Articles by Robert Jensen
Bill Rees: Ecological Footprint Analysis Grew from a Boy’s Contemplation of “Soil and Sun”
3 Quarks Daily ·
Profile of ecologist Bill Rees and the origins of ecological footprint analysis.
Not just an ally: Radical feminism for men / Part 2
Julie Bindel Substack ·
Whatever the material benefits of masculinity in patriarchy, it’s exhausting and unfulfilling.
Not just an ally: Radical feminism for men / Part 1
Julie Bindel Substack ·
Members of dominant classes have uneasy standing in movements that challenge their class power and privilege. Can we contribute to intellectual debates and political change without replicating a dominance dynamic? Why should anyone trust us? Should we trust ourselves?
“Prairie Prophecy” of Wes Jackson
Dead Dogma Substack ·
“Prairie Prophecy,” a film about the work of ecologist Wes Jackson, is now available through PBS.
Nandita Bajaj: Confronting Patriarchy, Pronatalism, and Population Denial
3 Quarks Daily ·
Bajaj was born in India in 1981 and has lived in Canada since 1998. In 2021, she took the leadership job at Population Balance, a small U.S.-based nonprofit that is growing in influence through its two podcasts (“Overshoot” and “Beyond Pronatalism”), research reports, media articles, guest presentations, and Bajaj’s debating skills. She also is a senior lecturer at Antioch University, where she teaches graduate courses about the links between pronatalism and human supremacy.
Wes Jackson: A Misfit Trying to Change the Future of Farming
3 Quarks Daily ·
Wes Jackson—who was one of the first people to use the term “sustainable agriculture” in print—loves to tell the story of almost getting a D in a botany course and describes himself as a misfit.
Teaching Students to Think for Themselves Is Never Apolitical
Merion West ·
Robert Jensen considers how educators should handle contentious politics in the classroom, from the Iraq War to more recent U.S. actions involving Venezuela. He argues that honest disclosure of one’s interpretive framework is essential to teaching students to think critically.
How to Be a Good Man
Julie Bindel Substack ·
If you want to be a good man, do your best to be a good person.
Pornography, Hate Speech, and the Inconsistencies of the Left
Julie Bindel Substack ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press. https://robertwjensen.org/books/its-debatable/
Who’s to Blame? Political Action, Personal Accountability, and Human Nature
Dissident Voice ·
Our species seems unable to maintain large-scale societies that are consistent with basic human dignity and a sustainable human presence on the planet. Robert Jensen suggests that our best hope at managing the fraying of social and ecological systems is not only to engage in political action to challenge abuses of wealth and power but also to face the impediments to living within ecological limits. That requires us to engage in critical self-reflection, individually and collectively, while taking seriously the biological and historical forces outside anyone’s control.
Teaching the Transgender Debate: Journalism, Academic Freedom, and Responsible Reporting
LA Progressive ·
The debate over transgender identity and ideology would make a great lesson in covering controversial social issues, an important part of the job of journalism instructors. Such teaching wouldn’t be advocacy, except perhaps advocacy for the clear thinking necessary for good journalism.
The Freedom to Teach about Freedom
Heterodoxy in the Stacks ·
I wonder what my fate would be if I were in the classroom in the era of Trump’s targeting of higher education.
Why Are Men so Obsessed with Pornography? Andrea Dworkin Was Right
Julie Bindel Substack ·
A version of this essay was presented to the National Organization for Men Against Sexism’s 50th anniversary conference on July 17, 2025.
Academic Freedom under Attack: From the Government but also from Within
Heterodoxy in the Stacks ·
This essay is adapted from his book It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics from Olive Branch Press.
A Different “Abundance Agenda”: Avoiding Delusions and Diversions
LA Progressive ·
The foundational problem is overshoot: There are too many people consuming too much in the aggregate.
Understanding Biology ≠ Biological Essentialism
Julie Bindel Substack ·
Accepting the realities of the biology of sex is not essentialist.
Feminism Is Freedom for Men: Pornography and Sexuality
Julie Bindel Substack ·
A version of this essay was presented in the “Pornography and Society” lecture series at RheinMain University in Wiesbaden, Germany, on November 21, 202
Controversy in Intellectual/Political Life: An Interview with Robert Jensen
In-sight Publishing ·
In this interview, Jensen reflects on tensions in contemporary intellectual and political life in the United States.
