Kendi joins the show this week to explain critical race theory, and why it has become such a political lightning rod. He also talks about how the backlash against critical race theory is threatening academic freedom, and specifically how it kept Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones from tenure at the University of North Carolina.  Dr. Kendi is the host of a new podcast, Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi. You can listen here: https://www.pushkin.fm/show/be-antiracist-ibram-kendi/ Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel and Jasmine Ellis You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices