Free Speech and Protest: A Presidential Perspective

Warning: this episode contains strong language.

Over the past week, students at dozens of universities held demonstrations, set up encampments and, at times, seized academic buildings. In response, administrators at many of those colleges decided to crack down and called in the local police to detain and arrest demonstrators.

As of Thursday, the police had arrested 2,000 people across more than 40 campuses, a situation so startling that President Biden could no longer ignore it.

Jonathan Wolfe, who has been covering the student protests for The Times, and Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent, discuss the history-making week.

Guest: 

• Jonathan Wolfe, a senior staff editor on the newsletters team at The New York Times.
• Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times covering President Biden and his administration.

Background reading: 

• As crews cleared the remnants of an encampment at U.C.L.A., students and faculty members wondered how the university could have handled protests over the war in Gaza so badly.
• Biden denounced violence on campus, breaking his silence after a rash of arrests.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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