Keeping It Civil

In this episode, we speak with Hans Zeiger, the President of the Jack Miller Center, the nationwide network of scholars and teachers. We delve into the intricate interplay of ideas, economics, and donor influence within the realm of higher education; Zeiger provides a unique perspective on challenges facing universities, from the economic pressures exacerbated by the recession to the ideological shifts on campuses and the donor revolt.

Robert P. George serves as the sixth McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. Henry and George discuss respecting free speech rights on campus (and beyond) for all perspectives, distinguishing genuine free speech from incitement to violence. George advocates for institutional neutrality in universities, discouraging them from taking positions on moral and political issues. The two also speak about free speech challenges, including ideological conformism, social media pressures, and the fear of backlash. George suggests that examples of bold individuals who question orthodoxies can inspire courage and diversity of viewpoints.

Professor of History at the Naval Postgraduate School and Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley Zach Shore examines the United States' critical ethical decisions during and after the World War II. Key issues include the internment of Japanese Americans, nuclear attacks on civilians, and punitive policies towards Germans under U.S. occupation. Despite the majority of Americans often favoring mercy, a minority pushed harsh policies, revealing discrepancies between public opinion and government influence. 

In this episode Henry speaks with Dr. James R. Stoner, Professor and Director of the Eric Voegelin Institute in the Department of Political Science at Louisiana State University. Henry and Stoner dive into the intricate threads of constitutional history with a focus on the symbiotic relationship between British and American constitutional traditions. This episode unravels the historical, institutional, and philosophical aspects that shape the governance, representation, and legislative processes in these distinct democratic systems.

Henry Thompson interviews John Rose, the Associate Director of the Civil Discourse Project at The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. Henry and Rose discuss a course Rose teaches called How to Think in an Age of Political Polarization. Rose talks about intellectual virtues to model, why the most politically intolerant people are humorless and whether campus culture of the elite institutions is too homogenous for certain contentious topics. 

Welcome to Season 5 of Keeping it Civil. We’re thrilled to have you back and promise memorable, informative, thought-provoking conversations. In this episode our host Henry Thompson sits down with a Senior Fellow at American Enterprise Institute Matthew Continetti. Besides discussing his most recent book, The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism, Continetti speaks about the Republican Party beyond Donald Trump and modern conservatism in the United States, its roots and its future.

Shep Melnick is the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Professor of American Politics at Boston College and Co-chair of the Harvard Program on Constitutional Government. Henry and Shep Melnick speak about the current crisis in America's higher education, Melnick's research on Title IX, the regulation of gender equality in higher education and Melnick's latest book. 

Jenna Storey is a senior Fellow in the Social, Cultural and Constitutional Studies Department at the American Enterprise Institute. Henry and Jenna Storey speak about the crisis of modern liberal arts education, the restlessness of young college students and her plans for improving and reforming higher ed. 

Franciska Coleman is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. In this episode we speak about assumptions encoded in words people choose to use and why many nations around the world signed a "covenant" that addresses hate speech yet the United States never did. Coleman also discusses, among other things, the social regulation of speech as an example of cancel culture or accountability culture and what these terms imply when used in reference to speech regulation. 

Heather Mac Donald is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a New York Times bestselling author. In this episode Henry and Mac Donald discuss identity politics and why universities are not teaching students, among other things, how to think about ideas "in the abstract" in pursuit of evaluating neutral principles of free speech and government. They also talk about what Mac Donald thinks the role of university in society should be.