Past Present Future

We return to the question of whether universities can survive with an exploration of the roots of the current crisis facing UK universities and their prospects for recovery. David talks to the writer and education policy expert Sam Freedman about how UK universities got into this mess and what might come next. Did universities expand too far and too fast? Why did their leaders not foresee the risks they were running? Can the university model accommodate the new demands being made of it? What is the USP of the university in the 21st century and how should it be maintained?

Sam Freedman writes about politics (and sometimes about education) on his (and his father Lawrence Freedman’s) Substack: Comment is Freed ⁠⁠https://samf.substack.com/⁠⁠

For 6-month and 12-month PPF+ gift subscriptions which you can have delivered on Christmas Day, just click here: ⁠https://ppf.supportingcast.fm/gifts⁠

You can find out everything else you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus our free online courses and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes – on our website ⁠https://www.ppfideas.com⁠

Next Time in Can Universities Survive? When to Get Out w/Kathleen Stock
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Today’s episode is a conversation with the American historian Gary Gerstle about this week’s US midterm elections to explore whether we have reached another turning point in American history. How do the results of these elections compare to previous midterm repudiations of sitting presidents? Was this a victory for an earlier version of populism, a new version of socialism or for something else? How is Trump likely to react to his humiliation? And can elections like this really alter the forces at work in our world?

Out now on PPF+: a bonus episode to accompany our series on the crisis facing universities in which David talks to historian Edward Acton about ‘Climategate’, the astonishing 2009 controversy that engulfed the university – UEA – he was leading at the time. How did this firestorm serve as a harbinger of things to come? To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening – and to help support everything we do – subscribe to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus

You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus our free online courses and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes – on our website https://www.ppfideas.com

Next Time in Can Universities Survive? The Present Crisis w/Sam Freedman
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Today’s episode in our series about the challenges facing universities looks at what might be the most direct threat of all: can they still fulfil their function if AI can write better essays than the students? David talks to political philosopher and university teacher Paul Sagar about his experiences of what has changed over the last year as the LLMs have come on in leaps and bounds. How is AI corroding trust between teachers and students? Are universities remotely equipped to know how to handle this challenge? Can they, in fact, survive it?

Out tomorrow on PPF+: a bonus episode to accompany this series in which David talks to historian Edward Acton about ‘Climategate’, the astonishing 2009 controversy that engulfed the university – UEA – that he was leading at the time. How did this firestorm serve as a harbinger of things to come? To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening – and to help support everything we do – subscribe to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus

You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus our free online courses and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes – on our website https://www.ppfideas.com

Next Time: American Elections – The 2026 Midterms w/Gary Gerstle
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For our series about the current crisis facing universities David talks to writer, philosopher and LSE professor Lea Ypi about the role played by politics in universities around the world. Is the difference between universities in different places greater than the institutional links that connect them? Can university life aspire to any kind of political neutrality and should it? What are the biggest threats to the pursuit of new understanding in a university setting? Who or what is best placed to counter these?

You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus our free online courses and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes – on our website https://www.ppfideas.com

Next Time in Can Universities Survive? AI vs Higher Education
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Today’s episode is part two of David’s conversation with political theorist Alan Finlayson about the up-and-down history of British universities since 1945, taking the story from the Blair years to the present. What changed when the ambition became to send half of all young people to university? Which old barriers came down and which new barriers came up? Where did universities fit into the new knowledge economy? And how did so many of them stumble into the crisis they face today?

You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus our free online courses and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes – on our website https://www.ppfideas.com

Next Time in Can Universities Survive? Politics and the International University w/Lea Ypi
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