abbot discusses his views on the state of free speech and academic freedom in elite universities in the United States and talks about his own high profile experience of being cancelled from a speech he was supposed to give at MIT because of his outspoken activism against the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) regime.Abbot also shares his scientific views on climate change and whether there is life on other planets. Dorian Abbot is an associate professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago.Dorian is also a member of the Council of the Faculty Senate at the University of Chicago, a co-founder of the faculty group UChicago Free, a foundingmember of the Academic Freedom Alliance, and a co-founder and moderator of The Heterodox Academy STEM Community (HxSTEM). He has written and spoken publicly extensively on issues related to academic freedom and was awarded the 2021 Hero of Intellectual FreedomAward by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and the 2022 Courage Award by the Heterodox Academy.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5817303/advertisement

What is academic freedom for? What are the greatest threats to academic freedom today? Should Critical Race Theory be taught on college campuses? What about in K-12 classrooms? Keith Whittington, Chairman of the Academic Freedom Alliance's Academic Committee and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss the work of the Academic Freedom Alliance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is academic freedom for? What are the greatest threats to academic freedom today? Should Critical Race Theory be taught on college campuses? What about in K-12 classrooms? Keith Whittington, Chairman of the Academic Freedom Alliance's Academic Committee and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss the work of the Academic Freedom Alliance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is academic freedom for? What are the greatest threats to academic freedom today? Should Critical Race Theory be taught on college campuses? What about in K-12 classrooms? Keith Whittington, Chairman of the Academic Freedom Alliance's Academic Committee and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss the work of the Academic Freedom Alliance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/education

What is academic freedom for? What are the greatest threats to academic freedom today? Should Critical Race Theory be taught on college campuses? What about in K-12 classrooms? Keith Whittington, Chairman of the Academic Freedom Alliance's Academic Committee and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss the work of the Academic Freedom Alliance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

What is academic freedom for? What are the greatest threats to academic freedom today? Should Critical Race Theory be taught on college campuses? What about in K-12 classrooms? Keith Whittington, Chairman of the Academic Freedom Alliance's Academic Committee and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss the work of the Academic Freedom Alliance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law

Any intellectual endeavor runs the risk of bias. Today we explore ways in which political ideology interferes with scholarship, particularly in the social sciences, with a focus on social psychology. My guest is Lee Jussim, a distinguished professor of social psychology and the leader of the Social Perception Laboratory at Rutgers University. Lee is a prolific author and studies stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination; political radicalization; and other problems that impede science and society. Lee's books include Social Perception and Social Reality, which received the American Association of Publishers award for best book in psychology, as well as the edited volumes The Social Psychology of Morality, The Politics of Social Psychology, and Research Integrity. Lee is also a founding member of the Heterodox Academy, the Academic Freedom Alliance, and the Society for Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Sciences.

Princeton professor and author Keith Whittington joins Tim to talk about the current state of free speech, or not-so-free-speech on the American college campus. Keith has a long resume of accomplishments, including the authoring of the award-winning book, “Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech.” But in this episode, we talk about Keith's role in the formation of a new and already growing organization that champions freedom of speech called the Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA). https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_How_Free_is_Speech_on_Americas_College_Campus.mp3 There is a growing fear on college campuses among professors and instructors that they could say or do the smallest thing and it could ruin their careers. They could be canceled for using the wrong story or word to illustrate a point while teaching a class. Something they say or do could be perceived by some students as a triggering factor – something that could trigger some negative emotion that hinders learning. If you follow the news, or just do a quick Google search, you'll find stories where educators, or the colleges themselves, were called out by students for perceived lack of sensitivity to certain issues. It's stories like those that have created a growing concern among educators that something has to be done to turn the tide. They're concerned that students and others may have the wrong idea about what a college education is supposed to be about. That college is a place to challenge yourself and be challenged. To investigate, analyze and expose yourself to different ways of thinking, diverse schools of thought. And above all, not to fear such exposure or see it as something to be protected from. It's with this in mind, that Professor Keith Whittington of Princeton, and more than 200 other scholars from across America decided to form the AFA.  Keith says the AFA is dedicated to helping college educators, quote – “speak, instruct, and publish without fear of sanction, bullying, punishment or persecution.” Links Keith Whittington's Princeton Home Page The Academic Freedom Alliance: A Q&A with Keith Whittington, Academe Blog Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech, by Keith Whittington (Barnes & Noble) Fresh Hope for Campus Free Speech, New York Post/AP About this Episode's Guest Keith Whittington Keith E. Whittington is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, and Chair of the Academic Committee of the Academic Freedom Alliance. He writes about American constitutional law, politics and history and American political thought. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Texas School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Harvard Law School and is a member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Atlantic, among other outlets, and he is a regular contributor to the Volokh Conspiracy blog. He is the author of several books, including Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech and Repugnant Laws: Judicial Review of Acts of Congress from the Founding to the Present. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Texas at Austin and completed his Ph.D. in political science at Yale University.  

