How do political ideologies like fascism take shape, spread, and gain power over the way we think and act? Justin Freebourn, Ph.D. tackles this big question in this episode. He holds his ph.D. in Political Science from UC Riverside and has published work in the journals of Party Politics, Political Research Quarterly, and Legislative Studies Quarterly.

As Freebourn shares in his talk from Fall Flex Day 2025 called "Teaching Under Fascism: Ideological Framing for Learning and Science", he examinates how social sciences can shed light on how political shifts can lead to erosion of democratic competition making us fall into a system of exclusion and control. In this episode Freebourn explores how political ideology, persuasion, and knowledge itself is organized. Let's listen in.

References/Resources:

• Baer, J. A. (1983). Equality under the Constitution: Reclaiming the Fourteenth Amendment. Cornell University Press.

• Bishin, B. (2009). Tyranny of the Minority: The subconstituency politics theory of representation. Temple University Press.

• Borg, M. J. (2009). The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a life of faith. Zondervan.

• Freebourn, J. P. (2023). Fiscal Policy Preferences in the US Context: Theory, Measurement, and Practice. University of California, Riverside.

• Freebourn, J.P. (Forthcoming). Imagining Tomorrow: Americans' attitudes towards basic income. The Social Science Journal.

• French, J. R., & Raven, B. (1959). The Bases of Social Power. Studies in Social Power.

• Golash-Boza, T. M. (2016). Race and Racisms: A critical approach. Oxford University Press.

• Mlodinow, L. (2013). Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior. Vintage.

• Oatley, T. (2018). International Political Economy. Routledge.

• Stewart, A. J., McCarty, N., & Bryson, J. J. (2020). Polarization under rising inequality and economic decline. Science advances, 6(50), eabd4201.

Run Time: 1 hour, 7 min

To Find the full transcript for this episode click HERE