Recent condemnation of Critical Race Theory, including imposing restrictions about what can be taught in schools about America’s history, represents a major obstacle to truth-telling, an infringement of free speech, and an insult to academic freedom. It is another signal that democracy is in peril. Thankfully, many Americans seek truth and justice, including today's guests. MARK MCCORMICK is Director of Strategic Communications, ACLU of Kansas. A New York Times best-selling author, Mark has 20-plus years of experience as a reporter, editor, and columnist. His books include "Some Were Paupers, Some Were Kings: Dispatches from Kansas." MARTHA BIREDA directs the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture in Punta Gorda, FL. Her most recent book, "A Time for Change: How White Supremacy Ideology Harms All Americans," was published in June 2021. RUBEN MARTINEZ is professor and director of The Julian Samora Research Institute, Michigan State University. His extensive publication record on circumstances/issues affecting Latinos includes a recent essay, "Divisive Concepts and the Problem of Racism."  This video was produced and hosted by Frank Fear for FutureU FutureU, https://futureu.education. (Cover art, courtesy CNN)

Michigan St. U. peeps may remember John Magee. John held several positions at the U, including Exec Staff Assistant, College of Arts and Letters, and staff assistant in Ag & Nat Resources. Today, John serves as Assistant VP & Chief International Officer at Madonna University, Lavonia, MI. John and I continue to get together (he introduced me to his brother Jim along the way), and we talk about a range of issues. One issue (the focus here) is what John and Jim (also an internationalist) have learned about working internationally. "It's not about the deal," they argue, and it's certainly not about mining other countries for money and students. Rather, it's about establishing meaningful relationships and creating partnerships that benefit all parties involved. Not earth-shattering, you say? Well...ego, hubris, arrogance, and institutional self-centeredness (what another colleague calls "The Organization First" syndrome) make it more difficult (than easier) to put into practice. So here are John and Jim on "It's Not About the Deal."

Politically motivated philanthropy can influence who gets hired, who is awarded tenure/promoted, and what is taught/researched. Subject-matter priorities include promoting the primacy of free-market capitalism and safeguarding the ethic of American Exceptionalism. Recent efforts have focused on restricting teaching the legacy of racism in America, including rejecting Critical Race Theory as a legitimate framework for interpreting U.S. history.  Thankfully, academics across the country are responding to these pernicious activities. We feature two of those colleagues in today's program--ISAAC KAMOLA, Trinity College, and BETHANY LETIECQ, George Mason University. Kamola’s recent article in Inside Higher Education, "Where Does the Bizarre Hysteria About CRT Come From? Follow the Money!," has received nationwide acclaim. Kamola’s new book (out in November), "Free Speech and Koch Money: Manufacturing a Campus Culture War" (with Ralph Wilson), examines how the Koch donor network funds the student groups, campus provocateurs, think tanks, litigation organizations, and the right-wing media outlets responsible for manufacturing the so-called ‘campus free speech crisis.’ Letiecq is a faculty activist at one of America’s most infiltrated universities. She serves on the GMU Faculty Senate and is president of the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). In her GMU-AAUP role, she partnered with student leaders and worked to expose undue donor influence at GMU, and she has also challenged the privatization of presidential searches and working conditions of contracted workers during COVID. Letiecq wrote about GMU and donor influence in "George Mason University’s Donor Problem and the Fight for Transparency," which was published in AAUP’s Academe. (This podcast was produced by Frank Fear for FutureU, July 2021, and was transcribed for transmission here.)

There is a lot of pressure in leadership circles these days to beat the competition and score 'big wins.' Because of that emphasis, we can sometimes set aside the importance of what author David Brooks calls Eulogy Virtues, things like doing the right thing, being courageous in the face of political pressure, and figuring out ways to balance performance and integrity. In this program, James Votruba (president emeritus, Northern Kentucky Univesity) joins me in celebrating the life of one of Jim's mentors, Paul Miller, a person who embodied Eulogy Virtues in spirit and practice. Our conversation is more than a remembrance. It is a plea for emphasizing the importance of Eulogy Virtues when we use the word 'leadership.' To learn more about Paul Miller's life and work, read Remembering Paul A. Miller: Leadership for the Public Good. (Today's program is brought to you by FutureU and LA Progressive.) 

Nobody defends America's political divide, and most call it out emphatically. And yet, it not only persists, but it is arguably getting wider, deeper, and hotter. One reason is that millions of Americas make a habit of contributing to the divide. Dysfunctional? ‘Understandable’ is another way of looking at it. Here's why and what we can do to heal America--before it is too late.

The five-decade-long evolution from institution to industry widened and accelerated during the Age of Trump–an era that persists–and the outcome has changed what higher education represents, how it operates, and what it offers. Drawing on their book, Neoliberalism and Academic Repression, co-editors Erik Juergensmeyer and Anthony J. Nocella II discuss the impact and consequences of higher education in the Age of Trump and comment on what can be done to reverse this pernicious shift. Erik and Anthony are joined by discussants Jason Del Gandio and Amy Jamison. Co-hosted by Frank Fear and Ruben Martinez. This audio brought to you by FutureU: Conversations about Values and Change. 

America's indefensible storyline includes mass killings of African Americans—not by police, but by fellow Americans. One such event--in Tulsa, OK--took place a century ago this week. The story didn't end there; it continues, and very differently from how it started. What happened in Tulsa a century ago was disgraceful. What’s happening today in Tulsa gives hope.

We all devote time and attention to affiliations, and there is great joy and fulfillment to be experienced that way. By the same token, there are times when it is important to step back, raise questions, and take counter-positions to prevailing choices. “It's harder to do than it sounds,” wrote Jennifer Finney Boyton recently. Here's why.