I spoke with Jake Mackey about academia, and how it has gotten to the state it's in. The slowly building pushback to authoritarianism within the academy and some of the initiatives involved. Do we have to rebuild, or can we save our institutions? Follow me: @obaidomer Follow Jake: @omni_american You can find out more about the Academic Freedom Alliance here: https://academicfreedom.org/ Check out the work being done at Free Black Thought:
https://freeblackthought.com/ Read their journal: https://freeblackthought.substack.com/ This is a guide FBTT made to help parents concerned about CRT-based DEI initiatives in schools:
https://freeblackthought.substack.com/p/six-unsettling-features-of-dei-in

Anna I. Krylov (Russian: Анна Игоревна Крылова) is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Southern California (USC), working in the field of theoretical and computational quantum chemistry.Krylov is an outspoken advocate of freedom of speech and academic freedom. She is a founding member of the Academic Freedom Alliance and a member of its academic leadership committee. Her paper, The Peril of Politicizing Science, launched a national conversation among scientists and the general public on the growing influence of political ideology in STEM. It has received over 80,000 views and, according to Altmetric, was the all-time highest-ranked article in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.Steve and Anna discuss:0:00 Anna Krylov's background, upbringing in USSR7:03 Ideological control and censorship for the greater good?14:59 How ideology underpins DEI work in academic institutions30:40 Captured institutions37:05 How much is UC Berkeley spending on DEI, and where the money is going41:46 Krylov thinks it can get worse52:09 An idea for soliciting anonymous feedback at universitiesResources:Professor Krylov academic page:https://dornsife.usc.edu/chemistry/krylov/Wiki page:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_KrylovThe Peril of Politicizing Science, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 2021https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c01475Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU.

This week on The Open Door (Oct. 19th) we explore two crises in higher education. The first is affordability for students. The second is federal interference in colleges and universities. But crises call for thoughtful responses. One such response is the development of Great Books colleges. Our special guest is Thomas M. Ward, a professor of philosophy at Baylor University. He is also the author of Divine Ideas (Cambridge, 2020) and John Duns Scotus on Parts, Wholes, and Hylomorphism (Brill, 2014). His most recent book is Ordered by Love: An Introduction to Duns Scotus (Angelico, 2022). Among the questions we'll ask Professor Ward are the following. As always, we encourage you to suggest others.1. Prof. Ward, Tom if we may, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and your family?2. What led you to philosophy and, in due time, to Baylor University?3. What are the key factors that make higher education so expensive?4. Can you identify for us some of the pros and cons of President Biden's debt forgiveness program? Is it equitable?5. How does an increasing federal subsidy of higher education pave the way to increasing federal control of what is taught? Why should both religious and secular institutions be alert to this connection?6. What is the Academic Freedom Alliance?7. Some mission-oriented institutions refuse federal aid and remain both free of government interference and simultaneously affordable. How have they managed to do so?8. How can families help resolve the crises caused by federal financing of higher education?9. How can students help resolve these same crises?10. Where do you see yourself, as a reformer and scholar, a decade from now?

