Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Ken Burns, who has helped to tell the story of the nation's history through celebrated documentaries, attributes much of his success to the education he received at Hampshire College. Faced with the recent news that his financially struggling alma mater will soon close its doors, Burns is reflecting on the larger forces that helped to seal the college’s fate. Hampshire bills itself as a learning laboratory in which students are encouraged to follow their passions, driving toward a goal of personal transformation rather than the pursuit of any single vocation. If that’s not a marketable idea, Burns says, something is truly amiss in higher education and the American psyche. The nation’s “reprehensible culture wars,” Burns says, are only making matters worse.
Related Reading
Hampshire Announced Its Closing. Will Other Small Colleges Follow? (chronicle.com/article/hampshire-announced-its-closing-will-other-small-colleges-follow) (The Chronicle)
Nearly One-Third of Faculty in Red States Say They’ve Censored Their Research (chronicle.com/article/nearly-one-third-of-faculty-in-red-states-say-theyve-censored-their-research) (The Chronicle)
A War on ‘Woke’ Classes (chronicle.com/podcast/college-matters-from-the-chronicle/a-war-on-woke-classes) (College Matters)
Guest
Ken Burns, filmmaker (kenburns.com/)
For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters (chronicle.com/collegematters) . We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
Ken Burns, who has helped to tell the story of the nation's history through celebrated documentaries, attributes much of his success to the education he received at Hampshire College. Faced with the recent news that his financially struggling alma mater will soon close its doors, Burns is reflecting on the larger forces that helped to seal the college’s fate. Hampshire bills itself as a learning laboratory in which students are encouraged to follow their passions, driving toward a goal of personal transformation rather than the pursuit of any single vocation. If that’s not a marketable idea, Burns says, something is truly amiss in higher education and the American psyche. The nation’s “reprehensible culture wars,” Burns says, are only making matters worse.
Related Reading
Hampshire Announced Its Closing. Will Other Small Colleges Follow? (chronicle.com/article/hampshire-announced-its-closing-will-other-small-colleges-follow) (The Chronicle)
Nearly One-Third of Faculty in Red States Say They’ve Censored Their Research (chronicle.com/article/nearly-one-third-of-faculty-in-red-states-say-theyve-censored-their-research) (The Chronicle)
A War on ‘Woke’ Classes (chronicle.com/podcast/college-matters-from-the-chronicle/a-war-on-woke-classes) (College Matters)
Guest
Ken Burns, filmmaker (kenburns.com/)
For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters (chronicle.com/collegematters) . We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
