Left is NOT Woke

Dirty Moderate with Adam Epstein

"Flesh is interesting. it comes in different sizes and colors and shapes but the bones are the things that bind us and hold us up and also what is left of us when we are gone. Happy to have the flesh be part of the culture, I want the politics to focus on the bones because that’s the only place that you get a sense of common human dignity and common human rights." -Susan Neiman

“Susan Neiman’s profound wisdom, courage and vision give us a public conception of goodness and a reinvigorated progressive vision. She is a beacon of light and hope in these morally debased times.” -Cornel West

Woke.

If there is one word that can embody and define so much of what is right and wrong here in America, while mapping out the journey in between, its Woke.

Weapon for the right; as in Ron DeSantis’s lovely “Stop Woke” Act, philosophical (or actual) tattoo alongside the butterflies and infinity symbols for the left, this multi layered word that started out as a way to describe being a non-racist, empathetic, aware and grown ass human (and a lyric in an amazing song) has become much larger and more powerful than it’s mere 4 letters would lead you to believe. (We see you “fuck”) In this episode, Adam sits down with American philosopher, writer, and director of the Einstein Institute, Susan Neiman, author of Left is Not Woke

Susan has written extensively on the Enlightenment, moral philosophy, metaphysics, and politics. Her work shows that philosophy is a living force for contemporary thinking and action. An adept philosopher and public intellectual who has taught at Yale and Tel Aviv University, she has been a member of the Institute for Advanced Study and this is the latest of her nine books. Her upbringing in Atlanta during the Civil Rights Movement sealed her identity on the left. She has lived for years in Berlin, where she lectures and serves as the director of the Einstein Forum.
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, during the Civil Rights Movement, Neiman dropped out of high school to join American activists working for peace and justice. Later she studied philosophy at Harvard University, earning her Ph.D. in 1986 under the direction of John Rawls and Stanley Cavell. In the 80s she spent six years in Berlin, studying at the Free University and working as a freelance writer. She was professor of philosophy at Yale and Tel Aviv University. In 2000 she assumed her current position as director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam.

Links you are going to want after listening to this incredible episode:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/07/opinion/black-dancer-american-ballet-theater.html

Amanda Gorman

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/foucault/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/schmitt/

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