Check Your Privilege

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aisletwentytwo (CC BY 2.0)

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Original Air Date: 
October 18, 2015

Privilege checking has become a mainstay of a certain kind of conversation about race or identity. One person reminds -- or accuses -- another of enjoying all kinds of unearned advantages, thanks to their skin color, gender, class or sexual orientation. Checking someone else’s privilege can be a form of hostility. Checking your own can be an act of humility. Either way, it can oftentimes be painful. But does anyone actually benefit from talking about privilege? This hour, the benefits and drawbacks of talking about privilege.

A Primer on Exploring White Privilege

White women at Concert
Audio

For most of her life Debby Irving was largely unaware of race. Then, when she was in her 40s, she enrolled in a course on race and cultural identity, and overnight became hyperaware of the privileges she'd been afforded throughout her life as a result of her white skin color.

Length: 
12:46

Let's Stop Talking About Privilege

Protest
Audio

Philosopher Naomi Zack believes that if your goal is to fight racism, a good first step is to stop talking about your own privilege. She says we should instead focus the conversation on violations of rights. 

Length: 
7:26

Sensitivity or Censorship: How Language Policing on College Campuses is Shaping America's Future

College Students
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Free speech advocate Greg Lukianoff believes universities are coddling students in the name of emotional well-being, with damaging effects to students' mental health.

Length: 
04:04

The Case for Teaching Children about the Origins of Diversity

Friendship
Audio

Anthropologist Nina Jablonski believes we could reduce implicit bias in the future by teaching children about the evolutionary origins of humans and why we look different.

Length: 
03:10

What Organizations Get Wrong About Diversity

Corporate Quotas
Audio

Talking about diversity is not always easy, but poet and writer Sofia Samatar believes it's crucial. She believes institutions should focus less on meeting quotas, and instead foster open and nuanced conversations about difference.

Length: 
10:27

The Moral Argument for Human Cloning: Genetic Enhancement

Twins
Audio

Bioethicist Julian Savulescu says we have a moral obligation to use new technology to create the best possible children.

 

Length: 
12:56
Show Details 📻
Airdates
October 18, 2015
July 23, 2017
September 08, 2018
April 11, 2020
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Culture
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Politics and History
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Religion and Philosophy
Science
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Last modified: 
April 11, 2020