top of page

Podcast

Banished explores academic freedom, free expression, campus politics and the culture wars.

Banished Logo.jpg

Diversity Is Great, DEI, Inc. Isn't

What’s wrong with conventional campus DEI initiatives?

March31, 2024

Rockwell, Spirit of America_edited_edite

"Entitled to Judge"

A student reflects on freedom of expression on campus.

November 30, 2023

entitled to judge.jpg

Will Florida's "Stop WOKE Act" Hold Up in Court?

A legal challenge to Florida's "divisive concepts" law

November 1, 2022

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 7.44.56 PM.png

Shakespeare, Thou Hast Been Cancelled

Why are so many English teachers refusing to teach Shakespeare?

May 27, 2022

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 7.41.40 PM.png

In the Eye of the Storm

How Rhodes College philosophy department resisted attempts to cancel Peter Singer's talk

April 20, 2022

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 7.38.08 PM.png

The Skeptic

Michael Shermer was hired to question the conventional wisdom, but he asked too many questions.

March 9, 2022

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 7.31.52 PM.png

Does Free Speech Discriminate?

A brief, turbulent history of speaking your mind.

February 10, 2022

fs a history.jpeg

The Subversiveness of Humor

Pakistani artist and activist Salima Hashmi talks about the extent to which freedom of expression is eroded under authoritarianism. Americans should pay attention.

January 27, 2022

Salima+Hashmi+Portrait+2020+copy.jpeg

The Bother With Baby

An annual holiday staple, "Baby It's Cold Outside" has been called misogynistic, sexually aggressive and just plain creepy.

December 30, 2021

Screen Shot 2022-01-11 at 5.29.29 PM.png

Out of Darkness, Into the Fire

Why is a 2015 book about segregation suddenly being banned throughout Texas?

December 8, 2021

OutofDarknesscover.jpeg

Temptations of the West Reconsidered

Khalid reflects on leaving her homeland for the promise of intellectual freedom in the West. Has the West lived up to its promise?

 

November 3, 2021

camera.jpeg

Rethinking the Canon: What Makes a Classic?

On the enduring value of Plato,

St. Augustine and Gandhi

October 14, 2021

Plato.png

Expanding the Canon: Are "Great Books" Obsolete?

Is there value in reading the classics at a time when they are increasingly viewed as tools of oppression and white supremacy?

September 1, 2021

Screen Shot 2021-09-28 at 8.42.41 PM.png

Alice Walker Has Been Cancelled

In a rare interview, the Pulitzer Prize winning author discusses the repeated "cancellations" she has faced throughout her career.

August 4, 2021

Screen Shot 2021-09-28 at 8.32.53 PM.png

Whitewashing History?

It’s easy to remove works of art when people are offended by them. But how does erasing depictions of our history help us?

July 21, 2021

Screen Shot 2021-07-29 at 9.41.41 PM.png

"Free Speech is the Language of the Powerless"

A student reflects on the value of disagreement.

March 21, 2024

King.jpg

The Sunshine State Descends into Darkness (Again)

Florida's all-out assault on academic freedom in higher ed

January 23, 2023

Screenshot 2023-03-24 at 9.39.13 PM.png

Whose Tacos?

Cultural appropriation and the politics of cooking and eating food

June 11, 2022

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 7.43.10 PM.png

"Oh Danny, Is This the End?"

Is the musical Grease past its sell-by date?

May 11, 2022

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 7.38.57 PM.png

COVID-19: Lab Leak Or Natural Leap?

How politics stymied scientific research into the true origins of the coronavirus

April 7, 2022

SARS-CoV-2_without_background.png

The Cartoon is Mightier Than the Sword

All revolutions start somewhere. The artist Badiucao asks: "Why not start from me?"

February 23, 2022

hokey.jpg

Common Sense, Unmasked

What happens when a state chooses politics over science?

February 5, 2022

dr_michael_phillips-2.jpeg

Why the Seuss Estate Pulled Six of Its Own Books

They will not sell them here or there. They will not sell them anywhere.

January 12, 2022

640px-Dr_Seuss_signature.svg.png

Should More Colleges Drop the ACT and SAT?

Not in the name of equity and social justice

December 22, 2021

Screen Shot 2022-01-11 at 5.21.49 PM.png

Fear and Scapegoating in the Time of Pandemics

The surprising connection between pandemics and cancel culture

November 17, 2021

stop corona.jpeg

The Cancellation of Dorian Abbot

What's the future of academic freedom when campus climate overwhelms climate change?

October 20, 2021

abbot.png

The "Critical Race Theory" Hysteria

Why anti-CRT legislation is anti-American

September 29, 2021

No CRT in Schools.jpeg

The Evolution of "Woke"

Lexicon Valley's John McWhorter tracks the shifting meaning of "cancel culture."

August 18, 2021

Screen Shot 2021-09-28 at 8.37.19 PM.png

If It's in the World, It's For Me

Interview with artist Dewey Crumpler

 

July 29, 2021

Screen Shot 2021-09-28 at 8.29.23 PM.png
bottom of page