Who gets to decide who we are?

Co-hosts Rick Lee and Devonya Havis pull up a chair with philosopher and political theorist Falguni Sheth to talk about the ways identity is shaped, claimed, and—more often than not—forced upon us. From census categories and legal definitions to personal choices and political struggles, they dig into the tensions between how we see ourselves and how we’re seen by others. What does it mean to be recognized—or misrecognized—by the state? How do institutions decide which identities “fit” and which ones have to be managed, disciplined, or erased? And when does refusing to conform become its own form of power?

With insights from Sheth’s work on race, law, and political power, this conversation moves between philosophy, history, and the headlines of today. The hosts talk about the state’s obsession with controlling identity, from laws targeting Muslim women to the racial bias baked into facial recognition software. But they also ask whether there’s room for resistance—whether refusing to be easily categorized might be a way to push back. By the time last call rolls around, they’re raising a glass to the troublemakers, the misfits, and the ones who just won’t play by the rules.

Key Thinkers, Books, & Articles

• Michel Foucault – Known for his work on power, discourse, and subjectivity. Author of Discipline and Punish (1975).

• María Lugones – Argentine feminist philosopher, known for Pilgrimages/Peregrinajes (2003).

• W.E.B. Du Bois – Developed the concept of double consciousness. Author of The Souls of Black Folk (1903).

• Paul Ricoeur – Introduced narrative identity in hermeneutics. Author of Time and Narrative (1984–1988).

• Frantz Fanon – Psychiatrist and revolutionary theorist, author of Black Skin, White Masks (1952) and The Wretched of the Earth (1961).

• Glen Coulthard – Author of Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition (2014).

• Édouard Glissant – Developed the right to opacity, discussed in Poetics of Relation (1990).

• Kristie Dotson – Philosopher known for her work on epistemic oppression and epistemic violence.

• Iris Marion Young – Author of Justice and the Politics of Difference (1990).

• Nancy Fraser – Work on redistribution vs. recognition in Fortunes of Feminism (2013).

• Jean-Paul Sartre – Existentialist philosopher, author of Being and Nothingness (1943).

• Simone de Beauvoir – Author of The Second Sex (1949).

• Lucius Outlaw – Philosopher known for his work on race and Africana philosophy.

• Lewis Gordon – Philosopher known for his work in Africana existentialism and philosophy of race.

• Wahneema Lubiano – Coined warfare by narrative means.

• Charles Mills – Political philosopher, author of The Racial Contract (1997).

• Gayatri Spivak – Developed strategic essentialism, author of Can the Subaltern Speak? (1988).

• John Locke – Political philosopher, author of Two Treatises of Government (1689).

• Falguni Sheth, Unruly Women: Race, Neoliberalism, and the Hijab (2022).

Concepts & Ideas Discussed

• Identity Politics – First used in the Combahee River Collective Statement (1977).

• Narrative Identity – Paul Ricoeur’s theory of selfhood shaped through storytelling.

• Epistemology of Ignorance – Charles Mills’ theory of willful not-knowing in racial discourse.

• Epistemic Violence – Concept by Dotson and Spivak on how marginalized voices are silenced.

• The Right to Opacity – Glissant’s argument for resisting full legibility to dominant power structures.

Historical & Political References

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848).

• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882).

• Jim Crow Laws.

• NAFTA (1994).

• Stand Your Ground Laws.

Technology & Social Issues

• Facial Recognition Bias.

• H-1B Visa Program.

Cultural & Media Mentions

• Dr. Phil’s Coverage of Immigration.

• Kafka’s The Trial.