Freakonomics Radio · 2026-06-26 · 64 min · 10,954 words

679. Why Does Vanderbilt Keep Winning?

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Hey there, it's Steven Dubner. Before today's episode, a quick announcement. We are about to launch a new project, a video show that we've been working on for a while. You could think of it as an indie TV talk show on YouTube. We are very excited about it. And we're looking for free economics radio listeners who want to pre-screen episodes and share their feedback. We will select a hundred people to take an early look. If you are interested in being an extension of our production crew, please go to the link. In the show notes and sign up. We will have a lot more to say very soon about this new show.

Now here is today's episode of Free Economics Radio. Right now is a hard time to lead just about any institution, and leading a university is particularly hard. You've got your campus protests, your financial pressures, including federal funding cuts, you've got legal pressure from the Trump administration, which contends that universities have become captured by left wing ideologies. And it's not like the American people are rushing to support you. According to Gallup surveys, public trust in higher education is near a historic low.

A lot of university leaders have crumbled under all this pressure, many But some campus leaders are Let's put it bluntly. They are winning.

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