Shows
Meant For YouYour School's Ethnic Studies Curriculum Might Be More Radical Than You Think - Monica Harris Explains WhyMonica Harris is the Executive Director of FAIR For All, a Harvard Law graduate, former Hollywood executive, and author of The Illusion of Division. Monica explains how her experience as a gay Black woman in Hollywood and then in "flyover country"shattered many elite narratives about America. She describes why she believes much of our current polarization is manufactured by media and political interests, and how identity-based frameworks like liberated ethnic studies and DEI are deepening division rather than healing it. We dig into the following: Why "Liberated Ethnic Studies" is dividing students, not...
2025-11-2249 min
FDD Morning BriefFDD Morning Brief | feat. Hussain Abdul-Hussain (Sep. 12)WILL ISRAEL’S STRIKE ON HAMAS IN DOHA AFFECT THE ABRAHAM PEACE ACCORDS?HEADLINE 1: The Pentagon approved a new security assistance package for Lebanon.HEADLINE 2: Speaking of Hezbollah, guess who busted a Hezbollah cell? The Syrian army.HEADLINE 3: The Treasury Department rolled out fresh sanctions targeting Houthi financial networks.--FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow, filling in for Jonathan Schanzer, provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Hussain Abdul-Hussain, an FDD research fellow who specializes in the Gulf region and Yemen. Learn mo...
2025-09-1218 min
NEVER AGAIN IS NOW PodcastUS – Distortion of Jewish history - Ep. 195Brandy Shufutinsky, Director of the Program on Education and National Security at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, discusses how teachers in America are trained to deny the history of the Jewish people in theLand of Israel, and to picture Arab Palestinians as the indigenous people instead.
2025-09-0437 min
The DissidentsS5 E24 | Authoritarians in the Academy with Sarah McLaughlinThis week Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky speak with Sarah Mchlaughlin on her recently released book – Authoritarians in the Academy. As universities are run more and more like corporations with increasing numbers of administrators, priorities have shifted. As part of this shift, we often see universities making financial decisions that can be at odds with their values, namely freedom of speech. This includes not only US university campuses that operate overseas in places like China and Qatar, but also on our home turf. In order to appease financial partnerships Sarah has found that American universities have become increasingly censorious. In...
2025-08-2951 min
FDD Morning BriefFDD Morning Brief | feat. Jonas Du (Aug. 20)WHY ARE LEGACY MEDIA OUTLETS AMPLIFYING HAMAS' NARRATIVE? HEADLINE 1: Hamas has possibly agreed to a 60-day ceasefire with Israel. But don’t hold your breath. The terms are 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences. HEADLINE 2: Yesterday, the families of the “Beautiful Six” commemorated one year since Hamas murdered their loved ones in cold blood. HEADLINE 3: Israel and Australia are locking horns — and things are only getting worse.--FDD Exec...
2025-08-2022 minMeant For YouBrandy Shufutinsky on the Marxist Roots of Ethnic Studies in K-12 Schools and College CampusesBrandy Shufutinsky is the newly appointed Director of the Education and National Security Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. In this important conversation, we disciuss how today's ethnic studies curriculum, originally intended to promote understanding among diverse communities, is instead fueling division, promoting an oppressor-vs-oppressed worldview, and teaching students that capitalism is synonymous with white supremacy and exploitation. Brandy brings deep expertise to this topic, holding a doctorate in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco, an MSW from USC, and an M.A. in International Relations from the University of San...
2025-08-0148 min
FDD's Foreign PodicySchools for ScandalWoke ideology, anti‑Americanism, Islamism and antisemitism have gripped America’s elite campuses. How? Follow the money.Researchers at the Middle East Forum have been doing exactly that, and the result is a new report that's shocking but not surprising. It’s titled: “Beachhead: Georgetown University: How Foreign and Domestic Radical Actors Captured a U.S. University.”Host Cliff May is joined by his FDD colleague Brandy Shufutinsky and report co-authors Asra Q. Nomani and Sam Westrop to discuss the Gulf autocrats and Saudi‑linked SAFA network pouring millions of dollars into Georgetown’s Al‑Waleed Center, warpi...
