Harvard vs. Trump, and Your (Shrinking) Chance of Being Audited

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Headlines – "Harvard vs. Trump, and Your (Shrinking) Chance of Being Audited"

Release Date: April 15, 2025
Host: The New York Times
Episode Title: Harvard vs. Trump, and Your (Shrinking) Chance of Being Audited

The New York Times' "The Headlines" podcast delivers an insightful overview of the day's top stories, blending in-depth analysis with expert commentary. This episode covers significant developments in higher education, international relations, tax enforcement, medical breakthroughs, and the collectibles market.

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1. Harvard Stands Firm Against Trump's Administration

Overview:
Harvard University has made headlines by refusing to comply with directives from the Trump administration aimed at reshaping American higher education. This marks the first instance of a major university publicly resisting the administration's pressure campaign.

Key Points:

• Administration's Demands: The Trump administration issued a list of demands to Harvard, including the shutdown of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, mandatory reporting of international students involved in conduct violations, and external oversight to ensure viewpoint diversity within academic departments.

• Harvard's Response: Harvard's president firmly rejected these demands, emphasizing that "no government, regardless of which party is in power, should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire" (01:34).

• Administration's Retaliation: Shortly after Harvard's refusal, the administration announced a freeze of over $2 billion in federal funding to the institution, adding to previous funding pauses for other elite universities.

• Conservative Pushback: Influential conservative figures, including activist Christopher Rufo, argue that universities have been overtaken by leftist ideologies. Rufo stated, "Nice words, pleasing sounds, promises to change... how can we take away their money, how can we take away their power, how can we take away their status so that they have to change?" (02:26).

Implications:
This standoff highlights the ongoing battle over academic freedom and the role of government in higher education. Harvard's resistance serves as a precedent for other institutions facing similar pressures.

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2. El Salvador's President Defends Deportation Decisions

Overview:
El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele, has publicly refused to assist in the deportation of an individual mistakenly sent to El Salvador by the U.S., raising questions about international cooperation and the treatment of migrants.

Key Points:

• The Deportation Incident: Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national with legal permission to stay in the U.S., was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and detained in a megaprison last month.

• President Bukele's Statement: Bukele dismissed the idea of returning Abrego Garcia, declaring, "How can I smuggle the terrorists into the United States? I don't have the power to return him to the United States" (03:01).

• U.S. Administration's Stance: Despite a Supreme Court ruling mandating the return of Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration has stalled, leading to tensions highlighted in a recent Oval Office meeting.

• Trump's Remarks: President Trump expressed intentions to increase deportations to El Salvador, including the possibility of sending American citizens convicted of violent crimes. He remarked, "I'd like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country" (04:12).

Implications:
This situation underscores the complexities of international relations concerning immigration and deportation policies, as well as the challenges in rectifying administrative errors.

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3. Tax Audit Rates Reach Historic Lows

Overview:
On Tax Day, it was revealed that the likelihood of individual and corporate tax audits in the U.S. has plummeted to unprecedented levels, raising concerns about government revenue and enforcement.

Key Points:

• Audit Statistics: A New York Times analysis found that personal income tax audit rates fell to approximately 0.3% in 2023, less than half of what they were a decade ago. Corporate audits have also seen a decline.

• Revenue Impact: Reduced audits have led to significant revenue shortfalls. For example, auditing 2010 tax returns yielded an additional $11 billion, whereas 2019 audits only brought in $4.5 billion (05:15).

• Administration's Role: The Biden administration attempted to counteract staffing shortages by ramping up IRS hiring. However, the Trump administration plans to implement deep cuts, proposing a 25% reduction in the IRS workforce, which is expected to further decrease audit rates (05:28).

• Employee Concerns: An IRS employee shared her frustration, recounting how she and colleagues were laid off while working on what she described as a "slam dunk case" (05:46).

Implications:
Declining audit rates not only reduce government revenue but also raise questions about the IRS's capacity to enforce tax laws effectively. Future policy changes could exacerbate these challenges.

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4. Breakthrough in Kidney Transplants: Frozen Organs

Overview:
Massachusetts surgeons have achieved a remarkable milestone by successfully transplanting a previously frozen kidney from a pig, potentially revolutionizing organ transplantation.

Key Points:

• The Procedure: Researchers utilized techniques inspired by Canadian wood frogs, which can survive freezing by halting cellular processes. They treated the pig kidney with glucose to protect it during the freezing process before transplantation (06:58).

• Potential Impact: Currently, kidneys must be transplanted within a 24 to 36-hour window, complicating matching donors and recipients. If organs can be frozen and stored effectively, it would significantly reduce wait times and improve transplant logistics (06:18).

• Future Directions: While the research is still in its early stages and has yet to be tested in humans, the success with the pig kidney offers hope for addressing the nearly 100,000 people on kidney transplant waitlists (07:13).

Implications:
This breakthrough could lead to more efficient organ transplants, reducing wait times and saving countless lives. Further research and trials will determine its applicability to human medicine.

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5. Lego Sets Surge in Value Amidst Theft Spree

Overview:
The collectible market for Lego sets has experienced skyrocketing prices, attracting both enthusiasts and criminals, leading to a rise in targeted thefts.

