#336 - The Roots of Identity Politics

Listen to this episode from Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content on Spotify. Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/336-the-roots-of-identity-politics Sam Harris speaks with Yascha Mounk about identity politics. They discuss Yascha’s concept of the “identity synthesis,” skepticism about “cancel culture,” racial segregation in schools, the ideological change on college campuses, Michel Foucault and postmodernism, the rejection of universalism, Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, the “permanence of racism,” the indoctrination of children, intersectionality, white privilege, institutional racism, equity vs equality, racial preferences during the Covid pandemic, the asymmetric advantage of authoritarianism, class and elitism, affirmative action, media coverage of crime and violence, social media and the business model of mainstream journalism, and other topics. Yascha Mounk is the author of The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. He is also a Professor of the Practice of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University, the founder of Persuasion, and the host of The Good Fight podcast. Website: www.yaschamounk.com Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the Waking Up app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it.