Defending Critical Thinking in Academia

On our 29 October 2007 show, we talked with Reginald Dylan, of the National Project to Defend Dissent and Critical Thinking in Academia about attempts to suppress critical thinking and alternative viewpoints in higher education. The interview comes in the wake of a so-called "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" organized by David Horrowitz.

In the actual broadcast, we also aired a clip of Bob Avakian, who heads the Revolutionary Communist Party, on the topic of critical thinking in academia.

To listen to the show, click here:

Elizabeth Loftus on Academic Freedom and Recovered Memory

On our next show, March 5, 2007, in the wake of the California Supreme Court affirming UCI distinguished pschology prof. Elizabeth Loftus' academic freedom to conduct research, we re-air our 2002 interview with Loftus, when she first arrived on the UCI campus. The case, Taus vs. Loftus et al, continues on one count, however. See details and links in press release. To listen to the show, click here:

The original 2002 interview is here (in RealAudio): .

Teen gets parade boat in Amsterdam, but gay scholar gets death threats

On our next show, we talk with University of Amsterdam gay scholar Gert Hekma, who's embroiled in a nasty controversy in the Netherlands.

Danny Hoekzema came out as gay when he was 12 years-old. At 14, he wonders why there are no resources for gay youth in the Netherlands, where the age of consent is set at 16. He's managed to get gay parade organizers in Amsterdam (as well as the city major) to let him and his peers join the parade in a gay teen boat for those aged 12-16.

But in the process, a gay scholar who supports the teen boat idea has been pilloried in the Dutch media as well as the gay establishment, for his views on teen sex. Gert Hekma, who is a gay studies professor at the University of Amsterdam, has received numerous death threats on email and in blogs. His university, however, stands by him and supports his right to free speech. We talk with Prof. Hekma, who has authored over a dozen scholarly works on gay life and culture, about his support of youth sexuality and those on the "sexual fringe".

See press release. To listen to the show, click here: .