A discussion on the importance of freedom of speech on American college campuses and the role of Henry Kissinger in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, with comparisons being made to the current conflict between Israel and Hamas. The conversation was recorded before Henry Kissinger's death and the host mentions an upcoming interview on free speech.
How can we create a radically different atmosphere at American universities? Easy, says historian Niall Ferguson of Stanford University's Hoover Institution--have meaningful rules about free speech, and ensure that they're upheld. As with humans, as with institutions: It's all about incentives. Ferguson discusses the current state of free speech on American campuses and how the new University of Austin when it opens hopes to safeguard freedom of speech. The conversation shifts then to the war in the Middle East. Ferguson draws on his work on the biography of Henry Kissinger and compares the present moment for Israel to the Yom Kippur War and the role Kissinger played in 1973.