Self in Society Podcast

Historian Robert Alan Goldberg, author of Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America, discusses the history of conspiracy thinking in the U.S. and explains how "new" conspiracy theories such as that involving QAnon recycle and embellish old themes. This is the Self in Society Podcast #20.

Timothy Sandefur, author of Frederick Douglass: Self-Made Man, discusses Douglass's life, political philosophy, and influence in his day and up to the present. This is the Self in Society Podcast episode #19.

Michael Donnelly, Senior Counsel and Director of Global Outreach with the Home School Legal Defense Association, discusses the motivations for homeschooling and the legal aspects of it, with a special focus on Colorado.

Historian Robert Alan Goldberg discusses the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado during the 1920s, their agendas and strategies, and the impact on politics and justice. The podcast also explores conspiracy theories, Klan influence in Colorado towns, and manipulation of law and order throughout American history.

Mark Silverstein, Legal Director of the ACLU of Colorado, discusses your rights when interacting with police, troubling police actions during protests, and Colorado police reforms.

Economist and iconoclast Robin Hanson suggests that variolation—controlled, intentional infection of the virus that causes COVID-19—could be an important "Plan B" if containment fails in the long-term and eventual herd immunity seems likely.

Kevin Currie-Knight, professor of education at East Carolina University and president of the board of New Pathfinder Community School, warns against equating the home "crisis schooling" curing the COVID-19 epidemic with homeschooling as families practice it in normal times. He offers some qualified suggestions for families in which students who usually attend a traditional school now must stay at home.

Dr. Bryan Alvarez, now in private practice after serving as the Public Health Director of the United States Northern Command from 2016–2019, discusses the problems and promise of testing our way out of the coronavirus crisis. He also talks about the process of bringing antiviral drugs and vaccines online, as well as the broader problem of emergency preparedness.

Economist Steven Horwitz offers a classical liberal theory of the family grounded in the works of Friedrich Hayek. Unlike conservatives, who tend to glorify a tradition-bound model of the family, and Progressives, who sometimes denigrate the family, Horwitz offers a vision of the family as a dynamic and evolving social institution that plays a critical role in people's lives.

Pamela Clare is a gun-toting Rush fan—and Boulder Progressive Democrat—who writes romantic fiction. She almost died in a mountain fall and had to be helicoptered out. She got death threats while working as an investigative journalist and had to tell one gun-waving disgruntled reader to get the f*** out of her office. She put her degree in classics to use in her historical romance novels before going on to write about rangers, firefighters, rock climbers, journalists, and other spirited characters.Pamela and I sat down to discuss her writing, the genre, problems within Romance Writers of America, the business side of fiction, her experiences as a journalist, the allure of Colorado's wilderness, her views on firearms, and the music that inspires her.Pamela says, "As I got older, I really came to appreciate the feminist nature of these stories. That word 'feminist' comes with a lot of baggage these days, but what I mean by that is the self-realization of the heroines in these stories. These heroines find what they're looking for in life, and they insist on it. These books focus on . . . heroines fighting for what they want with their lives. . . . As a woman I can identify very much with that fight, with the desire to succeed as a mother, to have a career, and to be respected by the people in one's life." ) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit