The Discourse Lab

*Please rate and review The Discourse Lab on your podcatcher of choice. It’s the best way to support the podcast and it takes less than a minute!*In this episode, Clay is joined by writer and Manhattan Institute fellow Neetu Arnold. Neetu’s writing focuses on education policy in both K-12 and higher education. Her work has been featured in outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Tablet, and City Journal.Listen to this episode if you want to understand three of the most pressing issues in modern American education: grade inflation, reading instruction methods, and standardized tests.A selection of Neetu’s writing:A for Average: Reversing University Grade InflationMichigan Thinks Grades Are the ProblemMassachusetts Chooses Literacy Over Union PoliticsUniversities Are Paying the Price for Ditching SATsWhy Is New York Dumping Its High School Exit Exam?The inflation-adjusted GPA formula…Inflation-adjusted GPA = average [traditional grade + (2.7 – class median)*Note*In this conversation Clay mispronounces the name “Nicholas Christakis” as “Nicholas Christophus.”

*Please rate and review The Discourse Lab on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or both!). It’s the best way to support the podcast and it only takes 30 seconds.*In this episode, Clay is joined by Iranian-born scholar, actress, and filmmaker Yasmin Pacella. Yasmin received her PhD in Cultural, Literary and Linguistic Studies from the University of Miami. Her scholarly work focuses on Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement and the digital art and activism it produced in defiance of the Islamic Republic. Yasmin’s artistic career began in Tehran’s theater scene, where she performed in a number of productions. Since immigrating to the U.S. she has been focused on film and television. She is currently working on a neo-noir spy thriller short film titled Vetro.Yasmin has also amassed a large following on Instagram, where her reels about the Iranian dissident experience regularly get six-figure views.- If you want to support Yasmin, you can donate to her short-film fund here. - Check out A Separation for a good example of Iranian cinema.- Please also take the the time to look at The Dissident Project, an organization that molds immigrants who have escaped tyrannical regimes into influential pro-freedom voices in the United States.*Please rate and review The Discourse Lab on your podcatcher of choice. It’s the best way to support the podcast and it only takes 30 seconds!*

In this episode Clay is joined by Columbia student journalists Nikos Mohammadi and Christina Ma. Last week, Sundial published a piece co-authored by Nikos and Christina called The “Cornell 7” is Really About Liberalism. In it, they articulate their unique take on the Cornell 7 story, and, as they put it, the “collective frenzy” it precipitated. Needless to say their piece received a fair bit of backlash.Nikos has received death threats, the Editorial Board of the Columbia Political Review condemned Sundial’s decision to publish the piece, and some of Sundial’s own writers started a petition to demand that the publication “cease organizational operations”.Even the Columbia Open Discourse Alliance (CODA), an organization founded specifically to promote free speech, open dialogue, and civil, productive disagreement across differences in ideology and opinion, threw Nikos and Christina under the bus. Its executive board condemned their article on the grounds that it promoted rape culture and worked to silence survivors of sexual assault (which it did not), and then canceled an event on the topic of press freedom.In this conversation, Christina and Nikos explain the argument they made in their controversial article, detail the outrageous response to it, and reveal how CODA has completely betrayed its founding principles.Other Sundial articles worth reading:Now It’s Really About LiberalismThe Vanity Fair of Campus Contrarianism Christina’s article on dating:Are Men the Problem, Or Are We?Relevant pieces by Nikos in UnHerd:Why my classmates want me silenced The Cornell Seven is fueling a campus media frenzy

In this episode Clay is joined by Holly Jean Soto. Holly is an economics and liberty communicator who seeks to distill complex economic concepts into content that anyone can understand. In addition to her social media activity, she also writes. Her work can be found in publications such as The Daily Wire and Real Clear Politics. You can follow Holly on X, TikTok, and Instagram. If you want to understand the differences between socialism, communism, social democracy, and democratic socialism, and get Holly’s take on why the DSA seems to be rising in popularity, then this is the conversation for you. 

