The New Liberal Podcast Authoritarians in the Academy ft. Sarah McLaughlin
7 snips
Sep 29, 2025 Sarah McLaughlin, a senior scholar at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and author of Authoritarians in the Academy, discusses the alarming ways China exerts influence over American universities. She highlights how Chinese authorities use surveillance to monitor dissent among international students and pressure institutions to cancel controversial speakers. McLaughlin also addresses the financial motivations behind universities capitulating to this censorship, emphasizing the urgent need for academic freedom and protective measures for students.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Why Universities Matter To China
- China seeks to export its domestic speech controls to global institutions, especially universities.
- Controlling academic discourse shapes how future elites understand China's role and limits critique worldwide.
Student Threatened Over Protest
- A Georgetown Law student protested COVID-zero policies and his parents were visited and threatened by Chinese authorities.
- He now fears returning home because speaking in the U.S. put his family at risk.
Student Groups As Pressure Channels
- Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs) increasingly pressure campuses to censor critics of China.
- They use emotional appeals about offense to push universities into restricting speech.
