Best Ahmed Amer Podcasts (2025)

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160. The Business Side of College Admissions: Expert Insights with Dr. Robert Alexander 53:06

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3h ago53:06

53:06

Send us a text In this episode of College Knowledge, hosts Dave Kozak and Joe Kerns explore the business of college admissions with Dr. Robert Alexander, Vice Provost and University Dean of Enrollment at the University of Rochester. Together, they unpack critical topics for students and families, including: College yields and why they matter Early …

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Ep.101 AI mega-episode 1:58:44

2d ago1:58:44

1:58:44

In this episode we thoroughly reckon with our AI futures through a comprehensive series of stories, ranging from GPT-assisted suicide to men deluding themselves into thinking they're the next Ibn Sina. We think we lay out a pretty good case for a license requirement before people are able to operate or be exposed to AI. Stories discussed: A story a…

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159. Navigating Elite College Admissions: Expert Insights with Jayson Weingarten 39:43

7d ago39:43

39:43

Send us a text 🎙️ In this episode of College Knowledge, hosts Dave Kozak and Joe Kerns welcome Jayson Weingarten, Senior Mission Consultant at Ivy Coach and former admissions officer at the University of Pennsylvania. Jayson brings a rare dual perspective—having worked inside one of the nation’s most selective admissions offices and now guiding fam…

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Ep.100 Self Determination, International Law, and Palestine w/Tina Al-khersan 52:39

11d ago52:39

52:39

Lawyer and human rights advocate, Tina Al-khersan stops by to talk to us about an article she recently co-authored titled "The Colonial Order Prevails in Palestine: The Right to Self-Determination from a Third World Approach to International Law." We talk about what it means to have self-determination, and how the post-WWII international legal orde…

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Ep.99 Erie, King of The Hill return 51:16

16d ago51:16

51:16

Ahmed gives a quick update on his daytrip to Erie, PA. We mostly discuss the newly revived King of The Hill and how it compares to the original.

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158. AI and Academic Integrity: Expert Insights with Stephen Cicirelli 34:15

21d ago34:15

34:15

Send us a text Join host Dave Kozak and co-host Joe Kerns (a.k.a. Joe the College Pro) for an in-depth conversation with Stephen Cicirelli, lecturer of English at St. Peter’s University. In this episode, they explore the evolving role of educators, the differences between tenure and non-tenure positions, and the growing influence of AI in academic …

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Ep.98 Jewish Anti-Zionism, Warsaw Ghetto Uprisings, Cape Cod w/Julia Mason Wedgle 1:10:57

24d ago1:10:57

1:10:57

We talk to Julia Mason Wedgle about the Jewish Left, Anti-Zionism, and the similarities between the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Palestinian resistance. We close out with a more lighthearted trip to Cape Cod, where Alan Dershowitz is standing up to poisonous Polish pierogis.

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157. Decoding College Admissions: Expert Insights with Jeff Selingo, Author of Dream School 40:30

27d ago40:30

40:30

Send us a text In this episode of College Knowledge, Dave and Joe sit down with Jeff Selingo, a leading voice in higher education and author of the new book Dream School. Drawing from his decades of experience—from his early days as an intern at U.S. News & World Report in 1994 to his tenure at The Chronicle of Higher Education—Jeff unpacks the com…

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ep.97 Men's coaching, Labubu, Sydney Sweeney 54:27

1M ago54:27

54:27

Mostly just yapping on this one.

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Ep.96 Superman, Columbia, Brett Stephens, Mahmoud v. Taylor 1:42:48

1M ago1:42:48

1:42:48

It's MEGA episode to make up for the one we missed.

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156. Crafting the Perfect College Essay: Expert Advice with Alan Gelb 44:44

1M ago44:44

44:44

Send us a text In this episode of College Knowledge, Dave and Joe sit down with professional writer and college essay coach Alan Gelb to break down what makes a standout college admissions essay. From storytelling structure to showcasing authentic human qualities, Alan shares expert strategies for creating compelling personal statements. You'll als…

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Ep.95 Ashura, Furry-watch 2025, BCG 1:11:02

2M ago1:11:02

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We also discuss the conservative meltdown over Zohran Mamdani eating with his hands.

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Ep.94 Zohran Mamdani & Denaturalization 1:34:14

2M ago1:34:14

1:34:14

This is a BIG BEAUTIFUL episode. We debut a new movie trailer before we discuss Mamdani's win, and speculate how the ruling class will attempt to stop him, then we discuss the Bob Vylan protest in the context of the ongoing Nakba.