Key Points:

• Market Boom: Certain themed Lego kits, such as a 2013 Spider-Man set, have appreciated dramatically in value, now fetching upwards of $16,000. The surge is driven by online demand for limited editions and special kits (07:27).

• Theft Incidents: High-value sets have become prime targets for theft. A recent case involved a Pierce County retailer losing thousands of dollars worth of collectibles when a thief loaded a U-Haul with premium sets. Nationwide, over $400,000 worth of Legos have been stolen from major retailers like Walmart and Target (07:45).

• Expert Insights: A YouTube investment expert compared the situation to other high-demand merchandise, noting that Lego sets have transitioned into items susceptible to theft and resale, similar to jewelry or rare sneakers.

• Company Stance: Lego maintains that its official plural is "Lego," not "Legos," urging consumers to report stolen items accordingly (08:39).

Implications:
The increasing value of Lego sets has created a lucrative black market, prompting retailers to enhance security measures and for enthusiasts to navigate the risks of investing in high-priced collectibles.

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Conclusion:
Today's episode of "The Headlines" delves into pivotal issues ranging from academic freedom and international deportation disputes to government tax enforcement, medical innovations, and the evolving collectibles market. Each story underscores the dynamic interplay between policy, technology, and societal trends shaping our world.

For a deeper exploration of these topics, listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the New York Times Audio app or access the podcast through their preferred platform.

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Timestamps:

• 01:34: Harvard's president on governmental control
• 02:26: Christopher Rufo on stripping universities of resources
• 03:01: President Bukele on deportation policies
• 04:12: President Trump on expanding deportations
• 05:15: IRS audit revenue statistics
• 05:28: Proposed IRS workforce cuts
• 05:46: IRS employee's account of layoffs
• 06:58: Inspiration from wood frogs for kidney preservation
• 07:13: Impact on kidney transplant waitlists
• 07:27: Rise in Lego set values and associated thefts
• 07:45: Specific theft case involving a retailer
• 08:39: Lego's official plural usage

Transcript

[Josh Haner]

Hi, I'm Josh Haner and I'm a staff photographer at the New York Times covering climate change. For years, we've sort of imagined this picture of a polar bear floating on a piece of ice. Those have been the images associated with climate change. My challenge is to find stories that show you how climate change is affecting our world right now. If you want to support the kind of journalism that we're working on here on the climate and environment desk at the New York Times, please subscribe on our website or our app.

[Unknown Host]

From the New York Times, it's the headlines.

[Tracy Mumford]

I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, April 15th. Here's what we're covering. Harvard has now become the first school.

[Unknown Host]

To refuse to comply with the Trump administration's pressure campaign on American universities.

[Tracy Mumford]

Yesterday, Harvard's president rejected a list of.

[Unknown Host]

Demands that the administration had sent. It had called for significant changes to the day to day operations of the.

[Tracy Mumford]

Institution, like ordering Harvard to shut down.

[Unknown Host]

All programming related to diversity, equity and.

[Tracy Mumford]

Inclusion, forcing it to report international students.

[Unknown Host]

Who commit conduct violations to federal authorities.

[Tracy Mumford]

And requiring outside oversight of its academic departments to ensure they are viewpoint diverse, among other demands. In a statement, Harvard's president said no government, regardless of which party is in power, should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire.

[Unknown Host]

And which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.

[Tracy Mumford]

Within hours of Harvard's refusal, the Trump.

[Unknown Host]

Administration announced it would freeze more than $2 billion in federal funding for the school.

[Tracy Mumford]

That adds to the billions of dollars.

[Unknown Host]

The administration has already paused for other elite universities as as Trump and his.

[Tracy Mumford]

Closest advisers and allies have been pushing.

[Unknown Host]

To fundamentally reshape American higher education.

[Tracy Mumford]

They've claimed the schools have allowed anti.

[Unknown Host]

Semitism to go unchecked on their campuses.

[Tracy Mumford]

Many conservatives have also argued more broadly.

[Unknown Host]

That the institutions have been taken over.

[Tracy Mumford]

By leftists and need to be overhauled. One of the Trump allies prominently pushing that view is the conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who told the Daily in a recent interview that using federal funds as leverage over the institutions is central to their strategy.

[Christopher Rufo]

Nice words, pleasing sounds, promises to change. All of those, you know, very pleasant and non confrontational proposals regarding academia have not worked. And so look, the raw material of politics is money, power and status. And so I'm thinking about how can we take away their money, how can we take away their power, how can we take away their status so that they have to change?

[Tracy Mumford]

At the White House yesterday, how can.

[Najib Bukele]

I return him to the United States like I smuggle him into the United States or what Do I do? Of course I'm not going to do it. I mean, the question is preposterous.

[Unknown Host]

The president of El Salvador, Najib Bukele, said he will not return the man that the US Mistakenly deported to a.

[Tracy Mumford]

Megaprison there last last month, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia is from El Salvador, but.

[Unknown Host]

Had legal permission to stay in the US and was living in Maryland with his family before he was detained.

