TGS Live: Michael Poliakoff on Rescuing Civics
From The Glenn Show by Glenn Loury
June 12, 2026 · 1h 0m
About this episode
Glenn Loury discusses the crisis in American higher education and the need for stronger civics education with Michael Poliakoff.
Support The Glenn Show at https://glennloury.substack.com Glenn sits down with Michael Poliakoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, to discuss the crisis facing American higher education. Despite the university system's extraordinary contributions to innovation and democracy, Poliakoff argues it is failing at a core mission: civic education. Students graduate without foundational knowledge of American history and principles, while faculty too often emphasize the nation's failures over its ideals. ACTA's new Broadside for the Nation calls for stronger trustee oversight and mandatory civics requirements. Glenn finds the recommendations promising, provided academic freedom is preserved — and offers a defense of genuine patriotism as something that includes, rather than forecloses, honest criticism of the country. The Glenn Show is almost entirely audience-supported , so to those of us who are already full subscribers, let me extend a heartfelt thank you. And if you’re not yet a full subscriber, please consider becoming one . The Glenn Show can only do what it does through the generosity of viewers and listeners. For a mere $6/month or $50/year , you’ll get…
People in this episode
Host: Glenn Loury
Guest: Michael Poliakoff
Topics covered
- civics education
- higher education
- American history
- academic freedom
- patriotism
Keywords
- civics
- higher education
- American history
- academic freedom
- patriotism
- trustee oversight
- civic education
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: American Council of Trustees and Alumni, The Glenn Show
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