MATTHEW BURGESS: Hi everyone! Welcome to The Free Mind podcast, produced by the Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization, at the University of Colorado Boulder. I’m Matt Burgess, and I’ll be your host, starting in January 2023, taking over from my friend Shilo Brooks. I am a faculty fellow of the Benson Center and an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Economics. My research and teaching focus on environmental economics and political polarization of environmental issues. I am also the Director of the University of Colorado’s Center for Social and Environmental Futures.
In monthly episodes, my guests and I will explore topics in Western history, politics, philosophy, literature, and current events. We will have a laser focus on seeking the truth, and an adventurous disregard for ideological and academic fashions. My guests will be professors and public intellectuals who present a diversity of viewpoints in a good-faith, clear, and reasonable manner. It is, after all, only through open-minded, clear-eyed, serious, and unflinching pursuit of truth that our society will be able to solve its biggest problems, and continue to provide a leading light for the rest of the world. Pursuit of truth is also the purpose of universities. So, come join us. We welcome your comments and feedback at freemind@colorado.edu.