Transistor (https://transistor.fm) https://feeds.transistor.fm/faculty-on-the-edge Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme and Andre C. Willis are three "Faculty on the Edge"! In the midst of multi-sided crises in university life, they give up the pretense that everything is under control. Inexpertly edited and with little production, their free-ranging and candid takes on university politics, governance, and the state of higher education are released here as a podcast that refuses to stay in its lane. Expect sharp analysis, occasional irreverence, and candid conversations about the broader cultural and political forces shaping academic life, as well as revelations about the personal toll it can take. Serious, but not self-serious: this is what it sounds like when warm friendship, sharp minds, and a sense of humor collide! @facultyontheedge 6c0e1d44-4e09-5964-813e-f0d7a97e0eae no en Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:33:12 -0400 Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:52:31 -0400 https://img.transistorcdn.com/kZDTcL3bO6_GRLGjZ7hTg-Ek3lfVhLqdTUnml_018bE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80ZGQz/MTc0MzI1MjMwYTdh/ZDhhODIxMjI2OGY3/MWM0Zi5qcGc.jpg serial Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme, Andre C. Willis Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme and Andre C. Willis are three "Faculty on the Edge"! In the midst of multi-sided crises in university life, they give up the pretense that everything is under control. Inexpertly edited and with little production, their free-ranging and candid takes on university politics, governance, and the state of higher education are released here as a podcast that refuses to stay in its lane. Expect sharp analysis, occasional irreverence, and candid conversations about the broader cultural and political forces shaping academic life, as well as revelations about the personal toll it can take. Serious, but not self-serious: this is what it sounds like when warm friendship, sharp minds, and a sense of humor collide! Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme and Andre C. university, academia, education, culture Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme and Andre C. Willis faccultyontheedge@gmail.com No No 1 1 Faculty on the Edge 1: Tradition full 993bf611-6aee-4769-a175-56f41c7fde36 https://share.transistor.fm/s/865dc5e0 Episode 1 begins with a quiet doubt: is speaking off the cuff really a good idea for people trained to weigh every word? That hesitation quickly becomes a conversation about our habits as thinkers - our traditions, our attachments, and our blind spots - before things drift, inevitably, into the personal. Thoughtful, candid, and only slightly unguarded.

]]> Episode 1 begins with a quiet doubt: is speaking off the cuff really a good idea for people trained to weigh every word? That hesitation quickly becomes a conversation about our habits as thinkers - our traditions, our attachments, and our blind spots - before things drift, inevitably, into the personal. Thoughtful, candid, and only slightly unguarded.

]]> Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:28:53 -0400 Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme & Andre C Willis (Music by Butter) Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme & Andre C Willis (Music by Butter) 2849 Episode 1 begins with a quiet doubt: is speaking off the cuff really a good idea for people trained to weigh every word? That hesitation quickly becomes a conversation about our habits as thinkers - our traditions, our attachments, and our blind spots - before things drift, inevitably, into the personal. Thoughtful, candid, and only slightly unguarded.

]]> university, academia, culture, tradition No 2 2 Faculty on the Edge 2: Vulnerability full b0b6a173-5a0a-41c1-9b09-5c0dfc6d96f2 https://share.transistor.fm/s/d4c11de0 In this episode, we explore the limits of identity politics, different forms of vulnerability in the classroom, and the academic personas we cultivate. We reflect on the significance of gender, the structural vulnerabilities intensified by the current political moment, and whether academia has long operated under assumptions of invulnerability, particularly when it comes to academic freedom. We also take up the increasingly contentious question of viewpoint diversity and what it might mean in practice.

]]> In this episode, we explore the limits of identity politics, different forms of vulnerability in the classroom, and the academic personas we cultivate. We reflect on the significance of gender, the structural vulnerabilities intensified by the current political moment, and whether academia has long operated under assumptions of invulnerability, particularly when it comes to academic freedom. We also take up the increasingly contentious question of viewpoint diversity and what it might mean in practice.

]]> Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:32:21 -0400 Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme, Andre C. Willis (Music by Butter) Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme, Andre C. Willis (Music by Butter) 3006 In this episode, we explore the limits of identity politics, different forms of vulnerability in the classroom, and the academic personas we cultivate. We reflect on the significance of gender, the structural vulnerabilities intensified by the current political moment, and whether academia has long operated under assumptions of invulnerability, particularly when it comes to academic freedom. We also take up the increasingly contentious question of viewpoint diversity and what it might mean in practice.

]]> university, academia, education, culture No 3 3 Faculty on the Edge 3 : (Dis)Agreement full f8ca97fc-24b0-4228-b1fa-ad218cf31564 https://share.transistor.fm/s/8ee99b56 Starting with our reactions to “the agreement” and the strange experience of feeling infantilized, we find ourselves discussing disagreement, criticism, and what it means to engage seriously with one another inside and outside the classroom. Along the way, we ask some uncomfortable questions: What would an ideal learning community look like? How much of ourselves should we bring into academic spaces? And if we were redesigning the university from scratch, would tenure survive?

]]> Starting with our reactions to “the agreement” and the strange experience of feeling infantilized, we find ourselves discussing disagreement, criticism, and what it means to engage seriously with one another inside and outside the classroom. Along the way, we ask some uncomfortable questions: What would an ideal learning community look like? How much of ourselves should we bring into academic spaces? And if we were redesigning the university from scratch, would tenure survive?

]]> Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:33:12 -0400 Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme, Andre C. Willis Nadje Al-Ali, Paul Nahme, Andre C. Willis 3509 Starting with our reactions to “the agreement” and the strange experience of feeling infantilized, we find ourselves discussing disagreement, criticism, and what it means to engage seriously with one another inside and outside the classroom. Along the way, we ask some uncomfortable questions: What would an ideal learning community look like? How much of ourselves should we bring into academic spaces? And if we were redesigning the university from scratch, would tenure survive?

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