He gives a personal account of losing his teaching job at Wayne State as a case study in how precarious and exploitative modern academia is, then pivots to why he’s doubling down on Esoterica and open-access teaching.[youtube]

High-level structure

1. Opening: “I kind of got fired from academia” and why it matters.

2. Reality of academic labor vs public stereotype.[youtube]

3. His specific situation at Wayne State and the canceled class.[youtube]

4. Emotional and practical impact on him and his students.[youtube]

5. Turning to YouTube and Esoterica as his main teaching platform.[youtube]

6. Announcement of the open-access Merkavah mysticism seminar.[youtube]

7. Call to support and solidarity with contingent faculty and PhD students.[youtube]

8. Closing thanks and Esoterica sign‑off.[youtube]

Detailed outline with timestamps

• Opening: “I kind of got fired from academia”
  He states that he “kind of got fired from academia” and explains that to understand his situation, viewers need to understand what most college-level educators actually face today.

• Myth vs reality of professors’ lives
  He contrasts the stereotype of the cushy, tenured professor with summers at a lake house and a six‑figure income against the reality of heavy unpaid service work, relentless “publish or perish” pressure, and the need to chase increasingly scarce grants just to keep departments alive.[youtube]

• Liberal arts under attack and tenure hollowed out
  He describes how liberal arts departments are being cut while administrators enrich themselves, and how tenure is both almost unattainable and functionally meaningless when administrators can simply close departments or fire people arbitrarily.[youtube]

• Adjunct/contingent labor and a broken job market
  He notes that most actual teaching is done by PhD students and contract‑to‑contract instructors paid poverty wages, with little to no benefits, even as they are expected to be highly specialized experts.[youtube]
  He emphasizes that when PhD students do finally graduate, there are almost no jobs, so academia functions like both a pyramid scheme and a cartel.[youtube]

• Introducing his own case
  He transitions to his story: he has been teaching for about a decade at Wayne State University in Detroit and has loved working there.[youtube]
  He highlights the working‑class, first‑generation, and diverse background of many of his students and says they remind him of his own working‑class, first‑generation college experience, which motivates him to make their first philosophy or religious studies class “absolutely wonderful.”[youtube]

• Track record and relationships at Wayne State
  He mentions positive student evaluations, teaching awards, and excellent relationships with his chair and colleagues, reinforcing that performance or collegiality were not the problem.[youtube]

• Contract teaching and sudden class cuts
  He explains that he teaches contract‑to‑contract with no true job security.[youtube]
  After signing his contract for a fall class, he was told that the provost was forcing large cuts in course offerings and that his class was among those being canceled, despite the signed agreement.[youtube]

• Offer of an alternative course and its impracticality
  His chair tried to help by offering an online section he had never taught before, but it would require him to learn new material and build an entire course from scratch in less than a month, which he describes as an unreasonable expectation even though he appreciates the attempt.[youtube]

• Result: no more teaching at Wayne State (for now)
  He concludes that after more than a decade, he will not be teaching at Wayne State in the coming fall and likely not for the foreseeable future.[youtube]
  He notes that he had to make a special request just to keep his .edu email address for a while longer so he could continue to access journals and other academic resources.[youtube]

• Impact on students and his relative good fortune
  He expresses disappointment and says he feels terrible for students whose classes were canceled only a month before the semester, since it disrupts their planning and lives.[youtube]
  He acknowledges that he is comparatively lucky because Esoterica provides him with enough support that losing the job is not financially catastrophic, unlike many contract instructors living paycheck to paycheck or even out of their cars.[youtube]

• Why he teaches and how academia “didn’t see fit”
  He emphasizes that he teaches primarily out of love for students and a sense of civic responsibility, joking that he would probably do it for free if he did not have to grade because grading is what he feels he is really being paid for.[youtube]
  He states that academia no longer sees fit for him to teach within his areas of expertise, or seemingly at all, which becomes a pivot point in the narrative.[youtube]

• YouTube and Esoterica as his main classroom
  He says that he is fortunate to have YouTube as a platform where he can still teach topics he cares about with rigor, at least so long as the algorithm allows, and he credits viewers for making this possible through Patreon, merch, and engagement.[youtube]
  He underscores his deep commitment to Western esotericism and his gratitude that he can share that education with a broad audience.[youtube]

• Announcement of the Merkavah mysticism seminar
  He announces that he is starting a seminar on Merkavah (or “mea”) mysticism, focused on ancient Judean mystics who descended into the divine throne room to learn occult secrets or become angelic beings.[youtube]
  He explains that, because of his commitment to accessible education and the support of patrons, this seminar will be completely open access as he works through the material in the coming weeks.[youtube]

• Education as a human right and support invitation
  He asserts that education is a human right and that he does not want to gatekeep wisdom, but also gently invites viewers who are able to support him via Patreon, merch, and other means.[youtube]

• Message to current students and contingent faculty
  He tells current university students that many of their professors teach because they love the work and the students, even though they are underpaid, lack benefits, and face precarious employment.[youtube]
  He offers solidarity and honor to PhD students and contract‑to‑contract instructors, recognizing the difficult conditions under which they labor.[youtube]

• Closing gratitude and Esoterica sign‑off
  He expresses sincere gratitude to viewers for enabling him to spread freely accessible education on this “small corner of human wisdom and spirituality” and says he hopes to see them for the upcoming Merkavah seminar and future Esoterica content.[youtube]
  He closes the video with his standard sign‑off as Dr. Justin Sledge on Esoterica, highlighting that the channel explores the arcane in history, philosophy, and religion, followed by music.[youtube]