In Response...

Joey speaks with Michael Tomasky. Michael is the editor of The New Republic and editor-in-chief of Democracy. We discuss Trump’s war on civil society, polarization, federal programs, race, and other topics. He and his writing appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and on PBS, MSNBC, C-SPAN, Fox News, and other media. He can be found on X @mtomasky and Bluesky @mjtoma.bsky.social.

Joey speaks with Alexandra Hudson. We discuss her book The Soul of Civility and Joey’s recent speech at an anti-gay church in the context of the Charlie Kirk assassination. Alexandra is the founder of Civic Renaissance. She and her writing appeared in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, POLITICO, and on CBS, PBS, Fox News, and other media. She can be found on Instagram at alexandraohudson, on X @LexiOHudson, and on her website.

Joey speaks with Nick Gillespie. We discuss our takes on the state of the arts, conservative art and entertainment, the Kennedy Center, the role of the audience in media, misinformation, political prejudices and polarization, our family backgrounds, understanding the New Right, reactionary Catholicism, anti-wokeness, the Trump administration and DOGE, government spending, and other topics. Nick can be found on X @nickgillespie, Substack @ Nick Gillespie, and at Reason.com Nick hosts the Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie podcast and is an editor-at-large at Reason magazine. The star libertarian has been with Reason since 1993. He received his Ph.D. in English literature from SUNY Buffalo. He also holds an M.A. in English with a concentration in creative writing from Temple and a BA in English and Psychology from Rutgers. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, Salon, Time, The Daily Beast, Marketplace, Suck, and numerous other publications.

Joey speaks with Bret Stephens and Chloe Valdary. We discuss DEI, prejudice on the right and left, MAGA, wokeness, social media, polarization, communicating across the aisle, intentions and misunderstandings, graciousness, human uniqueness, understanding one’s political opponents, the media and Trumpism, the crisis of meaning and connection, balancing moral clarity with compassion, antisemitism, pro-Hamas protesters, perceptions of Israel, Daryl Davis, and other topics. Bret can be found on his NYT page. Chloe can be found on Instagram @cvaldary, Substack at Chloé Valdary, and her website. Bret is an Opinion columnist at the New York Times and Editor-in-chief of Sapir. He was previously at The Wall Street Journal, The Jerusalem Post, and Commentary. He earned a BA in political philosophy from the University of Chicago and an MA in comparative politics from the London School of Economics. He has won numerous awards, including a 2013 Pulitzer Prize. Chloe is a writer, entrepreneur, and diversity & inclusion educator. She runs the DEI program Theory of Enchantment and her app, Dojo. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Orleans in 2015 with a BA in International Studies. She has also contributed to The New York Times and The Atlantic.

Joey speaks with Ilana Redstone. We discuss her book The Certainty Trap, the state of academia, conservative media, trust in media, reaching across the aisle, polarization around Israel-Palestine, dialogue in Islam, prejudice, democracy, travel, family, Joey’s experience in college, and other topics. Ilana can be found on X @irakresh and her website. Illana is a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is also co-director of the Mill Institute at UATX. She has a joint Ph.D in demography and sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. She also authored Unassailable Ideas and Why We Disagree About Inequality. Her writing has appeared in Forbes, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and other outlets.

Joey speaks with Heather Mac Donald. We discuss the state of the fine arts, the need for classical training, modern art, the state of “wokeness,” the Democratic Party, the war in Gaza (this conversation took place before the cease-fire), Western sympathy for Hamas, race politics, antisemitism, other prejudicial attitudes on the populist right, Joey’s concerns about race realism, and other topics. Heather can be found on X @HMDatMI and her MI page. Heather is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a former lawyer. She holds a B.A. in English from Yale, an M.A. in English from Cambridge, and a J.D. from Stanford. She is the author of The War on Cops, When Race Trumps Merit, The Diversity Delusion, Are Cops Racist?, The Immigration Solution, and The Burden of Bad Ideas. Her work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and The New Criterion.

