The price you pay for being smart. | It's Been a Minute

Anti-intellectualism is on the rise. And by "anti-intellectualism" we mean the backlash to scholars in fields like the humanities. According to two intellectuals, Dr. Ally Louks (https://x.com/drallylouks?lang=en) and Jason Stanley (https://campuspress.yale.edu/jasonsta...) , the humanities help us better connect to other humans. According to a lot of online haters, they're worthless. In November 2024, Dr. Louks recently posted her Cambridge University dissertation online and was piled on by a loud group of right-wing anti-intellectuals. Today, Brittany revisits her convo with Dr. Louks, and Jason Stanley, a professor of Philosophy at Yale University. They investigate the backlash to Dr. Louks, higher education at large, and why "anti-intellectualism" is prevalent in Republican politics. For more, read Jason Stanley's book Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future (https://www.npr.org/2025/07/14/126352... How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future) . This episode originally published January 27, 2025. Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus. Join NPR+ today. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy (https://www.npr.org/about-npr/1798784...)