Episode description

Greg Lukianoff is the President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). He’s also a bestselling author of several books, including The Coddling of the American Mind and most recently The Canceling of the American Mind.

On this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Greg delve into the current state of cancel culture. Greg reveals surprising stats on which schools are the best and worst for free speech in 2024 and breaks down the escalating levels of shoutdowns and violence observed on campuses in 2020 and 2021.

Beyond campus dynamics, the discussion expands to the broader significance of the situation in academia and what the value of a degree should be in the workforce. Greg advocates for a shift in focus from degrees as a metric of value, and talks about what smart companies are looking towards for alternative hiring criteria. Auren and Greg also explore of the origins of cancel culture in 2014, tying in historical lessons on censorship and highlighting the interplay between free speech and the contemporary culture of safetyism.

World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Greg Lukianoff on X at @glukianoff.