Aired Sep 23, 2026

When we talk about political polarization and the collapse of public trust, attention usually focuses on social media algorithms, news commentary, or partisan politics. But what happens when trust breaks down in the institutions responsible for producing knowledge itself?

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Ashley Rubin, Professor of Sociology at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, to examine whether political considerations, ideological conformity, and fear of backlash are compromising scholarly standards in higher education. Serving on a landmark multi-university commission charged with investigating academic politicization, Dr. Rubin brings an empirical, diagnostic perspective to a debate often dominated by media outrage.

Together, they explore the systemic mechanics behind peer review pressures, epistemological shifts away from objectivity, and what it actually takes to rebuild institutional credibility in a polarized media environment.

Ashley Rubin is a professor of sociology at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and holds a PhD in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from UC Berkeley. Her research uses historical, sociological, and sociolegal perspectives to examine penal change, social control, and the institutionalization of prisons.

Links

Report on the State of Scholarship in the Humanities and the Humanistic Social Sciences (PDF)

Ashley T. Rubin (ashleytrubin.com)

Journal of Controversial Ideas (journalofcontroversialideas.org)