21.05.2026 • 1 Std. 3 Min.

What’s really driving the humanities crisis in higher education? As enrollment and reading decline, I asked Jennifer Frey, a professor of philosophy, what it was like to run a liberal arts program that was gutted. I wanted to know whether she thinks the age of A.I. could bring back the kind of education she says is fundamental to human formation. 00:00 - Intro 2:08 - Why study the humanities? 5:00 - Do the humanities mean more morality? 15:00 - Shakespeare vs. John Grisham 24:07 - The Tulsa Honors College 34:43 - Left-wing critiques and specialization 44:10 - Is conservatism a friend to liberal arts? 56:32 - Why the humanities are crucial in the age A.I. (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.