Half the Answer

Trent and Caitlin talk to Layla al-Sheikh, who provides the history and context of the establishment of the Israeli state on Palestinian land, the many displacements and violent ethnic cleansings of the last century in that region, and the evolving relationships of the surrounding nations with the United States.Resources:Theodore Herzl https://britannica.com/biography/Theodor-HerzlNakba https://un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/ The Disinherited: Journal of a Palestinian Exile https://monthlyreview.org/product/disinherited/ Dear Palestine https://sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/dear-palestine Said on the Oslo Accords https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Edward-Said-%C2%B7-The-Morning-After-%C2%B7-LRB-21-October-1993.pdf US as “Israel’s Lawyer” https://aljazeera.com/news/2011/1/24/israels-lawyer-revisited America and Iran https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/59417/america-and-iran-by-john-ghazvinian/Brokers of Deceit: How the US Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East https://beacon.org/Brokers-of-Deceit-P1029.aspx Image of Dead Sea: https://openverse.org/image/collection?source=flickr&creator=trialsanderrors

Trent and Caitlin talk to…each other??? Caitlin presents the reasoning behind her recent Liberal Currents essay on the rhetorical strategies used by pundits and politicians when they don’t want to appear unsympathetic to trans people but won’t commit to supporting the full range of human and civil rights for this group. They discuss other current political issues and whether they have any of these rhetorical strategies in common.Resources:Caitlin’s essay: https://liberalcurrents.com/showing-their-buts-the-false-compassion-of-the-concerned/ The Rhetoric of Reaction: https://hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674768680Creating Scientific Controversies: https://cambridge.org/core/books/creating-scientific-controversies/6A9153090CC4274FEF0D7DF7C7F10B9D Manufactured scientific controversies: https://jstor.org/stable/41940538 Chait’s article: https://theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/transgender-rights-election-public-opinon/680813/ Young’s article: https://persuasion.community/p/how-to-navigate-transgender-issues Yglesias’s post: https://slowboring.com/p/men-and-women-are-different Newsom/Kirk interview: https://youtu.be/9XJ6rQDRKGA?si=TOonDH1H5XqvvbnL Newsom/Savage interview: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GACk33zWQtQ Welfare use by immigrants: https://cis.org/Report/Welfare-Use-Immigrants-and-USBorn Economics of immigration: https://udallcenter.arizona.edu/immigration/publications/impactofimmigrants08.pdf

Caitlin and Trent join Associate Professor Victor Ray to talk about DEI. What is meant by DEI depends on who is using it and what they’re trying to get done. Victor explains the history of DEI as a set of legal standards that insulated companies from accusations of discrimination, designed from the start to avoid upsetting the exact people who are now trying to purge the upper levels of every institution of anybody who isn’t white, straight, cisgender, conservative, male, middle class. They chat about some of the themes of anti-DEI opinion pieces and legislation, and they discuss how antipathy toward DEI exposes a sense of entitlement not to have to consider the perspectives and experiences of other people.Resources: Victor’s article: https://theemancipator.org/2025/01/28/topics/u-s-politics/eliminating-dei-isnt-just-racist-its-segregationist/ Victor’s book: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/708739/on-critical-race-theory-by-victor-ray/Mary Bucholtz: The Public Life of White Affects: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/josl.12392Jennifer Mueller’s work on white ignorance: https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article-abstract/64/2/219/3058571?redirectedFrom=fulltext Why DEI Has No Place at Stanford: https://stanforddaily.com/2025/04/15/from-the-community-why-dei-has-no-place-at-stanford/ What DEI Threatens isn’t Merit, It’s Monopoly: https://stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/what-dei-threatens-isnt-merit-its-monopoly/ Policies to assist financially were racially unequal https://wwnorton.com/books/When-Affirmative-Action-Was-White/ Trump EOs: https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/, https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/restoring-equality-of-opportunity-and-meritocracy/, https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/reforming-accreditation-to-strengthen-higher-education/ DEI laudable but goes too far: https://nytimes.com/2025/01/28/opinion/dei-military-social-justice.html NY Times on Trump’s First 100 Days: https://nytimes.com/2025/05/01/opinion/trump-100-days-opposition.html Steven Pinker on Hallucinating Bigotry: https://x.com/sapinker/status/1861284167289577930 Steven Pinker on DEI as Unaccountable Bureaucracy: https://reason.com/podcast/2024/03/27/steven-pinker-what-went-wrong-at-harvard/ Company Towns: https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/labor/company-towns-1890s-to-1935/Presidio Park Freedom City: https://city-journal.org/article/building-freedom-cities Jamelle Bouie: DEI repeals in practice are purges https://nytimes.com/2025/02/12/opinion/trump-dei-meritocracy-civil-right.html

