
Every Centrist's Favorite Socialist (feat. Tyler Austin Harper)
From Central Air by Josh Barro, Megan McArdle & Ben Dreyfuss
March 25, 2026 · 1h 33m
About this episode
Tyler Austin Harper discusses the Mellon Foundation's influence on humanities academia and shares insights on political campaigns and cultural trends.
On this week's show Tyler Austin Harper joins to talk about his reporting on the Mellon Foundation and its role in pushing humanities academia in the direction of progressive social activism, his on-the-ground take from Maine on Graham Platner’s Senate campaign, what literature can teach us about the politics of human extinction , and why the commentariat is souring on all these polyamory memoirs we keep getting . Sign up for updates from Central Air www.centralairpodcast.com . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe
People in this episode
Hosts: Josh Barro, Megan McArdle, Ben Dreyfuss
Guest: Tyler Austin Harper
Topics covered
- humanities academia
- progressive social activism
- politics of human extinction
- Senate campaign
- polyamory memoirs
Keywords
- Mellon Foundation
- humanities
- progressivism
- Graham Platner
- Senate campaign
- polyamory
- literature
- social activism
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Mellon Foundation
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