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Ep.93 Struck by the East w/Muhammad Ali Mojaradi (Persian Poetics) 1:28:53

2M ago1:28:53

1:28:53

Muhammad (AKA @sharghzadeh AKA @persianpoetics) joins us to discuss the insane moment, in which we find ourselves careening into a war with Iran at the behest of Israel. In the second half of the episode we turn to a discussion of Persian culture, poetry, and influence, as well as Muhammad's recently published book, The Flame of Love, a translation…

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Ep.92 Egypt & the March to Gaza w/ Hossam el-Hamalawy 1:11:10

3M ago1:11:10

1:11:10

Hossam el-Hamalawy returns to the show to talk to us about Egypt's response to the March To Gaza, an internationally coordinated effort by activists to break Israel's siege of Gaza. We also discuss Israel's latest escalation in Iran. Make sure you check out Hossam's work on Substack: https://3arabawy.substack.com You can also find him @3rabawy on s…

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The Beasts We Carry w/Rishi Gandhi 27:57

3M ago27:57

27:57

Rishi Gandhi is an award-winning filmmaker. A first-generation immigrant of Indian descent, Rishi has moved between the Côte d’Ivoire, the UK, and the US. Though he has spent years traveling the world, he ultimately decided to make film his home. He joins Ahmed on this special episode to talk about his new project titled 'The Beasts We Carry'. Plea…

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Ep.91 Boulder, ADL, authoritarianism, 1:13:13

3M ago1:13:13

1:13:13

We do a little bit of everything on this one, including ask 'Can a woman find a husband if she has ever been photographed?' Here's an article that is relevant to our discussion of the ADL: https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/emmaia-gelman-anti-defamation-league/

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Ep.90 Hamza Yusuf, Mayoral Elections, DC Shooting, West Wing 1:22:57

3M ago1:22:57

1:22:57

Closing in on 100 episodes! This one is pretty packed. I'm sick, so the editing is haphazard. We talk about Hamza Yusuf working with the Trump Administration, then we go on to discuss the outcome of Pittsburgh's mayoral primary and why a forceful stance on Gaza should be a litmus test for progressive politicians. We close by briefly discussing the …

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Ep.89 Content for our times 1:08:47

4M ago1:08:47

1:08:47

We talk about a lot here: India & Pakistan warring in Kashmir Trump's Middle East tour and why leftists shouldn't be so quick to praise him for "sidelining Israel" Kanye Grok's obsession with white genocide and Holocaust denial Thomas Friedman's beautiful tribute to Joe Biden

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Ep.88 Anti-semitism at Barstool 34:36

4M ago34:36

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Yasmine lets Ahmed ramble about Dave Portnoy for 20 minutes. Mostly we just build a case that Dave (and other rich elites) seem less concerned with actually existing anti-semitism, and more concerned with disciplining those who they want to control.

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Ep.87 Investigating Harvard's Islamic Outpost 1:33:27

4M ago1:33:27

1:33:27

Glad to be back after a little break! We catch up on life. Yasmine gives us an update about the Facebook tell-all story 'Careless People', we discuss a Supreme Court case in which a Muslim family joined two Christian families to ask the Court to protect their kids from... books? Lastly, we discuss Ruth Wisse's column in the WSJ titled 'Harvard is a…

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155. Myths About Financial Aid: Debunked & Real-Life Success Stories 35:04

5M ago35:04

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Send us a text 🎓💰 Financial Aid Myths: Busted! + Real Stories That’ll Blow Your Mind It’s that magical (and stressful) time—college acceptance letters and $$$ offers are rolling in! This week on College Knowledge, Dave Kak and Joe the College Pro are here to separate fact from fiction when it comes to financial aid. 💥 Think you make too much for ai…

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154. Smashing Stereotypes with Dr. Laura J. Burton: Women in Sports Leadership 38:31

5M ago38:31

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Send us a text 🎙️ Get ready for a powerful episode of College Knowledge, as we sit down with the amazing Dr. Laura J. Burton—professor, researcher, and fierce advocate for gender equity in sports. From locker rooms to boardrooms, we’re tackling the tough questions about why women are still underrepresented in sports leadership—and what we can do ab…

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Ep.86 Not On Our Dime update w/ Addy Lord 49:38

5M ago49:38

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Addy Lord from Pittsburgh's Not On Our Dime returns with an update about the ballot referendum initiative, and how Zionist groups in Pittsburgh (including elected officials) rallied to keep the measure off the ballot. This is an important episode for those who want to understand how to start similar initiatives in their cities.…

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Ep.85 Islamic meme coins, NEOM, Academic repression, Palestine 1:24:27

5M ago1:24:27

1:24:27

We're back! This is a pretty packed episode. We discuss Mubarak coin, John Fetterman, and how things are going over in NEOM before Yasmine takes us through some updates on the continued targeting/deportation of students.

