Is Academia a Toxic Brainwashing Cult? Maybe Not.

This is the podcast where smart – and cheeky – scholars share their knowledge about culture, art, and history... and bust a whole lot of myths along the way.

Have you ever mined the mountain of podcasts out there looking for something exciting about history, culture, or art? Did you get bogged down with dry lectures full of jargon? Or, maybe you got slapped in the face with an ideological rant that has little basis in reality?

The Cheeky Scholar is changing all of that and uses interviews with humanities experts - think historians, philosophers, etc - to bust popular cultural myths and extremist ideologies. Every episode, host Dr. Lara Ayad invites a scholar to tear off those tweedy elbow pads, grab a cold drink, and talk real with her about the human experience.

Whether it's politics, education, family, or religion we wrestle with some of the hottest cultural topics using real research, down-to-earth conversation, and a healthy dose of, well, cheekiness.

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Transcript

Have you ever mined the mountain of podcasts out there looking for something exciting about history, culture, or art? Did you tune in and get bogged down with dry lectures full of jargon? Or maybe you found someone who brings some punch to culture and society topics... but ten minutes into it they’re slapping you in the face with an ideological rant that has little basis in reality.

Well, here on The Cheeky Scholar, I’m giving you a podcast you can really sink your primate teeth into. Every episode, I invite real scholars to tear off those tweedy elbow pads, grab a cold drink, and talk real about the human experience. Whether it’s politics, education, family, or religion we’ll wrestle with some of the hottest cultural topics using real research, down-to-earth conversation, and a healthy dose of, well, cheekiness.

Every month, we take a deep dive into history, philosophy, and art with scholars, who use their knowledge to bust popular cultural myths and extremist ideologies. 

A close look at modern painting with an art historian reveals that white people haven’t always had a monopoly on racism. Historians of religion show how evangelical groups have been gaslighting Christians in order to build a new world order. And writing instructors show us that Gen Z’s relationship with technology is a lot more complicated than we thought.

What my smart – and cheeky – guests reveal is that the human experience rarely fits one-sided political narratives.

My name is Dr. Lara Ayad, and I’m the creator and host of The Cheeky Scholar. I started this podcast for three reasons: First, I think research about history, art, and culture should be fun, and it should be shared with everyone, no matter whether they’re going to college, working a full-time job, or caring for family. Second, I love podcasts about society and culture. I listen to them all the time. But almost every one of them looks at the world from a scientific lens. And that’s fine, until you consider how many historians, philosophers, art historians, and ethnomusicologists (yes, that’s a thing!) have tons to offer listeners who want to understand themselves and their world. And this gets me to my third reason for making this podcast: studying and teaching these non-scientific topics, or “the humanities,” can help fight extremist ideologies that we see running rampant on college campuses, on social media, and even on our news feeds.

There’s a lot of talk out there about the American university being an ivory tower removed from the realities of everyday life. You might have heard people say that higher ed is a breeding ground for leftist politics, if not a cesspool of liberal dogma. And maybe you agree with them. But here on the Cheeky Scholar you’ll listen to scholars share about their own work and life and see how they give us the antidote to fearmongering and tribalism on all parts of the political spectrum.

I know from my own experience doing research on art in Africa and the Middle East that the world isn’t just black and white. I know from my conversations with tons of curious, fascinating researchers that the people and places we study don’t just fall into simple categories of the hero, the victim, or the bad guy. The Cheeky Scholar invites you to join me and my expert guests as we have a nerdy heart-to-heart about everything that makes us human, from gender issues and poverty, to the history of music and men’s fashion.

In our first interview, I have a conversation with Dr. Myev Rees, who busts some of the major myths of American evangelical movements, including the myth that the Bible is anti-abortion.

Stay tuned for our next episode of The Cheeky Scholar, and you can hear what professors yak about after a couple of beers. And make sure to point that monkey digit at your phone and hit the Subscribe button. You’ll get the newest episodes delivered right to your favorite podcast app. So, until next time, keep it real, and keep it cheeky.