Trent and Caitlin talk to Liberal Currents author Vikas Valiveti about the current state of scientific consensus on how trans girls and women compete in sports. What are the correct ways to measure athleticism? When does it actually matter? How should we think about fairness and the right to participate? And what’s the incorrect framing that leads people astray when they are thinking about this question?

Resources:

Vikas’ article: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/do-trans-women-belong-in-sports/

IOC policies: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323916196000075

FINA policies: https://resources.fina.org/fina/document/2022/06/19/525de003-51f4-47d3-8d5a-716dac5f77c7/FINA-INCLUSION-POLICY-AND-APPENDICES-FINAL-.pdf

Lia Thomas rule change: https://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/_/id/40334702/cas-rejects-lia-thomas-challenge-rules-trans-swimmers

Trump comments on sports: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-womens-sports-will-die-if-trans-athletes-are-allowed-2021-2

Tiny proportion of athletes are trans: https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/5046662-ncaa-president-transgender-athletes-college-sports/

Caitlin and Trent talk to Clay Jackson, a litigator from Dallas, Texas. Clay describes the disconcerting experience of having secret police show up to his door the same day he gave boilerplate know-your-rights information to some neighbors who were concerned about being targeted by ICE. They discuss the rapidly escalating war on immigrants being waged by the Trump administration, the ways ICE and CBP try to cross boundaries of legality and privacy, and what’s next for Clay after his workplace failed to stand behind him and commit to the idea that due process is for everybody.

Resources:

Clay’s story in The Watch: https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-courage-to-be-decent

Clay’s update in Popular Info: https://popular.info/p/fortune-500-company-abruptly-fires

Clay’s Substack: https://clayjak.substack.com

ICE press release: https://ice.gov/100days

Uncles in Crocs: https://newrepublic.com/article/193820/kristi-noem-ice-libs-tik-tok

Rumeysa Ozturk: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/07/g-s1-64726/federal-court-rules-student-rumeysa-ozturk-detention-vermont-challenge

Mohsen Madhawi: https://abcnews.go.com/US/mohsen-mahdawi-columbia-student-freed-ice-feared-citizenship/story?id=121485222

Rebecca Burke: https://theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/05/i-was-a-british-tourist-trying-to-leave-america-then-i-was-detained-shackled-and-sent-to-an-immigration-detention-centre

Ksenia Petrova: https://pbs.org/newshour/show/russian-born-harvard-researcher-describes-detention-at-ice-facility-and-deportation-fears

Definition of ‘criminal’: https://axios.com/2025/01/28/trump-immigrants-criminals-white-house-briefing

Trump’s first-term violations: https://cnn.com/2021/09/23/politics/cbp-targeted-us-citizens-caravan-concerns

Americans disapprove of Trump’s actions: https://washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/25/trump-immigration-approval-ratings-drop-poll/

Trump can bring Abrego Garcia back: https://newrepublic.com/article/194815/trump-accidentally-sabotaged-case-abrego-garcia

Trump “doesn’t know” if he has to follow Constitution: https://npr.org/2025/05/05/nx-s1-5386643/when-asked-if-he-needs-to-uphold-constitution-president-trump-says-i-dont-know

March 22 Executive Order: https://nytimes.com/2025/03/22/us/politics/trump-memo-lawyers.html

Rubio calls students “lunatics”: https://reuters.com/world/us/rubio-says-us-may-have-revoked-more-than-300-visas-2025-03-27/

Justice Brandeis quote: https://charterforcompassion.org/arts/arts/online-exhibits/americans-who-tell-the-truth/appointed-and-elected-public-figures/justice-louis-brandeis.html

Thumbnail images:

Border wall by Wonderline https://flickr.com/photos/71401718@N00/3370155351

Scales of Justice by DonkeyHotey https://flickr.com/photos/47422005@N04/7468312536

Centrist pundits, conservative think-tank guys and far-right propagandists say the movement to target libraries with new laws and book challenges is about making sure patrons have access to all viewpoints and kids aren't exposed to obscene materials. But what does the situation really look like on the ground? Caitlin and Trent talk to Katie Talhelm, a Public Library Manager in Texas and intellectual freedom advocate. They discuss book banning, viewpoint diversity, and astroturfed “grassroots” activism.

References

Project 2025: https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/D8File/2024/03/26/2025_mandateforleadership_full.pdf#page=33

Chris Rufo on Fox: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6340396476112

Far Right Think-Tank Guy in the New York Times: https://archive.is/jVXAF

The Free Press launders “viewpoint diversity” claims: https://www.thefp.com/p/the-truth-about-banned-books

ALA Report on Book Challenges and Bans: https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data

The segregationist origins of “Parental Rights”: https://apnews.com/article/religion-education-gender-identity-0e2ca2cf0ef7d7bc6ef5b125f1ee0969

Astroturfing in parental rights movement: https://truthout.org/articles/many-parent-groups-opposing-masks-and-crt-are-actually-driven-by-dark-money/

PNW issues with paramilitary groups: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/drag-queen-story-hours-spark-outpouring-of-support-despite-protests/

Campus Misinformation: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/campus-misinformation-9780197531273?cc=us&lang=en&

Anti-Intellectualism in America:

https://ia802903.us.archive.org/6/items/richard-hofstadter-anti-intellectualism-in-american-life-vintage-1966/Richard%20Hofstadter%20-%20Anti-Intellectualism%20in%20American%20Life-Vintage%20(1966).pdf

Paper on Jenner and Smallpox:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1200696/

Caitlin and Trent speak with Bradford Vivian, a Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Pennsylvania State University, about campus misinformation. How do op-eds and other polemics use hyperbole, metaphor and innuendo to create a false impression that college campuses are overrun with radical left wing revolutionaries, communist professors, mentally weak and coddled students, and zombie hordes chanting mindless slogans, infected by the woke mind virus? And what actually is DEI, anyway?

Dr. Vivian’s book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/campus-misinformation-9780197531273?cc=us&lang=en&

The Powell memo: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/assets/usa-courts-secrecy-lobbyist/powell-memo.pdf

The Kalven Report: https://provost.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/KalvenRprt_0.pdf

The Academic Freedom Conference that broke Caitlin’s brain: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQy2zhWqTFZ5Thzz1tE8dhWWTRUTQzaIZ&si=GyjjrCwi8maPKp08

Caitlin and Trent, a linguist and an historian, introduce Half the Answer, a new podcast from Liberal Currents. The headlines and pundits ask their questions and present their framing of the topics of the day, but are there better questions we could be asking? Caitlin and Trent will interview experts who have eyes on the situation, searching for anything we’re missing, and hopefully picking up some tips on how to read the news with a healthy skepticism.

Trent and Caitlin speak with cognitive scientist, linguist, and AI researcher Hagen Blix about his book, co-authored with Ingeborg Glimmer, called “Why We Fear AI: On the Interpretation of Nightmares.” What do those selling AI-branded products have to gain from telling everybody that AI could take over the world? What do regular people think about its use in our industries and lives? What does it tell us about the world we live in and our relationship to capital, our governments, and each other?