2025-07-181h 07FDD's Foreign PodicySchools for ScandalWoke ideology, anti‑Americanism, Islamism and antisemitism have gripped America’s elite campuses. How? Follow the money.Researchers at the Middle East Forum have been doing exactly that, and the result is a new report that's shocking but not surprising. It’s titled: “Beachhead: Georgetown University: How Foreign and Domestic Radical Actors Captured a U.S. University.”Host Cliff May is joined by his FDD colleague Brandy Shufutinsky and report co-authors Asra Q. Nomani and Sam Westrop to discuss the Gulf autocrats and Saudi‑linked SAFA network pouring millions of dollars into Georgetown’s Al‑Waleed Center, warpi...
2025-07-181h 07
The Yoga of War Podcast: Fighting for Israel & The Jewish PeopleJewish Empowerment ✡️ Am Yisrael Chai: Past, Present & Future ✡️ Shana Meyerson at Jewish Nevada🇮🇱 WANT SHANA TO COME AND SPEAK AT YOUR SYNAGOGUE, JCC, JEWISH FEDERATION, CHURCH, SCHOOL, OR OTHER EVENT? CONTACT ME AT YOGAOFWAR @ YOGATHLETICA.COM 🇮🇱 @jewishnevada9194 hosts Yoga of War podcaster, Shana Meyerson, in a discussion about the State of Israel and the Jewish people, past, present, and future. As the world is being consumed with antisemitism and Jew Hatred, what does that mean for the Jews of Israel and the Diaspora? In this discussion we discuss the relationship between yoga theory and war, the importance and imperative of standing up for Am Yisrael, and how to be bold and empowere...
2025-06-301h 08The DissidentsS5 E15 | Decolonization: Erasure or Diversity?In 2022 Counterweight, the organization that Helen Pluckrose founded and that was absorbed into the Institute for Liberal Values had a virtual conference on Alternatives to Diversity and Inclusion. Starting in 2025, we will be rolling out one talk a month that was presented at the conference. We sit down with the original presenters throughout 2025 to see what has changed since 2022. With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives seemingly on the chopping block, we are curious to hear what our original participants are witnessing and experiencing on the ground. Is DEI really dead or just in remission? Are there healthy alternatives to...
2025-05-3041 min
FDD Morning BriefFDD Morning Brief | feat. Brandy Shufutinsky (May 23)FOREIGN INFLUENCE IN K-12 SCHOOLS AND BEYONDHEADLINE 1: Israel and Turkey reportedly established a new mechanism to help prevent unwanted military incidents in Syria.HEADLINE 2: Two more Houthi missile attacks were recorded.HEADLINE 3: France is working with Saudi Arabia on a proposal for Gaza that would require Hamas to disarm.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Brandy Shufutinsky, director of FDD's brand-new program...
2025-05-2322 min
ProSocial PodcastLiberal Values in Practice Panel: Critical vs. Classical Social Justice in Social WorkSummaryJoin Dr. Elizabeth Spievak from the Institute for Liberal Values as she moderates a conversation with social workers Zander Keig, Brandy Shufutinsky, and Matt Watson. They explore the complexities of social work ethics, the role of social justice, and the importance of accountability and accessibility in the field. Panelists discuss their experiences and perspectives on how social work can evolve to better serve diverse communities while maintaining ethical standards. They emphasize the need for a balanced approach that respects client autonomy and promotes social change without imposing ideologies. The discussion also highlights the challenges faced by...
