Does Targeting Columbia University Target Intellectual Freedom?

Podcast audio:

In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Sam Weaver and Ben Bayer discuss the Trump administration’s decision to cut federal funding to Columbia University in response to its handling of pro-Hamas protests. They argue that government involvement in universities makes such coercion possible and threatens intellectual freedom.

Among the topics covered:

• How to think about the pro-Hamas protests at Columbia;
• The nature of Trump’s actions against Columbia;
• How federal funding threatens intellectual freedom;
• How Trump’s actions violate intellectual freedom;
• Why Trump’s measures are uniquely destructive;
• How the concept of  “academic freedom” confuses the issue;
• How to remove force from educational institutions.

Mentioned in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s essays “The Establishing of an Establishment” and “Fairness Doctrine for Education,” the article “More University Donors Should Go Galt,” and the podcast episode “DeSantis’s Push to Ideologically Transform Florida Colleges.”

This podcast was recorded on April 8, 2025 and posted on April 16, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here.