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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good

Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good, Hosted by Spencer Critchley

For people who make progress

The podcast for people who make progress

Politics

How We Became Aliens: The Liberal Backbone, Chapter 9

April 16, 2025

Hubble Telescope image of Hourglass Nebula around a Dying Star

Listen to this chapter on any podcast app, at YouTube, or at Substack. Last time, I argued that if liberals still believe in an open society — free, equal, and pluralistic — we must defend reason. It’s the shared “meeting space” that makes the open society possible. But we must also understand that reason alone isn’t enough. It’s a classic liberal failing not to … [Read more...] about How We Became Aliens: The Liberal Backbone, Chapter 9

Defending Enlightenment: Chapter 8 of The Liberal Backbone

March 19, 2025

Portait of Imannue Kant

Listen to this episode with any podcast app, at YouTube, at Substack, or here: Of all the potential causes of liberal confusion, few are more confusing than this: being reasonable has become controversial. It’s a fundamental assumption of liberal democracy that we debate our differences with reason.  But now that assumption looks like a relic of a bygone age … [Read more...] about Defending Enlightenment: Chapter 8 of The Liberal Backbone

Meet the New Boss: Chapter 7 of The Liberal Backbone

February 18, 2025

Close-up of a horse in a corral, with snowy ranch land and hills behind. Photo by Spencer Critchley.

Listen on any podcast app, on YouTube, at Substack, or here: Transcript Throughout history, the promise of liberation has often become the reality of tyranny. Last time, we looked at how that can happen on the left. It starts with defining liberation as a form of higher consciousness. Those who achieve this higher consciousness are liberated from a … [Read more...] about Meet the New Boss: Chapter 7 of The Liberal Backbone

What Liberals DON’T Stand For — Chapter 6 of The Liberal Backbone

January 15, 2025

Bust of Plato

Listen on any podcast app, on YouTube, at Substack, or here: Transcript As we’ve explored woke left thought in the last few chapters, you may have found yourself nodding in agreement from time to time, or even often. I wouldn’t be surprised. Liberals and the woke left see many of the same problems in society, from structural oppression to alienation. And … [Read more...] about What Liberals DON’T Stand For — Chapter 6 of The Liberal Backbone

The Liberal Backbone on WCPT Chicago with Joan Esposito

December 17, 2024

What (and where) is the liberal backbone?

As you know if you’ve been following my posts and podcast episodes lately, I’m writing and releasing the chapters of my new book The Liberal Backbone in real time. When Joan Esposito of WCPT Chicago heard about it, she had an idea: a "radio book club," with me coming on her show to talk about the book as it comes together, chapter by chapter, with her and her … [Read more...] about The Liberal Backbone on WCPT Chicago with Joan Esposito

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Recent Episodes

Defending Enlightenment: Chapter 8 of The Liberal Backbone

Defending Enlightenment: Chapter 8 of The Liberal Backbone

Meet the New Boss: Chapter 7 of The Liberal Backbone

Meet the New Boss: Chapter 7 of The Liberal Backbone
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