Episode 53 Poison Ivy and College Admissions with Evan Mandery
Professor Evan Mandery joins TBD to discuss his book Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us.
On TBD, Evan discusses who gets in and why, and how colleges should do more for the greater good. He challenges the belief that these institutions promote diversity and upward mobility. According to him, the rich remain rich allowing few others to break into the top echelon. Rather, he says, it is schools like CUNY that allow true upward mobility.
Evan Mandery is the author of eight books, including four novels, as well as the co-creator and executive producer of the TV series Artificial, for which he won Peabody and Emmy awards in 2019. A leading expert on the death penalty, Evan’s book, A Wild Justice: The Death and Resurrection of Capital Punishment in America, was a New York Times Editors’ Pick, a Kirkus best book of the year, and an ABA Silver Gavel honorable mention.
A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Evan has been an outspoken critic of legacy admissions since publishing an op-ed in The New York Times in 2014. His new book Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us offers a devastating critique of how elite colleges and suburbs work together to exacerbate social inequality. Evan is also a regular contributor to Politico.
Episode aired live on WVOX-AM on February 16, 2023.
Website
Evan at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Connect with Evan on Linked In
Connect with Evan on Twitter
Evan’s Writing
Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us (2022)
Capital Punishment in America: A Balanced Examination (2d Ed) (2011)
A Wild Justice: The Death and Resurrection of Capital Punishment in America (2014)
The (Revised) Protocols of the Elders of Zion: Stories of Neurotic Obsession (2019)
Q: A Novel (2011)
Dreaming of Gwen Stefani (2007)
The Campaign: Rudy Giuliani, Ruth Messinger, Al Sharpton, and the Race To Be Mayor of New York City (1999)
First Contact: Or, It’s Later Than You Think (2010)
The Professional (2020)
Capital Punishment in America: A Balanced Explanation (1st Ed) (2004)
Eyes On City Hall: A Young Man’s Education in New York City Political Warfare (2001)
First Contact (2010)
Mandery, Evan J (2014, April 24), End College Legacy Preferences. nytimes.com
Additional Resources and Reading
Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites by Mitchell L. Stevens (2007)
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom by Amy Chua (2011)
Guilty Admissions: The Bribes, Favors, and Phonies Behind the College Cheating Scandal by Nicole LaPorte (2021)
What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract for a Better Society by Minouche Shafik (2021)
Picchi, Amy (2023, February 22), The 8 Colleges Producing the Greatest Number of Multimillionaires. cbsnews.com
Lieber, Ron (2023, January 21), How Charlie Javice Got JPMorgan to Pay $175Million for . . . What Exactly? nytimes.com
NPR (2022, November 2), “The Future of Affirmative Action”, npr.org
NPR (2022, November 4), “The Supreme Court could end Affirmative Action: What could happen next?”, npr.org
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/03/teen-anxiety-elite-schools-sat-act-paradox-wealthy-nations/673307/
Thompson, D (2023, March 8), We’re Missing A Key Driver of Teen Anxiety. theatlantic.com
Waxman, Olivia (2023, March 17), The College Ranking Process Is Under Scrutiny: What That Means If You’re Deciding Where to Go. time.com