References:

Hagen’s book https://commonnotions.org/why-we-fear-ai?srsltid=AfmBOopmfLto0hDIbI4L9Cr5XUWkhoNmT3azu6FSgWvJkboHZF08pNCg

Marc Andreessen comments https://pmarca.substack.com/p/why-ai-will-save-the-world

Elon Musk comments https://cnn.com/2024/05/23/tech/elon-musk-ai-your-job/index.html

Stephen Hawking comments https://cam.ac.uk/research/news/the-best-or-worst-thing-to-happen-to-humanity-stephen-hawking-launches-centre-for-the-future-of

Open Letter on AI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_letter_on_artificial_intelligence_(2015)

25% of Facebook posts are AI originality.ai/blog/ai-facebook-posts-study

Instagram algorithms https://benzinga.com/news/24/04/38420928/meta-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-more-than-50-of-the-content-people-see-on-instagram-is-now-ai-recommended

Rat image https://scienceintegritydigest.com/2024/02/15/the-rat-with-the-big-balls-and-enormous-penis-how-frontiers-published-a-paper-with-botched-ai-generated-images/

Papers with LLM phrases https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2024/03/20/the-latest-crisis-is-the-research-literature-overrun-with-chatgpt-and-llm-generated-articles/

Willy Wonka Experience https://themarysue.com/what-happened-at-the-glasgow-willy-wonka-experience-explained/

Cuomo housing plan https://hellgatenyc.com/andrew-cuomo-chatgpt-housing-plan/

Bad tariff math https://theverge.com/news/642620/trump-tariffs-formula-ai-chatgpt-gemini-claude-grok

DOGE dystopia https://cnn.com/2025/03/04/tech/doge-ai-government-cuts-expert-concerns/index.html

DOGE surveillance https://reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/musks-doge-using-ai-snoop-us-federal-workers-sources-say-2025-04-08/

xAI generators https://theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/elon-musk-xai-memphis

carcinogenic gas generators https://catf.us/2022/09/new-report-finds-heightened-cancer-risk-14-million-people-toxic-air-pollution-emitted-us-oil-gas-sector/

The Gospel https://theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/01/the-gospel-how-israel-uses-ai-to-select-bombing-targets

Lavender and Where’s Daddy? https://vox.com/future-perfect/24151437/ai-israel-gaza-war-hamas-artificial-intelligence

Andreas Malm: Fossil Capital https://versobooks.com/products/135-fossil-capital

Brian Merchant: Blood in the Machine https://hachettebookgroup.com/titles/brian-merchant/blood-in-the-machine/9780316487740/

Robot image by Radio Saigon https://www.flickr.com/photos/34928082@N05/3396619316

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist Evan Urquhart about the ways trans rights get discussed in mainstream media, including the notion that supporting trans people’s full participation in society and protecting their right to bodily autonomy represents a viewpoint that is out of touch, too extreme, or endangers the rights of others.

References:

https://www.assignedmedia.org

Did the Harris campaign speak on trans rights? https://glaad.org/harris-accountability-tracker/

Eighth Amendment protections: https://edhub.ama-assn.org/ama-journal-of-ethics/module/2805771

Push to move Dems right: https://thirdway.org/report/renewing-the-democratic-party

https://politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/03/02/democrats-in-despair-00206883

https://nytimes.com/2025/03/11/opinion/democrats-center-future.html

Trent and Caitlin talk with Dr. Aris Clemons, an Assistant Professor in Linguistics, about the various slanders and misapprehensions that plague her field of study. We discuss language ideologies, the illusion of objectivity, the futility of being “apolitical” in a political institution, ethnography and lived experience, “other ways of knowing,” and other concepts that get weaponized in attacks on the academy from the right and the center.

References:

Aris’s book chapter: https://academic.oup.com/book/56269/chapter/445192927

Universities as business entities: https://jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1gk07xz?turn_away=true

Science and subjectivity are compatible: https://iaphs.org/sciences-objectivity-conundrum/

A brief history of measurement: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-objectivity/

James Watson was no master of objectivity: https://vox.com/2019/1/15/18182530/james-watson-racist

Research has always been political: https://bioethicstoday.org/blog/the-folly-of-apolitical-science/

“Apolitical” science treated humans like objects https://thoughtco.com/u-s-governments-role-sterilizing-women-of-color-2834600

“Institutional Neutrality” https://chronicle.com/article/institutional-neutrality-is-censorship-by-another-name

Trent and Caitlin talk with Adam Gurri, founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal Currents, about his take that the most accurate way to view the Trump presidency is as an example of “personalism.” What is personalism? What are other examples of personalist systems? What can a nation do once a personalist leader has begun his work? What is the manliest thing you can possibly put in your coffee? All this and more is addressed in this episode of Half the Answer.

Adam's article "America's Paths to Personalism": https://www.liberalcurrents.com/americas-paths-to-personalism/

Caitlin and Trent ask Alan Elrod, President and CEO of the Pulaski Institution, about what nationalism is and what kinds of nationalism are at play today. We discuss how white nationalist and Christian nationalist proponents justify it, and how U.S. progressives can participate in a national identity that celebrates pluralism and multiculturalism. And we let Alan indulge in a little American exceptionalism, as a treat.

References

Alan’s article on nationalism: https://pulaskiinstitution.org/the-pulaski-blog/tragic-nationalism-hungary-trianon-and-the-american-right

“Poisoning the blood” comment: https://nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna130141

“Globalism” comments: https://cnbc.com/amp/2025/03/06/trump-blames-globalists-for-stock-market-sell-off.html

https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/articles/president-trump-we-have-rejected-globalism-and-embraced-patriotism/

Chuck Schumer “Palestinian” comment: https://theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/trump-chuck-schumer-palestinian-slur

Executive order on eradicating “Anti-Christian Bias”: https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/eradicating-anti-christian-bias/

Executive order on English as Official Language: https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-united-states/

Linguistic Society of America statement: https://lsadc.org/lsa-statement-against-designating-english-as-the-official-language#:~:text=The%20Linguistic%20Society%20of%20America,are%20not%20valid%E2%80%94and%20in

Trent and Caitlin ask podcaster and philosopher Toby Buckle about the claim that heroic masculinity will save us. Do all men want to be heroes? Is someone stopping them? Does asking boys and men to be considerate squash their inherent manly essence? The hosts and their expert guest dig into these questions and more as they try to unravel the tangled web woven by the seemingly simple adjective-noun pair that is “heroic masculinity.”

Caitlin and Trent speak with Polite Conversations host Eiynah about the ways Islamophobia disguises itself as rational, genuine liberal-minded concern, and the hateful roots that hide beneath.

References

Polite Conversations: https://open.spotify.com/show/25FhI3g0wZMjWT19aIxcOn?si=x6hs5ldDQAWYmlHFLcgTJw

Matthew Sears discussion on orientalism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyCuaPkbA4M

Mondon and Winter on liberal Islamophobia: https://repository.uel.ac.uk/download/058b90c6ed91fbf82e3f93e3c8cc00a12a095a0bddec44a4b564d2d4230b0252/428501/Mondon%20and%20Winter%20Article%202017.pdf

Bill Maher comments: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/oct/06/bill-maher-islam-ben-affleck

Atheists for Liberty op-ed: https://www.atheistsforliberty.org/opinion/richard-dawkins-says-hes-a-cultural-christian-this-isnt-news/

Douglas Murray as Europe’s Paul Revere?? https://archive.is/PpgDC

Media portrayals of Muslims: https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/report-muslims-most-negatively-portrayed-minority-in-us-media/

Mahmoud Khalil Detained: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university.html

Sam Harris comments: https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-reality-of-islam

Julianna Margulies comments: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-12-01/julianna-margulies-faces-backlash-over-podcast-discussion-of-israel-hamas-conflict

Trent and Caitlin ask clinical psychologist Dr. Melissa Fisher Paoni about problem technology use among children and teens, how to help them stay safe without crossing the line into over-surveillance or excessive restriction, and why one-size-fits-all policies are often insufficient.

References

Dr. Paoni’s articles: https://www.illinoistimes.com/special-issues/not-all-screen-time-is-created-equally-17310116

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/video-game-health/202312/preparing-for-the-conversation-about-screen-time-rules

How to change settings to protect child users: https://www.protectyoungeyes.com/

“Wait Until 8th” org: https://www.waituntil8th.org/

“Addiction” metaphor: https://www.kvoa.com/townnews/hydrography/biology-teacher-calls-it-quits-due-to-student-phone-addiction/article_4a50dce4-1719-11ef-88cf-5739cf2f4a5b.html

Relationship to mental illness: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/17/social-media-mental-health-research-surgeon-general/

Age verification on social media: https://www.pcmag.com/news/experts-heres-why-age-verification-rules-for-social-media-wont-work

Caitlin and Trent check in with Hagen Blix about the ways we talk about AI, the most prominent angle its critics take, and the angle that’s often missing. When AI is advertised as a tool for generating journalism or research, what is the social and political order that use would entail? When the press hypes AI weapons dealers as the new vanguards of technology, what does it mean in terms of a vision for the world to come?

Resources:

Palmer Luckey speaks to Taiwan students https://www.thefp.com/p/palmer-luckey-i-saw-the-future-of-war-taiwan

Anduril gets big US contracts https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/startup-anduril-becomes-third-us-srm-supplier-amid-rising-defense-demand-2025-08-05/

Peter Thiel and tech fascism https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk

Grok makes nonconsensual nudes https://gizmodo.com/groks-spicy-mode-makes-nsfw-celebrity-deepfakes-of-women-but-not-men-2000639308

American Historical Association https://www.historians.org/resource/guiding-principles-for-artificial-intelligence-in-history-education/

British MP launches bot of himself https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5pr3q6lrpo

Automating Inequality https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250074317/automatinginequality/

Mutually Assured AI Malfunction https://dev.ua/en/news/eksholova-google-zasterihaie-proty-agi

Trent and Caitlin talk with communications strategist Lexi Koren about the Democratic Party obsession with blaming wokeness and “the groups.” Should they be listened to? Why not? What should Democrats do instead?

Resources:

The Rhetoric of Reaction https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674768680

Bill Maher on Pod Save America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEKyn9NL46U

Trans rights as “hard to defend” https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/transgender-rights-election-public-opinon/680813/

NYT on immigration https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/us/politics/democrats-immigration-trump.html

Third Way on immigration https://www.thirdway.org/memo/running-on-immigration-the-gallego-blueprint

Briahna Joy Gray: Not the hill to die on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyIqL2Jh8xk

Caitlin and Trent talk with Maureen Kosse, a linguist from Colorado who researches the semiotics of alt-right and far-right discourse. We talk about how everything is cuck—the right-wing cannot get over their insecurities about masculinity, sexual control of women, and people of color, and their visceral horror of people who are different from themselves—and how we’re all paying for it now in the form of a government whose members are involved with and fans of the figureheads of those very online, very gross movements.

Resources:

Maureen’s paper: https://utppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.1558/genl.21079

Katie & Stephen Miller/Elon Musk: https://yahoo.com/news/breaking-down-claims-stephen-millers-130000331.html

Ye Cuck: https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuck_(album)

Birth control: https://breitbart.com/tech/2015/12/08/milo-birth-control-makes-people-less-attractive/

Limbaugh: https://rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2015/07/22/trump_was_supposed_to_be_gone_by_now/

Lewis on ‘cuck’: https://dailycaller.com/2015/07/23/whats-behind-the-cuckservative-slur-nsfw/

Yiannopoulos on ‘cuck’: https://breitbart.com/politics/2015/07/28/cuckservative-is-a-gloriously-effective-insult-that-should-not-be-slurred-demonised-or-ridiculed/

10 Signs You Might Be A Cuck: https://web.archive.org/web/20151220181840/http://www.returnofkings.com/68170/10-signs-you-might-be-a-cuckservative

“Racially conscious whites” https://thepoliticalcesspool.org/jamesedwards/the-american-cuckservative/

Kevin DeAnna: https://splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/emails-reveal-identity-longtime-white-nationalist-propagandist-onetime-conservative-insider/

DeAnna & Thiel: https://buzzfeednews.com/article/rosiegray/peter-thiel-donald-trump-white-nationalist-support

Don’t Be A Cuck, Zuck: https://breitbart.com/social-justice/2016/05/17/dont-be-cuck-zuckerberg/

Bannon vs. Kushner: https://thedailybeast.com/steve-bannon-calls-jared-kushner-a-cuck-and-globalist-behind-his-back/

Cuck Lite Beer ad: https://youtu.be/yHtQtk20aUg?si=Zn3K5u1K2Fo7M6zU

Yarvin on electioncucks: https://graymirror.substack.com/p/vae-victis

Musk: “Zuck is a cuck” https://forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/07/10/musk-hits-below-the-belt-with-latest-zuckerberg-attacks-zuck-is-a-cuck/

Nick Fuentes booted from TPUSA conference: https://msn.com/en-us/news/world/white-nationalist-nick-fuentes-booted-from-tpusa-conference-israel-controls-this-event/ar-BB1ofsDM

Trent and Caitlin talk to Layla al-Sheikh, who provides the history and context of the establishment of the Israeli state on Palestinian land, the many displacements and violent ethnic cleansings of the last century in that region, and the evolving relationships of the surrounding nations with the United States.

Resources:

Theodore Herzl https://britannica.com/biography/Theodor-Herzl

Nakba https://un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/

The Disinherited: Journal of a Palestinian Exile https://monthlyreview.org/product/disinherited/

Dear Palestine https://sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/dear-palestine

Said on the Oslo Accords https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Edward-Said-%C2%B7-The-Morning-After-%C2%B7-LRB-21-October-1993.pdf

US as “Israel’s Lawyer” https://aljazeera.com/news/2011/1/24/israels-lawyer-revisited

America and Iran https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/59417/america-and-iran-by-john-ghazvinian/

Brokers of Deceit: How the US Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East https://beacon.org/Brokers-of-Deceit-P1029.aspx

Image of Dead Sea: https://openverse.org/image/collection?source=flickr&creator=trialsanderrors

Trent and Caitlin talk to…each other??? Caitlin presents the reasoning behind her recent Liberal Currents essay on the rhetorical strategies used by pundits and politicians when they don’t want to appear unsympathetic to trans people but won’t commit to supporting the full range of human and civil rights for this group. They discuss other current political issues and whether they have any of these rhetorical strategies in common.

Resources:

Caitlin’s essay: https://liberalcurrents.com/showing-their-buts-the-false-compassion-of-the-concerned/

The Rhetoric of Reaction: https://hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674768680

Creating Scientific Controversies: https://cambridge.org/core/books/creating-scientific-controversies/6A9153090CC4274FEF0D7DF7C7F10B9D

Manufactured scientific controversies: https://jstor.org/stable/41940538

Chait’s article: https://theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/transgender-rights-election-public-opinon/680813/

Young’s article: https://persuasion.community/p/how-to-navigate-transgender-issues

Yglesias’s post: https://slowboring.com/p/men-and-women-are-different

Newsom/Kirk interview: https://youtu.be/9XJ6rQDRKGA?si=TOonDH1H5XqvvbnL

Newsom/Savage interview: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GACk33zWQtQ

Welfare use by immigrants: https://cis.org/Report/Welfare-Use-Immigrants-and-USBorn

Economics of immigration: https://udallcenter.arizona.edu/immigration/publications/impactofimmigrants08.pdf

Caitlin and Trent join Associate Professor Victor Ray to talk about DEI. What is meant by DEI depends on who is using it and what they’re trying to get done. Victor explains the history of DEI as a set of legal standards that insulated companies from accusations of discrimination, designed from the start to avoid upsetting the exact people who are now trying to purge the upper levels of every institution of anybody who isn’t white, straight, cisgender, conservative, male, middle class. They chat about some of the themes of anti-DEI opinion pieces and legislation, and they discuss how antipathy toward DEI exposes a sense of entitlement not to have to consider the perspectives and experiences of other people.

