Columbia HxA

In this impromptu episode Anthony and Clay are joined by Sydney Johnston and Professor Scott Barry Kaufman to discuss the upcoming protests on Columbia's campus. The tetrad talk about the psychology, ideology, and differing motivations of the protesters, and much more!

Don't forget to check out The Psychology Podcast and read Professor Kaufman's article on group narcissism!

In this episode Anthony and Clay speak with Ariana Pinsker-Lehrer. Ariana is an Israeli attorney, activist, and student at Columbia University's school of social work. Last winter, a video of her addressing a mob of anti-Israel protesters went viral. In it, she implores the protesters to be advocates for peace and to see the common humanity of everyone who lives between the river and the sea. Listen to this episode if you want to know more about the story behind that viral clip, learn more about Ariana's fascinating background, get her perspective on the school of social work's power, race, oppression, and privilege (PROP) curriculum, and much more!

We strongly encourage you to learn more about Jumpstarting Hope in Gaza

• Read about the program in the Israeli Times
• Support Jumpstarting Hope in Gaza
• Also check out the Arava Institute

And don’t forget to check out the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants!

In this episode Anthony and Clay speak with Professors of Political Science Beth Theiss-Morse (UN Lincoln) and Jeff Spinner-Halev (UNC Chapel Hill). Jeff and Beth are the co-authors of the fantastic new book Respect and Loathing in American Democracy: Polarization, Moralization, and the Undermining of Equality. In it, they argue that the polarization we see in modern American politics is due largely to the fact that conservatives and liberals moralize different issues. Listen to this episode to learn about the difference between tolerance and respect, the "liberal respect paradox", how to talk politics with your “crazy uncle Joe,” and much more!

In this episode, Anthony and Clay speak with Joe Terwilliger. Joe is technically a professor of neurobiology at Columbia University… except he doesn’t actually know anything about neurobiology. What he’s really an expert at is using statistical analysis in genetics research. Listen to this episode if you want to learn why studying genetics is so difficult, why accounting for ethnicity is crucial for dietary and medical research, why poor people in India are often happier than poor people in the US, and much, much more!

Oh, and did we mention that Joe has spent time in North Korea hanging out with Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong Un?

Links for the things we reference in this episode….

-       Idiocracy

-       Dennis Rodman wearing Joe’s MAGA hat

-       That commercial that was, let’s say, racially insensitive 

In this episode, we speak with Harvey Pennington and TJ Gill. Harvey and TJ are two of the founders of the Columbia Chapter of BridgeUSA, a multi-partisan student movement that champions viewpoint diversity, responsible discourse, and a solution-oriented political culture. Expect to learn about BridgeUSA’s mission and methods, including their four “norms of discussion.”

Since we’re all Columbia students, we had to discuss what we expect for the Fall semester!

Links:

B******t Jobs

Does Columbia need 5,000 administrators? (Clay's article for Sundial)

Columbia BridgeUSA’s Instagram

We're back after a two-week break!

In this episode, we gush about the wonderfulness of peace and quiet, teach you how to deal with bears, point out the hypocrisy of West-haters, and much more!

Our recommendations from this episode:

Respect and Loathing in American Democracy

Midnight Mass

Meditations

In this episode, Anthony and I speak with Harvard Undergraduate Shira Hoffer. Shira is the founder of The Hotline for Israel/Palestine, a resource for people to ask questions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict anonymously and get well-researched, nuanced answers in return. She is also the founder of The Institute for Multipartisan Education, a 501(c)(3) organization that, per the website, offers “education consulting services to teachers, professors, and administrators looking to foster dialogue and curious and constructive disagreement, improve the quality of discourse, or initiate culture shifts toward curiosity inside and out of their classrooms.”

And somehow, she still finds time to focus on her studies! Shira is majoring in Social Studies and Religion and is currently working on a thesis that investigates how campus speech culture affects religious students.

Gone to Carolina in Our Minds: A Conversation with Dr. Matthew Metzgar

Viewpoint diversity AND a booming economy? North Carolina is absolutely crushing it right now.

In this episode, Anthony and Clay speak with Dr. Matthew Metzgar, a Clinical Professor of Economics at UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business. Matt received his PhD in Economics from the University of Tennessee, an MBA from Wheeling Jesuit University, and his Bachelors from West Virginia University. His research and teaching cover topics such as the economics of obesity, the relationship between employee ownership and the racial wealth gap, and the effect of market shortages on both the local and national economies.

Dr. Metzgar is also a warrior for free expression! He is the co-chair of the Heterodox Academy Campus Community at UNC Charlotte and the lead facilitator for the Constructive Dialogue Faculty Learning Community. As a result of his and his colleagues’ efforts, UNC Charlotte won Heterodox Academy’s coveted institutional excellence award for 2023. 

An expert in self-actualization explains why advice is often too generalized, what people get wrong about DEI, and why many of you shouldn't go to college. 

In this episode, Anthony and Clay speak with Dr. Orin Davis, the first person to earn a PhD in Positive Psychology. Dr. Davis is, just to name a few things, a self-actualization engineer, HR and DEI consultant, life coach, and a professor of creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship, business, and psychology. He is also the principal investigator at the Quality of Life Laboratory, which, according to the website, engineers self-actualization for people and makes workplaces great places to work. Last but not least, Dr. Davis is the co-author, along with Dr. Jef van den Hout, of Team Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Collaboration. So, yeah, we’re definitely going to have to do a part 2 for this one. 

Also see:

Orin's TEDx Talk

In this episode of The Columbia HxA Podcast, Anthony and Clay discuss Biden's recent withdrawal, why some people erroneously view HxA as a conservative organization, why there might be trouble on the horizon for American universities, and more!

As we mention at the end of the episode we want you! If you're interested in coming on the podcast please shoot us an email ([email protected]) or message Clay on Substack. We're open to discussing a wide range of topics.  

Links to the stuff we referenced:

The Soho Forum COVID debate

Sundial (PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!)

California's SAFETY Act

Gallup poll on confidence in higher ed

Progressive Policy Institute paper on administrative bloat at U.S. universities