Lean Out with Tara Henley

This week in New York City, a longtime defender of free speech was honoured by her peers. My guest on today’s program accepted the Judy Blume Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Coalition Against Censorship benefit. She returns to the podcast to mark that occasion — and to talk through the big issues of our current moment, including rising antisemitism.

Nadine Strossen is the former president of the American Civil Liberties Union, and a senior fellow with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Her new book is Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know. She also hosts a new documentary film series, Free To Speak.

Nadine Strossen is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com

“Be it resolved, liberalism gets the big questions right.” That was the resolution posed at Friday’s Munk Debate in Toronto, to a group of public intellectuals from across the globe.

The starting point for the debate was that liberalism is in crisis. That tensions have reached a boiling point. That its critics believe “liberalism has become an impediment to the goal of progress” — and that “humanity urgently needs a new animating ideology.” My guest on today’s program was at that debate, and he’s here to give us some analysis.

Harrison Lowman is a current affairs journalist in Toronto, and the producer of this podcast.

Harrison Lowman is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com

For some time now, there have been calls for Canada to launch an independent public inquiry into its handling of the Covid pandemic — including from the British Medical Journal. But this past week, as reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, Liberal MPs rejected an inquiry, opting for a closed-door review by advisors to the Minister of Health. My guest on today’s program says that it is essential that Canadians examine the mistakes that were made during the pandemic, and learn from them.

Joanna Baron is the executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation and the co-author, with Christine Van Geyn, of the new book, Pandemic Panic: How Canadian Government Responses to Covid-19 Changed Civil Liberties Forever.

Joanna Baron is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com

There are still people who believe that cancel culture does not exist. But it’s about to get a whole lot harder to make that argument publicly. My guest on today’s program has a new book out that provides irrefutable evidence that cancel culture is a serious phenomenon — that it is now a common tactic on the right and the left, that it is a threat to individuals and institutions, and that it is ultimately undermining trust.

But, my guest today says, there is a solution.  

Greg Lukianoff is the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. He’s also the co-author of The Canceling of the American Mind.

Greg Lukianoff is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com

Crime in Canada is on the rise. According to recent Statistics Canada data, violent crime is at its most severe since 2007, and the murder rate is the highest it’s been since 1992. My guest on today’s program says our criminal justice system is not working — that it is expensive and ineffective and inhumane, and that the time has come to transform it. 

Benjamin Perrin is a professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, and the former lead policy advisor on criminal justice and public safety for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. His new book is Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial.

Ben Perrin is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com

Earlier this month, a prominent Canadian academic made headlines when he announced his departure from the University of London. “Progressive conformity and cancel culture are distorting the teaching and research mission of universities,” he wrote on Twitter. “Between the extremely controversial and the progressive-controlled monoculture of academia is a vast and growing zone of unspoken truth.”

Eric Kaufmann is an author and a professor of politics at the University of Buckingham, where he is set to establish the Centre for Heterodox Social Science. In January, he’ll launch a new, low-cost online public course titled “Woke: the Origins, Dynamics and Implications of an Elite Ideology.”

Eric Kaufmann is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com

Is cancel culture controlled by women? It’s a question that my guest on today’s program has been asking for some time. Her conclusion is that, yes, the phenomenon is driven by women — and only women can stop it. She’s founded a community that, online and in person, has begun actively pushing back. 

Meghan Daum is the author of six books, including The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through the New Culture Wars. She’s the host of The Unspeakable Podcast, and co-host of the podcast A Special Place in Hell. She’s also the founder of The Unspeakeasy, a community for free-thinking women.

Meghan Daum is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com

In 2019, in the magazine Current Affairs, a former McKinsey consultant wrote, “There is no secret society shaping every major decision and determining the direction of human history. There is, however, McKinsey & Company.” My guest on the program today has spent years doing a deep-dive into the prestigious consulting company — and he’s here to talk about what he’s learned about its influence around the world, including here in Canada.

Michael Forsythe is an investigative reporter for The New York Times, and co-author of When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World’s Most Powerful Consulting Firm, which is out in paperback next week. (You can read McKinsey’s response to the book below.)