Resources:

Victor’s article: https://theemancipator.org/2025/01/28/topics/u-s-politics/eliminating-dei-isnt-just-racist-its-segregationist/

Victor’s book: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/708739/on-critical-race-theory-by-victor-ray/

Mary Bucholtz: The Public Life of White Affects: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/josl.12392

Jennifer Mueller’s work on white ignorance: https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article-abstract/64/2/219/3058571?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Why DEI Has No Place at Stanford: https://stanforddaily.com/2025/04/15/from-the-community-why-dei-has-no-place-at-stanford/

What DEI Threatens isn’t Merit, It’s Monopoly: https://stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/what-dei-threatens-isnt-merit-its-monopoly/

Policies to assist financially were racially unequal https://wwnorton.com/books/When-Affirmative-Action-Was-White/

Trump EOs: https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/, https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/restoring-equality-of-opportunity-and-meritocracy/, https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/reforming-accreditation-to-strengthen-higher-education/

DEI laudable but goes too far: https://nytimes.com/2025/01/28/opinion/dei-military-social-justice.html

NY Times on Trump’s First 100 Days: https://nytimes.com/2025/05/01/opinion/trump-100-days-opposition.html

Steven Pinker on Hallucinating Bigotry: https://x.com/sapinker/status/1861284167289577930

Steven Pinker on DEI as Unaccountable Bureaucracy: https://reason.com/podcast/2024/03/27/steven-pinker-what-went-wrong-at-harvard/

Company Towns: https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/labor/company-towns-1890s-to-1935/

Presidio Park Freedom City: https://city-journal.org/article/building-freedom-cities

Jamelle Bouie: DEI repeals in practice are purges https://nytimes.com/2025/02/12/opinion/trump-dei-meritocracy-civil-right.html

Trent and Caitlin talk to Greg Sargent, journalist and podcaster with The New Republic, about recent stories including the striking failure of the president to be cool about the newest round of Jeffrey Epstein news, the bizarre time dilation of being a conservative, and the childish insistence that every bad thing on the right is because of an overreach on the left.

Resource:

https://newrepublic.com/article/198247/trump-epstein-fiasco-ron-wyden

Caitlin and Trent chat with civil rights lawyer Joshua Erlich about the state of civil rights under Trump. What civil rights has this administration targeted? How are they achieving their goals? Is there anything that can be done to get in their way?

Resources:

Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, by Richard Hofstadter: https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Intellectualism-American-Life-Richard-Hofstadter/dp/0394703170

“Alligator Alcatraz” conditions https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/allowed-lawmakers-split-conditions-alligator-alcatraz-rcna218498

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alligator-alcatraz-florida-detainees-conditions-fungus-mosquitoes-rcna220205

SCOTUS education ruling https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/07/supreme-court-clears-the-way-for-trump-administration-to-massively-reduce-the-size-of-the-department-of-education/

Dept. of Ed can’t resolve civil rights complaints in a reasonable time https://www.wxyz.com/us-news/education/civil-rights-work-is-slowing-as-trump-dismantles-the-education-department-agency-data-shows

Lawsuit against DOGE https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/20/trump-will-face-first-lawsuit-targeting-elon-musks-doge-moments-after-taking-office/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/20/doge-trump-musk-ramaswamy/

Trent and Caitlin check in with Maureen Kosse, linguist and researcher of far-right ideologies, about the various strains on the right when it comes to Israel and America’s involvement therewith. They go over the different groups of right-wing Israel supporters, including those opposed to sending military aid to Israel or to its striking of Iran, and talk about the reasons each has for throwing their weight behind the country. They also look at how individuals across the alt-right try to attract less-plugged-in folks to their movement, at first hiding their xenophobic and anti-semitic beliefs only to reveal them later.

Resources

Half of evangelicals support Israel for restorationist reasons: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/05/14/half-of-evangelicals-support-israel-because-they-believe-it-is-important-for-fulfilling-end-times-prophecy/

Ted Cruz tries to use Genesis to defend Israel: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14826517/ted-cruz-israel-support-iran-tucker-carlson.html

Marjorie Taylor Greene on Jewish Space Lasers:

https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/marjorie-taylor-greene-penned-conspiracy-theory-laser-beam-space-started-deadly-2018

MTG votes no on aid for Israel (2023)

https://greene.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=589

MTG files space laser amendment (2024) https://www.businessinsider.com/mtg-marjorie-taylor-greene-jewish-space-lasers-israel-aid-bill-2024-4?op=1

MTG votes no on anti-boycott bill (2025) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/5/us-bill-to-ban-israel-boycotts-faces-right-wing-backlash-over-free-speech

MTG votes no on aid for Israel (2025) https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5392660-marjorie-taylor-greene-stop-israel-aid/

Groypers view Israel as an expression of Jewish world control: https://globalextremism.org/post/groyper/

History of Christian Zionism:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christian-Zionism

https://www.parapraxismagazine.com/articles/evangelical-zionism

https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/ad/ad_v9_2/daw01.html

https://www.globalministries.org/mee_resources_christian_zionism_koshy/

Thumbnail assets:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=163339506

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22007612@N05/51770690611

Caitlin and Trent speak with Eiynah about how people simply cannot be normal about NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, the way the New York Times keeps getting puppetted by far-right propagandists, and the manufactured nature of “newsworthiness.”

Resources:

News media propagate moral panics: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203828250/folk-devils-moral-panics-stanley-cohen

“Newsworthiness”: https://discourses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Teun-A.-van-Dijk-1991-Racism-And-the-Press.pdf

Iteration: https://nupress.northwestern.edu/9780810107885/limited-inc/

Reported speech can be recontextualized: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378216699000806

The Bulwark Podcast June 17: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/zohran-mamdani-fypod-crossover

New York Times June 21: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/nyregion/mamdani-globalize-intifada.html

https://theintercept.com/2025/07/10/mamdani-globalize-intifada-democrats/

Don’t quote the ADL: https://truthout.org/articles/its-time-to-break-with-the-adl-as-a-source-for-news-and-research-on-extremism/

Dan Goldman’s bias should be mentioned: https://www.dangoldmanforny.com/israel

Jon Chait asks, why won’t he denounce the phrase? https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/06/zohran-mamdani-globalize-intifada/683300/

Jon Chait hates attacks over a “decontextualized phrase or weaponized misunderstanding” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/cancel-culture-illiberalism-dead/681031/

NYT Columbia hacked https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/nyregion/columbia-university-hacker.html

NYT Columbia “exposé” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/nyregion/mamdani-columbia-black-application.html

NYT looking for justification: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/us/census-racial-categories.html

“Black New Yorkers”? https://nypost.com/2025/07/04/us-news/black-new-yorkers-rage-over-mamdanis-african-american-claim/

https://thehill.com/opinion/robbys-radar/5388110-black-new-yorkers-slam-zohran-mamdani-over-race-claims-on-his-college-application/

Why the NYT keeps getting played: https://www.findinggravity.net/p/christopher-rufo-and-elise-stefanik?utm_source=publication-search

https://www.theverge.com/culture/700082/nyt-mamdani-news-judgment

Chris Rufo lying about a drag queen: https://x.com/caitlinmoriah/status/1582415915508895746

Chris Rufo lying about eating cats in Ohio: https://web.archive.org/web/20240914120637/https://christopherrufo.com/p/the-cat-eaters-of-ohio

Crémieux/Jordan Lasker https://www.cjr.org/news/times-mamdani-college-application-race-article-hack.php

Lasker is a grad student who believes in racist pseudoscience https://x.com/thecollegehill/status/1847372903077335501

Mamdani’s policies are not out of step with US opinion https://www.yahoo.com/news/poll-zohran-mamdanis-policies-are-popular-with-americans-outside-new-york--even-if-mamdani-is-not-162406841.html

Mamdani eats with his hands: https://newrepublic.com/post/197538/maga-reaction-zohran-mamdani-eating-food-hands

Caitlin and Trent talk to anthropologist Rebecca Sear about the troubling trend in academia of allowing scientific racism, or the pseudoscientific belief that humans can be divided into genetically distinct racial groups with discrete measurements for things like IQ, personality traits, and behavior, to persist and present itself as a legitimate academic pursuit. They discuss how political activists have helped fund projects that propel scientific racism into the academic literature, popular media, and public policy.

