The Free Speech Dilemma on Campus

Heather Mac Donald discusses the Trump administration’s free speech record amidst its battles with higher ed, mainstream media, law firms, and more.

Mac Donald is Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Her most recent book is “When race trumps merit: How the pursuit of equity sacrifices excellence, destroys beauty, and threatens lives.”

Timestamps: 

00:00 Intro

01:54 Mac Donald’s personal experience with being shouted down

05:34 Amy Wax, Carole Hooven, and other cancelled professors

11:04 Mac Donald’s support and concern on Trump’s free speech approach

23:41 Rümeysa Öztürk situation

32:08 The problems of campus bureaucracy

36:40 Trump’s executive orders on law firms

43:14 Trump’s attacks on AP News, CBS, ABC, Paramount, and other media companies

59:54 Outro

Read the transcript.

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Show notes:

• “The White House’s clumsy attack on Harvard” (2025) Heather Mac Donald

• “Everyone knows that Harvard has “lost its way…” (2025) President Trump via Truth Social

• “Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Mike Benz” (2025) U.S. Department of State 

• “Tufts student returns to Massachusetts after 6 weeks in immigration detention” (2025) The New York Times

• “Headlines compared: Kamala Harris’ multiple answers to ‘60 Minutes’ question” (2024) Straight Arrow News