Conversations with Peter Boghossian

I sat down with Leonardo Orlando, an expert in political science and international relations as well as a fantastic human, to discuss the ascent of Argentina's President Milei. Leonardo is a Visiting Fellow at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Budapest. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from Sciences Po Paris, a BA and MA in Philosophy from Sorbonne, and a post-doctorate in Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology from the École normale supérieure de Paris.

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I sat down with Omar Sayfo to discuss migration in Europe. We unpacked where both the left and right get it wrong when talking about migration.

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While in Taiwan, I sat down with Sona Eyambe from the Good Bike Mob YouTube channel to discuss cultural and political issues. Sona, originally from Texas, and I compared life in Taiwan to life in America.

One striking difference is the pristine streets, with people carrying their own trash—remarkable, considering there are no trash bins in sight. In fact, the first night we were there we wandered around looking for trash. After 30 minutes, we saw some tissues in a gutter. We stood around and looked at them, marveling.

Sona and I discussed the Taiwanese taking immense pride in their unique identity, which remains resilient despite the ever-present threat from China. He provides numerous example of that pride and how it manifests in daily life.

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Peter Boghossian and John Papola (Dad Saves America) discuss Trump, the Department of Education, current events, and more!

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In my discussion with the popular Taiwanese figure Lōa Ēng Hôa, we explored various aspects of Taiwan. A key theme for Lōa is the importance of retaining the Taiwanese language, which he sees as vital in the face of Mandarin's dominance. (He views Mandarin as "the language of colonizers.") Lōa emphasizes that language is of ultimate importance and believes that the best way to wage war is through words.

We also discussed whether Taiwanese people consider themselves part of China or culturally Chinese, and how this perception impacts traditional Taiwanese culture. During my time in Taiwan, I observed the cleanliness and civility of society, especially in contrast to some leftwing cities in America, like Portland, Oregon and Los Angelos, California. Lōa posed an intriguing question: Is this civility a result of being "well-behaved," or is it a reflection of tyranny?

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In my interview with Jake Klein, we discuss his book Redefining Racism: How Racism Became Power + Prejudice. I read a pre-release of Jake's manuscript some time ago, and I was struck by how thorough and well-researched it was. He does a fantastic job of really explaining the genesis of this concept and how it crept into our discourse.

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While in New Zealand, I had the opportunity to interview Kendall Clements, a professor of biology at the University of Auckland. His name may sound familiar because, in 2021, Clements was the lead author of a controversial letter titled "In Defence of Science," published in The New Zealand Listener. The letter (commonly referred to as the "Listener Letter") was a direct response to a proposed curriculum that sought to promote the discussion and analysis of how science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views, including its role in the "colonization" of Māori peoples and the "suppression" of Māori knowledge.

The curriculum also proposed that science itself, as a Western European invention, could be viewed as a tool of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous groups. We discussed this and more.

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While in New Zealand, I had the privilege of sitting down with Elizabeth Rata, a sociologist of education at the University of Auckland. Elizabeth is the Director of the Knowledge in Education Research Unit (KERU), within the School of Critical Studies at the Faculty of Education and Social Work—and she is based! Her research includes knowledge in the curriculum, knowledge politics, ethnic revivalism, Māori education, research methods, and the history of New Zealand education. Watch this episode on YouTube.