Promoted Podcast Identity/Crisis

Harvard, Leadership, and Free Speech with Alan Garber

Why have universities become flashpoints for broader cultural and political battles and what can higher education do to repair a fractured public sphere?

Harvard President Alan Garber walks the Tercentenary Theater processional through Harvard Yard on May 28, 2025, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Libby O'Neill / Getty Images via AFP)

Why have universities become flashpoints for broader cultural and political battles and what can higher education do to repair a fractured public sphere?

In a conversation recorded live at the Vilna Shul in Boston, Yehuda Kurtzer and Harvard president Alan Garber reflect on leadership in a moment of crisis—exploring free speech and protest, institutional neutrality, and the rise of antisemitism on campus. As a university president and a Jew, Garber shares what worries him about the current moment, what gives him hope, and what it will take for universities—and the country—to move forward.

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