Recap of ASF’s Progress Through Science and Freedom Conference 2025
Last weekend, I attended the third annual Progress through Science and Freedom conference, organized by Australian for Science & Freedom (ASF). The conference took place at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). It was my first time back in Sydney and at my alma mater since 2019.
At the conference, I delivered two presentations. The first presentation was my academic cancellation story. The second presentation was an overview of men’s and women’s representation in exercise and medical research and a summary of government funding of men’s and women’s health. Both presentations were well-received, but my cancellation story generated more discussion.
I delivered my cancellation story in a session titled, “Crisis of the Modern University: Ideology, Intimidation, and the End of Academic Freedom.” The session also included presentations by Dr. Peter Ridd, Dr. Kesten Green, and Dr. Fiona Girkin.
Ridd, a geophysicist, is known for his legal battle against James Cook University in a dispute about academic freedom and the university’s code of conduct policies. Ridd’s presentation focused on teacher education. Girkin became known to the Australian public earlier this year when her employer, the University of Tasmania, made it clear that they were no longer interested in her services after she talked with Bettina Arndt about women as psychopaths and perpetrators of bullying and violence. Girkin’s presentation focused on the role of the media in her departure from the university. Green, who was the only academic on the panel not cancelled (yet), presented on reform in higher education.
The audience’s interest in my academic cancellation story centred around the emails that I acquired using a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. During the first five minutes of my presentation, I displayed some of these emails on the big screen, and I read them out loud. After the presentation, a couple of attendees, who have knowledge of the legalities of academic cancellations, remarked that they had not seen a cancellation case so cleanly documented. Also, multiple individuals approached me during the conference stating that they might now consider using a FOI request to obtain information related to their cancellations.
During the conference, I also had the pleasure of conversing with individuals such as:
· David Maywald - author of The Relentless War on Masculinity
· Augusto Zimmerman - Foundation Dean of Law and Professor at Alphacrucis University College and former Law Reform Commissioner in Western Australia
· Damian Coory - host of The Other Side
· Dr. Dani Sulikowski - researcher of manipulative reproductive suppression at Charles Sturt University
I was also excited to meet a handful of followers, subscribers, and donors to The Nuzzo Letter who were in attendance. Thanks, guys!
The conference ended with a brainstorming workshop on education. Attendees picked one of eight groups to participate in. The choice of which group to participate in was a difficult one, as each group addressed a different yet important education topic. For example, David Maywald led the brainstorming effort on “Engaging boys at school, to boost outcomes for all children.” Dr. Jeremy Bell led the group discussion on “Abolishing government intervention in schools: What would replace it?”
I chose to participate in the discussion led by Dr. Kesten Green, “Reforming tertiary education via a free market in post-school learning.” I chose this group because of my belief that the universities are a core cause of much societal ill. The universities are the ones turning out the political activists, the ill-informed schoolteachers, the biased journalists, and the non-objective public officials. Moreover, as I have shown repeatedly at The Nuzzo Letter, professors continue to publish papers that are inaccurate, illogical, and actively undermine objective epistemology and the scientific method. Sadly, many professors today seem more interested in instilling ideological conformity rather than critical thinking in their students.
Interestingly, our group had the fewest participants - four blokes, three of whom were currently or previously employed as university lecturers or researchers. Together, we listed some ways that higher education could reform to better suit the needs of students and employers. We were broadly sceptical of the idea that students need to go to a university for four years to be competent for many jobs. Instead, we tended to favour an apprenticeship-type model, where education and skills training are provided on the job, with each business determining to what extent it wants to invest in core and supplementary education for its apprentices or employees. We were also sceptical of the idea that government grants to universities are the best way for meaningful research to get done. In fact, some of us thought that the current research funding model is slow, inefficient, biased, and often at odds with the type of research that taxpayers want or benefit most from.
To conclude, ASF’s Progress Through Science and Freedom conference was fantastic. Unlike many exercise science conferences, which have hundreds or thousands of attendees and loads of superficial conversation, the ASF conference felt more genuine and connected. In fact, one of my concluding messages was that people who have been cancelled should consider sharing their stories publicly for this very reason – to bring them closer to people who share many of the same core beliefs. Clearly, at a fundamental level, I do not have much in common with the university staffers who cancelled me. However, I do have a lot in common with individuals who understand and advocate for free speech, objective research, and rigorous education. These were the types of individuals who attended the ASF conference.
Finally, I want to extend a special thank you to Prof. Gigi Foster, Prof. Nick Blismas, Andrew Logan, Jason Strecker, and the other ASF volunteers who organised the event. I am grateful for the invitation to present my research and personal story. I hope to see all the conference organisers and attendees again soon.
Related Content at The Nuzzo Letter
SUPPORT THE NUZZO LETTER
If you appreciated this content, please consider supporting The Nuzzo Letter with a one-time or recurring donation. Your support is greatly appreciated. It helps me to continue to work on independent research projects and fight for my evidence-based discourse. To donate, click the DonorBox logo. In two simple steps, you can donate using ApplePay, PayPal, or another service. Thank you!
It was an excellent conference James.
I don't think I've ever attended a smaller conference, or a conference with a higher quality of speakers, participants, or discourse.
My wife and I felt privileged to be there.
As a non academic I really wanted to get to the ASF conference to hear and meet you and Fiona Girkin. Sounds like it was fruitful and productive