Issue 015 · August 18th 2026
Who’s to blame? The person, the university, the media?
- ISSUE PRIMER -
Jason Arday was found dead on August 14 at 41 years of age. A Cambridge professor at age 37, the youngest Black person to ever be appointed. He built a public profile around overcoming adversity: an autism diagnosis at 3, non-verbal until 11, unable to read or write until 18. And 30 marathons in 35 days. But how much of this was actually true?
The story unraveled over the last month. A deluge of sources (though some with a clear agenda) claimed Arday's 2015 PhD thesis along with other were plagiarized and childhood acquaintances credibly debunked his non-verbal ascendancy. His family sad he had faced a "campaign of sustained abuse" and "misinformation" since taking the Cambridge post. The Mayor of London and education figures described the treatment as disproportionate and, in some accounts, racist.
A lot to unpack: how universities vet and promote scholars of, how the press handles a subject who has lawyered up, what accountability looks like when race is a factor, and the difference between legitimate scrutiny and a pile-on with an anti-institution agenda. Let’s get into it.
→ This is not a system oversight, this IS the system.
A doctoral thesis with more than 100 passages plagiarized. A heavily fictionalized backstory. Everything checkable. Cambridge was warned in 2023, in 2025. Did nothing. Called the queries racist. A professor appointment, especially at Cambridge, is supposed to be prestigious - based on merit. Now every professor’s credibility is suspect - if they couldn’t catch this, why not everything? It’s not racist to want accountability, some sort of check to make credentials mean anything.
← Maybe you only care because he’s Black.
Plagiarism accusations against academics are more common than the crime of office small talk. Unless they happen to be Black, they rarely produce hundreds of articles, police interest, and a national culture-war spectacle. The volume and tenor of the coverage, and the fact that the original accusers had on fairly controversial opinions on racial intelligence, suggest Arday was singled out because of what he represented rather than judged by the standard applied to everyone else.vWho won here? Are we better now? Just another talking point for the culture wars and a man dead.
- NYC Event to Learn More -
Chat, is college cooked?
When: Sept 10, 6:30 PM at Puttery West Village
What: AI is a hell of a drug. Everyone who knows anyone in college or grad school today knows that OpenAI and Claude have changed the game in scholarship and studying. But will higher ed adapt to the changing times, or will AI expose the university system as a credentialing factory first and foremost? The founder of the Princeton Review and his former apprentice (ok, former employee) debate! We bring the speakers, you bring the questions!
- Curated Articles -
How Academia Created Jason Arday (John McWhorter, The Free Press) Fellow Black academic lambasts systemic racism for letting Arday become a professor at all.
Update from Jason Arday (Jason Arday, Good Law Project) - Arday’s resignation letter.
‘Black Excellence’ as a Fragile Construct’ (tenpencemore) - Argument that scrutiny is applied unequally, and never on the powerful.
The Room at UNMUTED - Wednesday, Aug 26
Few companies outside of the AI boom are doing as well as Kalshi right now. It’s hard to overstate how addicting an online platform that lets you bet (ahem, make futures contracts) on everything could be (or how obvious it that it would be this popular). But putting aside your personal take on the betting industrial complex writ large, should we really be able to bet on EVERYTHING? Elections? Wars? Assasinations?
Turns out you can find out the answer next Wednesday when Stevens political science professor and author of “How to Raise a Citizen” Lindsey Cormack goes up against ex-Citadel market maker and author of his own destiny Yehuda Maes in a battle of wits and will. NYC comedian legend Phil Hunt will serve a fast five at the top, and first time UNMUTED moderator Gillian Goodman presides.
If you have opinions, and more importantly, are curious why you could be wrong, join us! BUT if you can’t make it, subscribe here to stay updated on all of our upcoming events.
BET ON EVERYTHING.
Worth leaving the house for NEXT week in
NYC
Wed 8/19, 7:00 PM
Revenge for the Sixties
Peter S. Canellos (author)
Samuel Alito biography, from the perspective of a lib. Originalism. The Supreme Court.
Produced by New York Historical
Hosted at Bryant Park Reading Room
Thurs 8/20 6:30 PM
Building a Socialist Society CLASS 12
Tanya Núñez (Democracy Prep)
I repeat, Class 12!!! Socialist Summer School. The People vs the Billionaires. Bring your Billionaire to class day. The conservatives might have a point about radicalized teachers…
Produced by The People’s Forum
Hosted at The People’s Forum
Thur, 8/20, 7 PM
When Children Were Watching: Sesame Street and 9/11
Dr. Rosemarie Truglio (Sesame Strt) +
Carol Lynn-Parente (TV Producer) +
Bill Walsh (former FDNY Captain) &
Beth Hillman (President of Museum)
COOL. NYC and US History. Coping with - Fear. Tolerance. Grief. Sesame Street.
Produced by 9/11 Memorial
Hosted at 9/11 Memorial
That’s all for now. See you Space Cowboy…