ellisconversations's podcast

About ellisconversations's podcast

In this podcast, Jamil Ellis talks with his father, retired Federal Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis, about the historical role of law in shaping the societal structures which act as barriers to attaining the American dream. They discuss why "legal" is not a synonym for "moral" and why law, a prime actor in creating the problems, can and should be a part of the solution. Join them as they talk about wealth, voting, education, criminal justice and other topics which divide the nation. https://ellisconversations.tumblr.com/

Publisher

Jamil Ellis and Ronald Ellis

Category

news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Oct 2019

Latest episode

20 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

68 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   20 Sept 2026

   Jason Arday, DEI, and the New Eugenics

   Original Intent: How traditionally excluded people are targeted for removal when they show up in "the wrong space." In this episode, the Hosts discuss the case of Jason Arday and why history suggests that the intense scrutiny and media coverage he faced may not be simply a concern about qualifications, or lack thereof. In March 2023, Jason Arday made history as the youngest Black person ever appointed to a professorship at the University of Cambridge. Celebrated for an extraordinary journey that took him to one of the world's most prestigious universities, Arday became a highly visible symbol of possibility, inclusion, and institutional change. Three years later, his career at Cambridge ended amid allegations of misconduct, intense media scrutiny, and a public campaign that raised difficult questions extending far beyond the actions of one professor. In this episode of Ellis Conversations, Jamil Ellis and retired Federal Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis examine the controversy surrounding Arday while placing it within a much larger struggle over race, academic authority, mental health, DEI, and who is permitted to occupy elite institutions. They consider how allegations should be investigated and taken seriously without ignoring the racialized machinery through which certain individuals are selected, amplified, and transformed into public symbols of institutional failure. The conversation then turns toward an even more unsettling development: the reemergence of eugenic thinking within influential corners of technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and transhumanism. Ideas once expressed through pseudoscientific racial hierarchies are increasingly repackaged through the language of intelligence, optimization, genetics, technological progress, and humanity's supposed future. What happens when the people designing powerful technologies carry deeply unequal beliefs about whose intelligence matters, whose lives have value, and who deserves to shape the future? How do those beliefs become embedded in datasets, algorithms, institutions, and public policy? And when does technological optimism become a justification for deciding that some people should flourish while others may be abandoned? This episode is not simply about whether Jason Arday made mistakes. It is about the institutions and ideological forces surrounding his rise and fall—and about the danger of treating racism, white supremacy, and eugenics as historical relics when they are being actively reconstructed for the age of AI. Related Episodes: Claudine Gay - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/claudine-gay-the-latest-victim-in-the-debate-over/id1485019282?i=1000640905093 Eugenics - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-evident-lies-eugenics-social-policy-an/id1485019282?i=1000459663353 Topics include: Jason Arday, Cambridge University, race and academic power, media double standards, mental health, attacks on DEI, race science, modern eugenics, artificial intelligence, transhumanism, technological elitism, algorithmic bias, and the struggle over who gets to define humanity's future.

2. 

   3 Sept 2026

   Quick Take: Taxing Diversity Out of Education

   The Trump administration has opened a new front in its campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion: the federal tax code. In this mini episode of Ellis Conversations, Jamil Ellis and retired Federal Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis respond to a proposed Treasury Department and IRS rule that could strip private schools, colleges, and universities of their tax-exempt status if they operate admissions, scholarship, financial-aid, or student-support programs that consider race. They examine whether the executive branch should have the authority to redefine which educational institutions qualify for tax exemption, the administration's selective focus on programs supporting historically excluded communities, and its apparent lack of concern about preferences such as legacy admissions. They also discuss the proposal's potentially chilling effect. Even if courts ultimately block the rule, smaller colleges and educational institutions may dismantle effective diversity programs simply to avoid legal and financial risk. This is not merely a debate about DEI. It is a struggle over who educational institutions are permitted to help—and who the government believes deserves access, opportunity, and support.

3. 

   5 Aug 2026

   Artificial, but not Intelligent: How biased data can affect AI employment models.

   In this episode of Ellis Conversations, Jamil Ellis and retired Federal Magistrate Judge Hon. Ronald L. Ellis continue their two-part conversation on employment discrimination, civil-rights enforcement, and the future of equal opportunity. Part One looked at the history of employment discrimination law, disparate impact, and the role of the EEOC, Justice Department, courts, and civil-rights lawyers in building protections for workers. In Part Two, the conversation turns to a newer and less visible frontier: algorithmic hiring systems. Jamil and Judge Ellis discuss what happens when software platforms, recruiting tools, and AI-driven screening systems sit between job applicants and employers. If these systems score, sort, rank, or filter applicants before a human being ever sees them, are they simply neutral tools — or are they powerful gatekeepers that must be accountable under civil-rights law? The episode focuses on the legal and moral questions raised by cases like Mobley v. Workday, where plaintiffs allege that algorithmic hiring tools can reproduce bias based on race, age, and disability. Jamil and Judge Ellis explore why machine-learning systems trained on past employment patterns may risk automating old discrimination in new forms, and why transparency, data, state-level regulation, and accountability for technology middlemen may become essential civil-rights issues. At the heart of the episode is a simple question: Civil-rights law cannot stop at the edge of the algorithm. If technology helps decide who gets opportunity, who makes sure the technology is fair? Related Ellis Conversations Episodes This episode builds on a longer Ellis Conversations thread about civil rights, courts, democracy, and the systems that decide who gets full access to opportunity. Related episodes: "In Sheep's Clothing: When facially neutral policies and practices mask intentional discrimination" A direct companion to this episode. We discuss employment discrimination, disparate impact, and why neutral-looking rules can still produce unequal outcomes. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-sheeps-clothing-when-facially-neutral-policies-and/id1485019282?i=1000776614155 "The American Dream at 250" Connects the AI accountability conversation to the larger question of who gets access to the American promise. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-american-dream-at-250/id1485019282?i=1000775453951 "Loving Day, The Warren Court, The rights they want to erase" Looks at the Warren Court's civil-rights legacy and today's rollback of protections — background for why new AI systems need civil-rights accountability. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/loving-day-the-warren-court-the-rights-they-want-to-erase/id1485019282?i=1000712580199 "Deliberate, But No Speed" Explores how rights can exist on paper while enforcement is delayed, narrowed, or resisted — a key theme in thinking about algorithmic discrimination. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deliberate-but-no-speed-how-supreme-court-rulings-have/id1485019282?i=1000710549539 "Claudine Gay: The Latest Victim in the Debate over DEI, Affirmative Action, and Meritocracy" Connects to how claims of "merit" and "neutrality" can ignore historical exclusion — the same concern raised by AI hiring tools marketed as objective. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/claudine-gay-the-latest-victim-in-the-debate-over/id1485019282?i=1000641006303 Full Ellis Conversations archive: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ellisconversationss-podcast/id1485019282

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 53 / 100

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

Quality

78

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

68

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