2025-04-251h 09
Of the People — with Robert Chernin and Ericka RedicHow Wokeism and Antisemitism Are Hijacking Our Schools: Dr. Brandy Shufutinsky on Fighting BackJoin Ericka Redic and Steve Rosenberg as they welcome Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values (JILV), Dr. Brandy Shufutinsky.Together, they discuss how wokeism and antisemitism have infiltrated America’s education system and what we can do to fight back. Brash, irreverent, and mostly peaceful! Stay in contact with us!Ericka RedicX - @ErickaRedicFB - @GenerallyIrritableIG - @generally_irritableSteve Rosenberg:X - @TheGSDGroupGSD Group: https://theteamgsd.com/Purchase Steven’s Book, MAKE BOLD THINGS HAPPEN...
2025-04-021h 00
The Yoga of War Podcast: Fighting for Israel & The Jewish PeopleBrandy Shufutinsky | Critical Race Theory in K-12 | Israel-Hamas War | Conversation with Shana MeyersonEthnic Studies sounds like such a warm, fuzzy concept. I learn about you, you learn about me. We foster mutual respect, tolerance, and appreciation for our cultures, traditions, and histories. Unless you’re a Jew.What masquerades as a well-intentioned effort to promote co-existence and understanding within the great melting pot we call America, happens to have a very dark underbelly that not only excludes, but demonizes, one minority group.The one group, in fact, that is the target of more hate crimes than any other, despite comprising only 2% of the American population....
2025-03-281h 24
Think Twice with Jonathan TobinEP. 168: Breaking the DEI binary in American education w/ Dr. Brandy ShufutinskyWelcome to Think Twice, the weekly show hosted by Jonathan S. Tobin, Editor-in-Chief of JNS. This episode features Dr. Brandy Shufutinsky, Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values.Topics Covered in This Episode:✅ The Rise and Fall of Woke Ideology: How DEI took over education, corporations and the arts.✅ Why Jewish Americans Are Targeted: How DEI’s oppressor-oppressed ideology fuels antisemitism.✅ Ethnic Studies and Radical Indoctrination: How schools push division instead of education.✅ Settler Colonialism and Israel: The false narrative used to delegitimize Jewish history.✅ The Left’s War on Liberalism: Why American liberalism fai...
2025-03-0643 min
Free Black Thought PodcastEp. 97 - Leave the Kids Alone (Kofi Montzka)Activist Kofi Montzka gives host Connie Morgan advice on finding like-minded individuals and building supportive communities. Kofi shares her thoughts on how the ethnic studies curriculum may promote a narrative of hopelessness for Black children and opens up about the backlash she’s faced for speaking out against these ideas. She also talks about the importance of curiosity over certainty, the need for kindness in disagreements, and the value of engaging with diverse perspectives.Show notes:Kofi speaks out against critical race theoryKofi addresses the Minnesota State LegislatureKofi’s "Teaching Hopelessness to Kids of Color" in the...
2025-03-051h 15
Free Black MomsEp. 8 - About Pluralistic Ethnic StudiesBrandy Shufutinsky is a social worker, writer, researcher, and advocate. She holds her Doctorate in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco, her MSW from the University of Southern California, and her MA in International Relations from the University of San Diego. Dr. Shufutinsky has worked towards advancing the rights of victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault through practice, education, and research, and is now focusing her advocacy on developing intercultural and academic opportunities to enhance liberal democratic ideals as the director of education and community engagement with the Jewish Institute for Liberal Va...
2024-09-2654 min
The DissidentsFSF Ep. 8: Standing Up for Free Speech with Courage and Grace | Brandy ShufutinskyIn today’s episode, Chris and Joia interview Dr. Brandy Shufutinsky, who has been the Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values. Brandy discusses the importance of free speech and the erosion of this right in recent years, which makes us become more “robot-like”. She also emphasizes the need for education on democratic values and free speech in K-12 schools.
Learn more at: https://jilv.org/
2024-08-1316 min
The SyllabusBrandy Shufutinsky“So at the higher education level, in colleges and universities, ethnic studies pedagogy actually doesn't align with K-12 education code,” says Brandy Shufutinsky, the director of education and community engagement at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, in this week’s episode of The Syllabus podcast. “At the college level, you're allowed to bring in a certain level of biases, while K-12 education code says a teacher can't.” Brandy initially welcomed the idea of expanding history curricula to include ethnic studies. However, her excitement waned as she discovered the heavy ideological underpinnings within the curriculum, lacking in historical substance. ...
