Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How did America’s universities lose the trust of the public, and what will it take to restore faith in higher education? In this episode, we are joined by Benjamin and Jenna Storey, renowned scholars, co-authors, and directors at the American Enterprise Institute’s Program on the Future of the American University. Together with host John Tomasi, they undertake a searching examination of the forces eroding confidence in universities and offer a roadmap for rebuilding their legitimacy and civic purpose.
The conversation draws on the Storeys’ personal journeys through academia, they explore how universities have shifted away from their civic mission, the implications of declining viewpoint diversity, and the urgent need to re-envision liberal education in a polarized era. Their discussion critically engages with recent initiatives, including the founding of university-level Schools of Civic Thought, and emphasizes both the perils and promise of institutional reform amidst increasing political and public scrutiny.
Read the report: “Civic: A Proposal for University Level Civic Education” (AEI, December 2023)
In This Episode:
💥 The crisis of public trust and universities’ civic responsibilities
💥 The decline of viewpoint and ideological diversity in academia
💥 Innovative models for enhancing open inquiry and faculty diversity
💥 The case for new academic structures—Schools of Civic Thought
💥 Navigating political pressures and governmental reform efforts
💥 The enduring value of liberal education and practical wisdom
About Benjamin & Jenna:
Benjamin Storey, Ph.D, is a senior fellow in Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is concurrently a research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. At AEI, he focuses on the culture of higher education, the nature of liberal and civic education, and efforts to enhance viewpoint diversity on college and university campuses. He co-organizes AEI’s conference series on the Future of the American University and its workshop on the Conservative Intellectual Tradition for University Faculty.
Jenna Silber Storey, Ph.D, is a senior fellow in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies department at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she concentrates on political philosophy, civil society, classical schools, and higher education. She is also the co-organizer of a conference series on the future of the American university. Dr. Storey is concurrently a research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, and a Tocqueville scholar at Furman University, where she was previously research professor, assistant professor in politics and international affairs, and the executive director of the Tocqueville Program.
Dr. Storey is the coauthor, with her husband, Benjamin Storey, of Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment (Princeton University Press, 2021). Together, the Storeys are working on a book titled The Art of Choosing: How Liberal Education Should Prepare You for Life.
Follow Heterodox Academy on:
X/Twitter: bit.ly/3Fax5Dy
Facebook: bit.ly/3PMYxfw
LinkedIn: bit.ly/48IYeuJ
Instagram: bit.ly/46HKfUg
Substack: bit.ly/48IhjNF
Listen to the podcast on:
Apple - apple.co/3PZzplD
Spotify: spoti.fi/3S51uee
Amazon: amzn.to/3ZXQnFL
i-Heart - bit.ly/3M69qYA
Tune-In - bit.ly/3S5oBVR
Pandora - bit.ly/46AaLze
Find out more about Heterodox Academy: https://linktr.ee/heterodoxoutloud
Chapters:
00:00 Sabbatical Shift to AEI Exploration
08:50 Universities: Trust and Educational Shortcomings
13:16 Virtues of Liberal Education
19:54 Promoting Viewpoint Diversity in Education
25:35 Revisiting Foundational Education Documents
30:49 Viewpoint Diversity in Academia
35:16 Liberal Professors Can Aid GOP
40:39 Universities' Role in Civic Education
44:21 Rethinking Self-Government Study
53:09 Public Writing as Academic Discipline
58:18 Center-Left Views on University Reform
01:00:42 Universities: Navigating Crisis and Opportunity
01:05:56 Political Engagement vs. Liberalism Debate
01:10:29 Support Heterodox Out Loud Podcast
How did America’s universities lose the trust of the public, and what will it take to restore faith in higher education? In this episode, we are joined by Benjamin and Jenna Storey, renowned scholars, co-authors, and directors at the American Enterprise Institute’s Program on the Future of the American University. Together with host John Tomasi, they undertake a searching examination of the forces eroding confidence in universities and offer a roadmap for rebuilding their legitimacy and civic purpose.
The conversation draws on the Storeys’ personal journeys through academia, they explore how universities have shifted away from their civic mission, the implications of declining viewpoint diversity, and the urgent need to re-envision liberal education in a polarized era. Their discussion critically engages with recent initiatives, including the founding of university-level Schools of Civic Thought, and emphasizes both the perils and promise of institutional reform amidst increasing political and public scrutiny.
Read the report: “Civic: A Proposal for University Level Civic Education” (AEI, December 2023)
In This Episode:
💥 The crisis of public trust and universities’ civic responsibilities
💥 The decline of viewpoint and ideological diversity in academia
💥 Innovative models for enhancing open inquiry and faculty diversity
💥 The case for new academic structures—Schools of Civic Thought
💥 Navigating political pressures and governmental reform efforts
💥 The enduring value of liberal education and practical wisdom
About Benjamin & Jenna:
Benjamin Storey, Ph.D, is a senior fellow in Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is concurrently a research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. At AEI, he focuses on the culture of higher education, the nature of liberal and civic education, and efforts to enhance viewpoint diversity on college and university campuses. He co-organizes AEI’s conference series on the Future of the American University and its workshop on the Conservative Intellectual Tradition for University Faculty.
Jenna Silber Storey, Ph.D, is a senior fellow in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies department at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she concentrates on political philosophy, civil society, classical schools, and higher education. She is also the co-organizer of a conference series on the future of the American university. Dr. Storey is concurrently a research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, and a Tocqueville scholar at Furman University, where she was previously research professor, assistant professor in politics and international affairs, and the executive director of the Tocqueville Program.
Dr. Storey is the coauthor, with her husband, Benjamin Storey, of Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment (Princeton University Press, 2021). Together, the Storeys are working on a book titled The Art of Choosing: How Liberal Education Should Prepare You for Life.
Follow Heterodox Academy on:
X/Twitter: bit.ly/3Fax5Dy
Facebook: bit.ly/3PMYxfw
LinkedIn: bit.ly/48IYeuJ
Instagram: bit.ly/46HKfUg
Substack: bit.ly/48IhjNF
Listen to the podcast on:
Apple - apple.co/3PZzplD
Spotify: spoti.fi/3S51uee
Amazon: amzn.to/3ZXQnFL
i-Heart - bit.ly/3M69qYA
Tune-In - bit.ly/3S5oBVR
Pandora - bit.ly/46AaLze
Find out more about Heterodox Academy: https://linktr.ee/heterodoxoutloud
Chapters:
00:00 Sabbatical Shift to AEI Exploration
08:50 Universities: Trust and Educational Shortcomings
13:16 Virtues of Liberal Education
19:54 Promoting Viewpoint Diversity in Education
25:35 Revisiting Foundational Education Documents
30:49 Viewpoint Diversity in Academia
35:16 Liberal Professors Can Aid GOP
40:39 Universities' Role in Civic Education
44:21 Rethinking Self-Government Study
53:09 Public Writing as Academic Discipline
58:18 Center-Left Views on University Reform
01:00:42 Universities: Navigating Crisis and Opportunity
01:05:56 Political Engagement vs. Liberalism Debate
01:10:29 Support Heterodox Out Loud Podcast
