Heterodox Out Loud – Details, episodes & analysis

What is the real purpose of a university—truth-seeking or molding active citizens? Are university campuses becoming echo chambers, leading to self-censorship among not just conservatives but liberals too?

Today's guest is Amna Khalid, an esteemed Associate Professor of History at Carleton College and a prominent voice within the Heterodox Academy (HxA) community. Together, John Tomasi and Amna explore this multifaceted question. They discuss the evolving role of universities, the interplay of critical inquiry and citizenship, and the impact of neoliberal trends on campus culture.

Amna brings a wealth of experience and academic insight. She shares her perspectives on the necessity of preserving higher education's autonomy while addressing present-day challenges, such as campus speech restrictions and the contentious implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

In This Episode:

• The dual mission of universities: critical inquiry and citizenship
• Campus speech restrictions and the self-censorship challenge
• The impact of neoliberalism on diversity initiatives in higher education
• Student entitlement and the consumerist mindset in academia
• The essential role of academic expertise in shaping educational experiences
• Legislative interference and academic freedom
• The need for balanced, viewpoint-neutral reforms in higher education
• Case examples highlighting challenges faced by faculty and institutions

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About Amna:

Amna Khalid is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She specializes in modern South Asian history, the history of medicine and the global history of free expression. Amna is the author of multiple book chapters on the history of public health in nineteenth-century India, with an emphasis on the connections between Hindu pilgrimages and the spread of epidemics. Born in Pakistan, Amna completed her Bachelor's Degree at Lahore University of Management Sciences. She went on to earn an M.Phil. in Development Studies and a D.Phil. in History from Oxford University. Growing up under a series of military dictatorships, Amna has a strong interest in issues relating to censorship and free expression. She speaks frequently on academic freedom, free speech and campus politics at colleges and universities as well as at professional conferences. Her essays and commentaries on these same issues have appeared in outlets such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Conversation, Inside Higher Ed and the New Republic. She hosts a podcast and accompanying blog called "Banished," which explores censorship in the past and present. Amna was a Fellow at the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement during the 2022-2023 academic-year, along with her Carleton colleague Jeff Snyder​. They focused on threats to academic freedom in Florida, the state at the epicenter of the conservative movement to encourage state intervention in public school classrooms. Based on interviews Khalid and Snyder conducted with Florida faculty members, they submitted an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs who are challenging the Stop WOKE Act.

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

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

In This Episode:

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

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

About Kathleen:

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

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Can we restore the fractured trust in science and steer public health back to its noble roots? Welcome to Heterodox Out Loud. Today, we are joined by Sandro Galea, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H, who provides insights that challenge us to confront the post-pandemic skepticism clouding the scientific community.

In this episode, we will delve into a conversation that dissects how the clamor of political bias and social media frenzy has overshadowed the value of nuanced scientific discourse during COVID-19. Dr. Galea, through his book "Within Reason: A Liberal Public Health for an Illiberal Time," calls for a return to empirical rigor and liberal principles in public health, principles that are currently at odds with our polarized world.

As we unravel the tense interplay between public health mandates and individual liberties, Dr. Galea advocates for radical transparency that acknowledges the trade-offs and complexities inherent in our decisions. Today, we challenge you to reevaluate what it means to trust science and ask: how do we rebuild a foundation of credibility in the face of fear and division?

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Language and Ideology in Dialogue

• Public Health's Role and Influence

• Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Liberalism and Public Health Philosophy

• Crisis of Trust and Communication

• Public Health Reformation

ABOUT DR. SANDRO GALEA:

Dr. Sandro Galea is a renowned physician and epidemiologist who currently serves as the Dean of the Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. Galea has made significant contributions to social sciences with over a thousand scientific publications, 24 books, and numerous awards. He is highly respected for his pioneering work on social determinants of health, mental health, and the impact of mass traumas, including September 11th and Hurricane Katrina. His research, often featured in top media outlets, continues to shape global public health conversations.

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Today, John Tomasi and award-winning journalist Jamie Kalven explore the complexities surrounding the idea of institutional neutrality within universities and its implications for promoting intellectual freedom and robust argument. 

They delve into the Kalven Report of 1967 from the University of Chicago. This landmark report sought to balance the preservation of academic freedom with the responsibility to uphold the university's mission and values. The report's nuanced approach is examined in the context of Harry Kalven’s legacy, a key figure in First Amendment jurisprudence. They also analyze the report's implications for addressing contentious political issues within academia.

Additionally, they discuss the gray areas and exceptions within the Kalven Report, which are brought about by the proactive engagement of students seeking to understand and promote the principles of academic inquiry. Emphasizing the importance of contextual application and disciplined discourse, they examine the university as a space for dangerous thinking and mutual engagement, aiming to promote deeper understanding amidst diverse perspectives.

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GUEST BIO:

Jamie Kalven is an American journalist, author, human rights activist, and community organizer based in Chicago, Illinois. He is the founder of the Invisible Institute, a non-profit journalism organization based in Chicago. Jamie Kalven is the son of 1967 Kalven Report Committee Chairman Harry Kalven.

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Are our higher education institutions still nurturing true intellectual diversity? Our guest today is Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist at Harvard, and today, we'll be exploring the growing concerns within higher ed that institutions are turning into echo chambers, stifling dissent and censoring certain perspectives.

In this thought-provoking episode, we'll be discovering the challenges to academic freedom in the era of cancel culture. We'll explore how questioning a consensus can now come at a cost, impacting the pursuit of truth within academic institutions. We'll also uncover the story of the Council for Academic Freedom at Harvard, which was formed to combat these challenges.

Join us as we delve into policies protecting free speech, and the vital role of civil discourse in the academic community. Together, we'll navigate the complex landscape of universities, grappling with the delicate balance between common knowledge and the suppression of dissenting opinions.

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About Steven:

Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist who conducts research in visual cognition, psycholinguistics, and social relations. He grew up in Montreal and earned his BA from McGill and his PhD from Harvard. Currently Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard, he has also taught at Stanford and MIT. He has won numerous prizes for his research, his teaching, and his books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, and Enlightenment Now. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, a recipient of nine honorary doctorates, and one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today.” He was Chair of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary and writes frequently for the New York Times, the Guardian, and other publications. His twelfth book, published in 2021, is called Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters.

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In this episode of Heterodox Out Loud, John Tomasi speaks with Alexandra Lysova. Alexandra Lysova, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver/Burnaby, Canada. Her research career, spanning more than 20 years, focuses on intimate partner violence, including violence against men, women and children. Having experienced limitations on freedoms in Russia, where Alexandra grew up, she has developed a heightened appreciation for democratic values and, at the same time, has become sensitive to limitations on academic freedom and freedom of expression in countries, such as Canada and the US. Lysova has received the 2023 Leadership Award from Heterodox Academy for her persistent efforts to protect academic freedom, and she was also the recipient of the 2022 Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy.

Heterodox Out Loud 

Heterodox Out Loud with John Tomasi is a biweekly podcast featuring conversations with people across the academy and beyond. Listen to insightful, thought-provoking episodes from the HxA community by adding our podcast to your lineup.

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In this episode of Heterodox Out Loud, John Tomasi speaks with Musa Al-Gharbi. Musa is a Paul F. Lazarsfeld Fellow in Sociology. His research explores how we think about, talk about, and produce knowledge about social phenomena including race, inequality, social movements, extremism, policing, national security, foreign policy and domestic U.S. political contests.

In this episode of Heterodox Out Loud, we talk about ideological differences in society, bridging the ideological divide in America.

Heterodox Out Loud  

Heterodox Out Loud with John Tomasi is a biweekly podcast featuring conversations with people across the academy and beyond. Listen to insightful, thought-provoking episodes from the HxA community by adding our podcast to your lineup.

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In this episode of Heterodox Out Loud, John Tomasi speaks with Greg Lukianoff, an attorney, New York Times best-selling author, and the President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). He is the author of Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, Freedom From Speech, and FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus. Most recently, he co-authored The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure with Jonathan Haidt. 

We talk with Greg about cancel culture, free speech on college campuses and what universities can do to protect free speech.

Heterodox Out Loud 

Heterodox Out Loud with John Tomasi is a biweekly podcast featuring conversations with people across the academy and beyond. Listen to insightful, thought-provoking episodes from the HxA community by adding our podcast to your lineup.

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In this episode of Heterodox Out Loud, John Tomasi speaks with Carole Hooven, Ph.D., a Lecturer and Co-director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. We talk with Carole about Sex & Gender, her cancellation story, and the role of scientists in fostering a free speech culture. 

Heterodox Out Loud 

Heterodox Out Loud with John Tomasi is a biweekly podcast featuring conversations with people across the academy and beyond. Listen to insightful, thought-provoking episodes from the HxA community by adding our podcast to your lineup. 

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In this episode of Heterodox Out Loud, John Tomasi speaks with Pano Kanelos, President of the University of Austin, Texas (UATX). Kanelos is a leading advocate for free speech and open inquiry in higher education. He believes that UATX can offer a better alternative to the current system, which is often characterized by censorship and groupthink.

Heterodox Out Loud 

Heterodox Out Loud with John Tomasi is a biweekly podcast featuring conversations with people across the academy and beyond. Listen to insightful, thought-provoking episodes from the HxA community by adding our podcast to your lineup
 

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Website: https://www.uaustin.org/
 

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