Ep. 243: Heather Mac Donald on Trump and free speech

Heather Mac Donald discusses the Trump administration’s free
speech record amidst its battles with higher ed, mainstream
media, law firms, and more.


Mac Donald is Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Her most recent book is “When race trumps merit: How the pursuit
of equity sacrifices excellence, destroys beauty, and threatens
lives.”


Timestamps: 


00:00 Intro


01:54 Mac Donald’s personal experience with being shouted down


05:34 Amy Wax, Carole Hooven, and other cancelled professors


11:04 Mac Donald’s support and concern on Trump’s free speech
approach


23:41 Rümeysa Öztürk situation


32:08 The problems of campus bureaucracy


36:40 Trump’s executive orders on law firms


43:14 Trump’s attacks on AP News, CBS, ABC, Paramount, and other
media companies


59:54 Outro


Read the transcript.


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Show notes:




“The White House’s clumsy attack on Harvard” (2025) Heather
Mac Donald




“Everyone knows that Harvard has “lost its way…” (2025)
President Trump via Truth Social




“Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Mike Benz” (2025) U.S.
Department of State 




“Tufts student returns to Massachusetts after 6 weeks in
immigration detention” (2025) The New York Times


“Headlines compared: Kamala Harris’ multiple answers to ‘60
Minutes’ question” (2024) Straight Arrow News