Banished

About Banished

Thought-provoking conversations about censorship, campus politics, and culture wars. Hosted by Carleton College professors Amna Khalid and Jeff Snyder. banished.substack.com (https://banished.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Amna Khalid & Jeff Snyder

Category

history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 Jun 2021

Latest episode

12 May 2026

Latest episodes

5 of 42 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   12 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   "Virtually No Institution of Higher Learning is Safe"

   Amna speaks with PEN America's Jonathan Friedman and Amy Reid about the alarming threats to academic freedom on U.S. campuses in 2025.

2. 

   23 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Are Diverse Democracies an Endangered Species?

   We were delighted to have the chance to speak with political scientist Yascha Mounk (https://www.yaschamounk.com/about) earlier this month at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the threats facing diverse democracies today—and, why, in spite of the many challenges, Yascha remains optimistic. Show Notes * Yascha is the founder of the publication Persuasion (https://www.persuasion.community/) and has his own substack (https://substack.com/@yaschamounk). We recommend his podcast, The Good Fight (https://www.persuasion.community/podcast) , as well. We made a joint appearance (https://www.persuasion.community/p/khalid-snyder) on the pod back in 2023 to discuss fighting illiberalism from the right and the left. * For a list of Yascha’s books , click here (https://www.yaschamounk.com/books). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit banished.substack.com/subscribe (https://banished.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

3. 

   29 Oct 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Are Too Many Professors Excellent Sheep?

   We have been dying to discuss an article called  “Why Aren’t Professors Braver?” (https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-arent-professors-braver)since it was first published in The Chronicle of Higher Education back in September. It’s by the psychologist Paul Bloom (https://paulbloom.net/) and it starts with an ode to the professoriate: We tend to be pretty smart. We are sometimes socially inept, but in a sweet way. We are genuinely excited about ideas…We are often generous... mentoring students in ways that don’t lead to any tangible rewards.  And we are a peaceable lot. If you’re sitting at a bar, minding your own business, and some drunk takes a swing at you, the drunk is unlikely to be a professor. In spite of our many praiseworthy traits, Bloom says that professors aren’t particularly courageous. When controversial or sensitive topics arise, he claims that we tend to be “too censorious and too self-censoring.”  “Why,” Bloom asks, “are even tenured professors, people with the most secure jobs on Earth, so unwilling to speak their minds?” We have posed this question many times since we both became faculty members--and we could think of no better person to hash it out with than our friend, UPenn professor Jonathan Zimmerman (https://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty/jonathan-zimmerman). Jon is a historian of education who has had a long and illustrious career, first at West Chester University, then at New York University and now at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of many books, including Whose America: Culture Wars in the Public Schools, Too Hot to Handle: A Global History of Sex Education, and The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America. We were thrilled to have him join us on Banished. Show Notes * Here is the article that inspired this episode: Paul Bloom, “Why Aren’t Professors Braver?” (https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-arent-professors-braver), Chronicle Review, September 24, 2025 * The term “excellent sheep” comes from William Deresiewicz’s 2014 book (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Excellent-Sheep/William-Deresiewicz/9781476702728), Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life * See Jon Zimmerman’s official UPenn bio here (https://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty/jonathan-zimmerman) * The *circling the wagons* article Jon references is available here (https://thehill.com/opinion/5239676-universities-free-speech-trump/) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit banished.substack.com/subscribe (https://banished.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

Inside a recent episode

"Virtually No Institution of Higher Learning is Safe"

Published 12 May 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And not just decisions about hiring, which are now being taken out of the hands of faculty, but also decisions about promotion and tenure. Indeed, the institution of tenure itself is being disbanded in certain states. A quick word on that, if you will? I think tenure is one of the things that is least well understood by people outside of higher education. Tenure sometimes is misrepresented as a lifetime guarantee of a job, and that's not what it's about. But what it is saying that faculty, once they have undergone a rigorous multi-year process of earning tenure, are able then to approach their research and their teaching with a longer view and not just be concerned about the annual review of their work, but take on projects that would have three to five year windows and engage in a longer term process for the exploration of truth, the development of new knowledge, constructed engagement with their students. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

112 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

21 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 49 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

71

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

67

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.