Emerson, Anti-Intellectualism, and Intellectual Roles

This week, I’m excited to share a special rebroadcast from the Origins Podcast archives: my original Origins Podcast conversation with Noam Chomsky.

We recorded this dialog over six years ago, as an update to a conversation we’d held three years prior , before the political upheavals of Trump and Brexit.

Listening back now, it’s striking how much of what Noam said remains relevant, and in many cases, deeply prescient. As always, he was incisive, informative, provocative, and brilliant. We covered a huge range of topics, starting with the history of anti-intellectualism in America and the role of intellectuals during the Vietnam War , before moving into the nature of American exceptionalism.

We also dove into the pressing foreign policy issues of the day, including North Korea, Syria, Israel, Venezuela, and Brazil. While many of the underlying causes may be the same, it’s fascinating to see how some of these situations have played out in ways we might never have predicted.

From his analysis of free speech debates to his critical concerns about nuclear weapons and the environment, it’s a conversation that remains incredibly important.

I hope you enjoy revisiting this fascinating conversation.

As always, an ad-free video version of this podcast is also available to paid Critical Mass subscribers. Your subscriptions support the non-profit Origins Project Foundation, which produces the podcast. The audio version is available free on the Critical Mass site and on all podcast sites, and the video version will also be available on the Origins Project YouTube.