<description>&lt;p&gt;We were thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.thefire.org/about-us/our-team/sarah-mclaughlin"&gt;Sarah McLaughlin&lt;/a&gt; about her new &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53835/authoritarians-academy?srsltid=AfmBOoq-d65n8hFpdVsp5-ky8POybFk5r8AXbfvQeho-V6ilW0VLb4Ea"&gt;book&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As a Senior Scholar at &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.thefire.org/"&gt;The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression&lt;/a&gt;, Sarah is one of the leading experts on how global censorship intersects with free expression issues in the United States. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode of Banished, Sarah discusses her book’s key findings and offers her reflections on the nerve-wracking, topsy-turvy free speech climate in the United States today. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Show Notes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* Follow Sarah on twitter &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/sarahemclaugh"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;, bluesky &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:d52g57qhdyydkmwtuueco57q"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53835/authoritarians-academy?srsltid=AfmBOoo1G6dy-CfbkFqP6uCQzBwCWhM9NEDmj4-8F7_-q_PgBNSQZOZ8"&gt;Here&lt;/a&gt; is the official Johns Hopkins Press link to Sarah’s book&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* On international student enrollment, see &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/global/international-students-us/2025/06/11/data-international-students-numbers"&gt;“International Students by the Numbers,”&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;Inside Higher Ed&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* On Confucius Institutes, see Ethan Epstein, &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/16/how-china-infiltrated-us-classrooms-216327/"&gt;“How China Infiltrated U.S. Classrooms,”&lt;/a&gt; Politico Magazine, January 17, 2018&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* On the Olympics poster controversy at George Washington University, see:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* Amna’s &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://banished.substack.com/p/the-cartoon-is-mightier-than-the"&gt;interview&lt;/a&gt; with Badiucao, the poster’s artist&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* Jeff’s &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.jeffreyaaronsnyder.com/_files/ugd/5c295d_5dd20a43b0dc459cafd21fbee22c0ef1.pdf"&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; on the dust-up in the &lt;em&gt;Chronicle of Higher Education&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* this extraordinary &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/_nfEFkrD1QLDfE0EaXMNWg"&gt;open letter&lt;/a&gt; from the George Washington University Chinese Students and Scholars Association. On the subject of “sensitivity exploitation,” GW’s CSSA drew quite shamelessly from social justice discourse: &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* On the challenges facing China scholars, see:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* Perry Link, &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.chinafile.com/library/nyrb-china-archive/china-anaconda-chandelier"&gt;“China: The Anaconda in the Chandelier&lt;/a&gt;,” &lt;em&gt;New York Review of Books&lt;/em&gt;, April 11, 2002&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Rory Truex, &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/china-quarterly/article/repressive-experiences-among-china-scholars-new-evidence-from-survey-data/C1CB08324457ED90199C274CDC153127"&gt;“Repressive Experiences among China Scholars: New Evidence from Survey Data,”&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;The China Quarterly&lt;/em&gt;, May 2019&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* On U.S. satellite campuses abroad, see Patrick Jack, &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/global/us-colleges-world/2025/05/16/us-universities-eye-branch-campuses-way-survive-trump#"&gt;“U.S. Universities Eye Branch Campuses as Way to ‘Survive Trump,’” &lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;Inside Higher Ed&lt;/em&gt;, May 16, 2025&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* Sarah describes Northwestern’s cancellation of an event featuring an openly gay musician on its Qatar campus in 2020 &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.thefire.org/news/northwestern-university-cancels-event-featuring-openly-gay-musician-qatar-campus"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* On calls to have students, faculty, and staff fired because of disparaging comments about Charlie Kirk after he was murdered, see:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* Ellie Davis, Gavin Escott, and Claire Murphy, &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/employees-and-students-at-these-colleges-have-been-punished-for-comments-on-charlie-kirks-death"&gt;“Employees and Students at These Colleges Have Been Punished for Comments on Charlie Kirk’s Death,”&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;Chronicle of Higher Education&lt;/em&gt;, September 17, 2025&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* Stephanie Saul, &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/us/firing-educators-kirk-free-speech.html?unlocked_article_code=1.n08.3gqt.YyIhvnu0zzm4&amp;#38;smid=url-share"&gt;“The Firing of Educators Over Kirk Comments Follows a Familiar Playbook,”&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;New York Times&lt;/em&gt;, September 22, 2025&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit &lt;a href="https://banished.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2"&gt;banished.substack.com/subscribe&lt;/a&gt;</description>