Resources:

Musk on birth rates https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EPrNsxf-AUY

JD Vance: “I want more babies in the United States” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23XJ2SqI8FA

RFK, Jr. on “healthy kids” and COVID https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/well/rfk-jr-cdc-children-covid-vaccines-data.html

Origin of Eugenics https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/origins-eugenics

History of Eugenics https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/educational-resources/timelines/eugenics

Galton on “selection” 1883 https://archive.org/details/cu31924028925332/page/n325/mode/2up

Eugenics in the 1920s https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20speople-improving-the-nations-stock-for-great-and-greater-britain-eugenics-in-the-1920s/

Eugenics Record Office https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/368657

‘National IQ’ datasets: https://osf.io/26vfb_v1

Dark Money https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/215462/dark-money-by-jane-mayer/

Merchants of Doubt https://www.merchantsofdoubt.org/

Collins Family profile https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnd1Taw4CEE&t=174s

Polygenic embryo selection https://theinfinitesimal.substack.com/p/science-fictions-are-outpacing-science

Bo Winegard defending race science https://www.aporiamagazine.com/p/sasha-gusev-is-wrong?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Winegard accused of eugenics https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/03/12/assistant-professor-says-hes-been-fired-because-he-dared-talk-about-human-population

William Shockley on Firing Line https://youtu.be/7JOIqkh2ms8?si=rxH8Ym7_4SU0PYPR

Richard Haier on Lex Fridman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9RxrsvcS-k

Peter Singer on disabled newborns https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2017/04/now-peter-singer-argues-that-it-might-be-okay-to-rape-disabled-people

Trent and Caitlin check in with journalist Steven Monacelli, a special investigative correspondent for the Texas Observer, about the evolution and current-day doings of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, the dangers they pose to citizens and noncitizens alike, and the experience of being a journalist observing resistance to authoritarian police actions.

Resources:

Steven’s Observer work: https://texasobserver.org/author/steven-monacelli/

Steven’s website: https://stevenmonacelli.com/

“Less lethal”: https://wired.com/story/what-tear-gas-does-to-the-human-body/

Australian reporter hit by rubber bullet: https://youtube.com/watch?v=fkdajl35J48

ICE prosecutor running white supremacist account: https://texasobserver.org/ice-prosecutor-dallas-white-supremacist-x-account/

ICE fact sheet: https://immigrationforum.org/article/fact-sheet-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-ice/

Immigration enforcement costs: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/cost_of_immigration_enforcement_factsheet_2024.pdf

Trump wants immigrants tortured: https://vox.com/scotus/416163/trump-supreme-court-deport-immigration-convention-torture

AI license plate readers: https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/06/10/cities-halt-license-plate-readers/

Trump wanted a police state: https://rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-police-state-troop-deployment-los-angeles-1235360655/

ICE escalates on purpose: https://wsj.com/us-news/protests-los-angeles-immigrants-trump-f5089877

Voters don’t like it: https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3924

Caitlin and Trent reconnect with librarian and intellectual freedom advocate Katie Talhelm for an update about the legislative attacks on public and school libraries since we last spoke. She provides a window into the procedure libraries follow to decide which books to acquire.

UPDATE: Texas Governor Abbott announces special legislative session beginning June 21 https://texaspolitics.com/2025/06/23/gov-abbott-unveils-special-session-plans-reviews-legislative-wins/

Resources

Library collection development: https://ala.org/tools/atoz/Collection%20Development/collectiondevelopment

TX SB 12: https://kvue.com/article/news/politics/texas-legislature/texas-dei-ban-public-schools-final-approval-house-senate/269-eae4ff23-c1fe-46e1-bea0-73dc220fbe12

TX SB 13: https://texastribune.org/2025/05/26/texas-school-library-bill/

TX HB 3225: https://kltv.com/2025/05/29/tyler-reps-bill-ban-explicit-library-books-minors-falters/

TX SB 412: https://texastribune.org/2025/05/02/texas-legislature-teachers-parents-protections/

Rep. James Talarico on SB 13: https://instagram.com/reel/DKVRGhEJyCN/?igsh=c3huYzRydHF4M2hk

Rep. Anne Johnson on HB 3225: https://youtu.be/TCNioq57WIA?si=9tJU6MtqT9U_LptV

Photo of Moms for Liberty founder: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moms_for_Liberty#/media/File%3ATina_Descovich_on_Reason_Magazine.jpg

Trent and Caitlin talk to their old friend Clay Jackson, a former litigator and current licensed attorney in Texas. They discuss his plans to embrace a life in his new home on the range, recent developments in immigration rights, and the death penalty in the US. They discuss the history and justifications for the practice, highlight the stories of some Texas men who are wrongfully convicted, and ask listeners to advocate for the people currently sentenced to death.

Support the Innocence Project: https://innocenceproject.org

Upcoming executions: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/upcoming-executions

Police abuses in LA: https://bbc.com/news/articles/cj93d3r0zz0o

Inhumane conditions in ICE facility: https://cbsnews.com/news/immigrants-at-ice-check-ins-detained-and-held-in-basement-of-federal-building-in-los-angeles/

Legislators denied entry to ICE facility: https://nytimes.com/2025/06/08/nyregion/ice-detention-federal-plaza-nyc.html

Stephen Milller & Kristi Noem pushing for more abuses: https://newrepublic.com/post/195787/stephen-miller-screams-ice-not-arresting-enough-people

Portland, OR: https://opb.org/article/2025/06/06/asylum-arrest-portland-yzlh/

JD Vance threatens Menswear Guy: https://axios.com/2025/06/09/vance-post-suggests-deporting-the-menswear-guy

Sources for the history of execution:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/history-of-the-death-penalty/#fn6

https://archive.org/web/20131129221302/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1023

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/lawes-divine-morall-and-martiall/

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/yeardley-sir-george-bap-1588-1627/

Wilkerson v. Utah: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/99/130/

Furman v. Georgia: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/408/238/

Gregg v. Georgia: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/428/153/

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/criminal-defense/second-degree-murder/

Public opinion on death penalty: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/research/analysis/reports/year-end-reports/the-death-penalty-in-2024/public-opinion

“Eye for an eye” dominates reasons for support https://news.gallup.com/poll/1606/Death-Penalty.aspx

No evidence for deterrent effect: https://scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-does-not-support-the-use-of-the-death-penalty/

Financial costs: https://cato.org/blog/financial-implications-death-penalty

Bryan Stevenson’s Book: https://justmercy.eji.org/

Our hero Gretchen Sween: https://gsweenlaw.com/uploads/1/3/1/1/131145032/light_got_in.pdf

Robert Roberson: https://themarshallproject.org/2023/09/15/texas-shaken-baby-syndrome-baby-death-robert-roberson

Charles Flores: https://freecharlesflores.com/

Pablo Torres Finds Out: https://youtu.be/JUm2YgmBG1o?si=z4FCTmrrblxpAwIZ

Trent and Caitlin check in with independent journalist Marisa Kabas about media and public figures’ reactions to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, their impulse to valorize and whitewash his legacy, and the mass harassment and firing campaigns against anyone who is insufficient in their praise of him.

Resources:

https://www.thehandbasket.co

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/opinion/charlie-kirk-assassination-fear-politics.html

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/charlie-kirk-ezra-klein-tanehisi-coates?_sp=b72cfa75-76e2-4289-9bf0-14eb90c6993b.1758044662907

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/opinion/charlie-kirk-assassination.html

Caitlin and Trent talk with independent journalist Amanda Moore about the groypers and their peers, the self-serving micro-celebrities who profit from them, and the media’s mad scramble to make the latest assassination fit into the left-right paradigm without consulting experts.

Amanda’s work: https://www.clippings.me/users/noturtlesoup17

Pepe Jack-o-lantern image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95654958

Trent and Caitlin speak with political science professor Lindsey Cormack about her analysis of the DCInbox database of political communications, focusing especially on the memo from Third Way advising Democrats to avoid certain words that make them sound out of touch, elitist, or insincere. Where did these words come from? And do Democratic politicians actually use words like “heteronormative” and “postmodernism”?

Resources:

DCInbox database: https://www.dcinbox.com/

Lindsey’s analysis: https://dcinboxinsights.substack.com/p/was-it-something-the-democrats-said?r=53lhp&utm_campaign=post&triedRedirect=true

Third Way memo: https://www.thirdway.org/memo/was-it-something-i-said

Politico coverage: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/22/democrats-woke-language-blacklist-00519421

Lindsey’s book: https://howtoraiseacitizen.com/

Caitlin’s introduction resources: https://vpc.org/publications/cease-fire-a-comprehensive-strategy-to-reduce-firearms-violence/a-brief-history-of-firearms-law/

https://www.thirdway.org/memo/how-to-embrace-commonsense-gun-safety-legislation

https://www.thirdway.org/about/staff/jonathan-cowan

Caitlin and Trent speak with Jacob T. Levy, Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory at McGill University, about the state of democracy in the U.S. How did we get here? What are the tools and motivations of the people working to dismantle the institutions that make us a democratic nation? Is there a way out of it?

Resources:

Jacob's website: https://jacobtlevy.com/

Jacob's book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/rationalism-pluralism-and-freedom-9780198717140

Jacob's work with Niskanen Center: https://www.niskanencenter.org/author/jacob-t-levy/

That GAP ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwzF26o0AuU

Subsequent Abercrombie ad: https://youtube.com/shorts/14sXRgWTfdk?si=CWT_dEqXzbE77H8C

Trent and Caitlin talk with author, journalist and historian Adam Hochschild about the historical periods that most inform his view of today's disturbing American politics. What tactics and goals does Trump 2.0 have in common with Woodrow Wilson's post-WWI administration? What is different? What inspiration and warnings can we take from that dark period to help us survive this one?

Resources:

https://journalism.berkeley.edu/person/adam_hochschild/

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/american-midnight-adam-hochschild?variant=41003534123042

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/grip-there-are-many-programs-trying-to-reduce-recidivism-this-one-works/

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/bury-the-chains-adam-hochschild

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/000271627240300155

"radicals awaiting deportation" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radicals_awaiting_deportation.jpg

Trent and Caitlin ask Steven Monacelli about his recent work documenting the history and present of the American anti-vaccination movement. Who is drawn into it? How did we get here? What happens now that representatives of anti-vaccine beliefs now have the power to cut off the funds and regulatory processes that allow us to access immunization and disease management?

Resources:

Podcast: "Anti-Vax America" https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/episode/anti-vax-america-viral-texas-281085170/

Steven Monacelli on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stevanzetti.bsky.social

Pox by Michael Willrich https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/298913/pox-by-michael-willrich/

RFK Jr. on experts, free speech https://www.scrippsnews.com/health/rfk-jr-in-interview-with-scripps-news-trusting-the-experts-is-not-science

CDC shooting https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/us/gunman-cdc-shooting-vaccines.html

mRNA research defunded https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/08/06/nx-s1-5493544/rfk-defunding-mrna-vaccine-research

H1N1 research canceled https://www.npr.org/2025/05/28/nx-s1-5414642/trump-vaccine-bird-flu-mrna

RFK Jr. is executing Trump’s vision https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/9/how-rfk-jrs-vaccine-funding-cuts-fit-with-trumps-vision

Trent and Caitlin chat with James Palmer about China, the current state of America's relationship with China, and what it means for the U.S. to be constantly proposing wild tariff hikes, changing and pausing those hikes, and effectively withdrawing from international trade.

Trent and Caitlin speak with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider about their recent book "The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual." They discuss the faulty beliefs and logics that lead us to think about education as a tool for achievement and competition rather than a service provided by communities to their members. They ask what rhetorical strategies have been employed to convince us to allow the public school system to be degraded and dismantled, and the methods that have been working to arrest this degradation today.

Resources:

https://www.educationwarsbook.com/

Jack and Jennifer's podcast: https://www.haveyouheardpodcast.com/

Jack and Jennifer’s previous book: https://thenewpress.org/books/a-wolf-at-the-schoolhouse-door/?v=eb65bcceaa5f

The Death of Public School: How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/cara-fitzpatrick/the-death-of-public-school/9781541646773/?lens=basic-books

Mahmoud v. Taylor: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-297_4f14.pdf

Free-market logic for education: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0013189X231216953

Trent and Caitlin talk with political science professor Matt McManus about far-right thinkers and their journey through the past two decades. He regales the HTA audience with nuggets of wisdom from Charlie Kirk's books and other pieces of right-wing political theory he has reviewed.

Resources

Matt's book: https://www.routledge.com/The-Political-Theory-of-Liberal-Socialism/McManus/p/book/9781032647234?srsltid=AfmBOorDA_LDtzo9xkaeEYkvNV-ZW95DeZZ_aOw4GF_kRVQM4sozwd5p

Matt's work with Liberal Currents: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/author/mattmcmanus/

Matt's work with Jacobin: https://jacobin.com/author/matt-mcmanus

Matt on Unlearning Economics Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgefM1AipFs

Trent and Caitlin talk with politics blogger and podcaster Ed Burmila about the centrist arm of the Democratic Party and its zombie-like shuffle through our dark era of authoritarian overreach. We ask what exactly went wrong over the last half-century that led our ostensible protectors to be so ill-equipped for this moment? Who is failing us, who is trying something else, and what tactics seem promising?

Note: This episode was recorded before the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Resources:

Chaotic Neutral: How Democrats Lost Their Soul In The Center https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ed-burmila/chaotic-neutral/9781645030041/?lens=bold-type-books

Gin and Tacos blog http://www.ginandtacos.com

Mass for Shut-Ins podcast https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-mass-for-shut-ins-the-gin-29747244/

Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Gillian Brockell about her work tracking the flights and airline companies that move people in unsafe conditions to third-party recipient countries, where they will be imprisoned, mistreated, tortured, and possibly sent to their country of origin in violation of international law.

Resources

ICE flight monitor https://humanrightsfirst.org/ice-flight-monitor/

Unsafe Conditions on Deportation planes: https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ice-air-deportation-flights

Gillian "interferes" in illegal ICE flight https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.social/post/3lpnjho77jc25

Linda Brent (Harriet Jacobs) autobiography https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780486419312

Protest Key Lime Air Jan. 31 in Alamosa https://arkvalleyvoice.com/demonstration-against-key-lime-airs-ice-connections-set-for-january-31-in-alamosa/

Key Lime Air https://boulderreportinglab.org/2025/12/28/cu-boulder-keeps-key-lime-air-contract-as-denver-ends-its-deal-over-ice-flights/

Denver Air Connections https://cnycentral.com/news/nation-world/denver-colorado-city-council-rejects-airline-contract-for-its-association-with-president-donald-trumps-administration-ice-immigration-agenda

Gillian's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.social

What is ICE Air? https://gillianbrockell.ghost.io/what-is-ice-air/

Trent and Caitlin ask Evan Urquhart about his 2025 wrap up piece on Assigned Media: "The Year We Lost Everything." They discuss the need to take stock of where we are on trans rights, autonomy and the various freedoms we hold dear, and the value of acknowledging that we are not hysterical or out of touch with reality when we feel those freedoms being wrenched from our grasp. We talk about the intense pressure in corporate media to maintain anti-trans bias and the wonderful work independent journalists are doing to find and share the truth.

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist and author Jonathan Katz about the gangsters of capitalism, the imperial boomerang, and the moral injuries inflicted when officers, agents, and soldiers engage in the inhumane and depraved acts that are demanded of them.

Resources

Jonathan's book https://jonathanmkatz.com/gangsters

https://theracket.news

https://www.tiktok.com/@katzonearth?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/katzonearth/?hl=en

imperial boomerang https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/4383-the-imperial-boomerang-how-colonial-methods-of-repression-migrate-back-to-the-metropolis?srsltid=AfmBOorPodSS76ia1ZcpE5D7F77PSU84p0owKWfM2ukUp0s1E10FaYmr

the wrongest war https://theracket.news/p/the-wrongest-war

moral injury https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/cooccurring/moral_injury.asp

LA agents drive away with toddler https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-11-04/ice-border-patrol-dodger-stadium-parking-lot

US-Mexico restriction https://www.cbsnews.com/news/warning-signs-mexico-beach-us-department-of-defense-property/

Controlled Pod Into Terrain https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNrA2-FWoOnpgOS-ywSQlow

Thumbnail image

https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/unauthorized-us-signs-on-mexican-beach-along-texas-border-lead-to-international-dispute-mexico-president-trump-military-action-marines-drug-war-rio-grande

Trent and Caitlin speak with journalist Spencer Ackerman about the CIA, DHS, and other parts of the US government ostensibly protecting us from terrorism. How have they achieved this level of impunity? What are the precedents for the intolerable level of human rights and privacy violations we see today? What have we allowed to be done to the “other” in the past and present?

