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Politics & Polemics
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones June 3, 2023

The Future of Big Finance

A Discussion with Anastasia Nesvetailova

Anastasia Nesvetailova and Ronen Palan

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones
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How common is financial malpractice in big, well known financial companies? Is it so common that it should really be seen as a business model more than an occasional aberration …

Politics & Polemics

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Interviews with partisans and polemicists about their new books.

Madison's Notes June 2, 2023

Mapping the American Right

A Conversation with the American Enterprise Institute’s Robert Doar

Robert Doar

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
Listen:
Annika sits down with Robert Doar, president of the American Enterprise Institute, one of Washington D.C.'s most prominent think-tanks, to discuss the state of the American Right: what are the …
Madison's Notes June 1, 2023

Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty

A Conversation with Margarita Mooney Clayton

Margarita Mooney Clayton

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
Listen:
Is beauty objective, or merely a personal experience? Do we need beauty in our daily lives, or is it just icing on the cake? Is the sole purpose of art …
Critical Theory May 31, 2023

Anarchism

A Very Short Introduction

Alex Prichard

Hosted by Morteza Hajizadeh
Listen:
If you asked a passerby on the street what anarchism is, they may answer that it is an ideology based on chaos, disorder, and violence. But is this true? What …
Madison's Notes May 31, 2023

Defining Man and Woman

A Conversation with Abigail Favale

Abigail Favale

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
Listen:
Amidst fraught debates about what gender is, and how it fits into feminism, Annika sits down with Dr. Abigail Favale, an English professor specializing in gender studies and feminist literary …
British Studies May 30, 2023

Friends of Israel

The Backlash Against Palestine Solidarity

Hilary Frances Aked

Hosted by Roberto Mazza
Is there such a thing as “the Israel lobby,” and how powerful is it really? Hilary Frances Aked's book Friends of Israel: The Backlash Against Palestine Solidarity (Verso, 2023) provides a forensically researched …
Madison's Notes May 30, 2023

Educating for Solitude

A Conversation with William Deresiewicz

William Deresiewicz

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
What kind of person is our education system designed to create? Best-selling author and award-winning essayist William Deresiewicz discusses the failures of our higher education system, how it mis-conditions our …
Darts & Letters May 29, 2023

Learning for Liberation: The Life and Legacy of Paulo Freire

The Life and Legacy of Paulo Freire

Paulo Freire

Hosted by Ren Bangert
Paulo Freire offers activists and academics everywhere a lesson in what it means to be a radical intellectual. He is known as the founder of critical pedagogy, which asks teachers …
Military History May 29, 2023

How Britain Broke the World

War, Greed and Blunders from Kosovo to Afghanistan (1997-2021)

Arthur Snell

Hosted by Philip Blood
Arthur Snell's book How Britain Broke the World: War, Greed and Blunders from Kosovo to Afghanistan (1997-2021) (Canbury Press, 2022) critically assesses UK foreign policy over the past 25 years, from …
Madison's Notes May 29, 2023

Assessing Affirmative Action

A Conversation with Jason Riley

Jason Riley

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
With the Supreme Court poised to potentially outlaw race-conscious admissions, Affirmative Action may soon be on the chopping block. What will be the legacy of this half-century-old policy? Jason Riley …
Media May 28, 2023

Say the Right Thing

How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice

Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow

Hosted by Deidre Tyler
In the current period of social and political unrest, conversations about identity are becoming more frequent and more difficult. On subjects like critical race theory, gender equity in the workplace …
Islamic Studies May 26, 2023

Broken

The Failed Promise of Muslim Inclusion

Evelyn Alsultany

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
In Broken: The Failed Promise of Muslim Inclusion (NYU Press, 2022), Evelyn Alsultany, Professor at the University of Southern California, argues that, even amid challenges to institutionalized Islamophobia, diversity initiatives …
Sociology May 25, 2023

The Political Economy of Fortune and Misfortune

Prospects for Prosperity in Our Times

Scott Timcke

Hosted by Michael Johnston
Luck greatly influences a person's quality of life. Yet little of our politics looks at how institutions can amplify good or bad luck that widens social inequality. But societies can …
Madison's Notes May 25, 2023

The Hundred Year War for the American Right

A Conversation with Matthew Continetti

Matthew Continetti

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
What is the American Right, where does it come from, and how has it changed over time? Journalist and author Matthew Continetti discusses his recent book: The Right: The Hundred …
Sociology May 24, 2023

Decolonize Self-Care

Alyson K. Spurgas and Zoe Meleo Erwin

Hosted by Michael Johnston
For twentieth-century feminists, it was a rallying cry for bodily autonomy and political power. For influencers and lifestyle brands, it’s buying fancy nutrition and body products at a premium. And …
Madison's Notes May 24, 2023

Economic Freedom from Kennedy to Reagan to Trump

A Conversation with Larry Kudlow

Larry Kudlow

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
With contentious midterm elections coming up fast, Annika sits down with one of the best-known commentators and participants in the American political economy over the past four decades: Larry Kudlow …
Madison's Notes May 23, 2023

After the Pill

A Conversation with Mary Eberstadt

Mary Eberstadt

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
The pill has rocked our society to its core: but have we fully examined all its repercussions? Influential author and essayist Mary Eberstadt thinks we've only scratched the surface; in …
Madison's Notes May 23, 2023

Money or Meaning?

A Discussion on Choice, Restlessness, and Higher Education with Ben and Jenna Storey

Ben Storey and Jenna Storey

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
What kinds of tools do we need to make big decisions, and why aren't our universities training us to make them? Are universities doing students a disservice by occupying them …
Madison's Notes May 22, 2023

Truth, Fiction, and Student Loan Forgiveness

A Conversation with Beth Akers

Beth Akers

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
With the Biden Administration's student loan relief coming down the pike, Annika sits down with Dr. Beth Akers, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in higher …
Religion May 21, 2023

Conspirituality

How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Public Health Threat

Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker

Hosted by Blair Hodges
Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Public Health Threat (PublicAffairs, 2023) is a much-needed analysis of wellness, new age, and yoga influencers who’ve gone down the rabbit hole …