John Walensky
Retired professor of education with appointments at Stanford and Simon Fraser University and founder of the Public Knowledge Project, an advocate for open access and reforming scholarly publishing.
Best podcasts with John Walensky
Ranked by the Snipd community
Jan 12, 2026 • 54min
Why copyright laws do more harm than good
Join John Walensky, a retired education professor and founder of the Public Knowledge Project, alongside novelist Taya Lim, as they delve into the complexities of copyright laws. They discuss how these laws, while protecting creators, create barriers to access information. John highlights the struggle of open access in research due to subscription models. Taya argues for viewing art as a communal resource and critiques the impact of AI on creative works. Both express hope for reform that aligns artists with the open-access movement.
Oct 8, 2025 • 54min
How a translation movement made Western philosophers famous
Join John McGinnis, a philosophy professor focusing on medieval Arabic thought, and Sarah Ann Knudsen, an expert on the Abbasid Caliphate, as they unravel the fascinating Greco-Arabic Translation Movement. Discover how 8th-century Baghdad became a vibrant hub for knowledge exchange, fueled by a love for Greek philosophy and the advent of papermaking. They delve into the lives of polymath scholars, the intricacies of patronage, and the impact of translation on medieval education. John Walensky highlights the enduring significance of open scholarly exchange across cultures.
