So to Speak podcast: University of Austin, a new university devoted to free speech

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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:

• Podcast 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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