Episode

10/18 The Homeschooling Movement and Its Quest To Shrink The Public Sector w/ Heath Brown

October 18, 2021

Sam and Emma host Heath Brown, associate professor of public policy at the City University of New York (CUNY), John Jay College, and the CUNY Graduate Center, to discuss his recent book Homeschooling the Right: How Conservative Education Activism Erodes The State, on the rise of homeschooling policy in the US, how it relates to public education, and the impact it has had on national politics. They discuss the institutionalization of homeschooling beginning in the 1970s as a seed of the conservative movement we see today, stemming from 1974 West Virginia protests of new textbook policy incorporating the work of civil rights leaders like Malcolm X which brought out support from established conservative organizations like the John Birch Society and the Ku Klux Klan, and new ones like the Heritage Foundation, all looking to bolster the right to opt-out of the “indoctrination” of public schooling. After discussing the roles of key conservative activists, such as Alice Moore and RJ Rushdoony, and how the movement has bolstered the fundamentalist perspectives that we see in the push against Critical Race Theory we see today, Professor Brown dives into the differences we see between the homeschooling movement, which took off in the ’80s bolstered by conservatives, and the movement for charter schools, which has found continuous bipartisan support since the ‘90s, both in how they found support, and in their organized opposition, which exists against charter schools and their financial implications for normal public school institutions. He, Emma, and Sam also explore the progress that has bolstered the institution of homeschooling, particularly in the growth of technology and the internet, before looking at its influence on conservative activism and organizing, from Homeschoolers for Bush to even Ted Cruz’s 2016 campaign. They wrap up the interview by discussing the demobilizing capacity of undermining public institutions, and Sam and Emma also take on the bloody legacy of Colin Powell and run through recent updates on the IATSE strike, vaccine development, and Joe Manchin.

And in the Fun Half: Adam Kinzinger grapples with loving the game (democracy) but hating the players (voters), Matt from CT calls in to talk alternative COVID treatments and NOT Joe Lieberman, Gregory for Oklahoma’s HD-26 calls in with updates on his campaign, and Jesse Watters does some word salad on that mysterious, unidentified ruling class in early America (white folks). Steven Crowder capitalizes on the homophobia from Matt Walsh and Tucker Carlson to help bolster his super legit masculinity, plus, your calls and IMs!

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