Conversations with Peter Boghossian

In 2021, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) canceled a high-profile lecture by Dr. Dorian Abbot, a renowned geophysicist from the University of Chicago. The topic of the lecture was not the issue. Rather, Dorian was targeted by Social Justice activists because of his critique of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) ideology. MIT buckled to the demands of a handful of ideologues, inadvertently contributing to discussions about academic censorship. MIT did not expect the blowback it received for hobbling scientific inquiry in favor of ideological conformity. MIT alumni formed the Free Speech Alliance and its faculty overwhelmingly voted to adopt a university statement regarding freedom of expression. Since then, Dorian has become a leading figure in the fight for academic freedom of thought, speech, and inquiry. In this conversation, Peter Boghossian and Dorian discuss the MIT fiasco, the proper aim of academia, the immorality of DEI, speech as "violence," University of Chicago's commitment to academic freedom, finding meaning through religion and naturalism, Dorian's rejection of tyrannical "equality" mandates, and much more. Dorian Abbot is associate professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago. He has written more than 90 scientific papers on the climates of Earth and other planets. He is a member of the Council of the Faculty Senate, a co-founder of the faculty group U-Chicago Free, a founding member of the Academic Freedom Alliance, and a co-founder and moderator of the Heterodox Academy STEM Community. Dorian won the 2021 "Hero of Intellectual Freedom Award" from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and the 2022 "Courage Award" from the Heterodox Academy. Read the MIT Freedom of Expression & Academic Freedom statement. Watch this episode on YouTube.

Author and cultural critic Wilfred Reilly is a gadfly to mainstream narratives concerning race, crime, and gender ideology. His books include "Taboo: 10 Facts You Can't Talk About" and "Hate Crime Hoax: How the Left is Selling a Fake Race War." His upcoming book, "Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me," will be available in February 2024. Wilfred's writing is also published in the Wall Street Journal, the National Review, USA Today, Commentary Magazine, Tablet, Quillette, and many other outlets. Wilfred is an Assistant Professor of Political Sciences at Kentucky State University. His research interests include international relations and prevention of war, contemporary American race relations, and empirical testing of political claims. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Southern Illinois University and a law degree from the University of Illinois. More from Wilfred:

• Upcoming book: "Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me"
• Books: "Taboo: 10 Facts You Can't Talk About" and "Hate Crime Hoax: How the Left is Selling a Fake Race War"
• Wilfred on Twitter

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Author and activist David Silverman is one of the best-known atheists in the United States. He has been a leading voice in the atheism movement for decades, previously serving as President for American Atheists and Executive Director for Atheist Alliance International. He broke ranks with these organizations when they were captured by the "religion of wokeism." David is now the advisory board chair for Atheists for Liberty, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization promoting secularism, free speech, and enlightenment values. He is the author of "Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World." He recently published an article in Reality's Last Stand expressing his concerns about atheists aligning with Christians in the fight against woke ideology. More from David:

• Reality's Last Stand: "Reflections of a Firebrand" by David Silverman
• YouTube
• Atheists for Liberty
• Twitter

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Filmmaker Taylor Reece is the director of "Dead Name," a documentary by Broken Hearted Films. "Dead Name" gives voice to parents managing the damage and trauma gender-affirming care has inflicted upon their children. The film was released in December 2022, but Vimeo removed the video from its platform in February this year. Vimeo accused the film of promoting "hate speech" and demeaning "Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE)." Interest in the film by the press and viewers surged following this censorship. Watch "Dead Name": https://www.deadnamedocumentary.com/ Watch this episode on YouTube.

Evolutionary biologist Colin Wright is the founding editor of Reality's Last Stand, a publication dedicated to free speech, science, and reality. His articles on sex and gender have been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Times, New York Post, Newsweek, City Journal, Quillette, and other major news outlets and peer-reviewed journals. Colin is a Manhattan Institute Fellow, an Academic Advisor at the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), and a member of Genspect's Killarney Group. Colin received a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from UC Santa Barbara in 2018. He left academia in 2020 when the fervor of gender ideology became an obstacle to scientific inquiry and free speech. Connect with Colin:

• Reality's Last Stand
• Twitter

Further resources:

• Manhattan Institute
• Killarney Group (Genspect)

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Special thanks to Birch Gold Group for sponsoring today's episode. Text "PETER" to 989898 for your FREE info kit on gold. Writer Rob Henderson coined the term "luxury beliefs," an apt description of empty slogans that signal high status among the elite. Proclaiming "Defund the police!" may confer status on students at Columbia, but do they understand the cost such a policy would inflict on the poor? (Spoiler Alert: No.) Rob attended Yale, earned his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Cambridge, and served in the Air Force. His research interests include social cognition, prosocial behavior, and moral development and reasoning. He is a writer for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Quillette, and Substack and a Founding Faculty Fellow at the University of Austin, Texas. Rob's memoir will be released in February 2024, titled "Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class." It is available for preorder. Watch this episode on YouTube.

Erec Smith is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania. Although he has eclectic scholarly interests, Smith's primary work focuses on the rhetorics of anti-racist activism, theory, and pedagogy. He is the president of the Foundation for Free Black Thought. Smith's recent books include A Critique of Anti-Racism in Rhetoric and Composition: The Semblance of Empowerment (2020) and The Lure of Disempowerment: Reclaiming Agency in the Age of CRT (2022). He tweets here.

Documentaries mentioned: "The Woke Reformation" by Travis Brown "The Reformers" by Mike Nayna Watch this episode on YouTube.

Dr. Tabia Lee is a longtime educator, pedagogist, and a founding member of Free Black Thought. In 2021, Tabia was hired at DeAnza College in California as the Faculty Director for the Office of Equity, Social Justice, and Multicultural Education. Tabia attempted to reform the toxic campus atmosphere characterized by many faculty and staff members as "too woke." DEI colleagues at DeAnza rejected Tabia's efforts to promote a "pro-human" approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Tabia, a black woman, was called a white supremacist, a racist, and a right-wing operative, among other accusations. In June this year, Tabia was fired. She is suing DeAnza College for violating her academic freedom and free speech rights. Find more from Tabia: Donate Free Black Thought

Bestselling author and evolutionary psychologist Gad Saad is a pioneer in the application of evolutionary psychology to consumer behavior. He is a Professor of Marketing at Concordia University where he held the Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption for a decade. As a leading public intellectual, Gad writes and speaks about a wide range of ideas, including "idea pathogens" destroying logic, science, reason, and common sense. He hosts "The Saad Truth" podcast. Gad is the author of the international bestseller, "The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense," "The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption," "The Consuming Instinct, Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Sciences," and numerous scientific papers. His latest book is "The Saad Truth about Happiness: 8 Secrets for Leading the Good Life," published July 2023. Follow Gad Saad: The Saad Truth podcast Website Twitter

Special thanks to Birch Gold Group for sponsoring today's episode. Text "PETER" to 989898 for your FREE info kit on gold. Glenn Loury, one of the leading public intellectuals in the Anglosphere, is known for his astute observations and forthright delivery. He does not disappoint in this conversation with Peter Boghossian during the University of Austin's Forbidden Courses program. Glenn and Peter discuss pressing social, racial, and economic topics of our era, including affirmative action, student debt relief, and criminal justice reform. Glenn explains his distrust of public policy to remedy social ills that should be managed through individual responsibility. He discusses disempowering narratives promoted by progressives and shudders at the "infantile, unserious arguments" of Ibram X. Kendi. Glenn also talks about how he derives meaning in life and his religious ambivalence. He shares his deep love for his wife in spite of political differences between them. When Peter asks Glenn about his hopes for his grandchildren, Glenn shares words of wisdom that reveal his deepest values. He also describes his favorite recent books: "A Certain Ambiguity" by Guarav Suri and "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth" by Reza Aslan. Author, economist, and social critic Glenn Loury is the Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at Brown University. He is the recipient of many honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Carnegie Scholarship. He hosts The Glenn Show, frequently joined by another friend of the show, linguist John McWhorter. Glenn's publications include, "The Anatomy of Racial Inequality," "Race, Incarceration, and American Values," "One by One from the Inside Out," and "Ethnicity, Social Mobility and Public Policy." His memoir, "Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative," is forthcoming. Glenn's Substack: https://glennloury.substack.com/ Watch this episode on YouTube.