Canceling Plato
June 19, 2026
40 min
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774 of 775
June 19, 2026
Canceling Plato
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Gray Area Episodes Around June 19, 2026
Episode 774 of 775 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
40:08This episodeCanceling Plato
Summary
Who gets to decide what’s taught in college classrooms? And should the answer be different at private colleges than at public universities?
In today’s episode, guest host Avishay Artsy speaks to philosophy professor Martin Peterson about why Texas A&M University asked him to stop teaching part of Plato’s “Symposium.” The two discuss academic freedom, who gets to decide what’s taught in university classrooms, and the value of Plato’s writing. The episode explores what happens when politics and educational values collide on campus.
Host: Avishay Artsy, Vox Supervising Producer
Guest: Martin Peterson, Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University
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