Resources

https://www.forever-wars.com/

Spencer's upcoming book https://www.forever-wars.com/book-two-majid-khan-iran-troops/

Spencer’s Iron Man issue https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/114934/iron_man_2024_1

Homan Square https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site

USS Gerald Ford in Caribbean https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/uss-gerald-r-ford-caribeean-venezuela-rcna244193

Sexual abuse in ICE detention https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/hundreds-of-immigrants-have-reported-sexual-abuse-at-ice-facilities-most-cases-arent-investigated

CIA abusive practices https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/enhanced-interrogation-tactics-included-lunch-tray-gruesome-force-feeding-methods

Susan Sontag https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/09/24/tuesday-and-after-talk-of-the-town

Stellar Wind https://www.theguardian.com/nsa-inspector-general-report-document-data-collection

"surveillance capitalism" https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/03/harvard-professor-says-surveillance-capitalism-is-undermining-democracy/

Palantir and the CIA https://www.fastcompany.com/91446398/cia-police-palantir-alex-karp-predictive-peter-thiel-paypal-sequoia

"white innocence" https://www.dukeupress.edu/white-innocence

Caitlin and Trent speak with educational policy researcher Derek Gottlieb about what it's like to research education in a country whose administration thinks public education shouldn't really even be a thing.

Resources:

https://www.derekgottliebphd.com/

"Building a Better Teacher" https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html

Kristof, "Obama and Our Schools" https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/opinion/13kristof.html

Cavell, "The Claim of Reason" https://academic.oup.com/book/49825

Malcolm Gladwell's quarterback problem https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/12/15/most-likely-to-succeed-malcolm-gladwell

Reduction in Force notices https://www.k12dive.com/news/education-department-layoffs-what-to-know-special-education-civil-rights-lawsuits/802779/

Reduction in Force halted https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/nx-s1-5585083/government-shutdown-trump-rif-layoffs

Ahmed, "On Being Included" https://www.dukeupress.edu/on-being-included

Caitlin and Trent speak with livestreamer Audrey Lee about her experiences participating in and documenting protests at the Portland ICE facility. Audrey explains the relationship among the people on the street, the officers of various departments and agencies, and the counterprotesters and right-wing influencers who have been interacting since she arrived this fall.

Resources

https://www.tiktok.com/@awkwardly_audrey?_r=1&_t=ZT-91NRgOQJsXl

https://youtube.com/@awkwardlyaudrey?si=hn9Pm439rt_LO0lx

National ICE stories:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/30/us/ice-immigration-customs-enforcement-explained-cec

https://www.vera.org/news/more-people-are-in-immigration-detention-than-ever-before

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/new-ice-recruits-showed-training-full-vetting-rcna238739

https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-warns-of-criminals-posing-as-ice-urges-agents-to-id-themselves/

https://newrepublic.com/post/196292/ice-director-tom-homan-immigration-crackdown

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/press-release/congress-approves-unprecedented-funding-mass-detention-deportation-2025/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/stephen-miller-immigration-diplomats-secret-calls-b2856464.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/06/09/trumps-immigration-crackdown-guru-stephen-miller-wants-even-more-arrests/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/stephen-miller-yells-ice-agents-152117107.html

Customs and Border Patrol

https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/border-patrol-agents-replace-top-leadership-at-ice-offices-despite-human-rights-violations

US Citizens detained:

https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will

Kavanaugh stop:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/25a169_5h25.pdf

New York:

https://longisland.news12.com/federal-jury-awards-112m-to-immigrants-detained-by-suffolk-for-ice

Florida:

https://www.latintimes.com/congressman-reveals-conditions-alligator-alcatraz-that-made-his-heart-sink-after-tour-586655

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/former-alligator-alcatraz-worker-describes-inhumane-conditions-inside/3673307/

Illinois:

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/lawsuit-alleges-inhumane-conditions-at-broadview-ice-processing-facility/3846195/

https://abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chicago-news-lawsuit-filed-aclu-illinois-conditions-inside-broadview-facility-court-tuesday/18111176/

https://time.com/7323334/ice-raid-chicago-pritzker-trump/

Oregon:

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/ice-in-oregon-pointing-rifles-at-family-stopping-minors-at-gunpoint-laying-on-top-of-man-during-arrest.html

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/14/lawmakers-condemn-ice-arrest-four-gresham-construction-workers/

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/11/ice-detains-us-citizen-for-7-hours-after-she-photographed-agents-in-gresham.html

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/08/hillsboro-immigration-customs-enforcement-victor-cruz-ice-oregon-washington-county-democrats/

https://opb.org/article/2025/11/05/washington-county-emergency-increased-ice-activity/

At the Portland facility:

https://www.portland.gov/hello/news/2025/7/8/update-chemical-munitions-use-near-ice-facility

Right wing influencers aren’t journalists and they’ve got Trump’s ear:

https://www.theverge.com/policy/813408/portland-influencers-national-guard-oregon-ninth-circuit

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/11/livestreamers-are-filming-and-sometimes-creating-conflict-at-portland-ice-protests-for-clicks-and-cash.html

NG went to OR despite order:

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/29/oregon-national-guard-portland-ice-immigration-karin-immergut-donald-trump/

https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/bonamici-wyden-merkley-dexter-demand-answers-about-portland-ice-facility

Trent and Caitlin speak with Professor John Pfaff, author of "Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration—and How to Achieve Real Reform." They talk about prisons, militarized police, and ICE in today's political climate.

Resources:

John's book https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/john-pfaff/locked-in/9780465096916/?lens=basic-books

ICE accidentally gasses everybody https://newrepublic.com/post/202443/portland-police-chief-donald-trump-protest-tear-gas-accident

Mutual aid supplies cleared https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/portlands-ice-protest-camp-was-suddenly-cleared-by-police-after-months-of-routine-removals-heres-why.html

John's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/johnpfaff.bsky.social

John's website https://johnfpfaff.com

Ghettoside https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/100077/ghettoside-by-jill-leovy/

Study of gun-carrying young people in NYC https://www.innovatingjustice.org/resources/gun-violence-brooklyn/

Gun boats in Chicago river https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/ice-us-customs-and-border-patrol-boats-spotted-on-chicago-river/

Skip Intro on Copaganda https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2ac8vr2QyTdlWwd8OQIc1it6bAfMGPPC

Kavanaugh defends racial profiling https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/09/justice-brett-kavanaugh-and-racial-proxies/

Kalief Browder https://innocenceproject.org/news/remembering-kalief-browder-year-suicide-rikers-island-shutdown/

Chicago pajama guy https://www.reuters.com/world/us/were-not-violent-city-chicago-locals-take-ice-block-by-block-2025-11-02/

Migra whistle information https://migrawhistle.carrd.co/

Caitlin and Trent check in with Daniel Harper of the "I Don't Speak German" podcast, taking another moment to peek under the rock and discover that the creepy crawlies are making friends with each other. They discuss the controversial interview between Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes, the role it seems to be playing in the far right, and various reactions (the good and the goofy).

Resources:

I Don’t Speak German

https://idontspeakgerman.libsyn.com

Ali Breland on the interview https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2025/10/nick-fuentes-tucker-carlson-interview/684792/

Michele Goldberg on the interview https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/opinion/nick-fuentes-kirk-successor.html

The Bulwark on the interview https://www.thebulwark.com/p/one-of-the-most-dangerous-interviews-ever-maga-media-tucker-carlson-nick-fuentes?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=The%2BBulwark&utm_campaign=publer

Knowledge Fight episode on the interview https://knowledgefight.libsyn.com/1089-tucker-the-man-and-his-capitulation

Fired over comments? No! https://www.mediamatters.org/right-side-broadcasting/right-side-broadcasting-and-nicholas-fuentes-host-who-participated-white

On the no fly list because of asking questions? No! https://thegrayzone.com/2023/02/15/nick-fuentes-america-firsts-death/

Fuentes threatened by gunman https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/12/19/nick-fuentes-armed-man/77090618007/

The SPLC article he blames https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/nick-fuentes-trades-parents-basement-pricey-livestreaming-den/

Heritage Foundation reaction https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/tucker-carlson-nick-fuentes-interview-heritage-foundation-outrage-rcna241251

When the Clock Broke https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374605445/whentheclockbroke/

Molly Conger on car attacks https://podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/a-brief-history-of-vehicular-violence/id1760218611?i=1000714601117&l=de-DE

William Luther Pierce https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/william-pierce/

David Duke https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/david-duke/

Oswald Spengler https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oswald-Spengler

Robby Soave's "Deplatforming" article https://reason.com/2025/10/30/deplatforming-nick-fuentes-wont-stop-antisemitism/

Caitlin and Trent check in with attorney and legal scholar Madiba K. Dennie about the Supreme Court and the originalist reading of the US Constitution—and why the originalist reading is a trap.

Resources

https://ballsandstrikes.org

https://madibadennie.com/

The Originalism Trap https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735353/the-originalism-trap-by-madiba-k-dennie/

NJ Reparations Council report https://www.njreparationscouncil.org/report

Dobbs decision https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health-organization

Gun rights decision https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/597/20-843/

Steve Vladeck on judicial power https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/91-the-broader-article-ii-implications

Trump v Casa, birthright citizenship https://www.nilc.org/articles/analyzing-scotus-trump-v-casa/

"undue burden" https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/undue_burden

"Kavanaugh Stops" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kavanaugh-stops-american-citizens-ice-detention-rcna238194

ICE break car window with baby in car https://www.alamosanews.com/stories/ice-agents-draw-weapon-break-car-window-while-arresting-alamosa-man,103677

Kilmar Abrego Garcia https://apnews.com/article/kilmar-abrego-garcia-mistaken-deportation-smuggling-27c2822466b717f10318c3268127a518

Dreyfus Affair https://www.britannica.com/event/Dreyfus-affair

Trent and Caitlin talk with Emily Glankler of Anti-Social Studies about moments in American history that could inform us about the events of Trump’s second term as president. Who are some characters who resemble the individuals we are dealing with today? Who are the scapegoats?

Resources:

https://www.randyblazak.com

https://www.tiktok.com/@antisocialstudies?_t=ZT-90u54I8WX3F&_r=1

https://youtube.com/@AntiSocialStudies?si=1qzjSoKUDf20oTol

https://www.instagram.com/antisocstudies?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Neville-Chamberlain

https://www.itcouldhappenherebook.org

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nullification-Crisis

https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/slave-catchers-slave-resisters/

https://allthatsinteresting.com/pinkerton-detective-agency

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/chinese-immigration

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/exclusive-lee-atwaters-infamous-1981-interview-southern-strategy/

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2016/summer/lavender.html

https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10450.html

https://www.randyblazak.com

Caitlin plays field reporter at the Portland ICE facility, interviewing the famous Portland chicken suit guy, Jack Dickinson himself, who gives his observations and thoughts after eight months on the scene.

Resources:

The impact of inflatables: https://www.404media.co/the-surreal-practicality-of-protesting-as-an-inflatable-frog/

ICE recruits not well vetted: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna238739

Health concerns from chemical munitions: https://www.portland.gov/hello/news/2025/7/8/update-chemical-munitions-use-near-ice-facility

Long-term effects of tear gas: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK595624/

Tracking ICE vehicles:

https://icecarsinpdx.wordpress.com

Land use violations:

https://www.portland.gov/mayor/keith-wilson/news/2025/9/17/city-portland-will-issue-land-use-violation-notice-ice-facility

Using zoning laws to fight ICE:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/us/politics/portland-ice.html

ICE uses extreme force:

https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2025/10/15/48075462/a-night-of-terror-civil-disobedience-met-with-extreme-force-at-portland-ice-facility

Blind man tackled and dragged by ICE:

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/blind-protester-dragged-detained-by-feds-says-agents-picked-the-weakest-person-they-could-find.html

Young woman sprayed by ICE:

https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/10/federal-officer-blasts-chemical-spray-into-vocal-but-nonviolent-portland-protester-video-shows.html

Antifa frog sprayed in his air vent:

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/ive-definitely-had-spicier-tamales-says-portland-ice-protest-frog-that-got-pepper-sprayed-by-federal-agents.html

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist Walker Bragman about the various crises in public health and climate change, the people who helped bring us here, and the dark money that funded it. They discuss the ways disinformation is packaged and spread to discourage the public from being able to access the services and tools they need to live.

Resources

https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/

https://www.importantcontext.news/

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/its-time-for-soft-secession/

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/215462/dark-money-by-jane-mayer/

https://www.city-journal.org/article/harvard-tramples-the-truth

https://cli.stanford.edu/events/conference-symposium/academic-freedom-conference

https://psr.org/event/911-march-for-health-science/

Caitlin and Trent chat with linguistics scholars Savi Namboodiripad and Daniel Midgley on what word most exemplifies 2025. Was it a new coinage? A pre-existing word that gained a new meaning or usage this year? A word that seemed to be on everybody's lips in 2025?

Resources:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year

"6 7" song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xpV4ix2K8

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/27/more-than-20-of-videos-shown-to-new-youtube-users-are-ai-slop-study-finds

https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/12/03/and-the-economists-word-of-the-year-for-2025-is

https://www.dictionary.com/articles/word-of-the-year-2025

https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/

https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-dictionary-reveals-word-of-the-year-2025

https://blog.collinsdictionary.com/language-lovers/collins-word-of-the-year-2025-ai-meets-authenticity-as-society-shifts/

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/2147118/is-that-grocery-product-really-canadian-or-is-it-maple-washing

"getting sendy" song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYAQEJyqR7E

group 7 https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/10/27/tiktoks-group-7-meme-explained/

https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/lore

https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/unc

https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/chopped

https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/huzz

https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-performative-male-how-young-men-are-experimenting-with-masculinity-online-268742

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051221126040

https://dailyillini.com/opinions-stories/columns-opinions/culture/2025/10/25/opinion-unmasking-performative-male/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kianbakhtiari/2025/09/28/performative-males-gen-z-irony-and-the-death-of-sincerity/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/us/rapture-tiktok-sept-23.html

Epstein's email simulator https://www.jmail.world/

https://othermeans.io/p/the-glonzo-strategy

https://www.theverge.com/policy/798491/frog-portland-trump-national-guard

https://the-monsters.fandom.com/wiki/The_Monsters

https://lafufu.art/blog/labubu-vs-lafufu

https://www.thelist.com/1817157/what-is-mar-a-lago-face-who-has-tried-the-trend/

https://bsky.app/profile/canadiandictionary.bsky.social/post/3m7tf3jm2fc2c

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oprah-podcast-no-contact-adult-children-parents_n_69389e85e4b0fb6244b0daa8

https://fortune.com/2025/12/29/trump-tariffs-cost-25000-per-month-small-business-importers-center-american-progress/

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/us/politics/doge-musk-trump-analysis.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-doge-government-spending-2025-b2890243.html

https://www.vox.com/culture/376401/r-word-slur-return-euphemism-treadmill-cycle

https://www.lawdork.com/p/the-kavanaugh-stop-50-days-later

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/30/politics/trump-taco-angry-tariff

https://www.buzzfeed.com/abbyzinman/canadians-elbows-up-explainer

https://pen.org/banned-words-list/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2025/03/15/these-197-terms-may-trigger-reviews-of-your-nih-nsf-grant-proposals/

https://www.dailydot.com/memes/everythings-computer-trump-quote-meme/

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/trump-promises-harsher-ice-crackdowns

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/27/chatgpt-suicide-openai-raine/

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/snap-welfare-queen-ai-memes-1235460824/

https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/10022/who-coined-the-phrase-rapid-unscheduled-disassembly#10219

https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/rapid-unplanned-disassembly-rud

https://becauselanguage.com/131-wotwoty-2025/