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Politics & Polemics
Ministry of Ideas January 31, 2023

Out of TIme

Sacred Time and 'Time is Money'

Ahmed Ragab and Mary Gray

Hosted by Zachary Davis
Many of the earliest time technologies were used to mark sacred time -- time set apart for the divine. But with the Industrial Revolution, efficient time use became its own …

Politics & Polemics

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Interviews with partisans and polemicists about their new books.

Higher Education January 30, 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 …
Ministry of Ideas January 29, 2023

Above the Veil

Beyond Segregationism and Assimilationism

Ibram X. Kendi, Max Mueller, and Anika Prather

Hosted by Zachary Davis
The work of Ibram X. Kendi distinguishes between two forms of racism: segregationism and assimilationism. Segregationists argue that some groups are inferior by nature; assimilationists, on the other hand, argue …
Law January 28, 2023

The China Nexus

Thirty Years in and Around the Chinese Communist Party's Tyranny

Benedict Rogers

Hosted by Jane Richards
The China Nexus: Thirty Years In and Around the Chinese Communist Party's Tyranny (Optimum Publishing, 2022) brings together Benedict Rogers' 30 years of advocacy, research and work in and around China. Opening …
British Studies January 27, 2023

Black Oot Here

Black Lives in Scotland

Francesca Sobande and layla-roxanne hill

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
What does it mean to be Black in Scotland today? How are notions of nationhood, Scottishness, and Britishness implicated in this? Why is it important to archive and understand Black …
African American Studies January 27, 2023

The Black Athlete Revolt

The Sport Justice Movement in the Age Of #BlackLivesMatter

Shaun M. Anderson

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
In the age of social media, athletes have a powerful influence like never before. Many Black athletes have used that power in positive ways, galvanizing their platforms to create impactful …
Ministry of Ideas January 26, 2023

Virtually Violent

Are Online Attacks "Violence?"

Erica Chenoweth, Joan Donovan, Oren Segal

Hosted by Zachary Davis
During the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable communities have been hit especially hard by disruptive online attacks. But calling these attacks "violent" could jeopardize the future of disruptive protests designed to protest …
Peoples & Things January 25, 2023

Engineering and Social Justice

A Discussion with Donna Riley

Donna Riley

Hosted by Lee Vinsel
Donna Riley, professor and head of the school of engineering education at Purdue University, talks about her path, her work, and her 2008 book, Engineering and Social Justice, with Peoples …
Peoples & Things January 23, 2023

How Universities Are Plundering Our Cities

A Discussion with Davarian Baldwin

Davarian Baldwin

Hosted by Lee Vinsel
Davarian L. Baldwin is a professor of American studies and founding director of the Smart Cities Lab at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. His latest book, In the Shadow of …
Ministry of Ideas January 22, 2023

Progressive Souls

Religion and the Pursuit of a Just Society (Part 2)

Elizabeth Bruenig, EJ Dionne, and Dan McKanan

Hosted by Zachary Davis
Religious people have played an important role in progressive politics in the US for its entire history. Contemporary leftists should look to build bridges and include religious voices in the …
Ministry of Ideas January 21, 2023

Progressive Souls

Religion and the Pursuit of a Just Society (Part 1)

Elizabeth Bruenig, EJ Dionne, and Dan McKanan

Hosted by Zachary Davis
Religious people have played an important role in progressive politics in the US for its entire history. Contemporary leftists should look to build bridges and include religious voices in the …
Politics & Polemics January 20, 2023

The American Imperative

Reclaiming Global Leadership through Soft Power

Daniel F. Runde

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
In The American Imperative: Reclaiming Global Leadership through Soft Power (Bombardier, 2023), Washington insider Daniel Runde makes the case for building a new global consensus through vigorous internationalism and the judicious …
Ministry of Ideas January 20, 2023

The Myth of Modernity

Is There a Bigger Picture?

Mayra Rivera and Jered Hickman

Hosted by Zachary Davis
Many think modernity is about the rise of science, the spread of democracy and capitalism, or the decline of religion or superstition. But those stories ignore the bigger picture about …
Critical Theory January 18, 2023

Sorting Machines

The Reinvention of the Border in the 21st Century

Steffen Mau

Hosted by Catriona Gold
It is commonly thought that, thanks to globalization, nation-state borders are becoming increasingly porous. In Sorting Machines: The Reinvention of the Border in the 21st Century (Polity, 2022) Steffen Mau shows that this view is …
Intellectual History January 18, 2023

We the Elites

Why the US Constitution Serves the Few

Robert Ovetz

Hosted by Keith Krueger
We have been ruled long enough. It is time to govern ourselves. If we are to get past the Constitution and all systems based on constitutions, we need to move …
Critical Theory January 17, 2023

The Coming of the American Behemoth

The Origins of Fascism in the United States, 1920 -1940

Michael Joseph Roberto

Hosted by Stephen Dozeman
The election of Donald Trump in 2016 shocked and appalled a number of people, forcing a critical reevaluation of what was possible, and what we ought to be vigilant …
Human Rights January 16, 2023

Atmospheres of Violence

Structuring Antagonism and the Trans/Queer Ungovernable

Eric A. Stanley

Hosted by Rine Vieth
Content note: This episode contains discussions of suicide, as well as allusions to graphic anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-Black violence Advances in LGBTQ rights in the recent past—marriage equality, the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't …
Peoples & Things January 14, 2023

The Politics of Digital Technology

A Discussion with Meredith Whittaker

Meredith Whittaker

Hosted by Lee Vinsel
Meredith Whittaker, co-founder and faculty director of the AI Now Institute and Minderoo Research Professor at New York University, talks about the politics of digital technologies with Peoples & Things …
Ministry of Ideas January 11, 2023

Enlightened Cynicism

Should We Be More Cynical Than We Are?

Sharon Stanley and David Mazella

Hosted by Zachary Davis
Trust in government, media, organized religion, businesses and even democracy is at historic lows. But what if the answer to declining faith in institutions isn’t more hope, but more cynicism …
Ministry of Ideas January 10, 2023

Demeritocracy

Should We Still Believe in Meritocracy?

Victor Tan Chen and Thomas Frank

Hosted by Zachary Davis
Total faith in meritocracy leads to the dangerous belief that all social winners and losers are wholly deserving. Instead, we need an economy of grace. Guests:  Victor Tan Chen, assistant …