Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a celebrated scholar, stateswoman and activist who has championed women's rights and liberal values while opposing identity politics and religious extremism. She has been maligned for her views, and as you will hear her say here, she has made mistakes along the way. But I was honored to speak to Ayaan because she has always struck me as a true example of moral and intellectual courage.

Please enjoy this short conversation touching on virtue, philosophical nonviolence and the work of Martin Luther King Jr., polarization and race with one of the most fascinating public personalities in the world.

Is "Wokism" a religion?

The modern antiracist movement, often referred to as the Woke movement, has provoked backlash for seemingly seeking to deplatform and censor Americans with dissenting points of view, and attributing racism to wide swaths of American society. According to John McWhorter, this is because "Wokism" is less an ideology and more an irrational religion.

But is it? I ask John some questions to see if he isn't rushing to this characterization too quickly. As always John is ready to respond.

www.braverangels.org

Twitter: @JohnHMcWhorter @JohnRWoodJr @BraverAngels

Is the black American experience defined by race in 2021? Or are the struggles of millions of African-Americans far more a symptom of class?

Bertrand Cooper is a deeply insightful yet underappreciated voice on the intersections of race and poverty in American life. In our conversation we talk about popular culture's representation of black life, the differences in the black experience as a function of class, and Bertrand's own compelling journey through race, poverty and the ladder of education.

Read Bertrand's seminal essay Who Actually Gets to Create Black Pop Culture for Current Affairs: 

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/07/who-actually-gets-to-create-black-pop-culture

Twitter: @_BlackTrash @braverangels @JohnRWoodJr 

Websites: www.braverangels.org

Dennis Prager, (author, talk radio show host and long time thought leader among American conservatives) believes that everything the left touches it destroys. But is there nothing to empathize with on the left?

That was the conversation I wound up having with Dennis particularly with respect to the subject of race. 

Twitter: @DennisPrager @braverangels @JohnRWoodJr 

Websites: www.braverangels.org www.prageru.com/

A quick filler episode!

I wanted to take a moment to talk about the importance of understanding what we don't know, and the limited value of understanding facts outside of experience.

I also talk about my conversation with Dave Rubin, my recent appearance with economist Glenn Loury and upcoming podcast with Dennis Prager.

See Glenn and I at the Manhattan Institute: https://youtu.be/W8YnyUu6qAg

Join Braver Angels: www.braverangels.org

Twitter: @JohnRWoodJr @BraverAngels

Braver Angels is America' largest, grassroots, bipartisan organization in America dedicated to reviving the communal spirit of American democracy.

A high-minded vision! I've been a leader of Braver Angels for going on four years now. But I wouldn't be on the front lines of this movement to unite the American people in goodwill if it wasn't for my long time friend and associate, writer, historian and Braver Angels staffer Luke Phillips.

Luke drops by the studio in L.A. for a conversation looking back on our path to Braver Angels, and the personal struggles and circumstances that led us to the movement to depolarize America.

Twitter: @braverangels @JohnRWoodJr

Websites: www.braverangels.org

I find myself on Twitter perhaps a little more than is healthy. But one thing that has been very healthy for me is interacting with Will Fullwood (mathematics teacher, host of the Contraband Wagon) Brandon Bradford (writer and consultant) and Dr. Mansa Keita (PhD computer science) as they've criticized conservatives and traditional liberals (sometimes myself) for the blindspots on race and reason they see as being prevalent in the online heterodox community.

Do "classical liberals" and others in the cross-partisan conversational space deceived themselves into thinking they are objective? Is "colorblindness" really a problem? 

Twitter: @rasmansa @ContrabandsM @BrandonLBradfor @braverangels @JohnRWoodJr

Websites: www.braverangels.org www.thecontrabandwagon.com

Karen Hunter, the host of The Karen Hunter Show on Sirius XM, is a fearless voice on the airwaves for justice and truth telling. She's lived a successful life as a journalist, author and activist; yet Karen is not optimistic about America's ability to overcome the racism she sees as operating at its core.

I try to give a more hopeful view, even as Karen surprises me with some of her takes on the importance of owning our racial identity and the problems with labels. Karen is a strong, gracious woman with the courage of her convictions...it's well worth giving her a listen. 

Twitter: @braverangels @karenhunter, @JohnRWoodJr

Websites: www.braverangels.org www.karenhuntershow.com