I was an early adopter of social media, especially Facebook. It was a natural progression for me from writing letters to the editor, calling talk radio, and creating my own family website. I discuss some virtues and vices of social media and then how it might be skewing my perception of the behavior of the current US administration as it regards entry of citizens to the US in a very fraught environment where basic rights have been called into question.

The Lipkin Family website

https://www.lipkinfamily.com/

Ezra Klein explains the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN1oBfg0fwI

Article about US Citizens stopped on entry

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2025/03/26/american-travelers-us-borders/82641005007/

Article about Tufts Student sent to detention center for writing an op-ed

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/trump-rumeysa-ozturk-tufts-detention

Article about Trump’s statement regarding deportation of US citizens

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-wants-deport-some-us-citizens-el-salvador-2025-04-14/

I have a 17 year old son with Down syndrome whom I adore. I discuss his birth, development, education and more. I then get into some philosophical issues regarding the growing trend to abort fetuses when Down syndrome is detected and a discussion of a hypothetical future where it would be possible to “cure” Down syndrome.

My blog post about Yisrael’s birth

https://www.lipkinfamily.com/blog/adventure.htm

Yisrael’s Bar Mitzvah highlight video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnzK5WLUUIM

World Down Syndrome Day video

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Biex1XR_mpo

My Substack article “When Nurturing Goes Haywire - Raising A Child With Special Needs”

https://mslipkin.substack.com/p/when-nurturing-goes-haywire-raising

Instagram video by a woman with Down syndrome discussing some of these issues

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEuxWlgRjZo/?igsh=OXM3aTRpd3ZlcTFx

As a teenager I learned the important role free speech plays in maintaining a free, democratic society. If anything, my sense of its importance has only grown, especially given the threats posed in our current society.

Coddling of the American Mind Essay

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/

Balanced discussion of the Mahmoud Khalil issue

https://www.readtangle.com/trump-cuts-columbia-funding-arrests-protestor-khalil/

Sarah McBride Issue

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/us/politics/sarah-mcbride-keith-self-transgender.html

FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)

https://www.thefire.org/

I didn’t mention FIRE in the podcast. It was started by Greg Lukianoff, one of the author’s of Coddling and plays an important role in protecting free speech