Hosted by Unknown Host · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 282 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
Welcome to the Dissidents podcast from the Institute for Liberal Values (formerly the Counterweight Podcast), where we talk about how we can strive for a world in which freedom and reason are at the forefront of all human society.
Unknown Host hosts The Dissidents, a society show with 282 episodes published.
"Bad ideas survive when people are too afraid to speak up." Shelly Norden, Ken Pope, and Leigh Vlasblom join hosts Chris and Joia for a special episode promoting the America at 250 initiative—including an event in June t
“If it bleeds, it leads," they say—and in the algorithm age, we're all drowning in egregiously hyperbolic content designed to polarize. In the wake of the third assassination attempt on President Trump, plus Charlie Kirk
"I always loved school. I was one of those people who played school with my siblings." Dana Stangel-Plowe, now Chief Program Officer at the North American Values Institute (NAVI), went from lawyer to beloved high school
"You're not allowed to say that." Those four words changed everything for Joshua David "JoDavi" Washington, Director of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI) and world-touring recording artist. Sharing wh
"Ideas are more powerful than all the armies of the world. Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come." Victor Hugo’s observation resonates with Lawrence Reed, FEE's President Emeritus and author of the forthc
Why do we celebrate America's birthday on July 4th and not July 2nd when the Declaration was actually voted on, or 1775 when shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, or 1783 when Britain finally acknowledged our indepe
"The other side of the free speech coin is listening well." Shaka Mitchell, senior fellow at the American Federation for Children and creator of the Come Together Music Project, believes we've "forgotten how to listen"—a
"Is this going to be in my neck or in my back? And will it be fast?" Those were Carob Marcelle Bartholomew's thoughts as she lay on the ground during Charlie Kirk's assassination listening for bullets whizzing overhead t
This week Ryan Tsapatsaris is back and joins Elizabeth for discussion about bullying behaviors. A recent study of Middle and High School aged participants revealed that bullied students admitted to also engaging in bully
"If you can't state the truth, you can't really pursue it either." Scott, project coordinator with the Atlas Society and partner with the Free Society Coalition, left his comfortable career in financial services after a
This week the Dissident's Podcast highlights our partner, Prosocial Workers, ProSocial Podcast. ProSocial Workers executive director and ILV senior advisor Matt Watson invites licensed clinical social worker Paul Staybac
This week Mike Burke is back and joins Elizabeth for discussion about the neuroscience of polarized attitudes. A recent article suggests that regardless of which side of the political aisle we inhabit, those with more ex
This week Elizabeth is joined by librarian and frequent contributor, Pamela Hayes-Bohanan who, in anticipation of Banned Books Week, gives us the latest news on attempts to remove books from our libraries. The majority o
"I'm that person you hate." That's what attorney and activist Kofi Montzka says when coworkers start ranting about conservatives—and it stops them in their tracks. After being told she couldn't speak anymore at a mandato
This week Elizabeth is joined by Mark Horowitz. We discuss two very different articles about viewpoint diversity. In one (unpublished) paper the authors examined thousands of college course syllabi for evidence that dive
In this urgent and unplanned episode of Free Speech Forward, hosts Joia and Chris respond to the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025—the most horrific attack on free speech on US soil in their li
In this next special episode of Free Speech Forward in celebration of the Declaration of Independence, Chris and Joia speak with Episcopal chaplain Dan Isadore. He reveals why the loneliness epidemic plaguing America's y
This 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 numbe
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 w
n this powerful episode of Free Speech Forward, Chris and Joia speak with Muslim feminist reformer Soraya M. Deen, who reveals the shocking reality of advocating for women's rights within religious orthodoxy—where speaki
Shaka Mitchell
Nashville-based lawyer, facilitator and national leader in education reform policy · American Federation for Children
1 appearance on this show
Elizabeth
intern · Spherion
1 appearance on this show
Mike Burke
Corporate partner and co-chair of the International Initiative · South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR)
1 appearance on this show
Mark Horowitz
Associate Professor of Psychiatry · Stanford Emerging Technology Review
1 appearance on this show
Charlie Kirk
political activist, author, media personality · conservative media
1 appearance on this show
Sarah McLaughlin
Liberty
1 appearance on this show
Helen Pluckrose
author of Cynical Theories and The Counterweight Handbook · Institute for Liberal Values
1 appearance on this show
Detected from recent episode content. Sponsor presence is a real signal of listener purchasing power and show monetisation.
No public pitch examples yet for this show.
Generate your own personalised pitchBased on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:
Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.
Shows with the most semantically similar episode content. Pitch one, pitch all; producers cluster.
The Dissidents has a verified contact on file. Create a free PitchCentric account to access it and generate a personalised pitch in seconds. Research at least 3 recent episodes first and lead with a specific angle that serves their society audience.
The Dissidents is hosted by Unknown Host. The show is categorised under society (culture) and has published 282 episodes.
The Dissidents has published 282 episodes.
The Dissidents regularly covers society, culture. It sits in the society category, with a culture focus.
The Dissidents is accessible for guests with genuine society expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
The Dissidents hasn't explicitly signalled guest openness in recent episodes. That doesn't rule out pitching. your hook just needs to be especially compelling and relevant to their recent content.
Episodes of The Dissidents average 41 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
Our data rates The Dissidents's guest bar at 80/100 (Premium tier). Established thought leaders with verified media credentials. Sign in to PitchCentric to see how your own Pod Score compares against this show.
Methodology. Booking Probability™ blends Listen Score, 30-day Virality, open-to-guests detection, and Apple ratings. Data refreshed every 60 minutes. Listen Score and Booking Probability are calculated by PitchCentric. Last enriched 5 days ago.
