What happens when public policy meets the complex world of modern gender identity? Our guest today is Kathleen Stock, a former professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex, author of the critically-acclaimed "Material Girls", and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) awardee. Kathleen joins host John Tomasi to navigate the often-tense intersection of trans rights, gender identity, and academic freedom. Despite facing protests, security threats, and professional challenges, Kathleen steadfastly advocates for open inquiry and reasoned debate.

Today, John and Kathleen discuss the controversial landscape of transgender issues. Kathleen criticizes the medicalization of gender questioning and the societal pressure it places on individuals. She explains how academic and societal frameworks have rapidly evolved with the influence of activism, particularly examining the ramifications for single-sex spaces and public policies.

In This Episode:

• Criticism of the medicalization of gender questioning
• The societal impact of Stonewall’s policy changes and the Gender Recognition Act
• Challenges faced by Kathleen in professional settings due to her views
• Debates over the inclusion of trans women in single-sex spaces and sports
• The role of free speech and reason in academic discourse
• Concerns for the future of universities and academic freedom

Follow Kathleen on X here: https://x.com/Docstockk

Check out her book Material Girls: https://a.co/d/02sKzGz9

About Kathleen:

Kathleen Stock is a contributing writer at UnHerd and a co-director of The Lesbian Project. She is the author of Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism (Little Brown 2021) and Only Imagine: Fiction, Interpretation and Imagination (Oxford University Press 2017). Until 2021, she was a Professor of Philosophy at Sussex University. In the last few years, she has written for UK national publications on a range of issues, especially on sex, gender, and women's rights. In 2024, she was highly commended for her UnHerd columns at the UK Press Awards; in 2022, she was voted World’s Top Thinker in Prospect Magazine. She was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to higher education in 2020.

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What happens when foundational scientific concepts clash with modern identity politics? Today, our guest is Elizabeth Weiss, professor emeritus of anthropology at San José State University, Segal Center research fellow, and a renowned author. Her latest book, "On the War Path: My Battles with Indians, Pretendians, and Woke Warriors", is now available.

Weiss recounts her tumultuous journey through academia and the underlying conflicts within anthropology. These conflicts range from the debate between scientific knowledge and postmodern truths to the intersection of identity politics with the discipline. She also discusses the controversy surrounding the cancellation of a panel on the concept of binary sex by major anthropological associations, only for it to gain global attention after being reinstated.

Join us as Elizabeth Weiss shares her steadfast commitment to objective knowledge and truth, her experiences with being canceled, and her aspirations for reform within the field of anthropology.

In This Episode:

• Controversy over the binary concept of sex
• Retraction of anthropology panel on sex
• Elizabeth Weiss's academic journey and research
• Challenges in anthropology and repatriation laws
• Elizabeth Weiss's lawsuit and retirement settlement

Follow Elizabeth on X here: https://twitter.com/eweissunburied

Check out her latest book: https://a.co/d/9Os3MGa

About Elizabeth:

Elizabeth Weiss is professor emeritus of anthropology at San José State University. She's a 2023-2024 Faculty Fellow at the Mike & Sofia Segal Center for Academic Pluralism. She is on the board of the National Association of Scholars. Her latest book is On the Warpath: My Battles with Indians, Pretendians, and Woke Warriors (Academic Press, 2024).

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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

Follow Tyler on X here: https://twitter.com/Tyler_A_Harper

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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Is diversity simply a box-checking exercise, or does it hold a deeper significance in academia? Today we're joined by Azim Shariff, Ph.D, a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, to explore the complex landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in higher education. In this conversation, John Tomasi and Azim delve deep into the multifaceted approach to DEI, discussing the pressing need to rethink and clarify the rationale behind diversity in faculty hiring and beyond.

Azim provides a fresh perspective on managing and harnessing diversity's paradox of fostering innovation and coordination challenges. Whether it's the impact of role models on educational outcomes or the intricate balance between meritocracy and social justice motives, this episode promises to unfold the nuanced dynamics of DEI efforts within academic institutions.

Get ready to challenge your understanding of diversity in academia as we navigate through the meritocratic, social justice, and instrumental values driving DEI initiatives.

