A Defense of a Liberal Arts Education in the Age of A.I.
From Interesting Times by New York Times Opinion
May 21, 2026 · 1h 3m
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges facing liberal arts education in the context of A.I. and features an interview with Jennifer Frey about the humanities crisis.
What’s really driving the humanities crisis in higher education? As enrollment and reading decline, I asked Jennifer Frey, a professor of philosophy, what it was like to run a liberal arts program that was gutted. I wanted to know whether she thinks the age of A.I. could bring back the kind of education she says is fundamental to human formation.
People in this episode
Host: Ross Douthat
Guest: Jennifer Frey
Topics covered
- liberal arts education
- humanities crisis
- higher education
- A.I.
- philosophy
- enrollment decline
Keywords
- liberal arts
- humanities
- higher education
- A.I.
- philosophy
- enrollment
- education crisis
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: New York Times Opinion
Books & works: A Defense of a Liberal Arts Education in the Age of A.I.
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