2023-12-2117 min
The DissidentsPotemkin Villages: The Origin of Antisemitic Soviet Propaganda & it's Influence on American Education & Media | Izabella TabarovskyWelcome to the Radical Roots of Ethnic Studies, a series of the Dissidents Podcast， with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with Izabella Tabarovsky, a Soviet Jewish Immigrant who has dedicated her research to exploring the spread of Soviet propaganda throughout the mo...
2023-11-2852 min
The DissidentsCritical Resentment Theory & the Colonization of the MindWelcome to the Radical Roots of Ethnic Studies, a series of the Dissidents Podcast， with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with Carob Marcelle, an educator, mother and host of Be Not Afraid. Carob moved her family from Washington to Utah in search of a...
2023-11-1449 minThe DissidentsEp. 029: Antisemitism Before and After the 7th | David Bernstein & Brandy ShufutinskyOn October the 5th Brandy Shufutinsky, David Bernstein and Mike Burke met to discuss the growing problem of antisemitism on both the political left and right. Little could any of them know what was about to happen just a couple of days later on October the 7th, which was the worst attack on the Jewish people, since the Holocaust. In an addendum to the original recording, made just a few days later but in what felt like a totally different era, Mike and Brandy included a follow-up conversation on the outpourings of antisemitic madness erupting across Western world, including...
2023-10-271h 46
The DissidentsConnecting Liberated Ethnic Studies and HamasWelcome to the Radical Roots of Ethnic Studies, a series of the Dissidents Podcast, with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
Hamas’ recent terrorist attack in Israel has garnered the support of the Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies (CLES), a group that is designing curricula for K1...
2023-10-2428 min
Take Back Our SchoolsEthnic Studies and the Rise of AntisemitismOn this episode, Andrew and Beth speak with Dr. Brandy Shufutinsky of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values. Shufutinsky shares her views on the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel and on the antisemitism we are seeing in the United States. We discuss the roots of that antisemitism on college campuses and in K-12 schools. Ethnic Studies curricula first developed in the state of California, says Shufutinsky, has led to a generation of anti-Israel and antisemitic students. We also discuss whether or not recent events will be a wake-up call for American Jews to reconsider their allegiance to...
2023-10-2144 minFree Black Thought PodcastEp. 15 - Fighting for Pluralistic Ethnic Studies (Brandy Shufutinsky)Host Connie Morgan and Brandy Shufutinsky discuss the need for a new approach to ethnic studies.Stuff referenced in this episode:Coalition for Empowered EducationBrandy’s “The Intersectionality of anti-Blackness & Antisemitism,” in The Times of IsraelBrandy on X: @76brandy76Brandy’s “I Am Not Your Negro,” in the Journal of Free Black ThoughtThe Black Intellectual Tradition: Reading Freedom in Classical Literature by Angel Parham and Anika PratherPodcast Theme Music by JoDavi
2023-10-1153 min
The DissidentsSocialism Then & There, Here & Now | David SmolanskyWelcome to a new series of the Dissidents Podcast with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with David Smolansky, a mayor in exile from Venezuela. David tells his personal story living through the transition from democracy to socialism in Venezuela. His experience...
2023-10-0358 min
The DissidentsDiversity for the Curious: A Liberal Conversation with Brandy ShufutinskyWelcome to a special “Liberal Conversations Series” of the Dissidents Podcast.
In this series we invite guests who have resources, ideas, and viewpoints that will challenge us to reflect on liberal values, what they are, how they are applied, their impact on us as individuals, and why they matter for the larger communities in which we live.
