Can emotional connections to our identities justify restrictions on free speech? This provocative episode of Heterodox Out Loud explores the deep tension between personal relationships and public discussions. Host John Tomasi sits down with Jilian Lederman, a graduate of Brown University and a strong advocate for free speech. Together, they examine the complex landscape of free expression on university campuses, focusing on the oppressor-oppressed dynamic and its impact on intellectual diversity and dialogue.

Jilian shares her experiences in political discourse and pro-Israel advocacy, highlighting the intimidation and harassment faced by Jewish and other marginalized students. We also explore her op-ed for The New York Times and her efforts to promote open inquiry and robust debate through various initiatives and student organizations. The episode also touches on changing commitments to free speech principles and creating a more inclusive academic environment.

In This Episode:

• Challenges to campus free speech principles

• Critique of the oppressor-oppressed dichotomy

• Why universities need more intellectual diversity

• The impact of identity politics on student life

• Advocacy for classic free speech doctrines

About Jilian:

Jillian Lederman is a 2024 graduate of Brown University, where she studied political science and economics. While in college, she served as the Executive Chair of Hillel International’s Israel Leadership Network, the President of Brown Students for Israel, co-president of Free Inquiry at Brown, and a writer and editor for The Brown Political Review. She is also a Research Assistant for Heterodox Academy. Her writing has been published in The New York Times and The Hill, and she has been interviewed on FOX, CNN, MSNBC, SiriusXM, and News Nation. This fall, she will begin work as an editorial fellow at The Wall Street Journal.

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They delve into specific instances where these movements have influenced policy changes, discussing the tensions between activism and open inquiry. The conversation highlights recent cases where protests have either stifled or spurred debates about institutional investment ethics and the balance between social justice and academic discourse.

Finally, they discuss the politicization of the humanities, examining how political biases can shape curricula and impact scholarly discourse.

In This Episode:

• Politicization in response to humanities' defunding
• The challenges in balancing university finance and mission
• How universities are inconsistent when handling student protests
• The complexities of university divestment and geopolitics
• Diversity and inclusion frameworks in modern academia

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About Tyler:

Tyler Austin Harper is a literary scholar working at the intersection of the history of science, philosophy, and environmental studies. His book, “The Paranoid Animal: Human Extinction Before the Bomb,” is under contract with Princeton University Press. It examines how British literary figures, scientists, and social theorists engaged with the concept of human extinction prior to the nuclear age. Specifically, his work argues that the period between 1800 and 1945 witnessed a shift from fatalistic visions of the end of humanity—dominant during the Romantic Era and influenced by theories of geological catastrophism—toward a new, post-Darwinian conception of human extinction in which threats to the species were reimagined as risks that could be mitigated by technological intervention, prefiguring current debates about AI, nuclear war, and climate change. His scholarly work has been published in Modern Language Quarterly, Science Fiction Studies, Syndicate, and Paradoxa.

Harper is a contributing writer at The Atlantic. His public writing on politics, culture, race, and technology has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Jacobin, and other outlets.

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From Coddling to Crisis. Today, we trace the trajectory of student fragility from playgrounds to classrooms. Welcome to Heterodox Out Loud. In today's episode, our host, John Tomasi, talks with social psychologist and best-selling author Jonathan Haidt about his new book, The Anxious Generation. The book delves into the increasing levels of anxiety and emotional distress experienced by teens today. During their discussion, Haidt emphasizes the significant shift from a play-based childhood to a smartphone-centric upbringing, which has led to a rise in mental health issues, particularly after the adoption of Instagram in 2012.

The pair will explore how these changes have affected higher education and campus life. They will discuss the reinforcement of emotional reasoning, fragility, and self-censorship fostered in academic settings. Together, they will examine the critical issues and potential pathways for creating robust, supportive, and intellectually vibrant university communities. Join us to learn more about this critical topic.

In This Episode:

• Exploring the Anxious Generation's college experience
• The impact of technology on mental health
• The role of community in university settings
• Challenges of identity and independence in college
• How to foster viewpoint diversity and respectful discourse

Follow Jonathan on X here: https://twitter.com/JonHaidt

About Jonathan:

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and taught for 16 years in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. Haidt's research focuses on exploring the intuitive foundations of morality and how it varies across cultures, including the cultures of progressives, conservatives, and libertarians. His aim is to help people understand, live, and work with each other despite their moral differences. Haidt has co-founded several organizations and collaborations that apply moral and social psychology to achieve this goal, including Heterodox Academy, The Constructive Dialogue Institute, and EthicalSystems.org. Haidt is the author of The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, as well as The New York Times bestsellers The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion and The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure (co-authored with Greg Lukianoff). He has written more than 100 academic articles, which have been cited nearly 100,000 times. In 2019, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was chosen by Prospect magazine as one of the world’s “Top 50 Thinkers.” Haidt has given four TED talks and since 2018, he has been studying the impact of social media on the decline of teen mental health and the rise of political dysfunction. His latest book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, was published by Penguin Press on March 26, 2024.

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