Hiking, Swimming...and Podcasts!

Very much looking forward to welcoming new students in the coming days and then greeting those returning to campus from their summer jobs (and adventures). As is so often the case, the summer has flown by for Kari and me. I did get to spend great quality time with my grandchildren, especially when we were wet!

I spent more time than I expected reacting to political events. This included writing about the ouster of the president of UVA, the government’s overreach in its dealings with the Ivy League, and reflecting on how Jewish traditions would help us bring an end to the catastrophic war in Gaza. I also tried to reach different audiences through interviews and podcasts, and I thought I’d list the latter here:

I spoke with the BBC shortly after graduation and then appeared on "Face the Nation" to talk about the government’s attacks on higher education. I spoke with the Heterodox Academy’s John Tomasi about intellectual diversity, and with Peter Beinart about higher education, antisemitism and the war in Gaza. With the MeidasTouch Podcast I discussed the assault on civil society, and that was also the theme of my conversation with Anand Giridharadas. Sean Illing asked me on “The Gray Area” if colleges will survive Trump, and this was pretty much the subject of my talks with the PBS NewsHour, the Unpopulist, the Knight First Amendment Institute and Sam Harris.

I’ve also been thinking about my Virtue and Vice class, and how I might integrate AI into some of the ways we reflect on practicing virtue. I’ve been reading about how other humanities professors are thinking about AI, and I look forward to discussing this with students and colleagues.

What about the hiking and swimming? We’ve been lucky to be in the woods and at lakes a lot of the summer, and so when I’m not bloviating, I get to huff and puff on the trail or in the water. All of which should give me energy for the semester ahead. Let the games begin!