From the consternation over books in public school libraries — which will be the focus of next week’s episode of The Best of Our Knowledge — to claims of censorship in academia, debate over free speech has begun cropping up everywhere in American life. During March 2021, the Academic Freedom Alliance was founded to “defend faculty members’ freedom of thought and expression in their work as researchers and writers or in their lives as citizens, within established ethical and legal bounds,” as well as to “raise funds to support litigation for faculty whose academic freedom is threatened.” Dr. Lucas Morel, the John K. Boardman Jr. professor of politics and head of the department at Washington & Lee University, joined AFA as a member of its academic committee when the group was founded. Though Morel’s publishing largely has been focused on Abraham Lincoln and Ralph Ellison, he offers a close reading of founding documents and the Revolutionary period. He also holds some strong opinions about the veracity of The 1619 Project. More than anything, though, Morel voices a specific point of view when it comes to any sort of discussion: “When you form an opinion, make it a fair fight,” he said. This week, Morel joins The Best of Our Knowledge to chat about AFA and its work, as well as the lens through which history is being taught today. A few clarifications ahead of the show. Morel notes that during 2020, a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass in Rochester, New York, was pulled down, while pointing toward the hypocrisy of uprisings around the country that summer. There’s an assumption made that the people or group of people responsible for the monument’s destruction are tied to left-wing politics and were spurred to action following the killing of George Floyd. The Douglass statue actually had been vandalized several times; the first incident was back in 2018. To date, no one’s taken credit for the 2020 defacement, and Rochester police haven’t made arrests. There’s also a moment when Morel, while discussing divisions among Americans, mentions abortions and a recently leaked Supreme Court draft opinion touching on the subject. He said that until recently, the medical procedure was accessible “up until the actual birth.” Most states where abortion is still accessible have a cut-off point based on fetal viability, which doesn’t actually have a strict definition. But in most cases — apart from situations where the mother’s health is in danger — abortion restrictions begin at or near the beginning of the third trimester. Pertinent links Lucas Morel at Washington & Lee University Academic Freedom Foundation “Why Lee should remain a namesake of my university” Fighting for Free Speech on Campus: A Conversation with Lucas Morel “America wasn’

In this installment of a series on liberalism, Benjamin Klutsey, the Director of Academic Outreach at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, talks with Keith Whittington about his latest book, “Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech,” his work with the Academic Freedom Alliance, free speech on college campuses, self-censorship and much more. Whittington is the Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University. In addition to “Speak Freely,” he has written several books on constitutional law and the judiciary, and he hosts the Academic Freedom Podcast.For a full transcript of this conversation with helpful links, visit DiscourseMagazine.com.

What is academic freedom for? What are the greatest threats to academic freedom today? Should Critical Race Theory be taught on college campuses? What about in K-12 classrooms? Keith Whittington, Chairman of the Academic Freedom Alliance’s Academic Committee and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, joins the show to answer these […]

What is academic freedom for? What are the greatest threats to academic freedom today? Should Critical Race Theory be taught on college campuses? What about in K-12 classrooms? Keith Whittington, Chairman of the Academic Freedom Alliance's Academic Committee and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss the work of the Academic Freedom Alliance.    The Academic Freedom Alliance: https://academicfreedom.org/    About Keith Whittington: https://scholar.princeton.edu/kewhitt/home    Relevant articles by Keith Whittington: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/06/30/racism-academic-discussions-pennsylvania-law/   https://areomagazine.com/2021/06/16/the-trouble-with-banning-critical-race-theory/    https://www.chronicle.com/article/we-have-criticized-nikole-hannah-jones-her-tenure-denial-is-a-travesty?cid2=gen_login_refresh&cid=gen_sign_in 

Keith Whittington discusses the work of the Academic Freedom Alliance.

