University of Austin, a new university devoted to free speech

Pano Kanelos believes higher education is broken. But he isn't waiting for colleges and universities to fix themselves. He's starting his own.

On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Kanelos who is the inaugural president of the University of Austin, a new university devoted to free speech and open inquiry. Its initial programming, a Forbidden Courses summer program, aims to foster spirited discussion about the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship at many other universities.

Kanelos is a Shakespeare scholar and the former president of St. John's College in Annapolis, Md. He co-founded the University of Austin with Niall Ferguson, Bari Weiss, Heather Heying, and Joe Lonsdale.

Show notes:

• Transcript
• University of Austin website
• "We Can't Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We're Starting a New One." by Pano Kanelos
• New York Times: "They Say Colleges Are Censorious. So They Are Starting a New One."
• "I'm Helping to Start a New College Because Higher Ed Is Broken" by Niall Ferguson

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