Anthony Rispo

Anthony Rispo is a writer and independent researcher, a Columbia University psychology graduate now pursuing an M.S. in cognitive neuroscience at the CUNY Graduate Center. His work focuses on social cognition and sociopolitical behavior — the developmental and cognitive processes behind belief formation, perspective-taking, identity, and social connection. A former classical church organist who came up on the progressive left, he read his way out of ideological rigidity during the pandemic years and founded Columbia's Heterodox Academy campus community to promote viewpoint diversity and open inquiry. He is a Young Voices contributor, has produced short-form video for The Free Press, and appears regularly in broadcast media with commentary informed by psychology, cognitive science, and political theory.