Holiday Best-Of: Colleges; Public Health; Pre-Cellphone Nostalgia; Being Stuck

Dec 31, 2025

Guest

Ilya Meritz

Guest

Christopher L. Eisgruber

Join Christopher Eisgruber, President of Princeton, as he discusses the balance between free speech and inclusivity on campuses. Seth Berkley, an infectious disease expert, shares insights on vaccine equity from the pandemic and the consequences of global vaccine hoarding. Rachel Louise Ensign reveals the alarming decline in U.S. mobility and the economic factors keeping people from moving. Ilya Meritz explores the Trump administration's impact on academia, raising concerns over political pressures on universities.

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INSIGHT

Campuses Balance Speech And Inclusion

Christopher L. Eisgruber argues campuses can support both free speech and inclusivity simultaneously.
He says overall campus discourse is healthier than media headlines imply despite some high-profile shutdowns.

ANECDOTE

Princeton Encampment Takedown Example

A Princeton grad student called out rapid encampment shutdowns during Palestine protests as suppressing activism.
Eisgruber responded that time, place, and manner rules (e.g., no tents) allowed speech but forbade occupations.

INSIGHT

Civility Versus Protest Limits

Eisgruber separates time/place/manner rules from civility and defends allowing offensive protest speech.
He argues respectful discourse norms help scholarship and deliberation on campuses.

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During this holiday season, hear some recent favorites:

Christopher Eisgruber, president of Princeton University and the author of Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right (Hachette, 2025), talks about issues of free speech and campus politics at Princeton, and the university's relationship with the Trump administration.
Seth Berkley, MD, an infectious disease epidemiologist currently advising vaccine, biotechnology, and technology companies; an adjunct professor and senior adviser to the Pandemic Center at Brown University; former CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; cofounded COVAX; founded and served as CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; and the author of Fair Doses: An Insider’s Story of the Pandemic and the Global Fight for Vaccine Equity (University of California Press, 2025), talks about the need for vaccine equity and lessons learned (and ignored) from the COVID pandemic.
Clay Routledge, social psychologist, director of the Human Flourishing Lab at Archbridge Institute and author of Past Forward: How Nostalgia Can Help You Live a More Meaningful Life (Sounds True, 2023) explains why nostalgia for the late '90s and early 2000s is roaringly popular among Gen Z right now and listeners share stories of life before the internet and what it is about that era that younger listeners wish for today.
Rachel Louise Ensign, economics reporter with The Wall Street Journal, explains the economic forces keeping Americans stuck in their homes and jobs, and how it impacts daily life.
Ilya Marritz, journalist working with The Boston Globe, talks about his new series, in conjunction with The Boston Globe and On the Media, that looks at how the Trump administration has interfered with Harvard, and how it will affect academia and scientific research going forward.

These interviews were lightly edited for time and clarity; the original web versions are available here:

Princeton President Talks Campus Speech and Politics (Oct 1, 2025)

Pandemic Preparedness Alert (Oct 28, 2025)

Gen Z Wishes It Were 1997 (Aug 26, 2025)

Americans are Economically Stuck (Oct 16, 2025)

The Future of Academia (Nov 17, 2025)