Half the Answer

Centrist pundits, conservative think-tank guys and far-right propagandists say the movement to target libraries with new laws and book challenges is about making sure patrons have access to all viewpoints and kids aren't exposed to obscene materials. But what does the situation really look like on the ground? Caitlin and Trent talk to Katie Talhelm, a Public Library Manager in Texas and intellectual freedom advocate. They discuss book banning, viewpoint diversity, and astroturfed “grassroots” activism.

References

Project 2025: https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/D8File/2024/03/26/2025_mandateforleadership_full.pdf#page=33

Chris Rufo on Fox: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6340396476112

Far Right Think-Tank Guy in the New York Times: https://archive.is/jVXAF

The Free Press launders “viewpoint diversity” claims: https://www.thefp.com/p/the-truth-about-banned-books

ALA Report on Book Challenges and Bans: https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data

The segregationist origins of “Parental Rights”: https://apnews.com/article/religion-education-gender-identity-0e2ca2cf0ef7d7bc6ef5b125f1ee0969

Astroturfing in parental rights movement: https://truthout.org/articles/many-parent-groups-opposing-masks-and-crt-are-actually-driven-by-dark-money/

PNW issues with paramilitary groups: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/drag-queen-story-hours-spark-outpouring-of-support-despite-protests/

Campus Misinformation: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/campus-misinformation-9780197531273?cc=us&lang=en&

Anti-Intellectualism in America:

https://ia802903.us.archive.org/6/items/richard-hofstadter-anti-intellectualism-in-american-life-vintage-1966/Richard%20Hofstadter%20-%20Anti-Intellectualism%20in%20American%20Life-Vintage%20(1966).pdf

Paper on Jenner and Smallpox:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1200696/

Caitlin and Trent speak with Bradford Vivian, a Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Pennsylvania State University, about campus misinformation. How do op-eds and other polemics use hyperbole, metaphor and innuendo to create a false impression that college campuses are overrun with radical left wing revolutionaries, communist professors, mentally weak and coddled students, and zombie hordes chanting mindless slogans, infected by the woke mind virus? And what actually is DEI, anyway?

Dr. Vivian’s book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/campus-misinformation-9780197531273?cc=us&lang=en&

The Powell memo: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/assets/usa-courts-secrecy-lobbyist/powell-memo.pdf

The Kalven Report: https://provost.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/KalvenRprt_0.pdf

The Academic Freedom Conference that broke Caitlin’s brain: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQy2zhWqTFZ5Thzz1tE8dhWWTRUTQzaIZ&si=GyjjrCwi8maPKp08

Caitlin and Trent, a linguist and an historian, introduce Half the Answer, a new podcast from Liberal Currents. The headlines and pundits ask their questions and present their framing of the topics of the day, but are there better questions we could be asking? Caitlin and Trent will interview experts who have eyes on the situation, searching for anything we’re missing, and hopefully picking up some tips on how to read the news with a healthy skepticism.