Today, Explained: The Man Who Helped Kill DEI

Vox's daily news explainer podcast, "Today, Explained," delves into the pivotal moments shaping today's society. In the episode titled "The Man Who Helped Kill DEI," released on March 13, 2025, hosts Noel King and Sean Rameswaram explore the dismantling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies in the United States. This comprehensive summary captures the essence of their discussion, highlighting key points, insights, and the controversial figure Richard Hanania, who played a significant role in this policy shift.

1. The End of DEI Policies

Noel King (NK) opens the episode by providing historical context:

[00:01] "For more than half a century, the US had a rule that said anyone that does business with the federal government, from Boeing to FedEx and Pfizer to Johns Hopkins, had to take affirmative action toward hiring people regardless of race, color or creed. On day one of his presidency, Donald Trump ended that rule."

Richard Hanania (RH), a prominent substack writer and author, asserts the significance of this move:

[00:20] "We've ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private and our military and our country will be woke no longer."

NK continues by tracing the origins of the DEI backlash to the unrest following George Floyd's murder in 2020, highlighting how online commentators galvanized against DEI policies and eventually succeeded in dismantling them.

2. The Rise of the Online Right

Transitioning from the introduction, Andrew Prokop (AP), Vox's senior correspondent covering politics, discusses the Trump administration's policy-making influenced heavily by online personalities:

[02:21] "You recently wrote for Vox that the Trump administration is making policy decisions based on ideas it took hold on Twitter. Say more about what you mean."

AP explains that the new administration is dominated by individuals who are highly active online, including figures like Elon Musk and Stephen Miller. This online influence shapes the administration's agenda, often prioritizing internet-driven ideologies over traditional policy-making processes.

3. Richard Hanania’s Influence on DEI Rollback

NK introduces Richard Hanania as a central figure in the DEI narrative:

[16:50] "Richard Hanania is a substacker and author of the book 'The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics.'"

RH discusses his role in the DEI rollback, emphasizing his intellectual contributions:

[20:43] "I had an article which eventually turned into my book, the 'Origins of Woke,' which argued that a lot of the cultural issues that conservatives were mad about... were actually rooted in civil rights law and affirmative action policies."

He elaborates on how his ideas influenced key policy decisions, particularly Executive Order 11246, which mandated affirmative action for federal contractors. RH credits himself and like-minded thinkers for advocating the repeal of this order:

[22:43] "Vivek Ramaswamy started talking about it... Trump retrieves and signs a repeal of Executive Order 11246."

This pivotal move marked the official end of DEI enforcement in federal contracts, aligning with the administrative agenda Hanania and others promoted.

4. Controversy Surrounding Richard Hanania

A significant portion of the episode addresses RH's controversial past. NK confronts Hanania about his prior racist and misogynistic statements uncovered by the Huffington Post in August 2023:

[16:50] "In the summer of 2023, you were exposed for writing racist misogynist posts on right-wing websites. Were those sincere beliefs you held?"

RH admits to his past sentiments:

[17:42] "Yes. I can't lie to you and tell you that those weren't sincere beliefs... I had some views that I now consider repugnant."

He attributes these views to his younger, more angry self, distancing his current self from those past statements while acknowledging their existence.

Further probing reveals RH's defenses of later controversial statements, where he rationalizes his comments about Jewish control in America by separating them from his earlier indiscretions, though he concedes that his initial remarks were unacceptable:

[19:28] "I don't see that as racist or hateful or anything like that... I wouldn't stand by [earlier quotes]."

5. Policy Details and Implications

Delving deeper into the policy ramifications, AP highlights the comprehensive nature of the DEI rollback:

[04:47] "But there's also many more serious policies and issues that reflect this influence... such as funding cutoffs to universities, limits on their research dollars, and policies threatening investigations of nonprofits and corporations that use affirmative action or DEI policies."

RH explains the rationale behind ending Executive Order 11246, aiming to reduce government involvement in race and sex-based hiring practices:

[23:17] "The goal was to take government out of the idea that it should be taking consideration of race and sex or enforcing such considerations onto the private sector in terms of hiring, in terms of promotion."

He argues that the executive order had overstepped by embedding identity politics into corporate America, pushing institutions towards progressive cultural stances that many Americans opposed.

6. Aftermath and Current Perspectives

Despite his role in ending DEI policies, RH expresses disappointment with the broader outcomes of the Trump administration's actions, particularly concerning appointments to key positions:

[26:47] "Some of these picks are certainly not merit-based... I don't think you could have a merit-based system that looks at people as individuals with qualifications."

Furthermore, RH discusses his growing disillusionment with the MAGA movement and its degradation under Trump's influence. He critiques the administration's appointments, citing figures like Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel as examples of unsuitable, non-meritocratic choices driven by superficial traits rather than qualifications.

[27:59] "The movement is more than just Trump now... I think it's gotten pretty bad."

This disillusionment leads RH to publicly distance himself from certain aspects of the movement, emphasizing his concern over the erosion of honesty, virtue, and responsible governance within the conservative sphere.

7. Conclusion

The episode concludes by highlighting RH's significant yet controversial impact on American policy regarding DEI and his complex relationship with the contemporary conservative movement. NK underscores the multifaceted nature of DEI's dismantling, attributing it to both strategic policy shifts and the influence of online right-wing ideologies.

[30:56] "Richard Hanania. The book is 'The Origins of Woke.' He's also on Substack and he is still on Twitter. Dropping in our feed on Sunday, some of you called to ask whether DEI was ever anything more than performance. Our new weekend show is going to give you some answers."

This episode provides a nuanced exploration of how individual actors and broader cultural movements intersect to shape national policies, offering listeners a detailed understanding of the forces behind the decline of DEI initiatives in the U.S.

Notable Quotes:

• Noel King (00:01): "For more than half a century, the US had a rule that said anyone that does business with the federal government... had to take affirmative action toward hiring people regardless of race, color or creed."

• Richard Hanania (00:20): "We've ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government..."

• Andrew Prokop (04:47): "There's a unified effort to kind of attack what they see as the power centers of progressivism..."

• Richard Hanania (17:42): "I can't lie to you and tell you that those weren't sincere beliefs... I had some views that I now consider repugnant."

• Richard Hanania (23:17): "The goal was to take government out of the idea that it should be taking consideration of race and sex or enforcing such considerations onto the private sector..."

Conclusion:

"The Man Who Helped Kill DEI" offers an in-depth examination of the political and cultural shifts that led to the dismantling of DEI policies in the United States. Through interviews and revelations about key figures like Richard Hanania, the episode sheds light on the intricate interplay between online activism, policy-making, and personal ideologies that have reshaped the nation's approach to diversity and inclusion.