NeoAcademia is a biweekly exploration of the shifting walls of the ivory tower.

For the final episode of our inaugural season, I explored the psychology of social media as it pertains to academia with psychologist Steve Rathje, Ph.D. Steve is a postdoctoral fellow at NYU in the social identity and morality lab of Jay Van Bavel. His research centers on social media, and polarization - and his own TikTok account has over a million followers. Steve is an author on a number of research articles, and articles on Psychology Today.

For more on Steve, show notes, and updates about next season subscribe to the Theory Gang newsletter.

NeoAcademia is a biweekly exploration of the shifting walls of the ivory tower.

This week I explored The Paper Belt on Fire with author/venture capitalist/renegade philosopher Michael Gibson.

Michael is the co-founder of the 1517 Fund, a venture capital fund investing in teams led by dropouts, and renegade scientists who reject the standard notion of academic credentials. Before that he was vice president for grants at the Thiel Foundation, where he helped launch and run the Thiel Fellowship.

Michael's debut book is the story of how he got here after dropping out of a philosophy Ph.D program.

For more on Michael, detailed show notes, and a chance to win $ in an ideas tournament, check out the Theory Gang newsletter!

NeoAcademia is a biweekly exploration of the shifting walls of the ivory tower.

Natasha explores the existential crisis of the modern university with Dr. Adam Sitze. Adam shares his expertise on law, jurisprudence, and social thought as it pertains to the intergenerational exchange of ideas.

Subscribe to the NeoAcademia newsletter for a special giveaway, show notes, bonus content, and a curated collection of resources.

This week I had a lively debate about academic freedom with a friend from the Heterodox Academy Writer’s group John K. Wilson. John is the author of eight books, co-organizer of the Chicago Book Expo and the Evanston Literary Festival, and co-editor of AcademeBlog.org.

For more on John, bonus content, and detailed show notes subscribe to the Theory Gang newsletter.

This week I sat down with John Gibbs to talk about academic populism. John is one of the hosts of the Spinoza Triad podcast and the Morning Break on Teachers Talk radio. John recently retired from a 40-year career as a lecturer at various institutions in the US and UK with research interests in international relations, populism, and the rise of authoritarianism. He also fancies himself a stand-up comedian.

For more on John, show notes, and additional resources check out the Theory Gang Newsletter.

This week I sat down with Tani Berlo and talked about how she’s crafting a NeoAcademic career that combines her passion for history and her business acumen. Tani’s makes bite-sized hot girl history clips for her 800k TikTok followers, but she also gives monthly lectures for her History Club patreons exploring ancient civilizations.

For more on Tani check out the show notes.

NeoAcademia is a biweekly exploration of the shifting walls of the ivory tower.

This week Natasha explores the utility of conspiracies with science historian and best-selling author Michael Shermer. Michael's new book Conspiracy lays out the research on conspiracies and those who theorize. He provides some explanations for why we believe seemingly irrational things and encourages us to understand our natural propensity toward suspicion.

Conspiracy demonstrates that the information explosion in recent years has made many ideas mainstream, and on this show, Natasha and Michael consider how we might be able to harness creative conspiratorial thinking to innovate.

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NeoAcademia is a biweekly exploration of the shifting walls of the ivory tower.

This week Natasha plays with speculative ideas in science publishing with the man behind the pseudonym Roger’s Bacon. He’s an evolutionary biologist, former high school science teacher, and founder of Seeds of Science a new scientific journal publishing speculative or non-traditional articles with community-based peer review. Seeds of Science accepts ideas for experiments, novel observations, or thought-provoking questions and discussions from anyone anywhere.

There is only one criterion for submission: does the article contain original ideas that have the potential to advance science in any way?

To support NeoAcademia and receive bonus content, and a collection of articles mentioned in this episode subscribe to the Theory Gang newsletter!

NeoAcademia is a biweekly exploration of the shifting walls of the ivory tower.

Natasha asks Dr. Todd Kashdan about applying Art of Insubordination to the university. Todd shares insights on how to be a Principled Rebel that can stand up to social pressure and fix problems.

For more on Todd check out his newsletter, Provoked.

Subscribe to the NeoAcademia newsletter for a special giveaway, show notes, bonus content, and a curated collection of resources.