#AcademicRunPlaylist - 10/22/25

The sun came out after the morning rain, and while taking in the New England fall I listened to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was a great discussion with Keisha N. Blain on Black women and the making of human rights (with Kim Janey as moderator!) at the Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUNlKpR8SpE

Next was an engaging conversation between Ann Lipton and Michael Levin on SEC Chair Atkins' recent... interesting speech on Delaware law on the Shareholder Primacy podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd8U5pC6xQQ

Next was an incredible talk by Sandra Mitchell on biological complexity and scientific practice at Johns Hopkins University. Mitchell digs into the nature of measurement and interrogates what it means for something to be "true" in science. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OamFDuT45oY

Next was an interesting panel on the labor impacts of AI technology deployments in retail and implications for unions with Rachel Verdin, Steve Rolf, Wil Hunt, Nick Scott, Nikoletta Kiss, and Espen Strandhus at the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work (Digit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pSQmKVgpcE

Next was an intriguing talk by Erika Bachiochi on philosophical perspectives on home-work integration at the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJRS-BZQInI

Next was a wide-ranging panel on capital market challenges in Japan, the US, and the world with Anil Kashyap, Toshiyuki Miyoshi, Hiromi Yamaji, and David Weinstein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2yAoklTpyU

Next was "America, América" by Greg Grandin. This is an absolutely unique, page-turning history, reviewing the history of the US and the rest of the Americas (minus Canada) by analyzing the exchanges and changing relationships between these different countries. The USA is the focal point here, and Grandin persuasively demonstrates that many of the US's non-American international policies were deeply shaped by interactions with the rest of the New World. There is a bit of Latin American history here as well, although it's normally read in relation to future US and global developments, but it's a great introduction if you're unfamiliar with these histories. I do wish there was a bit more on indigenous peoples given how central they are to this history.

Overall this can be regarded as a new foundational historical text. Highly recommend https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/747326/america-america-by-greg-grandin/

Last was "White Rage" by Carol Anderson. This book rings even more true in 2025, as Anderson devastatingly works through US history to show how white abhorrence of Black progress has been one of the fundamental driving forces of domestic US policy throughout the centuries. Importantly, this book strips away the faux-neutrality of post-Civil Rights policies in government and beyond, revealing the unfairness baked deep within their core. With Cassandra-like foresight, this book also progresses to 2016, with Anderson illustrating what systematic forces need to finally be addressed to bring about a fairer country. Highly recommend https://www.professorcarolanderson.org/white-rage