Banished

Amna Khalid & Jeff Snyder

Authoritarians in the Academy

SEP 23, 202528 MIN
Banished

Authoritarians in the Academy

SEP 23, 202528 MIN

Description

<p>We were thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thefire.org/about-us/our-team/sarah-mclaughlin">Sarah McLaughlin</a> about her new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53835/authoritarians-academy?srsltid=AfmBOoq-d65n8hFpdVsp5-ky8POybFk5r8AXbfvQeho-V6ilW0VLb4Ea">book</a>, <em>Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech</em>. </p><p>As a Senior Scholar at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thefire.org/">The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression</a>, Sarah is one of the leading experts on how global censorship intersects with free expression issues in the United States. </p><p>In this episode of Banished, Sarah discusses her book’s key findings and offers her reflections on the nerve-wracking, topsy-turvy free speech climate in the United States today. </p><p><strong>Show Notes</strong></p><p>* Follow Sarah on twitter <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/sarahemclaugh">here</a>, bluesky <a target="_blank" href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:d52g57qhdyydkmwtuueco57q">here</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53835/authoritarians-academy?srsltid=AfmBOoo1G6dy-CfbkFqP6uCQzBwCWhM9NEDmj4-8F7_-q_PgBNSQZOZ8">Here</a> is the official Johns Hopkins Press link to Sarah’s book</p><p>* On international student enrollment, see <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/global/international-students-us/2025/06/11/data-international-students-numbers">“International Students by the Numbers,”</a> <em>Inside Higher Ed</em> </p><p>* On Confucius Institutes, see Ethan Epstein, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/16/how-china-infiltrated-us-classrooms-216327/">“How China Infiltrated U.S. Classrooms,”</a> Politico Magazine, January 17, 2018</p><p>* On the Olympics poster controversy at George Washington University, see:</p><p>* Amna’s <a target="_blank" href="https://banished.substack.com/p/the-cartoon-is-mightier-than-the">interview</a> with Badiucao, the poster’s artist</p><p>* Jeff’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jeffreyaaronsnyder.com/_files/ugd/5c295d_5dd20a43b0dc459cafd21fbee22c0ef1.pdf">article</a> on the dust-up in the <em>Chronicle of Higher Education</em></p><p>* this extraordinary <a target="_blank" href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/_nfEFkrD1QLDfE0EaXMNWg">open letter</a> from the George Washington University Chinese Students and Scholars Association. On the subject of “sensitivity exploitation,” GW’s CSSA drew quite shamelessly from social justice discourse: </p><p>* On the challenges facing China scholars, see:</p><p>* Perry Link, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chinafile.com/library/nyrb-china-archive/china-anaconda-chandelier">“China: The Anaconda in the Chandelier</a>,” <em>New York Review of Books</em>, April 11, 2002</p><p>* Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Rory Truex, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/china-quarterly/article/repressive-experiences-among-china-scholars-new-evidence-from-survey-data/C1CB08324457ED90199C274CDC153127">“Repressive Experiences among China Scholars: New Evidence from Survey Data,”</a> <em>The China Quarterly</em>, May 2019</p><p>* On U.S. satellite campuses abroad, see Patrick Jack, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/global/us-colleges-world/2025/05/16/us-universities-eye-branch-campuses-way-survive-trump#">“U.S. Universities Eye Branch Campuses as Way to ‘Survive Trump,’” </a><em>Inside Higher Ed</em>, May 16, 2025</p><p>* Sarah describes Northwestern’s cancellation of an event featuring an openly gay musician on its Qatar campus in 2020 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thefire.org/news/northwestern-university-cancels-event-featuring-openly-gay-musician-qatar-campus">here</a></p><p>* On calls to have students, faculty, and staff fired because of disparaging comments about Charlie Kirk after he was murdered, see:</p><p>* Ellie Davis, Gavin Escott, and Claire Murphy, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/employees-and-students-at-these-colleges-have-been-punished-for-comments-on-charlie-kirks-death">“Employees and Students at These Colleges Have Been Punished for Comments on Charlie Kirk’s Death,”</a> <em>Chronicle of Higher Education</em>, September 17, 2025</p><p>* Stephanie Saul, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/us/firing-educators-kirk-free-speech.html?unlocked_article_code=1.n08.3gqt.YyIhvnu0zzm4&#38;smid=url-share">“The Firing of Educators Over Kirk Comments Follows a Familiar Playbook,”</a> <em>New York Times</em>, September 22, 2025</p><p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://banished.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">banished.substack.com/subscribe</a>