71. Why Authoritarians Fear Education

About this episode

The episode discusses the targeting of education by authoritarians and fascists as a means to destabilize democracy.

Host Kimberlé Crenshaw is joined by authors Jason Stanley and Randi Weingarten to discuss why authoritarians and fascists target education on the path to destabilizing democracy. They unpack how book bans, attacks on teachers, and efforts to erase history from public institutions threaten the democratic project, and what we can do to fight back. Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, produced by Kevin Minofu, Sr. Producer Nicole Edwards, and the team at AAPF Find more on our show and the African American Policy Forum at aapf.org News clips from Tamron Hall and WJHL, CTV News Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow the podcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky Check out our special series on the attack against CRT and DEI called United States of Amnesia: The Real Histories of Critical Race Theory

People in this episode

Host: Kimberlé Crenshaw

Guests: Jason Stanley, Randi Weingarten

Topics covered

• authoritarianism
• education
• democracy
• book bans
• history erasure
• teacher attacks
• activism

Keywords

• education
• authoritarianism
• democracy
• book bans
• history
• teachers
• activism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: African American Policy Forum, AAPF, Blue Dot Sessions, Tamron Hall, WJHL, CTV News

More episodes of Intersectionality Matters!

• 79. Introducing Backtalker: an American Memoir · May 5, 2026 · 58 min
• 78. Misogynoir, Basketball, and the Art of Accountability · April 11, 2026 · 59 min
• 77. Heroes, Harm and History: Chavez's Legacy and Women's History Month · March 31, 2026 · 41 min
• 76. The Story of Us 2026, Part 2 · March 18, 2026 · 26 min
• 75. Unfinished Business: Racial Justice After Jesse Jackson · February 21, 2026 · 59 min
• 74. The Story of Us 2026, Part 1 · February 12, 2026 · 51 min