RonFromToronto

Ron Brown

RonFromToronto: Intentionally balanced. Constructive. From Toronto. Aims of the podcast and companion YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@RonFromToronto/): * Bringing important lessons from Psychology, Anthropology, and the Cognitive Sciences to life; * Exploring contentious cultural, ideological, and political issues; * Exploring issues and controversies within the academic community, as well as their implications for society at large.

Episodes

  1. The Immigrant Show Episode 1: Mermaid Studies, Ideological Capture, and Low Standards in Academia

    10/29/2023

    The Immigrant Show Episode 1: Mermaid Studies, Ideological Capture, and Low Standards in Academia

    The Immigrant Show is co-hosted by RonFromToronto (self-described center-right) and Rhino Nomad (self-described far left), a pair of Canadian-born immigrants of African descent to the United States. As discussed in this first episode, the two co-hosts initially got off to a hostile start but soon realized that they agreed on far more than was initially apparent. Their most important area of agreement was that inter-ideology understanding and discourse are often absolutely - and unnecessarily - terrible. The Immigrant Show is an attempt to discuss toxic topics in non-toxic ways, looking at them in good faith from perspectives from across the political/ideological landscape. In this first episode, RFT and Nomad discuss the subject matter of their initial hostility: the work of self-described Black Feminist, “merwomanist”, and mermaid scholar, University of California Riverside Humanities Professor, Jalondra Davis. While the conversation often foregrounds Davis, the real focus is on ideological skew, low scholarly standards, and low practical utility in what RFT refers to as “activist disciplines”. Links: RonFromToronto Podcast Links: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ronfromtoronto/id1714182304 Rhino Nomad on The Intellectual Dark Web Reddit community podcast: https://www.reddit.com/r/IntellectualDarkWeb/comments/178qz7e/bridgebuilding_6_uncovering_the_masculine_left/ Justin Trottier, head of Canada’s most prolific orgs for men and boys’ advocacy, explaining to Ron why he believes that men and boy’s advocacy, at its core, is “intrinsically on the left”: https://youtu.be/ElZB2MgYxkA?si=C83rkXhogGAg94p1 Playlist of RFT’s videos on Jalondra Davis and broader issues in academia (note: the first video which elicited frustrations from Nomad is entitled “STATE University Professor’s Life’s Work: Slavery & Mermaids”): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoyQwn2YnG7Yj_n5JgK8S6N6cw9WtbWGs Full text link to Jalondra Davis paper discussed in this video: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361039385_Crossing_Merfolk_the_Human_and_the_Anthropocene_in_Nalo_Hopkinson's_The_New_Moon's_Arms_and_Rivers_Solomon's_The_Deep

    1h 36m

About

RonFromToronto: Intentionally balanced. Constructive. From Toronto. Aims of the podcast and companion YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@RonFromToronto/): * Bringing important lessons from Psychology, Anthropology, and the Cognitive Sciences to life; * Exploring contentious cultural, ideological, and political issues; * Exploring issues and controversies within the academic community, as well as their implications for society at large.