Trent and Caitlin talk to Liberal Currents author Vikas Valiveti about the current state of scientific consensus on how trans girls and women compete in sports. What are the correct ways to measure athleticism? When does it actually matter? How should we think about fairness and the right to participate? And what’s the incorrect framing that leads people astray when they are thinking about this question?Resources:Vikas’ article: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/do-trans-women-belong-in-sports/IOC policies: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323916196000075FINA policies: https://resources.fina.org/fina/document/2022/06/19/525de003-51f4-47d3-8d5a-716dac5f77c7/FINA-INCLUSION-POLICY-AND-APPENDICES-FINAL-.pdfLia Thomas rule change: https://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/_/id/40334702/cas-rejects-lia-thomas-challenge-rules-trans-swimmersTrump comments on sports: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-womens-sports-will-die-if-trans-athletes-are-allowed-2021-2Tiny proportion of athletes are trans: https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/5046662-ncaa-president-transgender-athletes-college-sports/

Caitlin and Trent talk to Clay Jackson, a litigator from Dallas, Texas. Clay describes the disconcerting experience of having secret police show up to his door the same day he gave boilerplate know-your-rights information to some neighbors who were concerned about being targeted by ICE. They discuss the rapidly escalating war on immigrants being waged by the Trump administration, the ways ICE and CBP try to cross boundaries of legality and privacy, and what’s next for Clay after his workplace failed to stand behind him and commit to the idea that due process is for everybody.Resources:Clay’s story in The Watch: https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-courage-to-be-decentClay’s update in Popular Info: https://popular.info/p/fortune-500-company-abruptly-firesClay’s Substack: https://clayjak.substack.comICE press release: https://ice.gov/100daysUncles in Crocs: https://newrepublic.com/article/193820/kristi-noem-ice-libs-tik-tokRumeysa Ozturk: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/07/g-s1-64726/federal-court-rules-student-rumeysa-ozturk-detention-vermont-challengeMohsen Madhawi: https://abcnews.go.com/US/mohsen-mahdawi-columbia-student-freed-ice-feared-citizenship/story?id=121485222Rebecca Burke: https://theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/05/i-was-a-british-tourist-trying-to-leave-america-then-i-was-detained-shackled-and-sent-to-an-immigration-detention-centreKsenia Petrova: https://pbs.org/newshour/show/russian-born-harvard-researcher-describes-detention-at-ice-facility-and-deportation-fearsDefinition of ‘criminal’: https://axios.com/2025/01/28/trump-immigrants-criminals-white-house-briefingTrump’s first-term violations: https://cnn.com/2021/09/23/politics/cbp-targeted-us-citizens-caravan-concernsAmericans disapprove of Trump’s actions: https://washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/25/trump-immigration-approval-ratings-drop-poll/Trump can bring Abrego Garcia back: https://newrepublic.com/article/194815/trump-accidentally-sabotaged-case-abrego-garciaTrump “doesn’t know” if he has to follow Constitution: https://npr.org/2025/05/05/nx-s1-5386643/when-asked-if-he-needs-to-uphold-constitution-president-trump-says-i-dont-knowMarch 22 Executive Order: https://nytimes.com/2025/03/22/us/politics/trump-memo-lawyers.htmlRubio calls students “lunatics”: https://reuters.com/world/us/rubio-says-us-may-have-revoked-more-than-300-visas-2025-03-27/Justice Brandeis quote: https://charterforcompassion.org/arts/arts/online-exhibits/americans-who-tell-the-truth/appointed-and-elected-public-figures/justice-louis-brandeis.htmlThumbnail images:Border wall by Wonderline https://flickr.com/photos/71401718@N00/3370155351Scales of Justice by DonkeyHotey https://flickr.com/photos/47422005@N04/7468312536