Academic Freedom Alliance: https://academicfreedom.org/ You can find Keith’s book Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech (2018) here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691191522/speak-freely You can find all of Keith’s academic publications here: https://scholar.princeton.edu/kewhitt/home Keith regularly blogs here: https://reason.com/volokh/ Follow Keith on Twitter: @kewhittington Further References My interview with Greg Lukianoff: https://soundcloud.com/twoforteapodcast/78-greg-lukianoff-defending-free-speech Experienced. Nonpartisan. Defending Your Rights. - FIRE: https://www.thefire.org/ Heterodox Academy: https://heterodoxacademy.org/ Timestamps 2:24 The ACA’s specific mission; free speech norms at universities 17:55 The defence of free speech for academics is controversial among academics 20:23 Free speech is not a partisan issue 35:16 How susceptible are people to absorbing ideas they hear or read about? 42:25 Misconceptions about the situation on campuses, day to day 48:44 The case of Tom Smith 55:27 The distinction between academic freedom and freedom of speech 01:03:23 What you can do to help

Academic Freedom Alliance chair Keith Whittington discusses how to preserve freedom of speech and humane discourse.

April 5, 2021 ~ Keith Wittington, Chair of the Academic Freedom Alliance, talks with Guy Gordon about free speech on college campuses.

April 5, 2021 ~ Full Episode. More reaction to MLB pulling the All-Star game out of Atlanta. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell discusses the return of earmarks in the infrastructure bill. Keith Whittington Chair of The Academic Freedom Alliance talks free speech on college campuses and Katie Monaghan, Creator of the "Detroit Area Vaccine Hunters Michigan" Facebook Group discusses how expanding eligibility is going to affect vaccine eligibility.

If you've been following the seemingly endless battles on college campuses over free speech, you may have noticed that professors are a frequent target of censorship and complaint. Sometimes this because students object to curriculum and sometimes the infraction is as trivial as a professor sending a a "problematic" tweet. The recently launched Academic Freedom Alliance seeks to help educators navigate these waters. Its chair, constitutional law scholar and political science professor Keith Whittington, is Meghan's guest this week. Keith talked why an organization like the AFA is so necessary right now, how academia has changed over the course of his career, and why it's important to remember that speech suppressions comes from the political right as well as the activist left. He also talked about why professors are often inclined to apologize or try to explain themselves when that's often the worst thing you can do when you the mob comes after you.    Guest bio:   Keith Whittington is a Professor of Politics at Princeton University, and Chair of the Academic Committee of the Academic Freedom Alliance. He writes about American constitutional law, politics and history and American political thought. He is the author of several books, including Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech. You can find the Academic Freedom Alliance at academicfreedom.org

Princeton professor and author Keith Whittington joins Tim to talk about the current state of free speech, or not-so-free-speech on the American college campus. Keith has a long resume of accomplishments, including the authoring of the award-winning book, “Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech.” But in this episode, we talk about Keith's role in the formation of a new and already growing organization that champions freedom of speech called the Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA). https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Free_Speech_on_Campus_auphonic.mp3 There is a growing fear on college campuses among professors and instructors that they could say or do the smallest thing and it could ruin their careers. They could be canceled for using the wrong story or word to illustrate a point while teaching a class. Something they say or do could be perceived by some students as a triggering factor – something that could trigger some negative emotion that hinders learning. If you follow the news, or just do a quick Google search, you'll find stories where educators, or the colleges themselves, were called out by students for perceived lack of sensitivity to certain issues. It's stories like those that have created a growing concern among educators that something has to be done to turn the tide. They're concerned that students and others may have the wrong idea about what a college education is supposed to be about. That college is a place to challenge yourself and be challenged. To investigate, analyze and expose yourself to different ways of thinking, diverse schools of thought. And above all, not to fear such exposure or see it as something to be protected from. It's with this in mind, that Professor Keith Whittington of Princeton, and more than 200 other scholars from across America decided to form the AFA.  Keith says the AFA is dedicated to helping college educators, quote - “speak, instruct, and publish without fear of sanction, bullying, punishment or persecution.” Links Keith Whittington's Princeton Home Page The Academic Freedom Alliance: A Q&A with Keith Whittington, Academe Blog Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech, by Keith Whittington (Barnes & Noble) Fresh Hope for Campus Free Speech, New York Post/AP About this Episode's Guest Keith Whittington Keith E. Whittington is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, and Chair of the Academic Committee of the Academic Freedom Alliance. He writes about American constitutional law, politics and history and American political thought. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Texas School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Harvard Law School and is a member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Atlantic, among other outlets, and he is a regular contributor to the Volokh Conspiracy blog. He is the author of several books, including Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech and Repugnant Laws: Judicial Review of Acts of Congress from the Founding to the Present. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Texas at Austin and completed his Ph.D. in political science at Yale University.    

one year. how far have we come? how far do we have to go? and will we survive this spring fever moment of increased vaccinations, warmer days and... spring break. get the latest from tom and rp, and keep the conversation going... questions coming.    INTRO The current state of our economy – where is it heading?  6.5 GDP Growth  The Senate  News from Chicago – Wrigley will open on time with 20% of stadium filled one month from now  Daylights savings – Spring has Sprung Biden and Blinken  C19 Vaccines – can you transmit it when vaccinated? No. 80% likelihood you will not transmit it when vaccinated.  The Academic Freedom Alliance  YES OR BS   Yes or BS: Economic Recovery will be twice as fast. Yes, look at other economies that have already recovered  The flow of business is going to pick up, the economy is going to grow Roaring 20 analogy – how great will the welcome back parties be? The amount of vaccines available, you will have by June of this year could have over 80% of America vaccinated  Stimulus is huge Savings rates - traditionally its 7% (per household) and right now its 13% (during the pandemic) will this translate into pent up demand? You need the velocity and liquidity for growth.  Day 362 of C19 *Companies shutting down  U.S. Economy to Recover Twice as Fast as Expected, Report Says    Yes or BS: There was no mass exodus from California However, a lot of people can't afford to move Mass exodus isn't the point, the billionaires who live in CA or a northeast state pay a real increased majority of the tax base The influx went way down in CA and there is an exodus out of SF, but people are moving away from the city itself but still in CA  Reasons: Economic reality & you have to get through Covid 19    There Was No ‘Mass Exodus' From California In 2020 A ‘nontroversy' exposed....the media reported all year that there was a mass exodus from California due to COVID restrictions. Turns out that was not the case   Yes of BS: Miami Beach Mayor is a COVID Casssandra You will have a tiny # of these people (college kids) will be vaccinated; a ton of unvaccinated people there  Outside, high UV, but young and stupid  Will this be a superspreader event? Probably. Will it be a spike like last year, this time? No.  ‘We're Very Concerned:' Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber Worried Spring Break Crowds Could Cause COVID Super Spreader Events The spring break one could be framed around Miami Beach mayor as a Cassandra. He is sounding the warning, but as mayor he can't stop it from happening  There's also a great animation from last year's spring break  Used cell data to show how the spring breakers spread across the country and basically creates the pandemic— all from one beach!   Yes or BS: This is spring break deja vu  Behaviors are about to change, with a majority of people being vaccinated  Certain behaviors linked to specific outcomes  Is it okay to get back to normal life? Where is the disease going to go? Where are vaccinations going to go?  If we look at the data, dangerous moment is now – May. We are almost there.  Concerned for spring break, but excited for the country come June  Florida beaches fill with Spring Breakers sparking fears of another deadly Covid spike – as experts say ‘stay away'   Yes or BS: These anti maskers don't love their kids.  Does this get to our concept of illusion of controversy?  Are there a lot of people burning masks? I don't think so.  This will be one of the greatest public health communication errors of history: CDC/White House not mandating that we all wear masks earlier on Public health is all about communication Tool to figure out the media's spin on issues: www.allsides.com Takes a news story a presents a view from left, right, and center so you can see different ways that stories get presented; it is a very revealing tool Anti-maskers encouraged kids to burn their face coverings on the Capitol steps in Idaho