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.)

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A Defense of a Liberal Arts Education in the Age of A.I.

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

A Defense of a Liberal Arts Education in the Age of A.I.