Losing Honestly and Gracefully
Dissident Voice ·
A realistic assessment of race, sex/gender, and ecological crises are not attractive campaign positions.
Black Hole
Julie Bindel Substack ·
This essay is adapted from the book Plain Radical: Living, Loving, and Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully, about the political/intellectual life of my late friend Jim Koplin. For more information on him, go to https://robertwjensen.org/category/jim-koplin/.
“Unduly Abused”
Julie Bindel Substack ·
This essay is adapted from the book Plain Radical: Living, Loving, and Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully, about the political/intellectual life of my late friend Jim Koplin. For more information on him, go to https://robertwjensen.org/category/jim-koplin/.
What is Woke? Navigating the Polarization of Social Justice
Public Square Magazine ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press. https://robertwjensen.org/books/its-debatable/
“Intellectual Hick”: Sorting Out Our Complex Identities
Dissident Voice ·
I have started describing myself as an “intellectual hick.” I have no problem defending my intellectual contributions but also am happy to be living at a healthy distance from official intellectual spaces. Even with neighbors who don’t agree with my politics, our shared interest in caring for the land and water creates deep bonds.
Ironic and Tragic: Technological Fundamentalism and Our Fear of Limits
Counterpunch ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press.
How to Lose Friends and Influence Very Few People
Julie Bindel Substack ·
There are personal consequences from taking intellectual/political positions that generate criticism not only from political opponents but also from friends/allies.
Population: The Fear of Limiting People and Our Things
Population Balance ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press.
What Is Cancel Culture, and Is It a Good Thing?
Counterpunch ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press.
Reasonable People Can Disagree
Front Porch Republic ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press.
There Is No Such Thing as Free-Speech Absolutism
3 Quarks Daily ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press.
Fears of Patriarchy: Why Trans Ideology Is Attractive
Julie Bindel Substack ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press.
The Problem with LGBTQIA+
Julie Bindel Substack ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press.
Facing a Future of Fewer and Less: “Tell Them at Least What You Say to Yourself”
Resilience.org ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press.
Wrangling Our Political Herds: Upholding Intellectual Standards, No Matter Who Gets Angry
Merion West ·
This essay is adapted from It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics, published by Olive Branch Press.
Radical Feminism and the Failures of the Left
Julie Bindel Substack ·
This is an edited version of a presentation to a forum on “The Left and Machismo” sponsored by Hombres por la Equidad in Mexico City on May 18, 2024.
Why I Don’t Rely on Hope
Merion West ·
This essay is adapted from his book An Inconvenient Apocalypse: Environmental Collapse, Climate Crisis, and the Fate of Humanity, co-authored with Wes Jackson.
Academic Joy
Front Porch Republic ·
A reflection on teaching that I wrote in 2012, one of several “statement of teaching philosophy” essays I had to write over the years for performance reviews. Rather than pontificate on academic freedom, important though it is right now, I want to reflect on academic joy, about what can be so exciting about the life of the mind—even in the modern university.
Feminism and Men: Shut Up and Speak Up
Julie Bindel Substack ·
This is an edited version of a presentation to the Hombres por la Equidad (Men for Equality) conference in Mexico City on November 7, 2023. It draws on material from Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity (South End Press, 2007); The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men (Spinifex Press, 2017); and the forthcoming “Dead Dogma”: Thinking Freely, Speaking Responsibly, Living Authentically (Interlink Publishing, 2024).]
Lost in a Sea of Pixels: Men, Pornography, and the Illusion of Control
Public Square Magazine ·
Is pornography sabotaging men’s emotional connections and ability to experience authentic intimacy? These emotional consequences are often overlooked in mainstream discussions.
The Case for Retiring “Confederate Heroes Day”
Merion West ·
The controversy over the public display of Confederate symbols seems to be a permanent part of American politics and culture. As we come to know more about the morally repulsive aspects of our national history—and, more importantly, face those realities—removing symbols of our collective failure in the past is not an attempt to deny our history. Rather, it is a sign of growth, a willingness to face our history. Such work is not mere political correctness or wokeness but a sign of maturity, intellectual and moral. It is nothing more than common decency.