Michael Forsythe is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Statement on recent book about McKinsey

October 4, 2022 — We believe that business, when managed well and responsibly, is a force for good. Across virtually every metric, from life expectancy to income levels to educational attainment, business has spurred growth around the world, lifting more than a billion people out of poverty and driving innovations needed to confront challenges like pandemics and climate change. We have contributed to these successes through our work supporting thousands of clients each year.

A recently published book fundamentally misrepresents our firm and our work. The book also seeks to associate our firm with events — like the 2008 financial crisis, a Major League Baseball cheating scandal, or safety incidents at a theme park — that we simply had nothing to do with. Perhaps this is why the book contains more than a dozen disclaimers, across these and other issues, acknowledging that our work did not cause or was not associated with the trend or event for which the authors criticize us.

We stand by our record of helping clients accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth for their organizations and the world. In recent years, our clients contributed 20% of global GDP growth and 80% of reported reductions in CO2 emissions. We have helped clients scale up global ventilator production and deploy COVID-19 vaccines, decarbonize power generation, fund landmark investments in carbon removal technologies, and support refugees and rebuilding in Ukraine.

Despite the stereotype some have about consultants, McKinsey is typically hired to help our clients grow their businesses and expand their workforces: our clients add one million jobs per year, and we have upskilled or reskilled a million more individuals through our work and pro bono efforts. Indeed, we helped the authors’ own newspaper, The New York Times, develop the digital subscription model that has made it one of the most successful media companies.

When we have made mistakes, we acknowledged them and made changes. We apologized for our past work on opioids and were the first company to work with U.S. State Attorneys General to help communities affected by the crisis. More broadly, we have invested more than $600 million to upgrade our legal, risk, and compliance capabilities, and hired some of the world’s top experts to lead those teams. We now follow a global client selection policy more rigorous than any other in our industry.

It is telling but not surprising that in a nearly 300-page book, the authors devote few sentences to these extensive changes. Neither do they make clear to readers that virtually all the events they describe took place years and sometimes decades before our firm implemented its new client service policy and comprehensively upgraded our risk and governance teams and capabilities.

As we approach our firm’s second century, we aim to set the standard for accountability and compliance in our profession, and we welcome good-faith criticism or advice for how we can do better. We will not, however, let fear of criticism stop us from undertaking work that we believe makes a positive difference.

This means we will continue to work with clients in hard-to-abate industries like energy, shipping and agriculture, because society cannot deliver necessary carbon reductions without engaging with the industries that need to transition the most. We will keep working in the public sector, even when it brings scrutiny, because we believe our firm's expertise helps our government clients deliver better outcomes for those who depend on them. And, because global challenges do not stop at borders — and addressing these challenges will require the best, global teams — we will continue to operate as a proudly global firm, including by responsibly serving clients in geographies where some have criticized our presence.

For nearly 100 years, our firm has worked hard to put other institutions’ success before our own. Though we are not perfect, we believe this mission is as important as ever. It is why our more than 40,000 people come to work every day to help our clients — and business at large — deliver lasting value for their shareholders, employees, customers, and communities around the world.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com

Schools across the country are back in session — and this fall, the spotlight is on trans issues in the classroom. Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have come out with new policies for parental consent on student pronoun changes, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has launched a lawsuit, saying this violates the Charter and human rights. Add to that, today, some parents will be marching in a cross-Canada protest against what they call gender ideology.

My guest on the podcast today has been reporting on these issues for years, and she has thoughts on how we might inject some nuance into this polarized conversation.

Katie Herzog is an American journalist and host of the Blocked and Reported podcast.

Katie Herzog is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com

Between the years of 2010 and 2020, a new way of thinking about identity travelled from elite universities, to Internet subcultures, to social media, and to mainstream media, finally landing at many of our most important social, cultural, and governmental institutions, transforming longstanding rules and norms.

My guest on today’s program is among the first to take a comprehensive look at the roots of this ascendent ideology and how it became so influential — and today we’ll hear why he believes it is ultimately a trap.

Yascha Mounk is a professor at Johns Hopkins University, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the founder of Persuasion. His new book is The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time.

Yascha Mounk is my guest, for the 100th episode of Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.

Lean Out with Tara Henley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tarahenley.substack.com