In this episode, Brandy Shufutinsky and Elizabeth Spievak discuss intercultural and academic opportunities that can enhance liberal democratic ideals. Brandy gives us an overview of her upcoming course and its usefulness for teachers, parents, and laypeople. The course and our disc...
2023-09-2641 min
The DissidentsBigotry of Low Expectations | Kofi MontzkaWelcome to a new series of the Dissidents Podcast with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with Kofi Montzka, an attorney, wife and mother. In March, Kofi spoke out at a Minnesota Legislature assembly against a bill mandating ethnic studies. According to...
2023-09-1941 min
The DissidentsJustice by Learning History | Amy LessermanWelcome to a new series of the Dissidents Podcast with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with Amy Lesserman, an English and Social Studies teacher with a long career in the Los Angeles Unified School District. We discuss the...
2023-09-0555 min
The DissidentsAmerica's Dangerous Repeat of the Chinese Cultural Revolution | Mike ZhaoWelcome to a new series of the Dissidents Podcast with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality.
This week we speak with the President of the Asian American Coalition for Education, Mike Zhao. Zhao, the author of Critical Race Theory and Woke Culture: America’s Dangerous Repeat of...
2023-08-2238 min
The DissidentsThe Radical Roots of Ethnic Studies (A Series of The Dissidents Podcast) no. 1Welcome to a new series of the Dissidents Podcast with your co-hosts, Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky. In this series we explore the radical roots of liberated ethnic studies, how extreme ideology is infiltrating our schools with the aim to indoctrinate instead of educate, and our search for solutions to empower parents, teachers and students, giving them the tools to embrace inquiry and to express their individuality. Join us.
https://empowered-ed.org/
https://ilvalues.org/
2023-08-0840 min
The DissidentsEp. 72: Ukraine & CSJ in the USA | Brandy ShufutinskyIn the Hold my Drink - navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 72, we speak with Brandy Shufutinsky on the problems with Critical Social Justice in the United States as viewed through the current Ukrainian crisis. When applied to existential crises in the “real world”, CSJ ideology crumbles under the weight. As we debate the “whiteness” of Ukraine, a real catastrophe is underway that cares not for the pedantic elite allegiance to identities. All discussed with a sober chaser of civility, of course.
To read more from Brandy and to see what we are each...
2022-03-1758 min
SpeechCastSpeechCast - Antisemitism in the Classroom: What We Can Learn from California - 44EPCo-sponsored Livestream with the Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies discusses curriculum changes and newly introduced graduation requirements in Ethnic Studies. The presentation, given by Elina Kaplan, President and Co-Founder of Alliance for Ethnic Studies (ACES), and Dr. Brandy Shufutinsky, social worker, writer, researcher, advocate, and board member of Jewish Institute for Liberal Values discuss the current curriculum and how some approaches are antisemitic. Using California as a case study, learn what is under consideration, its implications for our Jewish students and the Jewish community, and what you can do. Special introduction by human rights icon Natan Sharansky and commentary b...
2021-12-301h 11
RivkushBrandy Shufutinsky: Safer to be Black in Israel than the U.S.In North America, Brandy Shufutinsky might be called a Black Jewish woman, or a Jew of colour. But in Israel, she's just a Jew. It might sound counterintuitive to feel safer in Israel, under threat of geopolitcal tension and terrorism, than in the United States, but that's the truth. Feeling comfortable walking down the street makes a big difference when you were born in a country where anti-Black racism is significantly more pronounced.
A social worker and activist with two master's degrees, Shufutinsky joins the show to discuss her life in both countries, her thoughts on the...
2021-09-2049 min
SpeechCastSpeechCast - Brandy Shufutinsky - I don' fit their narrative - 16EPBrandy Shufutinsky holds a Ph.D. in Education. She is a writer, researcher, and advocate for advancing the rights of victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Shufutinsky believes that there has been a successful hijacking of discourse by people who want to silence Jewish voices and minimize the hatred inflicted on the Jewish community. People like her, she argues, don't visually and ideologically suit their narrative.
2021-08-0136 min