Trouble Ahead

Trouble Ahead

From Banished by Amna Khalid & Jeff Snyder

January 21, 2025 · 20 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the potential threats to higher education posed by a second Trump administration, featuring insights from Jeremy Young of PEN America.

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to talk to PEN America’s Jeremy Young about what a second Trump administration holds in store for higher education. It was an informative—and sobering—conversation. Over the next four years, we should be prepared for a tsunami of ideologically-driven threats to academic freedom, campus free expression and the basic integrity of higher education. If you would rather read than listen, there is a transcript attached below. Show Notes PEN America’s *Educational Censorship* page is a terrific resource On Christopher Rufo, see Benjamin Wallace-Wells, “How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory,” New Yorker , June 18, 2021 and Michael Kruse, “DeSantis’ Culture Warrior: ‘We Are Now Over the Walls,’” Politico , March 24, 2023. For Rufo’s take on critical race theory, in his own words, see this YouTube video . Here is the full text of Executive Order 13950, which became the template for most of the anti-CRT (or “divisive concepts”) laws passed in red states. On the Stop WOKE Act, the marquee anti-CRT law signed into law by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022, check out these two Banished episodes: The Sunshine…

People in this episode

Hosts: Amna Khalid, Jeff Snyder

Guest: Jeremy Young

Topics covered

  • higher education
  • academic freedom
  • free expression
  • political influence
  • censorship
  • critical race theory

Keywords

  • Trump administration
  • academic freedom
  • censorship
  • critical race theory
  • PEN America
  • higher education

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PEN America, New Yorker, Politico, FIRE

Books & works: Educational Censorship, How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory, DeSantis’ Culture Warrior: ‘We Are Now Over the Walls,’, Executive Order 13950, Stop WOKE Act, For Federal Censorship of Higher Ed, Here’s What Could Happen in 2025

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