The Dissidents

 "Speak up. Your voice is important." In this episode of the Free Speech Forward podcast, Chris and Joia speak with Sangeetha Shankar, who shares her journey as an advocate for free speech, a journey rooted in her upbringing in India and her experiences as a homeschooling mother. Sangeetha discusses the challenges faced by Hindu communities, particularly in light of the SB 403 bill in California, which she argues would lead to racial profiling and discrimination. She also emphasizes the importance of free speech for individual and societal flourishing, drawing on her Hindu beliefs that celebrate freedom and diversity of thought.  Finally, Sangeetha offers insights on effective communication and encourages listeners to find their voice and their community in the face of cultural pressures. She would like to suggest the following tips to help others in sharing their voice:Write, write, write- long-form, journal writing works wonders to get your genuine voice out. Do self podcasts -record yourself on the camera and see how you sound. Talk aloud in the bathtub!Talk to yourself in the mirror. Practice in front of friends, friendly communities like Toastmasters. Get out of your comfort zone and speak on uncomfortable issues.  Learn more about Hinduism in America and Sangeetha’s work at: https://www.hinduamerican.org/

This week Jen & Wink speak with Susanna McIntyre about her transformation from Catholicism to Atheism, Antifa to Dissident, and an alignment with Preference Falsification that turned into a Preference Cascade. Susanna claims that her journey towards critical thinking was an “accident” but we find inspiration in Susanna’s very intentional search for truth and the embrace of disagreement. 

Respect for human diversity is inherent in social work education, practice, and is an essential element of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. Yet many social workers and others are unaware that political and religious diversity are referenced several times in the Code. Is social work becoming ideologically intolerant, illiberal, orthodox, and incompatible with the profession’s ethical values and principles? Listen to experiences of several social workers who confronted viewpoint orthodoxy in their education and professional settings. Podcast notes: Tiffanie Jones Interview on Free Black Thought, “Canceled for Challenging Gender.” Third part of the series: Privileged Perspectives: Orthodoxy and Self-Censorship in Social Work Education Second part of the series: Left Turn in Social Work Education: The Harmful Effects of a Narrow Political Ideology First part of the series: Critical vs. Classical Social Justice in Social Work ProSocial Workers is committed to creating a viewpoint inclusive and politically diverse environment for social workers and other helping professionals. Professionals can find support and continuing education at ProSocialWorkers.com.

Welcome to today’s episode of the Free Speech Forward podcast, a conversation between Joia, Chris, and John Suarez, Executive Director at the Center for a Free Cuba. John shares his journey as a human rights advocate, discussing the importance of free speech particularly in the context of Cuba. He describes his early experiences with censorship, the historical repression in Cuba, and the need for regime change to restore free speech. The conversation also touches on the cultural decline of free speech in the U.S. and the courage required to speak out against oppression. Find out more at: https://cubacenter.org/

In introducing this podcast, I first want to acknowledge how darn pleased I am to have advisors in our organization who think differently than me and who aren’t afraid to say as much. This podcast originated when one of our advisors, Pam Hayes-Bohanan, pushed back after an ILV panel discussion on Ethnic Studies. We have had many previous podcasts, labs and panels that question the trends in Ethnic Studies, so when I received this critique, I wanted to know more. Unsurprisingly, although we found many areas where we our perspectives differed, namely around Paulo Freire’s book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, through the conversation we also found unexpected convergence. In exploring our different viewpoints, we came to agree that one of the biggest problems is the flattening of education. We discuss the myriad of ways this is being done, including devaluing subject matter experts, a closing of ranks within some colleges of education, the rise of “pre-packaged” curricula, a growing number of administrators who micromanage education, often stripping it of its richness including critical thinking, the mechanical teaching for a test versus to instill the love of learning, and the downgrading of curiosity. While each of these problems may require distinct solutions, one thing we can all agree on is the need to, as Pam says, “not be afraid of ideas” and “just read more books”. More specifically, read books you tend to criticize (e.g. Freire in my case) to develop your own critical thinking skills and thereby learn HOW to think instead of WHAT to think. Podcast Resources Precious Knowledge documentary Going Varsity in Mariachi  On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence and Justice, by Adam Kirsch A Third Way on the Place of Critical Race Theory in the Classroom, Real Clear Education, by Amna Khalid, David Bernstein and Jennifer Richmond The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros ILV Ethnic Studies Recordings: Depoliticizing the Classroom: The Role of the Teacher September Liberal Values Lab: Ethnic Studies in Your School Ethnic Studies: From Radical Roots to Government Mandate