In This Episode:

• Rethinking DEI in academia
• Balancing truth-seeking and social justice
• The challenges of interdisciplinary research diversity
• How role models impact education outcomes
• Clarifying the motives behind faculty diversity

Follow Azim on X here: https://twitter.com/azimshariff

About Azim:

Azim Shariff is a Professor and Canada 150 Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, where he directs the Centre for Applied Moral Psychology. His research on morality, religion, politics, and technology regularly receives global media coverage and has appeared in top academic journals such as Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He has written about this work for The New York Times and Scientific American and has spoken at TED, the Aspen Ideas Festival, and the World Science Festival in New York. He is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. He teaches a free Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on The Science of Religion for the public through edX. Professor Shariff earned his doctorate from UBC in 2010 and returned as a faculty member in 2018.

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Discover how Ivy League schools might be shortchanging taxpayers to the tune of billions! Today, we're peeling back the layers of an issue that hits our wallets and our values: the billion-dollar taxpayer support of Ivy League institutions.

Host John Tomasi is joined by Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of "Open the Books," an advocate for transparency in public finances. Adam brings to light a staggering reality: Over a recent five-year period, Ivy League schools amassed fortunes at the taxpayers' expense—a whopping $45 billion tab that's got some scratching their heads and policy-makers wielding the legislative pen.

Adam is not afraid to discuss how taxpayers are burdened with the cost of what seems more like a federal contractor than an educator. We discuss questions of accountability, such as whether universities should receive federal money without oversight and whether state-level standards boards could improve the management of public funds.

Join us on Heterodox Out Loud as we explore the billion-dollar taxpayer tab for Ivy League schools and its implications for the future of higher education, government oversight, and our society's appreciation for knowledge.

In This Episode:

• Elite schools' heavy reliance on taxpayer funds
• Proposed tax reforms for excessive university endowments
• The debate over universities' federal funding accountability
• Tension in bipartisan university public policy
• The Rising costs and transparency in higher education

Follow Adam on X here: https://x.com/everydimeonline

Follow OpenTheBooks on X here: https:/x.com/open_the_books

About Adam:

Adam Andrzejewski is the CEO/founder of OpenTheBooks.com. Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, FOX News, CNN, National Public Radio (NPR), Forbes, Newsweek, and many other national media.

Adam founded the transparency website, www.openthebooks.com, and launched it by posting the salaries and pensions of all 1 million Illinois public employees (2011). Today, OpenTheBooks.com is the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Mission: post "every dime, online, in real time." In 2022, OpenTheBooks.com captured nearly all public expenditures in the country, including nearly all disclosed federal government spending; 50 of 50 state checkbooks; and 25 million public employee salary and pension records from 50,000 public bodies across America.

In their oversight report, published in March 2017, titled Ivy League, Inc., OpenTheBooks uncovered $41 billion taxpayer subsidies, tax-breaks and federal payments into the Ivy League colleges (FY2010–2015).

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What really happened in 1945? Explore how students grapple with historical events and figures to understand their distinctness and uniqueness. In this episode of Heterodox Out Loud, host John Tomasi interviews Professor Mark Carnes of Barnard College. Professor Carnes talks about his innovative approach to teaching history, which he calls "reacting to the past." He explains how this method challenges traditional teaching by immersing students in historical contexts through Live-Action Role-Playing (LARP).

Professor Carnes shares the components of this approach, its impact on students' engagement, the complexity of character roles, and the unique insights it generates. By making history come alive in a way that traditional teaching methods may not achieve, "reacting to the past" provides a unique and engaging way to learn about the past.

In This Episode:

• Teaching history through role-playing games
• Engaging students in historical complexities
• Adoption of live-action role-playing games
• Connecting with historical figures through gameplay
• The transformative power of immersive learning

Find out more about The Reacting Consortium here: https://reactingconsortium.org/

Find out more about Mark here: https://barnard.edu/profiles/mark-c-carnes

About Mark Carnes:

Mark Carnes received his B.A. from Harvard and Ph.D. from Columbia. For the first half of his career, he was a very conventional historian, General Editor of the 17-million-word American National Biography (Oxford), and author or editor of dozens of books on American history. But around the turn of the century, he pioneered the Reacting to the Past program, where students played complex games set in the past, their roles informed by important texts. He has co-authored six games in the Reacting series, published by the University of North Carolina Press, and is the author of Minds on Fire: How Role-Immersion Games Transform College (Harvard, 2014). He teaches at Barnard College, Columbia University.

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