This episode covers identity politics, critical race theory, and the idea that the U.S is somehow immune to succumbing to a dictatorship. It touches on freedom, racial inequalities and DEI efforts, questioning how we address US history.

Is the advancement of Black Americans still held back by White Americans with power? Is the attack on DEI a necessary corrective or an attempt to hold back Black progress? And is there an authoritarian movement that wants to rewind the clock on racial progress to times before racial integration and equality before the law were instituted?

In this conversation, our guests discuss recent anti-DEI efforts in education, in the economy, and in the teaching of American history. The guests also discuss whether a rise in authoritarian behavior is an omen of worse times ahead. Is there too much complacency among Americans who don’t see current trends as a dangerous sign of increased violence and oppression in our future, or are warnings about increasing authoritarianism overblown?