Some of the things I’ve learned in four decades of academic and activist work, and the books that were important to me at the beginning of that education.

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?

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.

If you want to be a good man, do your best to be a good person.

Nearly four decades ago, when I stumbled into graduate school after an early midlife crisis, I was introduced to radical feminism, critical race theory, and left critiques of wealth and power at the same time. The three approaches seemed politically necessary and intellectually compatible. Naïvely, I assumed others saw the same connections.

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.

A version of this essay was presented to the National Organization for Men Against Sexism’s 50th anniversary conference on July 17, 2025.

This essay is adapted from his book It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics from Olive Branch Press.

Accepting the realities of the biology of sex is not essentialist.

A version of this essay was presented in the “Pornography and Society” lecture series at RheinMain University in Wiesbaden, Germany, on November 21, 202

In this interview, Jensen reflects on tensions in contemporary intellectual and political life in the United States.

A realistic assessment of race, sex/gender, and ecological crises are not attractive campaign positions.

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/.

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/.

There are personal consequences from taking intellectual/political positions that generate criticism not only from political opponents but also from friends/allies.