Brain in a Vat

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mark.oppenheimer@gmail.com

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The Costs of Open Borders | Lionel Shriver

August 25, 2026

Lionel Shriver returns to discuss her new novel, 'A Better Life,' and the philosophical debate over immigration and open borders.Inspired by a proposed New York City program to pay residents to house migrants, the novel turns one family's home into a thought experiment about immigration and humanitarian obligations.Shriver examines the arguments for and against open borders, as well as challenges surrounding assimilation and national identity. She also considers what happens when ...

The Man Who Exposed Jason Arday: Cancelled at Cambridge | Nathan Cofnas

August 10, 2026

Nathan Cofnas, the academic who recently drew widespread attention for exposing plagiarism allegations against Cambridge professor Jason Arday, returns to Brain in a Vat to discuss academic freedom, institutional conformity, and his own controversial departure from Cambridge.Cofnas argues that universities create incentives for academics to conform, particularly when scholarship challenges prevailing political and moral assumptions. He recounts the backlash to his writing on race and intellig...

Free Speech, Schools, and Children | Jimmy Mullen

August 04, 2026

Former Brain in a Vat producer Jimmy Mullen returns to discuss free speech in schools, exploring how educational institutions should balance student expression with their responsibility to maintain an environment conducive to learning.Drawing on constitutional law and landmark cases on student free speech, the conversation explores viewpoint neutrality, the role of political disagreement in education, and the limits of school authority.It ultimately considers how schools can prepare children ...