In The Tank

The Heartland Institute’s Donald Kendal, Jim Lakely, Justin Haskins, and Chris Talgo present episode 431 of the In The Tank Podcast. Along with ESG, DEI has been a popular acronym amongst the woke and culturally enlightened Americans. DEI, of course, stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Lately, however, it seems like the shine is coming off this progressive ideal as some businesses and influential people like Elon Musk are challenging this program. Is this just part of a national conversation or is DEI really on the ropes?

OPENING CHIT CHAT - IOWA CAUCUS IS MONDAY!

Politico - Iowa GOP presidential election results
https://www.politico.com/2024-election/results/iowa/

538 - Iowa Caucus Polls
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-r/2024/iowa/


PRIMARY TOPIC - IS DEI DOA?

CNBC - Tech companies like Google and Meta made cuts to DEI programs in 2023 after big promises in prior years
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/22/google-meta-other-tech-giants-cut-dei-programs-in-2023.html

Daily Caller - Businesses Ditch ‘Diversity’ Initiatives In Droves Amid Economic Uncertainty
https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/27/businesses-diversity-equity-inclusion-economic-uncertainty/

NYP - Elon Musk calls out Mark Cuban over DEI: ‘His hypocrisy convinces no one’
https://nypost.com/2024/01/05/business/elon-musk-hits-out-at-mark-cuban-over-dei-hypocrisy/

CNN - DEI efforts are under siege. Here’s what experts say is at stake
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/07/us/dei-attacks-experts-warn-of-consequences-reaj/index.html

The Guardian - Oklahoma governor signs order effectively banning diversity programs at public colleges
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/14/oklahoma-ban-diversity-dei-program-colleges

Variety - Daisy Ridley’s New ‘Star Wars’ Director Says ‘It’s About Time’ We Had a Female Filmmaker ‘Come Forward to Shape the Galaxy Far, Far Away’
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/sharmeen-obaid-chinoy-famale-star-wars-director-overdue-daisy-ridley-1235859572/


DAVOS WATCH #11 - DAVOS 2024 STARTS MONDAY

WEF - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2024/

WEF - Davos 2024 Programme
https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2024/programme/

Creators and Guests

Host
Chris Talgo
Chris Talgo is the Editorial Director at The Heartland Institute and a research fellow for Heartland’s Socialism Research Center.
Host
Donald Kendal
Donald Kendal is a research fellow for The Heartland's Socialism Research Center, host of Heartland's In the Tank Podcast and Stopping Socialism TV, and a talented graphic designer.
Host
Jim Lakely
Jim Lakely is the Vice President and Director of Communications of The Heartland Institute.
Guest
Justin T. Haskins
Justin Haskins is the director of the Socialism Research Center at The Heartland Institute.

What is In The Tank?

The weekly flagship podcast from The Heartland Institute features in-depth policy discussions connected to current news. Host Donald Kendal leads the discussion with the usual crew of Heartland Institute Vice President Jim Lakely, Socialism Research Center “Commissar” Justin Haskins, Editorial Director Chris Talgo, and others at this national free-market think tank. The entertaining and informative discussions often hit topics such as the environment, energy policy, Big Tech censorship, the troubling rise of socialism, globalism, health care, education, that state of freedom in America and around the world, and much more.

This podcast is also available as part of the Heartland Daily Podcast, the “firehose” of all the organization’s podcasts that take deep and entertaining dives into public policy.