Trump’s Escalating War With Higher Education
The Daily
03/24/25
•27m
About
Comments
Featured In
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has put the American university system on notice.
It has pressed for changes, opened investigations — and in some cases withheld critical funds.
Alan Blinder, who covers education in America, explains how schools are responding to the pressure and what it might mean for the future of higher education.
Guest: Alan Blinder, a national correspondent for The New York Times, writing about education in America.
Background reading:
- Columbia University promised changes to its protest policies, its security practices and its Middle Eastern studies department after the Trump administration moved to cut off $400 million in funding.
- President Trump’s battles with colleges could change American culture for a generation.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Photo: Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Previous Episode
Sometime in the 1850s or ’60s, at a terrible moment in U.S. history, a strange man seemed to sprout, out of nowhere, into the rocky landscape between New York City and Hartford, Conn. The word “strange” hardly captures his strangeness. He was rough and hairy, and he wandered around on back roads, sleeping in caves. Above all, he refused to explain himself. As one newspaper put it: “He is a mystery, and a very greasy and ill-odored one.” Other papers referred to him as “the animal” or (just throwing up their hands) “this uncouth and unkempt ‘What is it?’”
But the strangest thing about the stranger was his suit.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
Nixon Dreamed of Breaking the Media. Trump Is Doing It.
March 25, 2025
•45m
As President Trump set out to systematically eliminate or intimidate those who stood in his way — inspectors general, judges, law firms — the news media loomed as one of his most stubborn obstacles. Or so it seemed.
Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times, explains how Mr. Trump is circumventing and undermining the fourth estate in a way no president before him ever has.
Guest: Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine.
Background reading:
- President Trump’s blueprint for bending the media to his will has Nixon written all over it.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Photo: Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted