Sam Harris speaks with Michael Roth about the state of higher education in the U.S. They discuss whether concerns about wokeness were overblown, how colleges should handle campus protests, where universities should draw the line on extreme political views, DEI, why Jews should be wary of Trump’s proclaimed protections, perceptions of Israel, how the Trump administration is attempting to ideologically control institutions, diversifying viewpoints at universities, and other topics.

Michael S. Roth is the president of Wesleyan University, where he has overseen major campus improvements—including the soon-to-be completed life sciences building—and launched interdisciplinary programs spanning public life, creative writing and criticism, the environment, film, East Asian studies, integrative sciences, and design and engineering. Under his leadership, Wesleyan completed a record-breaking fundraising campaign of more than $482 million, primarily for financial aid. An intellectual historian, Roth is also the author of several books, including Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters (2014), which won the AAC&U’s Frederic W. Ness Award; Safe Enough Spaces: A Pragmatist’s Approach to Inclusion, Free Speech, and Political Correctness (2019); and most recently The Student: A Short History (2023).

Website: https://www.wesleyan.edu/president/

X: @mroth78