Is Plato woke? Texas professor banned from teaching ‘Symposium’

Here & Now Anytime

NPR

News

4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Texas A&M University adopted a rule last November banning the teaching of “race and gender ideology,” which includes Plato’s 2,400-year-old “Symposium.” Professor Martin Peterson explains how he thinks the move will hurt his philosophy students.

Then, Bob Weir, a founding member of and guitarist for the Grateful Dead, died this month. Music journalist Alan Paul unpacks Weir's rhythm guitar playing style and how it defined rock & roll music.

And, in California, three people have died, and dozens more are sick after eating death cap mushrooms. Interim health officer for Sonoma County, Dr. Michael Stacey, explains more.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for this podcast comes from Nature is the Solution, a podcast from the Nature Conservancy.
0:07.3	This show tells climate stories like a stubborn optimist because hope, innovation, and nature itself are key to solving the challenges ahead.
0:17.0	Follow on your favorite podcast app.
0:20.7	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:24.6	A serious research university shouldn't ban Plato.
0:29.6	We don't make universities great again by censoring the classics.
0:33.6	A Texas university bans Plato's Symposium from the philosophy curriculum for being woke.
0:49.6	It's Friday, January 16th, and this is here and Now Anytime from NPR and WBUR Boston.
0:56.4	I'm Chris Bentley.
1:00.1	Later on the show, we'll remember Bob Weir, the founding member of the Grateful Dead,
1:05.7	who died at 78.
1:07.7	The story goes, a teenaged Bobby heard someone plucking a banjo in a Palo Alto music store.
1:14.1	That turned out to be Jerry Garcia.
1:16.5	But even after Jerry's death in 1995, Bob Weir made sure the music never stopped.
1:23.1	Bob Weir was just a presence on stages for 60 plus years, and Bob probably played in front of more people than anybody in the history of performance.
1:33.3	That's coming up in a few minutes.
1:35.3	Also, a word to the wise for all you foragers out there.
1:40.3	Be careful what you eat.
1:42.3	Dozens are sick and three people dead from death cap
1:46.1	mushrooms in California. Before we get to that story, though, if you ever took a philosophy class,
1:54.2	he probably read some Plato. The ancient Greek thinker was a father of Western philosophy,
2:00.8	writing on ethics, metaphysics,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.