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153. Rants & Scholarships: Examining the Department of Education's Biggest Failures 31:47

5M ago31:47

31:47

Send us a text In this episode of College Knowledge, Joe the College Pro and Dave the CEO take a hard look at the U.S. Department of Education. They break down the recent FAFSA overhaul disaster, analyze the Department’s track record since its creation in 1980, and explore the systemic issues plaguing education today. From financial aid mismanageme…

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Ep.84 Muawiya 46:58

5M ago46:58

46:58

We discuss episode one of the Saudi funded Ramadan series Muawiya.

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Ep.83 Columbia University is a prison 40:51

6M ago40:51

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Just before recording this, Mosab Abu-Toha reported through his Instagram page that Israel murdered hundreds of people as it resumed its genocide in full force and reports from Gaza have only gotten worse since then. Yasmine carries most of this episode with discussion of what's happening at Columbia and the reverberations for academia in general. …

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152. Exploring Higher Ed Trends & Earth Sciences with Dr. Kristy Tiampo 1:06:25

6M ago1:06:25

1:06:25

Send us a text 🚀 Join hosts Dave Kozak and Joe The College Pro in this exciting episode of College Knowledge, where they break down the latest trends in higher education! 📚✨ From the rising number of women earning degrees to the shifting political landscape among college-educated men, they cover it all. 🌍 The episode features a fascinating conversa…

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Ep.82 Should Muslims leave the Democratic Party? w/ Sana Saeed & Hamid Bendaas 1:31:07

6M ago1:31:07

1:31:07

We really enjoyed our conversation with two people who are doing incredible work in their respective fields: Hamid Bendaas, formerly in comms for Bernie Sanders and current communications director for IMEU Policy Project, and award-winning journalist/media critic Sana Saeed. We discuss the question of whether Muslims (and other people) should conti…

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151. The College Admissions Hustle: What They Don't Tell You 39:21

6M ago39:21

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Send us a text 🎙️ The College Admissions Hustle: What They Don’t Tell You In this episode of the College Knowledge Podcast, hosts Joe Kern and Dave Kozak explore the business side of college admissions and financial aid. Sponsored by the College Planning Network and Paradigm Financial Group, this discussion reveals how colleges operate like busines…

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Ep.81 The Imperial Boomerang & Palestine 1:06:50

6M ago1:06:50

1:06:50

We discuss Noura Erakat's article, 'The Boomerang Comes Back', in Boston Review, as well as some of the articles linked in the citations. We then quickly reflect on the one-year mark since Aaron Bushnell's self immolation. We highly recommend reading Ryan D'Souza's article about Aaron.

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Ep.80 Imam Muhsin Hendricks' martyrdom, Miami shooting, Musk's incompetence 58:33

7M ago58:33

58:33

We weigh in on the news of the week, primarily on the murder and martyrdom of Imam Muhsin Hendricks in South Africa, and why Muslims need to keep pushing for queer Muslim spaces.

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Ep.79 Trump Austerity, Gaza Plan, and Sovereign Wealth Fund 1:00:51

7M ago1:00:51

1:00:51

Professor Yasmine gives her perspective and insight on the cuts in education spending. We then discuss Trump floating his plan to ethnically cleanse Palestine and how no one in the opposition party or press is embarrassing him for continuing the longstanding tradition of U.S. Presidents being Netanyahu's lapdogs. Lastly, we discuss the sovereign we…

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Ep.78 Meet your (Muslim Match)maker 51:18

7M ago51:18

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We have a delightful conversation with Hoda Abrahim (@watshoodie), half of the matchmaking duo on Hulu's forthcoming show Muslim Matchmaker, about her journey as a Muslim matchmaker, love, courtship, and more. You can watch Muslim Matchmaker on Hulu starting February 11th and, if you're a single Muslim looking for that special someone, you can find…

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Ep.77 Harvard adopts IHRA definition of antisemitism 1:13:08

7M ago1:13:08

1:13:08

We discuss the IHRA definition of antisemitism and what it means that Harvard adopted it.

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Ep.76 Life updates, ceasefire discussion, TikTok ban 49:43

8M ago49:43

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We spend most of the time discussing the ceasefire on this one. We hope to do another episode in which we can bring on an expert who can help us cut through some of the noise. Help us out by subscribing/rating our show wherever you listen to podcasts (it really does help us improve our reach), and follow us on Instagram @The_Field_Between_Pod. We a…

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Ep.75 H1-B& Desi supremacy, Nosferatu, Organ transplants 1:22:42

8M ago1:22:42

1:22:42

We talk about Nosferatu (no spoilers, but the story is also more than a century old, so c'mon), Ramaswamy & Musk's support of the H1-B program, and a medical article that has rocked Yasmine's world in the last month.

