Ananish Chaudhuri: 12 Angry Men, class and academic freedom

Economist Ananish Chaudhuri, Professor of Experimental Economics at the University of Auckland, joins Dane Giraud. He is one of the newest members of the Free Speech Union Council. He starts with 12 Angry Men, Sidney Lumet's 1957 film about a jury pushed to examine its biases by one man asking questions. Ananish argues the China shock hollowed out manufacturing jobs and community life in the United States. In his view, the left answered a class problem with a culture war, and that is the ground Donald Trump sprang from. Dane and Ananish trace woke politics back to that failure. They also cover price controls, left-wing authoritarianism and why every leader needs a devil's advocate. On campus, Ananish says there is a free speech crisis at the University of Auckland. He points to the 2021 Listener letter on mātauranga Māori and science, and to the treatment of the Covid Plan B group he was part of. He also cites the equity office asking Dame Elizabeth Rata to change her teaching on biological sex. Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud. Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/join Support our work: https://www.fsu.nz/donate Newsletter: https://www.fsu.nz/subscribe Website: https://www.fsu.nz Got feedback or a guest suggestion? podcast@fsu.nz Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142 Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz