Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks
Finding Common Ground Away from Scripted Media
In 2012, I ran a business on a university campus and experienced the cultural shift towards postmodernism firsthand—something Jordan Peterson, Gad Saad, and others have publicly discussed at length. It was surreal to be on the ground witnessing students and faculty members adopt increasingly extreme postmodern views in real-time. It felt as though I was living in a real-life episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ("The Game"), where many of us—myself and other rational thinkers—were surrounded by a mob that was suffering the complete suspension of critical reasoning. Witnessing the birth of neo-progressive extremists aligned with the values of jihadism and the mid-century Germans motivated me to get involved in politics in an attempt to help reverse this downward spiral.
Around the same time, I began producing podcasts as a hobby, which has since evolved into a small but growing network called Possibly Correct Media, currently undergoing an expansion. Some of you might have seen my occasionally postings of episodes of Not On Record, a legal podcast focused on false accusations. More on that in a bit.
One of the key properties of Possibly Correct Media is Open College by Professor Stephen Hicks. For those unfamiliar, Dr. Stephen Hicks is a philosophy professor and author of Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault, A book frequently cited by intellectuals like Jordan Peterson, Gad Saad, and other academics as foundational to understanding the irrational perspectives we see from the fringes of society today.
My collaboration with with Professor Hicks is rooted in his unique position as a non-partisan intellectual, unbound by the politically captured narratives that dominate many modern influencers. The phenomenon of political capture among influencers is fascinating, and I plan to explore it further in a future article. Professor Hicks' commitment to objectivity and verifiable truths and his efforts to reach across the ideological spectrum have been a central theme throughout his career, as reflected in his numerous speeches across continents. This includes several talks on university campuses at Free Speech union events across Argentina, where he was often introduced by local Austrian economics professor Javier Milei, now the president of Argentina.
We often hear about, and many believe in, the great divide among people in the Western world today, leading to perceived chaos. While do not dispute the fact there is some division, I think much of it is rhetoric and the result of 24/7 propaganda channels posing as news outlets, combined with the decline of social media into a captured space like legacy media, my experience with people face-to-face has been quite the opposite. During the Freedom Convoy, I was able to create a framework that transcended political viewpoints and maintained regular communication with liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between, helping to unify Canada around a message of love and hope—despite what the cynical trash in the legacy media wants to tell you through their lies by omission. My on-the-ground experience also disputes the so-called "division" narrative.I should preface my next point by noting that, according to my Google Maps statistics, between speaking events and my ongoing trucking side hustle, I’ve visited 54 cities in the past three months. I’ve interacted with people across America from various political backgrounds, and rather than seeing division, I mostly see concern and fear that things could become divisive and dangerous. The perceived danger is the result of sensational videos of people becoming unhinged on social media are just that—sensational and rare, which is why they go viral. These corner case videos are not how most people behave.
To ease this perceived fear, I’ve made a point to work and partner with people outside the political apparatus to explore solutions, ideas, and framing that resonate across the political and ideological spectrum in an attempt to bring us together. By focusing on our similarities rather than our differences, philosophy has provided a perfect foundation for this approach. Over the past several years working with Dr. Hicks, I’ve come to realize the our lack of philosophical understanding of counter-worldviews. As I explained during a talk at a Mass Adoption Bitcoin meeting in Boston this past week, when I was more active in the Conservative Party of Canada, I often pointed out that many of my influencers were liberal—whether in the arts, academia, tech, or design—because, as someone who leans more conservative and libertarian, I see little value in being bombarded with confirmation bias. Is is not more beneficial to challenge our worldview to ensure we are correct, and at times, we learn we got it al wrong? We do not learn from our mistakes by seeking confirmation bias.
This approach of resisting confirmation bias and seeking opposing ideas helped me communicate the message of the Freedom Convoy beyond the base of anti-Trudeau conservatives, reaching all Canadians and ultimately people across the world. This is also why it is crucial to interact with individuals who oppose your worldview, as they often fill in some of the gaps and allow us to see life’s entire chessboard. This approach helps us anticipate our adversaries' next moves, allowing us to stay three steps ahead of them.
This approach has also of helped me create Not On Record, a podcast I produce with criminal defence lawyer Joseph Neuberger and former men's rights activist turned legal researcher Diana Davison. Despite our varied political views, Not On Record focuses on justice for the falsely accused and those targeted by false MeToo accusations, many of whom are young men, often university students or new immigrants to Canada. I’ll provide more details on this serious issue in an upcoming Substack post.
I bring this up now because Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks long-awaited Season 2 has just launched, and Not On Record continues to grow, having surpassed its 138th episode. Both podcasts have listeners and viewers in over 100 countries. Our goal is to ensure that these platforms remain enlightening and free from the repetitive, recycled press release nature of legacy and alternative media's obsession with all politics all the time. I’ve often said in interviews, prior to, during, and post Freedom Convoy, that people should steer clear of legacy news as it can be detrimental to one’s mental health. Perhaps Stephen, Joseph, Diana, myself, and a few other podcasters joining our network soon can help enlighten all of us, you and your loved ones, offering a more positive, solution-oriented way to view the world. This is the power of stepping outside our echo chambers and finding common ground with those we may disagree with. Leave political division where it belongs—with the politicians. Let’s not allow them to divide us any further.
Professor Stephen R. C. Hicks is now teaching at the recently launched Peterson Academy, founded by Jordan B. Peterson and several other academics who are working to help revive academic institutions in the West.
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