McCarthy-era threats to academic freedom were directed at those with leftwing ideology, while the threats posed today are directed at the university as an institution. This is why legal scholar David Rabban believes academic freedom today is under greater threat than the Red Scare era.
Rabban visited Iowa State to give a lecture on academic freedom and joined our program to talk about how this right has been established and how it is being challenged.
But first, Gazette reporters share how they answered reader questions as part of their Curious Iowa series — from how grocery stores handle food waste to why headlights are so bright these days to whether Iowa could gerrymander. Curious Iowa publishes in the e-edition of The Gazette and on thegazette.com on Mondays. Submit your questions at thegazette.com/curious.
Guests:
- Bailey Cichon, social video producer, The Gazette
- Emily Andersen, public safety reporter, The Gazette
- Tom Barton, deputy bureau chief, The Gazette
- David Rabban, Jamail Regents Chair in Law at the University of Texas School of Law, author of Academic Freedom: From Professional Norm to First Amendment Right
