Outsider / Insider

Episode 8: The Importance of Robust Disagreement and the Value in Equality

We’re excited to share the eighth and final episode of season 1 of the Outsider/Insider podcast [https://outsiderinsiderpodcast.substack.com/publish/post/148535087], co-hosted by Ray Reagans [https://mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu/rreagans/] and Ezra Zuckerman Sivan [https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/ezra-w-zuckerman-sivan] and produced by MIT Sloan School of Management, Kate O’Sullivan executive producer. This episode features a conversation with Prof. Tarek Masoud, the Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Governance at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Tarek is on the faculty of Harvard’s Center for Middle East Studies [https://cmes.fas.harvard.edu/people/tarek-masoud] and is faculty chair of the Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative [https://www.belfercenter.org/programs/middle-east-initiative]; and the host of the Middle East Dialogues [https://www.youtube.com/@middleeastinitiative6154]. Below, you can find the show notes and opportunities to provide input. This episode was produced and edited by Lucie McCormick, with assistance from Hamad Al Badi. Audio mixing by Hansdale Hsu. Graphic design by Mimi Phan. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. For complete show notes, please visit our Substack page: https://substack.com/home/post/p-155733075 [https://substack.com/home/post/p-155733075]

Episode 7: Advocating for Outsiders Without Crowding Them Out

We’re excited to share the seventh episode of the Outsider/Insider podcast [https://outsiderinsiderpodcast.substack.com/publish/post/148535087], co-hosted by Ray Reagans [https://mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu/rreagans/] and Ezra Zuckerman Sivan [https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/ezra-w-zuckerman-sivan] and produced by MIT Sloan School of Management, Kate O’Sullivan executive producer. This is the second of a two-part episode, which features a conversation with Prof. Lily Tsai, the Ford Professor of Political Science at MIT [https://polisci.mit.edu/people/lily-l-tsai], the Director and Founder of the MIT Governance Lab (MIT GOV/LAB) [https://mitgovlab.org/people/lily-tsai/], as well as the immediate past Chair of the MIT Faculty [https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/FacultyOfficersHistory1975-2025.pdf]. This episode was produced and edited by Lucie McCormick, with assistance from Mae May. Audio mixing by Hansdale Hsu. Graphic design by Mimi Phan. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. For full show notes, you can visit our Substack:

Episode 6: "Perpetual outsider"? Or Wearer of Multiple Insider Lenses!

We’re excited to share the sixth episode of the Outsider/Insider podcast [https://outsiderinsiderpodcast.substack.com/publish/post/148535087], co-hosted by Ray Reagans [https://mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu/rreagans/] and Ezra Zuckerman Sivan [https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/ezra-w-zuckerman-sivan] and produced by MIT Sloan School of Management, Kate O’Sullivan executive producer. This is the first of a two-part episode, which features a conversation with Prof. Lily Tsai, the Ford Professor of Political Science at MIT [https://polisci.mit.edu/people/lily-l-tsai], the Director and Founder of the MIT Governance Lab (MIT GOV/LAB) [https://mitgovlab.org/people/lily-tsai/], as well as the immediate past Chair of the MIT Faculty [https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/FacultyOfficersHistory1975-2025.pdf]. This episode was produced and edited by Lucie McCormick, with assistance from Mae May. Audio mixing by Hansdale Hsu. Graphic design by Mimi Phan. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. For full show notes, visit our Substack:

Episode 5: Identifying with Each Side & with a Community that Transcends Sides

The second part of Ray & Ezra’s conversation with Lerna Ekmekcioglu focuses on the unique insights Lerna offers, as a scholar of Ottoman and post-Ottoman societies and as a Turkish Armenian, on the campus crisis that occurred in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza. Remarkably, Lerna is able to identify strongly with each side of this conflict (and with members of the campus community who identify strongly with each side), but the strongest identification is with the larger institution— MIT— and its potential for bridging and transcending seemingly irreconcilable divides. The discussion also adds new angles on key ideas from episode 3: 1. Inclusion failure 2. Primary identities (vs. university roles and identities) 3. Bonding in response to threat We’re excited to share the fifth episode of the Outsider/Insider podcast [https://outsiderinsiderpodcast.substack.com/publish/post/148535087], co-hosted by Ray Reagans [https://mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu/rreagans/] and Ezra Zuckerman Sivan [https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/ezra-w-zuckerman-sivan] and produced by MIT Sloan School of Management, Kate O’Sullivan executive producer. This is the second of a two-part episode, which features a conversation with Prof. Lerna Ekmekcioglu [https://history.mit.edu/people/lerna-ekmekcioglu/], the McMillan-Stewart Associate Professor of History and Director Women and Gender Studies Program at MIT. Below, you can find the show notes and opportunities to provide input. This episode was produced and edited by Lucie McCormick, with assistance from Hamad Al Badi. Audio mixing by Hansdale Hsu. Graphic design by Mimi Phan. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Ray and Ezra are also grateful for input from many wonderful colleagues and friends in and outside MIT. For complete show notes, please visit the substack page [https://open.substack.com/pub/outsiderinsiderpodcast/p/episode-5-identifying-with-each-side?r=4cvgur&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true] for this episode.

Episode 4: Outsider/Insider Embodied

The first part of Ray & Ezra’s conversation with Lerna Ekmekcioglu offers historical and personal context for the identities that she encompasses as an Armenian Christian and Turkish national, and as an émigré to the United States. This discussion adds depth and nuance to the ideas developed in episode 1 [https://substack.com/home/post/p-148649631] and episode 2 [https://substack.com/home/post/p-148535628]: 1. The invisible logic of collective bonding 2. The value of outsider-insider relationships We’re excited to share the fourth episode of the Outsider/Insider podcast [https://outsiderinsiderpodcast.substack.com/publish/post/148535087], co-hosted by Ray Reagans [https://mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu/rreagans/] and Ezra Zuckerman Sivan [https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/ezra-w-zuckerman-sivan] and produced by MIT Sloan School of Management, Kate O’Sullivan executive producer. This is the first of a two-part episode, which features a conversation with Prof. Lerna Ekmekcioglu [https://history.mit.edu/people/lerna-ekmekcioglu/], the McMillan-Stewart Associate Professor of History and Director Women and Gender Studies Program at MIT. Below, you can find the show notes and opportunities to provide input. This episode was produced and edited by Lucie McCormick, with assistance from Hamad Al Badi. Audio mixing by Hansdale Hsu. Graphic design by Mimi Phan. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. For complete show notes, please visit the substack page [https://open.substack.com/pub/outsiderinsiderpodcast/p/episode-4-outsiderinsider-embodied?r=4cvgur&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true] for this episode.