Dr James Kierstead is a Research Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative focusing on higher education policy, including academic freedom.

James holds a BA in Classics from Oxford, an MA in Ancient History from the University of London, an MA in Political Science from Stanford and a PhD in Classics from Stanford.

He is also the co-host, along with Michael Johnston, of Free Kiwis!, a podcast dedicated to discussing free speech in a New Zealand context.

In his recent report, Amazing Grades, Kierstead shows that Grade Inflation at New Zealand Universities is a problem. 

Between 2006 and 2024, the percentage of A grades (A+, A, A-) grew by 13 percentage points, from 22% of all grades to 35%. A grades spiked during COVID, with almost half (49%) of grades awarded at the University of Auckland in 2020 in the A range. 

Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, business people, politicians and anyone else actually willing to talk to him.

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