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Ep.74 Egypt 2025 roundup w/ Hossam El-Hamalawy 1:23:33

8M ago1:23:33

1:23:33

We are joined by Hossam El Hamalawy, a revolutionary socialist and journalist. You can find his work on Middle East Eye and his Substack 3rabawy, where he provides commentary on Egypt’s military, security services, foreign policy, and local dissent. Links: Hossam's Substack newsletter 3arabawy https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/hossam-el-hamalawy …

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Ep.73 Not On Our Dime w/ Addy Lord & Ben Case 43:29

8M ago43:29

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We are thrilled to be joined by Addy and Ben, who are on the steering committee for Pittsburgh's Not On Our Dime campaign, a grassroots effort to financially divest the city of Pittsburgh from Israel's war crimes, as well as provide a means of democratic oversight of the city's funds by requiring some level of transparency into how the city invests…

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Ep.72 Hawk-Tuah coin, bad NYT opinions, Christmas tree debate 1:18:33

9M ago1:18:33

1:18:33

We catch up on a few random items, then we discuss the cryptocurrency scandal surrounding Hailey Welch (Hawk Tuah), another beautifully-written opinion piece by NYT's Bret Stephens, and then Ahmed finally get Yasmine to admit she wants a Christmas tree.

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Ep.71 Bari-o and Luigi 1:14:12

9M ago1:14:12

1:14:12

We catch up on the weekend, and then discuss a really insightful Thomas Friedman article in which he solves Syria. Then we discuss Bari Weiss's media outlet's investigation into a Muslim press conference before we talk about Luigi Mangione, his arrest, and a moment that seemingly brought everyone together.…

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150. DEI in Higher Education: Breaking Myths and Building Inclusion with Dr. Amer Ahmed 50:44

9M ago50:44

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Send us a text 🎙️ Welcome to the College Knowledge Podcast! Sponsored by the College Planning Network and Paradigm Financial Group, hosts Dave Kozak and Joe Kerins bring you another impactful episode packed with insights into the ever-changing landscape of higher education. 🔍 Episode Highlights: 1️⃣ College Confidential: NCAA Division 1 scholarship…

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Ep.70 Syria & the problem with "The Left" 49:46

9M ago49:46

49:46

We try to provide a very basic summary of what's happening in Syria, but mostly we respond to a lacking analysis coming from the US left that seems to think the Russian nation state has noble intentions in the region. As always, we welcome feedback. As we stated in the episode, we would be happy to have anyone on who can further clarify some things…

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Ep.69 BOYS TOWN! w/Corey Reid 1:10:39

9M ago1:10:39

1:10:39

While Yasmine is away, the guys will play. Corey and I (Ahmed) submit our audition tape to become the left's Joes Rogan (most people would have written "Joe Rogans," but it's actually like "Attorneys General"). Mostly we try to gauge what lessons are being learned from the post-election analysis in the New York Times (would you be surprised if I to…

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Ep.68 Sanctuary Everywhere w/ Professor Barbara Sostaita 58:45

10M ago58:45

58:45

We talk to our friend, Professor Barbara Sostaita, about her recently published book Sanctuary Everywhere, which is out with Duke University Press. You can buy her book here: https://www.dukeupress.edu/sanctuary-everywhere Also, please watch the incredible trailer for the book, created by Alex Morelli, whose still image was used for cover art for t…

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Ep.67 Love is (not) blind, habibi 1:01:14

10M ago1:01:14

1:01:14

We start of with some follow-up to the election, and a critique of the game Bernie Sanders has been running for the last 4+ years before we get into something a little more fun and lighthearted: Yasmine made Ahmed watch Love Is Blind Habibi.

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149. Is This Rocket Science? Notre Dame TurboMachinery Lab 52:56

10M ago52:56

52:56

Send us a text 🎙️ Welcome to the College Knowledge Podcast, sponsored by the College Planning Network and Paradigm Financial Group! In today’s episode, hosts Dave Kozak and Joe Kerins sit down with Dr. Joshua Cameron, Director of the Notre Dame TurboMachinery Laboratory. They explore the groundbreaking research in aerospace engineering, making this…

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Ep.66 SPECIAL ELECTION NEWS BRIEFING- EMERGENCY POD 39:09

10M ago39:09

39:09

We come to you mid-week for an emergency broadcast. We briefly give our thoughts on the election results. Overall, I think it's an honest discussion of how we ended up here, the losses and wins, why neither of us is surprised this happened, and how we plan to focus our energy going forward. If you enjoy what we're doing, please consider rating us w…

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Ep.65 A day of reckoning is upon us 1:07:03

10M ago1:07:03

1:07:03

Not gonna lie... a pretty rough episode in terms of topics. We make our final election predictions before moving on to discuss the shocking news about Al Maghrib Institute's Wissam Sherif, as well as the organization's unemphatic response. For those who would rather skip the details and discussion of the specific allegations of sexual abuse, we int…