Today we are rolling out the third and final series of our book club on Jonathan Rauch’s forthcoming book entitled Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy. The book, made available to you by Yale University Press in early February, examines American pluralism and the role of religion in historical and modern democracy. Rauch, a self-described atheist, somewhat apologetically takes us on a journalistic and self-reflective tour of the intersection of religion and human nature. This book is a cultural, civic, and spiritual travel-log for believers and non-believers alike. Jonathan Rauch will join us for a livestream on February 6 at 7pm ET. In the meantime, join Jen (a Presbyterian), Elizabeth (an Atheist, and Matt (a Bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) for 3 book club episodes focused on Cross Purposes. Today we discuss Part III, which is entitled “Thick Christianity.”

In 2022 Counterweight, the organization that Helen Pluckrose founded and that was absorbed into the Institute for Liberal Values had a virtual conference on Alternatives to Diversity and Inclusion. Starting in 2025, we will be rolling out one talk a month that was presented at the conference. We sit down with the original presenters throughout 2025 to see what has changed since 2022. With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives seemingly on the chopping block, we are curious to hear what our original participants are witnessing and experiencing on the ground. Is DEI really dead or just in remission? Are there healthy alternatives to DEI that we should consider, or do we throw the baby out with the bathwater and wipe our hands clean? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments. This week Elizabeth Spievak interviews Angel Eduardo. This interview took place in late 2024, so his views may have changed over the course of the past few months, but in update to his original talk on Liberal Approaches to Diversity and Inclusion, Angel tells us that buying into DEI was like buying a car that is a lemon. We should still buy cars, just not lemons. The best way to create the unity that was the kindest interpretation of some of the DEI movement, is not to dismiss the effort to value diversity and inclusion, but rather to learn to “star-man” our fellow citizens, embracing the best version of our humanity. You can find his original conference presentation here: https://youtu.be/55nDT-9HZws

Today we are rolling out the second in a three part book club series on Jonathan Rauch’s forthcoming book entitled Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy. The book, made available to you by Yale University Press in early February, examines American pluralism and the role of religion in historical and modern democracy. Rauch, a self-described atheist, somewhat apologetically takes us on a journalistic and self-reflective tour of the intersection of religion and human nature. This book is a cultural, civic, and spiritual travel-log for believers and non-believers alike. Jonathan Rauch will join us for a livestream on February 6 at 7pm ET. In the meantime, join Jen – a presbyterian, Elizabeth – an atheist, and Matt – a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for 3 book club episodes focused on Cross Purposes. Today we discuss Part II, which is entitled “Sharp Christianity.”

This week we speak with Wenyuan Wu, Executive Director of the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation. Wenyuan shares her journey coming to advocate for and defend students (as young as first graders!) and late-stage career professionals alike from the ravages of illiberal cancel culture that have trampled on free speech rights across large swathes of American society in the last decade. Through her compelling stories, we see first-hand that no one is safe when free speech isn’t respected or protected; but also, that there are many allies out there who can help you find your voice to stand up and speak out to reclaim your voice and rights. She also shares strategies for effective communication when pushing back against prevailing narratives and groupthink, as well as the importance of never giving up fighting for what you believe in, and making sure our constitutional rights remain properly grounded by deeper morals and ideals.

In this week's podcast Mike Burke meets up with Matt Gertken to discuss some of the rumours currently circulating around the Chinese Communist Party. They discuss the economic problems of the CCP, the potential for its collapse, changes in Chinese leadership and the future of the Taiwan Strait.  Matt is the Chief Strategist for both BCA Research Geopolitical Strategy and US Political Strategy services, where he oversees our coverage of market- relevant policy developments in the US and worldwide. Matt served as a Senior Analyst at Strategic Forecasting, Inc. (Stratfor) and in multiple academic and publishing roles. Matt has 18 years of experience in the field and appears frequently in global news media. Matt holds an MPhil from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.