Trent and Caitlin speak with cognitive scientist, linguist, and AI researcher Hagen Blix about his book, co-authored with Ingeborg Glimmer, called “Why We Fear AI: On the Interpretation of Nightmares.” What do those selling AI-branded products have to gain from telling everybody that AI could take over the world? What do regular people think about its use in our industries and lives? What does it tell us about the world we live in and our relationship to capital, our governments, and each other?References: Hagen’s book https://commonnotions.org/why-we-fear-ai?srsltid=AfmBOopmfLto0hDIbI4L9Cr5XUWkhoNmT3azu6FSgWvJkboHZF08pNCg Marc Andreessen comments https://pmarca.substack.com/p/why-ai-will-save-the-world Elon Musk comments https://cnn.com/2024/05/23/tech/elon-musk-ai-your-job/index.html Stephen Hawking comments https://cam.ac.uk/research/news/the-best-or-worst-thing-to-happen-to-humanity-stephen-hawking-launches-centre-for-the-future-of Open Letter on AI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_letter_on_artificial_intelligence_(2015) 25% of Facebook posts are AI originality.ai/blog/ai-facebook-posts-study Instagram algorithms https://benzinga.com/news/24/04/38420928/meta-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-more-than-50-of-the-content-people-see-on-instagram-is-now-ai-recommendedRat image https://scienceintegritydigest.com/2024/02/15/the-rat-with-the-big-balls-and-enormous-penis-how-frontiers-published-a-paper-with-botched-ai-generated-images/ Papers with LLM phrases https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2024/03/20/the-latest-crisis-is-the-research-literature-overrun-with-chatgpt-and-llm-generated-articles/Willy Wonka Experience https://themarysue.com/what-happened-at-the-glasgow-willy-wonka-experience-explained/ Cuomo housing plan https://hellgatenyc.com/andrew-cuomo-chatgpt-housing-plan/Bad tariff math https://theverge.com/news/642620/trump-tariffs-formula-ai-chatgpt-gemini-claude-grok DOGE dystopia https://cnn.com/2025/03/04/tech/doge-ai-government-cuts-expert-concerns/index.htmlDOGE surveillance https://reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/musks-doge-using-ai-snoop-us-federal-workers-sources-say-2025-04-08/xAI generators https://theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/elon-musk-xai-memphis carcinogenic gas generators https://catf.us/2022/09/new-report-finds-heightened-cancer-risk-14-million-people-toxic-air-pollution-emitted-us-oil-gas-sector/ The Gospel https://theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/01/the-gospel-how-israel-uses-ai-to-select-bombing-targetsLavender and Where’s Daddy? https://vox.com/future-perfect/24151437/ai-israel-gaza-war-hamas-artificial-intelligence Andreas Malm: Fossil Capital https://versobooks.com/products/135-fossil-capitalBrian Merchant: Blood in the Machine https://hachettebookgroup.com/titles/brian-merchant/blood-in-the-machine/9780316487740/Robot image by Radio Saigon https://www.flickr.com/photos/34928082@N05/3396619316

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist Evan Urquhart about the ways trans rights get discussed in mainstream media, including the notion that supporting trans people’s full participation in society and protecting their right to bodily autonomy represents a viewpoint that is out of touch, too extreme, or endangers the rights of others. References:https://www.assignedmedia.org Did the Harris campaign speak on trans rights? https://glaad.org/harris-accountability-tracker/Eighth Amendment protections: https://edhub.ama-assn.org/ama-journal-of-ethics/module/2805771Push to move Dems right: https://thirdway.org/report/renewing-the-democratic-partyhttps://politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/03/02/democrats-in-despair-00206883https://nytimes.com/2025/03/11/opinion/democrats-center-future.html

Trent and Caitlin talk with Dr. Aris Clemons, an Assistant Professor in Linguistics, about the various slanders and misapprehensions that plague her field of study. We discuss language ideologies, the illusion of objectivity, the futility of being “apolitical” in a political institution, ethnography and lived experience, “other ways of knowing,” and other concepts that get weaponized in attacks on the academy from the right and the center. References: Aris’s book chapter: https://academic.oup.com/book/56269/chapter/445192927 Universities as business entities: https://jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1gk07xz?turn_away=true Science and subjectivity are compatible: https://iaphs.org/sciences-objectivity-conundrum/A brief history of measurement: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-objectivity/James Watson was no master of objectivity: https://vox.com/2019/1/15/18182530/james-watson-racistResearch has always been political: https://bioethicstoday.org/blog/the-folly-of-apolitical-science/ “Apolitical” science treated humans like objects https://thoughtco.com/u-s-governments-role-sterilizing-women-of-color-2834600“Institutional Neutrality” https://chronicle.com/article/institutional-neutrality-is-censorship-by-another-name

Trent and Caitlin talk with Adam Gurri, founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal Currents, about his take that the most accurate way to view the Trump presidency is as an example of “personalism.” What is personalism? What are other examples of personalist systems? What can a nation do once a personalist leader has begun his work? What is the manliest thing you can possibly put in your coffee? All this and more is addressed in this episode of Half the Answer.Adam's article "America's Paths to Personalism": https://www.liberalcurrents.com/americas-paths-to-personalism/

Caitlin and Trent ask Alan Elrod, President and CEO of the Pulaski Institution, about what nationalism is and what kinds of nationalism are at play today. We discuss how white nationalist and Christian nationalist proponents justify it, and how U.S. progressives can participate in a national identity that celebrates pluralism and multiculturalism. And we let Alan indulge in a little American exceptionalism, as a treat.ReferencesAlan’s article on nationalism: https://pulaskiinstitution.org/the-pulaski-blog/tragic-nationalism-hungary-trianon-and-the-american-right“Poisoning the blood” comment: https://nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna130141“Globalism” comments: https://cnbc.com/amp/2025/03/06/trump-blames-globalists-for-stock-market-sell-off.htmlhttps://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/articles/president-trump-we-have-rejected-globalism-and-embraced-patriotism/Chuck Schumer “Palestinian” comment: https://theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/trump-chuck-schumer-palestinian-slurExecutive order on eradicating “Anti-Christian Bias”: https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/eradicating-anti-christian-bias/Executive order on English as Official Language: https://whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-united-states/Linguistic Society of America statement: https://lsadc.org/lsa-statement-against-designating-english-as-the-official-language#:~:text=The%20Linguistic%20Society%20of%20America,are%20not%20valid%E2%80%94and%20in