In this episode, Clay is joined by David Christopher Kaufman. David is a New York based journalist whose writing can be found in many notable publications, including The New York Post, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Tablet, The Jerusalem Post, and Commentary, just to name a few. He has also worked as an editor for The New York Times. David’s writing often focuses on identity. A subject on which he has a somewhat unique vantage point, given that he is black, gay, and Jewish. He is also quite adamant, as you will hear at the top of this episode, that he is first and foremost, an American. David is also hard at work on The Octagon Project, an organization dedicated to combat the rise of the DSA by creating coalitions of groups who share the values of the Jewish community. In this conversation David and Clay discuss his understanding of identity, Nikole Hannah Jones’ recent article in the New York Times questioning her decision to enroll her daughter in an underprivileged school, the double standard Jews face when talking about antisemitism, his potentially controversial term for Jews that disavow Israel and Zionism, and much more. You can follow David on X and Instagram.A selection of David’s writing:Choosing Between My Two Identities Woke Jews are sacrificing their own at the altar of wokenessHow America’s Jews Became America’s ‘New Blacks’ How #Palestine became the ultimate elitist pursuit**Correction** -> at around the 41 minute mark Clay accidentally says “Adrian Brody” instead of “Adam Brody”. He was in fact talking about Adam Brody.

In this episode Clay is joined by friend of the pod Alex DeVitry. Alex is currently a Master’s student at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), where he is studying international conflict resolution, foreign policy and diplomacy, and the Middle East. He also writes excellent articles about political violence in the 21st century on his Substack. This conversation covers two main topics. First, the Houthi’s rise in Yemen: their origins, relationship with Iran, recent military successes, and the threat they pose to Red Sea shipping and the balance of power in the Gulf. Next, political violence: how it takes on a logic of its own, why it’s often misunderstood, and what its normalization means for national identity and civic life. Alex is a man with an outstandingly fascinating and unique origin story, which you can hear all about in his first appearance on TDL.  You can follow Alex on Instagram & TikTok, and subscribe to him (for free!) on Substack.Books Mentioned in this episode:Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire by Richard B. Frank.The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang.Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.Aristotle’s Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages by Richard E. Rubenstein.The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich ** 2 Small Corrections**- John Stuart Mill wrote during the mid-19th century, not during th 1790-1820 timeframe Alex gives in our convo. - In the nuclear near-miss Alex references the target was American naval vessels at sea between Miami and Cuba. The would-be target was not Miami.

In this episode, Clay is joined by ⁠Sam Raus⁠. Sam is a political analyst and public relations professional. He is also the David Boaz Resident Writing Fellow at ⁠Young Voices⁠.Sam writes on a number of topics from a libertarian perspective, including AI, data centers, healthcare, and social security.Listen to this episode to understand why Sam thinks fears surrounding data centers are overblown, hear his argument for why Gen Z should be able to opt out of social security, and much more!You can ⁠follow Sam on X⁠.

In this episode, Clay is joined by NYC-based comedian and social media personality Omry Hananya, aka The Angry Prophet. Omry has gained a large following online by using humor to disprove anti-semitic conspiracy theories. Listen to this episode to learn about goyslop, the Khazar theory, how to convince your friends to stop being anti-semitic, and much more!

In this episode, Clay is joined by Gabriela Blanco. Gabriela was born and raised in Cuba, where her family endured oppression and economic hardship under the communist regime. When she was 23, she escaped the island and eventually made her way to the United States.Gabriela has traveled the country sharing her story with young people as a speaker for ⁠The Dissident Project⁠⁠, an organization that helps immigrants from tyrannical regimes become influential voices for freedom here in the US. Listen to this episode to get the details of Gabriela's inspiring story, hear her argument in favor of sanctions against Cuba, and much more!You can follow Gaby on X.

In this episode, Clay is joined by Ruel Domi. Ruel is an Albanian political commentator whose work focuses on global affairs, international relations, geopolitics, and Albanian, European, and American politics. He is a frequent commentator on Albanian television and writes regularly on political and international developments affecting Albania, Europe, the United States, and the wider world.Ruel holds a B.A. in Finance and Political Science from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.Listen to this episode to learn a little bit about modern Albanian politics, get Ruel's take on the rise of the far right in Europe, hear why he thinks Western civilization is particularly great, and much more!You can find Ruel on his ⁠website⁠, ⁠Linktree⁠, and ⁠Instagram⁠.