Tom Nelson

David Smith: “Wokicide: A Quality-Control System to Reclaim Education” #413

Tom Nelson

Show Notes

David Smith explains his book “Wokicide,” arguing that “woke” (critical social justice theory rooted in critical theory and postmodernism) persists in universities and schools because education lacks quality control, not because of politics. He proposes applying ISO 9001 and HACCP-style quality assurance to K–12 and universities: validated curriculum specifications, independent expert panels, hazard analysis, audits (scheduled and targeted), corrective action, and continuous improvement. A central Workplace Improvement Notice (WIN) system would let staff and even parents file tracked complaints with guaranteed responses, replacing DEI/unconscious-bias training with “deprogramming” modules and prioritizing evidence and accountability. Smith says QA would stop unvalidated ideological drift and is affordable by redirecting existing DEI-related spending.

00:00 Intro and Two-Part Talk 00:58 Why Woke Persists 01:30 Education Lacks QA 02:10 Validation Over Ideology 04:53 Defining Woke Origins 06:35 From Civil Rights to Overreach 07:43 Flawed Woke Reasoning 10:02 How Woke Spreads 11:16 Equity Outcomes and Activism 13:33 Deconstruction Playbook 17:50 Woke Hall of Fame 21:39 Perfect Storm in Education 25:42 QA Solution Framework 27:41 ISO 9001 and HACCP 29:42 Authority and Adoption 30:55 Four Phases Implementation 33:35 Validation and Hazard Analysis 34:47 Audits Monitoring Corrective Action 37:09 Aggressive Feedback Loops 39:05 WIN Notice Explained 41:41 Curriculum Content Validation 43:12 Audits in K-12 Schools 44:53 K-12 QA Wrap Up 45:47 Universities as the Source 47:29 University Validation Hurdles 50:30 University Auditing Red Flags 51:58 Objections and Pushback 57:12 Failure Modes and Fixes 59:39 Cost and Staffing Reality 01:02:08 Closing Q&A and Next Steps

Amazon Kindle version: Wokicide: Pest Control for Education: https://a.co/d/0d0YeApM ======== Slides, summaries, references, and transcripts of my podcasts: https://tomn.substack.com/p/podcast-summaries My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tomanelson1

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