The Dissidents

In this week's ⁠Dissidents Podcast⁠ Mike Burke and Elizabeth Spievak have their second conversation with Winkfield Twyman, Jr. & Jennifer Richmond about their new book Letters in Black and White. In this episode they explore their debate over Wink’s suggestion of creating a common American identity premised on “Old Americans” and Jen’s criticism that this would be seen as “Sidestepping History”. Additionally, they discuss and debate the meaning of authenticity in a culture that prefers that we segregate into binary black and white identities laced with stereotypes and caricatures. References: ⁠Letters in Black & White⁠ To see the original documents from the book, visit ⁠Truth In Between

In this week's episode, Mike and Elizabeth talk with Ken Pope, CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Ken had a 34 year career in the US Army, consulting and academia.  While in uniform, he served in a variety of Foreign Area Officer assignments in Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and Central America. He had over 12 years of operational fieldwork with a variety of assignments in Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kosovo. We discuss a broad range of topics relevant to communism and democracy in the world, including Russia, China, and the current state of US military recruitment and training.  We think listeners will agree that there is much more to learn from Ken, so we hope this is just the first in a series of appearances on The Dissidents Podcast! Podcast Notes: Link to Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation website:  https://victimsofcommunism.org/ Report of the National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness: https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/report-the-national-independent-panel-military-service-and-readiness

In this second episode about moral identity, Mike and Elizabeth talk about whether threats to ingroup image, specifically the image some liberal leaning whites might prefer to hold about themselves, could prompt dissociation with their ingroup.  The authors of the article we chose believe so, and that this dissociation might be good for social justice causes, but Mike and Elizabeth aren’t so sure.  We have a lively discussion about the authors’ claims and our own interpretation of their findings.  References: Dai, J. D., Eason, A. E., Brady, L. M., & Fryberg, S. A. (2021). #NotAllWhites: Liberal-leaning White Americans racially disidentify and increase support for racial equity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(11), 1612–1632.

In this first of two episodes about moral identity, Mike and Elizabeth discuss the possibility that the outrage emblematic of cancel culture may not always be the prosocial justice-focused emotion that the activists claim. Moral outrage might also be used to enhance personal beliefs about moral character.  The research we discuss in this podcast suggests that reminders of personal moral failings increased the motivation to blame and punish a third-party (country, company or industry).  Expressions of moral outrage served to both alleviate guilt and repair moral identity. Rothschild, Z. K., & Keefer, L. A. (2017). A cleansing fire: Moral outrage alleviates guilt and buffers threats to one’s moral identity. Motivation and Emotion, 41(2), 209–229. Simler, K., & Hanson, R. (2018). The elephant in the brain: Hidden motives in everyday life. Oxford University Press. Jordan, J. J., Hoffman, M., Bloom, P., & Rand, D. G. (2016). Third-party punishment as a costly signal of trustworthiness. Nature, 530(7591), 473–476.

In this week’s podcast, cohosts Mike and Elizabeth discuss the tension between the free flow of information and censorship that is ostensibly practiced to assure the well-being of society.  We talk about an article that focuses on how the spirit of patriotism often motivates journalists, citizens, and other information gatekeepers, to practice self-censorship.  The author is focused on factually based knowledge and verified information that is withheld, despite that there is no formal obstacle to sharing, to preserve unity and solidarity, particularly during times of war or civil unrest. Reference: Bar-Tal, D. (2017). Self‐censorship as a socio‐political‐psychological phenomenon: Conception and research. Political Psychology, 38 (Suppl 1), 37–65.   

In this week’s podcast, cohosts Mike and Elizabeth discuss how our perceptions of public opinion influence what we are willing to express, which in turn influences the perceptions and willingness of others to speak up (hence the “spiral” of self-censorship). We talk about why political self-silencing creates challenges that can undermine a well-functioning democracy and the results of a qualitative study of politically divided communities in which people described employing a variety of self-censorship motivations and practices. References: Masullo, G. M., & Duchovnay, M. (2022). Extending the spiral of silence: Theorizing a typology of political self-silencing. Communication Studies. Vol. 73 Issue 5/6, 607-622.

In the second of two podcasts about personality, Mike and Elizabeth discuss a series of experimental studies that linked a group of traits often referred to as the “dark triad” (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) to claims of victimhood and virtue signaling.   We talk about the validity of the dark triad as a construct and the suggestion that those who score high in dark triad traits may be more inclined to make exaggerated claims of harm. References:Ok, E., Qian, Y., Strejcek, B., & Aquino, K. (2021). Signaling virtuous victimhood as indicators of Dark Triad personalities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(6), 1634–1661.andCampbell, B. & Manning, J. (2018) The rise of victimhood culture: Microaggressions, safe spaces and the new culture wars. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillian.

This is Letters in Black & White, a short series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the newly released book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America. Today's guest is Samuel Hayes III, a Chief Facilities Officer at the College of William and Mary. Sam was responsible for connecting Wink to his Twyman deep roots via the magic of genetic genealogy. Can genetic genealogy bring us together across the color line? Can truth and reconciliation be found at the outer limits of 4th and 5th cousins on 23 and Me, Ancestry,com and Gedmatch? Welcome to a master expert who can teach us how  we bear the same DNA, whether we black or white in the South.  References: Letters in Black & White: A New Correspondence on Race in America

In the first of two podcasts about personality, Mike and Elizabeth discuss a group of traits often referred to as the “dark triad” (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) and their potential relationship with authoritarian political correctness and alt-right attitudes. We talk about the validity of the dark triad as a construct and a correlational study suggesting that dark triad traits may be linked to left- and right-wing authoritarianism. References: Moss J., & O'Connor P. J. (2020). The Dark Triad traits predict authoritarian political correctness and alt-right attitudes. Heliyon, 6(7), e04453. pmid:32715130

This is Letters in Black & White, a short series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the newly released book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America. The following is the fourth in a series of podcast conversations with interesting people on the topic of race in America. Today's guest is Mary Burkey Owens, a prominent attorney in Chesterfield County, Virginia today. When we were young, Mary and Wink were classmates at Thomas Dale High School, Class of 1979, in Chester, Virginia. Wink served as President of Student Council and Mary was the Senior Class Treasurer. Welcome to a class reunion and memories of race in the New South in the 1970s. Order Letters in Black & White