296. Stephen Bloom on Jane Elliott’s Famous Experiment on Race and Brutality and What It Reveals About Today’s Racial Divide

<p>This conversation explores the never-before-told true story of Jane Elliott and the “Blue-Eyes, Brown-Eyes Experiment” she made world-famous, using eye color to simulate racism.</p> <p>Shermer and Bloom discuss: Jane Elliott and how she came to conduct her famous experiment • reactions to it (in the classroom, locally, nationally, internationally) • whether the “experiment” was really more of a demonstration • public interest, from Johnny Carson to Oprah Winfrey • the questionable ethics of the experiment • what it reveals about tribalism, racism, obedience to authority, role playing, social proof • whether the experiment reveals hidden racist attitudes or creates them in children • Does it indicate bad apples or bad barrels? • race sensitivity training programs, then and now (and why they don’t really work) • what drives moral progress • the future of journalism.</p> <p>Stephen Bloom is a professor of journalism at the University of Iowa. He is the author of <em>Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes: A Cautionary Tale of Race and Brutality</em> (University of California Press, 2021); <em>The Audacity of Inez Burns: Dreams, Desire, Treachery & Ruin in the City of Gold</em> (Regan Arts, 2018); <em>Tears of Mermaids: The Secret Story of Pearls</em> (St. Martin’s Press, 2011); <em>The Oxford Project</em> [with photographer Peter Feldstein] (Welcome Books, 2010); <em>Inside the Writer’s Mind</em> (Wiley, 2002); and <em>Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America</em> (Harcourt, 2000). He has worked for the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>, <em>Dallas Morning News</em>, <em>San Jose Mercury News</em>, <em>Sacramento Bee</em>, <em>Latin America Daily Post</em>, and <em>Field News Service</em>. He especially likes writing about every man/woman: the barista, bartender, baker, butcher, barber — or murderer-turned-prison employee.</p>