Joey speaks with Dr. Diana Blum. We discuss the rise of antisemitism, the ongoing lawsuit against the Sequoia Unified School District, the Ethic Studies curriculum in California schools, Diana’s attempts to reach out to school officials, the climate at the school, the school district’s attempt to silence the film Killing America, Benny Morris and Norman Finkelstein, Abigail Shrier’s piece for The Free Press: The Kindergarten Intifada, the impact of antisemitism on societies that succumb to that infection, the war in Gaza and accusations of genocide against Israel, race-conscious policies, the Democratic party, the future of the far-left, the lurch to the right, cultural relativism, the future of Islam, and other topics. Diana can be found on LinkedIn and her website. The daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Diana is a board-certified Neurologist who, before starting her private practice, was a shareholder-physician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF). She graduated Summa Cum Laude from UC Davis, earned her MD at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, and completed her neurology residency at Stanford University. She became involved in educational and medical activism several years ago when she noticed ideological prerogatives in her daughter’s school and in the medical field.

Joey speaks with Aaron Kimberly. We discuss Aaron’s work as a pediatric gender nurse, the impact of trans activism on American and Canadian politics, the cultural and political attitudes of trans people, the right-wing reaction to far-left trans activism, Canadian media and LGBT, Joey’s belief that he was trans when he was a child, transgenderism and children, the reality of biological sex and intersex, cancel culture around trans issues and Aaron’s firing, Carole Hooven, the simplicity of far-left ideology, Aaron’s family, the LGBT movement, gender non-conformity, pediatric transgender medicine and the exploratory therapy model, modern childhood, disempowering the far-left, and other topics. Aaron can be found on X @Aaron_GDAC, YouTube @AGKimberly, and their website. Aaron is a registered mental health nurse and gender diversity advocate. Aaron was born female and lesbian with a rare ovotesticular disorder, which wasn't discovered until age 19. Aaron is interested in the various reasons individuals are sex non-conforming and the cultural contexts that inform our understanding of these experiences. Aaron has held roles in clinical supervision and as a clinical instructor for the School of Psychiatric Nursing at Brandon University. Aaron has been a subject matter expert on gender dysphoria since 2019 and has advised individuals, educators, clinicians, policymakers, law firms, and faith communities.

Joey speaks with Ben Kawaller. We discuss how Ben came to bridge divides in his work at The Free Press, humor, LGBT politics, the role of the media in polarization, why Kamala Harris lost, conservative media and audience capture, election discourse, mass deportations, Trump’s norm violations, cross-partisan communication, muscular conservatism & feminine liberalism, why gay guys go to the gym, Ben’s experience with the Democratic Socialists of America, polarization around Israel & Palestine, the war in Gaza, Benny Morris, Israel’s future, antisemitism, The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and other topics. Ben can be found on X @benkawaller, Instagram @benkawaller, YouTube @benkawaller, at The Free Press, and on his website. Ben hosts the sociopolitical interview series Ben Meets America and hosted the 2024 election series Swing State Debates for The Free Press. He holds a BA in sociology from Harvard. His writing and video reporting have also appeared in Los Angeles Magazine. Ben has contributed to The American Bystander, The Advocate, and Salon, among other publications. He is the author of the full-length plays Us and Them, which was workshopped by Los Angeles' Rogue Machine Theatre in March 2022, and The Politician, as well as various short plays. He is a current member of The Actors Studio's Play Development Unit.

Joey speaks with Brian T. Allen. We discuss the state of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), the impact of identity politics on art history and fine art pedagogy, the Critical Identity Studies, the impact of COVID on cultural institutions, the decay of art and humanities curricula, the re-emergence of figure painting; galleries, art fairs & museums; presentism, The New Philistines by Sohrab Ahmari, “Queer” art, the Venice Biennale, the Armory Show, and other topics. Brian is a Senior Fellow at the National Review Institute and National Review’s art critic. He has a BA from Wesleyan University, an MA in art history from Williams College, and a PhD in art history from Yale. He was the Curator of American art and Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA, and Director of the Addison Gallery at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Brian was also the Director of the Museum Division at the New York Historical Society. You can find Brian on his National Review page.

Today’s guest is Dr. Naya Lekht. She is a scholar of contemporary antisemitism, Soviet history, and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. We discuss the Arab-Israeli conflict, identity politics in education and its impact on perceptions of Israel, the Bible’s place in modern politics; the history of the region, including the League of Nations plan for Israel and the partition proposed by the UN; radical Islam, jihadism, pan-arabism, Zionism, and the left; Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran; Israel’s security, the future of the West Bank and a two-state solution, the moral complexities and aspirations of Israel and Hamas, and other topics. Naya can be found on X @LekhtNaya and on Instagram.

Today, Joey speaks with Joe Nepomuceno. Joe and Joey met through the National Journalism Center, an internship program they completed over the summer. They discuss the state of conservative journalism, the cults of “wokeness” and “anti-wokeness,” the politicization of universities, Christopher Rufo, the state of friendship, being “plugged in” all the time, conspiracy thinking, our response to COVID, democracy, the state of the right, the crisis of masculinity, identity, the impact of psychedelics on Christianity, and other topics.

Today, Joey speaks with Professor Erec Smith. Smith is a Fellow at the Cato Institute, a Professor of Rhetoric at York College, and the President of Free Black Thought. Joey and Erec discuss his past role as a DEI officer, Free Black Thought, the ideological stranglehold of “wokeness” on academia, gender and transgenderism, political tolerance, rhetoric, the impact of “wokeness” and “anti-wokeness” on epistemology, political correctness, ghetto culture, the welfare state, Robin DeAngelo, Robert Putnam, the crises of masculinity and loneliness, superordinate goals, political polarization, and other topics.

A note from Joey concerning the controversial nature of today’s guest: I have the right to have anyone I want on my podcast. -Joey Today, Joey speaks with Professor Amy Wax. Wax is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and neurologist. She graduated from Harvard, Yale, and Columbia. She is the Robert Mundheim Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Her work deals with social welfare law and policy, and the relationship of the family, the workplace, and labor markets. Wax is the paragon of a conservative professor being persecuted by her university, which recommends she receive major sanctions for “traumatizing” her students. Joey and Amy discuss her struggle against UPenn’s fascist bureaucrats who seek to silence her with Orwellian punishments. We agree about the broken border but disagree about mass immigration. We disagree about “race realism” but agree about the need for granular local reform in impoverished minority communities. We also discuss cancellation attempts, the DEI fraud, Hillbilly Elegy and the tragedy of the ghetto, the state of fine arts education, public schools, sex-ed and LGBT, the state of the family, Andrew Tate, the state of misogyny, and other topics.

Today, Joey speaks with Chloe Valdary. Valdary is an American writer, entrepreneur, and diversity & inclusion educator. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Orleans in 2015 with a BA in International Studies. She runs the DEI program Theory of Enchantment and her new app, Dojo. She has also contributed to The New York Times and The Atlantic. Joey and Chloe discuss Theory of Enchantment, Dojo, Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, Carl Jung, race, what is wrong with Critical Theory, Chloe’s criticism of Western thought as being mind-body separated, the difference between abstract and participatory knowledge, Joey’s experience with the New York Young Republican Club, the books Debt: The First 5,000 Years & The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber, Andrew Tate, the Red-Pill, Joey’s work with The Borgen Project, metta (or loving-kindness) meditation, and other topics. Valdary can be found on X @cvaldary, Instagram @cvaldary, Substack at Chloé Valdary, and her website.

Today, Joey speaks with Dr. Stephen Hicks. Hicks is a Canadian-American philosopher and professor of Philosophy at Rockford University in Illinois. Hicks is also the Director of his university’s Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. Hicks has written several books, including Nietzsche and the Nazis and Explaining Postmodernism. Joey and Stephen discuss the purpose of art, the state of fine arts education and the art world, the relationship between art and philosophy, 20th-century art, the triad of Marx, Freud, and Darwin, the relationship between Postmodernism and Marxism and their impact on art & culture, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, political tolerance, and other topics. Hicks can be found on X @SRCHicks and his website.

Today, Joey speaks with Peter Zokosky. Peter is an American figurative artist working in drawing and painting, a Professor of Drawing & Painting, and Department Chair of Graduate Fine Arts at Laguna College of Art & Design (LCAD) in Laguna Beach, CA. Joey and Peter discuss why LCAD differs from other art schools, the difference between undergraduate and graduate fine arts education, the need for free speech in the fine arts classroom, the theoretical humanities, philosophy, and other topics. Peter and his work can be found on Instagram @zokosky and his website.

Today, Joey speaks with Hope Railey. Hope is an American figurative artist working in drawing and painting, a Professor of Drawing & Painting, and Department Chair of Undergraduate Fine Arts at Laguna College of Art & Design (LCAD) in Laguna Beach, CA. Joey and Hope discuss why LCAD is different than other art schools, the difference between LCAD and an atelier, the need for free speech in the fine arts classroom, fragility, self-censorship, reactionary conservatism in the arts, developing one’s work after college, and other topics. Hope and her work can be found on Instagram @hoperailey and her website.

Joey’s guest today is Brent Morden. Brent is a music director, composer, arranger, educator, and arts program director. He directs the band at Columbia University, teaches jazz at Hofstra University, is the Red Co-Chair of Braver Angels’ NYC Alliance, Director of FAIR in the Arts, and Chairman of the New York Young Republican Club Arts Caucus. Brent and Joey discuss the state of discourse on college campuses, identity politics, the difference between race and culture, diversity, the value of tradition in the fine and musical arts, and other topics. Brent can be found on his Instagram @extramordenary and his website.

Joey is joined by Julia Gould and Professor Matthew Napoli. They discuss the state of fine arts education at the university level in the United States, the broken state of critique, the absence of a core curriculum in the fine arts, and solutions to these problems. Matthew Napoli is a Providence-based artist working in representational painting and drawing. Napoli is a graduate teaching fellow at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. He earned his undergraduate degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2021 and completed a residency at the New York Academy of Art that same year. He was also the finalist for the 2022 AXA Art Prize, and in 2023, he was awarded a grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation. Napoli can be found on Instagram @matthewjnapoli or on his website. Julia Gould is an Artist living and working in Baltimore, Maryland. Gould holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she majored in Painting and minored in Printmaking. Her work has been exhibited and awarded by organizations such as the YoungArts Foundation in Miami, the Baltimore Museum of Art, ABR Contemporary in Tribeca, T & Y Projects in Tokyo, and the National Society for Arts and Letters in Washington, DC. In addition, she has lectured in the Baltimore area and exhibited in solo and invitational juried exhibitions. Gould can be found on Instagram @julia_gould.art or her website.

Today, Joey speaks with Laurie Fendrich. Laurie is an abstract painter, art critic, and professor emerita of fine arts and art history at Hofstra University. They discuss her essay How Critical Thinking Sabotages Painting, the broken state of critique, the impact of identity politics on fine arts education, and other topics. Fendrich is originally from Paterson, NJ, and studied painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Aside from Hofstra she has taught at the University of Houston, the University of Southern California, the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has been featured in distinguished solo and group exhibitions at the Armory Show, the Painting Center in NYC, the National Academy of Design, and with American Abstract Artists (AAA). She has received multiple fellowships, including with the Brown Foundation, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Fendrich has also written art criticism, as well as commentary on art history and fine arts education, for various academic publications and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Laurie and her work can be found on Instagram @lauriefendrich and her website. Correction: During the discussion Joey incorrectly refers to the African-American artist Simone Leigh, who showed at the American Pavillion during the 2022 Venice Biennale, as Simone Biles.