Harry Binswanger Comments on the Columbia Protests – 1968 and Today

Podcast audio:

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer interviews Harry Binswanger, a philosopher and longtime friend of Ayn Rand’s, about his observations as a graduate student at Columbia during the 1968 protests and how those protests compare to those taking place now at Columbia and other campuses.

Among the topics covered:

• How the 1968 protesters hoped to bring about a communist revolution;
• Why the university tolerated the protesters and ceded to their demands;
• Binswanger’s role in opposing the activists;
• Ayn Rand’s analysis of the student protest phenomenon;
• The long-term legacy of the student protests;
• Why today’s protests are worse than the 1968 protests.

Recommended in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s 1968 radio commentary “The Student Rebellion at Columbia” and Ben Bayer and Onkar Ghate’s article “Ending Campus Protests Protects Free Speech.”

The podcast premiered on May 15, 2024. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here.