The Dissidents

In this week's Dissidents Podcast Mike Burke and Elizabeth Spievak speak to Winkfield Twyman, Jr. & Jennifer Richmond about their new book Letters in Black and White. We discuss what it means to be both authentic and a dissident in an age of mass conformity. References: Letters in Black & White To see the original documents from the book, visit Truth In Between

This is Letters in Black & White, a short series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America. The book comes out TODAY. As a bonus for anyone who purchases the book this week, we will send you Wink's manuscript - On the Road to Oak Lawn. Send an email to richmond@truthinbetween.com with proof of purchase and we'll send you a PDF of the manuscript to the email or your choice. Order Letters in Black & White The following is the third in a series of podcast conversations with interesting people on the topic of race in America. Today's guest is Nancy Williamson, a resident of Virginia. Nancy and Wink are distant cousins who learned of each other on 23 and Me. Even those of good intentions can fall prey to caricatures and stereotypes based on race. Welcome to a meeting of cousins across the color line and the dangers of misperceiving others. 

In this week's Dissidents Podcast Jennifer Richmond and Mike Burke speak with geopolitical guru and bestselling author, Peter Zeihan. We discuss illiberalism in places like China and Russia and how it is shaping illiberal trends throughout the Western World, especially the United States. References: https://zeihan.com/ The End of the World is Just the Beginning

This is Letters in Black & White, a short series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the forthcoming book, ⁠Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America. The following is the second in a series of podcast conversations with interesting people on the topic of race in America. Today's guest is Maya Valmon, a sophomore at Stanford University who is an impressive member of the school's track and field team. What does it mean to be Black and an Old American? Does appearance align with racial identity or not? These are fascinating questions Maya has encountered in her young life. A thoughtful pre-med athlete from Montgomery County, Maryland, Maya represents the best of the future. 

This week's Dissidents Podcast is a crossover with the Reformation Radio Podcast. Mike Burke and Jason Littlefield break down concepts of "Liberalism" and "Conservatism" in hopes a critical mass will come together to conserve Liberalism. They also get into how there's a growing sense of "good vs. evil/light vs. dark" in the world today.  Finally, the importance of abandoning political attachments and assumptions of others is vital for human liberty to maintain.

This is Letters in Black & White, a short series of the Dissidents Podcast, introducing ideas from the forthcoming book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America. The following is the first in the series of podcast conversations with interesting people on the topic of race in America. Today's guest is Sahil Handa, a young graduate of Harvard College who has written stirring essays about the generation gap between the Old and the Young, Coleman Hughes, James Baldwin and the infamous book Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. Sahil brings the fresh perspective of an outsider to questions of the color line today. A writer, a philosopher, a Renaissance Man -- welcome to a non-conformist, Sahil Handa, who rejects the idea that a person's skin color ought to determine one's views. References: https://sahilhanda.com/ Rebel Rebel: https://www.discoursemagazine.com/culture-and-society/2022/02/11/rebel-rebel/ What the Old Don't Get About the Woke: https://www.persuasion.community/p/what-the-old-dont-get-about-the-woke What the Woke Don't Get About the Old: https://www.persuasion.community/p/what-the-woke-dont-get-about-the James Baldwin's Radicalism: https://www.persuasion.community/p/james-baldwins-radicalism In Defense of Coleman Hughes: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/coleman-hughes-slavery-reparations-defense/ Why I’m No Longer Talking to Anyone About Anything: https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/06/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-anyone-about-anything/

In this week’s Dissidents Podcast, cohosts Mike and Elizabeth talk about applications of the Overton Window, which is a model for describing the slow evolution of societal values and norms.  The Overton Window suggests that we are all more followers than we are leaders and that our social institutions are more important to shaping our politics than we typically credit them for.  The Overton Window has been used in political decision making and to define the range of ideas people can support without risking social rejection. References: https://www.mackinac.org/OvertonWindow Otteson, James R. (2019). Escaping the Social Pull: Nonconformists and Self-Censorship, Society, 56(3), 559–568.

In this week’s Dissidents podcast, cohosts Mike and Elizabeth talk about the lure of unfalsifiable arguments over testable scientific data, particularly when motives like maintaining positive self-worth or preserving group membership overtake accuracy motives.  The authors of the article we will discuss conducted 4 studies on religion and political ideological beliefs and speculate about whether unfalsifiability may lead people and societies to continually make truth defying decisions. https://ilvalues.org/ References: Friesen, J. P., Campbell, T. H., & Kay, A. C. (2015). The psychological advantage of unfalsifiability: The appeal of untestable religious and political ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(3), 515–529.

Welcome to the The Dissidents Podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week’s podcast, Winkfield Twyman, Jr. and Jennifer Richmond speak with author Matt Johnson on his new book How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-enlightenment. We discuss themes in his book including Hitchens' staunch adherence to liberalism, his defense of the freedom of speech, dismissal of identarianism, and the ways extremism have affected how we operate today and what we can do using Hitchens as a model to reverse damaging trends. Join us. https://ilvalues.org/ References: How Hitchens Can Save the Left: https://www.amazon.com/Hitchens-Save-Left-Rediscovering-Counter-Enlightenment/dp/B0BVXB21XN/

Welcome to the The Dissidents Podcast, where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society. In this week's podcast, in honor of National Librarian Day (April 16 in the United States) Mike Burke & Elizabeth Spievak talk with academic librarian Pamela Hayes-Bohanan about banned books, contemporary challenges in the field, and whether librarians are okay. Join us. https://ilvalues.org/ References: “The Librarians are not Okay.” The Atlantic: ⁠https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/book-bans-censorship-librarian-challenges/673398/⁠ The Chronicle of Higher Education  ⁠https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-librarians-are-not-ok?⁠ Anne Helen Peterson’s Substack  ⁠https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-librarians-are-not-okay⁠