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 will be rolling out one talk a month that was presented at the conference. We sit down with the original presenters throughout 2025 to see what has changed since 2022. With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives seemingly on the chopping block, we are curious to hear what our original participants are witnessing and experiencing on the ground. Is DEI really dead or just in remission? Are there healthy alternatives to DEI that we should consider, or do we throw the baby out with the bathwater and wipe our hands clean? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
This month Jennifer Richmond interviews Zander Keig. In his update to his original talk on Liberal Approaches to Diversity and Inclusion, where he shared elegant ways to emphasize heterodox views in trans care, Zander updates us on how the conversation on trans identity has changed over the past three years. Zander continues to approach the conversation always centering the individual and the search for “third spaces” to navigate “third rail” issues. Zander reviews some big changes over the past three years, including the recently discussed science that suggests that rapid and rabid adherence to sex change as a solution for exploring gender identity, may need reconsideration. Unfortunately, what has not changed is the polarization that continues to hijack the conversation, making genuine progress elusive.
You can find his original presentation here.
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Tomorrow we continue our faith and liberalism journey with the livestream: Faith and Reason.
As American & Western societies grow more secular, traditional faith-based moral frameworks have been increasingly marginalized. Yet this decline in religiosity has coincided with the rise of illiberal currents across the political spectrum. Some argue that Liberalism’s future depends on a return to religious roots; others see reasonand empirical inquiry as its only reliable guardians. But beyond the religion vs. no-religion debate lies a deeper question: what are the underlying epistemologies that shape our moral and political lives? Can reason and faith— often framed as opposites — be reconciled in defense of liberal values, or are they ultimately in tension? This panel brings together voices from across the spectrum to probe the compatibility of faith and reason, the foundations of morality, and the challenges liberal societies face in respecting plural worldviews without sacrificing rational discourse.
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