Today, there seems to be intense mistrust of experts in all sorts of fields. From medical experts in the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services, to the anger at “elite intellectuals,” no one who has expertise is beyond suspicion. We hear that we should “do our own research” and not trust what those with training and knowledge tell us.

What makes an expert legitimate? What’s the difference between the skepticism that drives science and the suspicion that denies that the experts know? How do we design institutions that are both scientifically rigorous and also democratically responsive and responsible? Let’s talk about how knowledge should be organized, disseminated, and structured so that it benefits the most in a democratic society.

In this episode, we discuss the following texts, ideas, and creators:

• Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book 1
• Daniel Rosiak, Sheaf Theory through Examples (MIT Press, 2022)
• Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, (1844)
• The United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices for Pipefitters and Plumbers
• General Education in U.S. universities
• The rise of certificate programs in U.S. higher education
• Our episode on Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem