Pilot-Seminar on Work
The Public Sphere
This is a pilot episode for a podcast on the work. Original music by Samuel Haines.
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Free as in Market
The Public Sphere
Pete and Luke talk about Elizabeth Anderson’s Tanner Lectures in Human Values: "Liberty, Equality, and Private Government." Anderson says we don’t really understand the relationship between the “free market” and some of our most cherished political ideals, namely freedom and equality. This has lead us to overlook how the modern workplace has become politically authoritarian even as it is championed by free market ideologues.
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The New Left
The Public Sphere
Rafael Khachaturian and Sean Guillory visit to talk about their new article "Mapping the American Left." Both have been on the podcast before. Their article lists a few challenges faced by the Left in America.
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Reacting to the State of Emergency
The Public Sphere
In a shorter episode, Pete and Luke are astounded by President Trump's declaration of a State of Emergency in order to find money for his border wall. The Public Sphere is a podcast from Contrivers Review.
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Research Interests: Neoliberalism
The Public Sphere
A discussion about neoliberalism as a political and theoretical concept arising out of research research and reading. The Public Sphere is a podcast from Contrivers' Review.
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The Literal Opium of the Masses
The Public Sphere
Pete and Luke discuss a controversial article from Andrew Sullivan, "America's New Religions," in New York Magazine. They debate the differences between small-L liberalism and small-C conservatism in political theory. They also probe the role played by religion in providing the background cultural resources for stable political disagreements (as Sullivan seems to believe it must).
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Representing the Working Class
The Public Sphere
Pete talks with frequent guest Wes Bishop about how politics (mis-)characterizes and stereotypes the working class.
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Partisanship
The Public Sphere
Pete and Luke discuss a few articles about party politics in America. The Public Sphere is a podcast from Contrivers Review.
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Reconsidering Fascism in America
The Public Sphere
On this episode, Luke and Pete discuss "Scary Clowns,” an article in the Baffler by Brendan O'Conner. Luke begins with a monologue about his growing fear of extremist right-wing violence. We consider the connections between more mainstream conservative groups and fascist groups like the Proud Boys. We discuss the racial polarization of politics, and how race has crystalized into a political differentiator. Finally, we consider the complicity by silence of the GOP.
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Ryan Zinke and Public Use
The Public Sphere
Pete and Luke discuss Ryan Zinke, the scandal-ridden Secretary of the Interior. What does "public land for public use" mean? What is an "America First" energy policy? They also briefly revisit last week's topic, Matthew Whitaker, the newly appointed acting Attorney General. The Public Sphere is a podcast from Contrivers Review.
info_outlineFree speech is a core tenet of our democratic and academic systems. But as in politics, universities are increasingly under siege by large donors carrying bags of cash. What do billions of dollars entitle you to? Does it entitle you to shape what is taught and researched at a public university? How can you tell when or if ideology is subverting core institutional values?
These are the questions at the heart of controversies over the Charles Koch Foundation donating millions of dollars to US universities. The spirit of the questions also applies to other billionaires making donations like Phil Knight or George Soros, but the Charles Koch Foundation has stirred more controversy in part because of the lack of transparency around many of these donations and the strings that have come attached to the money, such as influence in faculty hiring, scholarship and fellowship awards, and curriculum decisions. They’ve also drawn attention because some feel that the far-right ideology of Koch funded “university-based research centers” may be itself be so extreme as to cast doubt on the scholarly validity of the research it produces and teaches.
We’ll be talking mainly about George Mason University today. GMU is a public university in northern VA that has received $95.5 million of that $142 million donated by Charles Koch Foundation since 2005. On Tuesday, April 24 a student group on campus, Transparent GMU went to trial against the GMU and their fundraising arm, The George Mason University Foundation to release documents under the FOIA. While that case is still undecided, documents detailing the donor agreements were released, providing us with direct evidence that the Kochs dictated hiring and other academic policies, which GMU is now admitting.
- Jane Mayer interviewed on NPR Fresh Air.
- Jane Mayer at Stanford University.