[Najib Bukele]

How can I smuggle the terrorists into the United States? I don't have the power to return him to the United States.

[Tracy Mumford]

Officials have claimed he's a violent gang member, but he's never been charged or convicted of that. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that.

[Unknown Host]

The administration must take steps to get him back.

[Tracy Mumford]

But the administration has been refusing to do so.

[Unknown Host]

And in his Oval Office meeting with.

[Tracy Mumford]

Bukele, President Trump suggested he wants to ramp up deportations to El Salvador, which the US Is paying to jail migrants.

[Donald Trump]

And I just asked the president, you know, it's this massive, complex, sunny built jail complex. I said, can you build some more of them, please? As many as we can get.

[Tracy Mumford]

Trump also said he'd even like to.

[Unknown Host]

Send American citizens there if they've been.

[Tracy Mumford]

Convicted of violent crimes.

[Donald Trump]

I'd like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country, but you'll have to be looking at the laws on that, Steve, okay.

[Unknown Host]

Today is tax day in the US and for most Americans, the chance of.

[Tracy Mumford]

Being audited, having their tax records checked.

[Unknown Host]

And investigated has dropped to historically low levels.

[Tracy Mumford]

A Times analysis of IRS data shows.

[Unknown Host]

That the audit rate for personal income.

[Tracy Mumford]

Tax returns dipped to just around a.

[Unknown Host]

Third of a percent in 2023.

[Tracy Mumford]

That's less than half of what it was a decade ago. Audit rates have been dropping across income brackets, and they've gone down for corporations, too. Fewer audits have led to less revenue for the government. By auditing tax returns for 2010, for example, the IRS got an additional $11 billion. Its audit of 2019 returns, though, only.

[Unknown Host]

Brought in 4.5 billion.

[Tracy Mumford]

Part of the reason for the drop is staffing, something the Biden administration tried to reverse by going all in on.

[Unknown Host]

Hiring at the irs.

[Tracy Mumford]

But the Trump administration's now planning deep cuts.

[Unknown Host]

The administration's proposed slashing at least 25%.

[Tracy Mumford]

Of the agency's workforce, which would almost certainly make audits even more rare. The president and other Republicans have likened audits to harassment. One IRS employee told the Times she was in the middle of working on an audit.

[Unknown Host]

What she called a slam dunk case.

[Tracy Mumford]

For the IRS when she and four other staffers working on it were laid off this year.

[Unknown Host]

Now, she says, it's unclear if it.

[Tracy Mumford]

Will ever be finished.

[Unknown Host]

Surgeons in Massachusetts recently pulled off what had seemed impossible. They successfully transplanted a kidney that had previously been frozen.

[Tracy Mumford]

The patient was a pig, not a.

[Unknown Host]

Human, but researchers hope it might lead.

[Tracy Mumford]

To a major breakthrough in organ transplants for people.

[Unknown Host]

Right now, kidneys must be transplanted within 24 to 36 hours, a tight window that makes lining up the right match very difficult. If the organs could be frozen and.

[Tracy Mumford]

Stored, transplant surgeons say that would be a game changer. For the recent breakthrough, researchers took inspiration from another Canadian wood frogs.

[Unknown Host]

In the winter, the frogs can basically freeze themselves.

[Tracy Mumford]

All of their cellular processes stop. So do their hearts.

[Unknown Host]

They're basically dead.

[Tracy Mumford]

Until spring, scientists realized the frog's secret.

[Unknown Host]

Was that they flooded their cells with.

[Tracy Mumford]

Glucose before the cold set in. Scientists used a version of that technique.

[Unknown Host]

With the pig kidney to protect it from damage in the freezing process.

[Tracy Mumford]

The research is still ongoing and far from being tested on a human, but.

[Unknown Host]

The hope is it will eventually help.

[Tracy Mumford]

Cut back on the wait lists for a kidney transplant. Those lists currently have almost 100,000 people on them.

[Unknown Host]

And finally, the price of Lego sets has been skyrocketing among fans and collectors. Some of the themed kits of plastic bricks are going for way over their original purchase price. One Spider man set from 2013 is now valued at over $16,000, which is.

[Tracy Mumford]

A lot for something that you could accidentally vacuum up. The eye popping prices have come with a dark side.

[Unknown Retailer]

Lego Theft A Pierce County Lego retailer is out of thousands of dollars after someone breaks into their store and loads a U haul with high end collectible sets.

[Unknown Host]

There have been Lego heists around the country targeting the sets.

[Unknown Source]

More than $400,000 worth of Legos were stolen from Walmarts and Target stores across the country.

[Unknown Host]

Stores say they've dealt with it for a few years, but it's been ramping.

[Tracy Mumford]

Up as people have been clamoring online.

[Unknown Host]

For limited editions and special kits. One expert who runs a YouTube channel.

[Tracy Mumford]

About investing in Lego told the Times.

[Unknown Host]

That the sets have basically become just.

[Tracy Mumford]

Like other coveted merchandise that can be stolen and resold, like jewelry or rare sneakers. One thing I learned this morning, the.

[Unknown Host]

Plural of Lego is Lego. Never Legos, according to the company. So if your 7,500 piece Millennium Falcon.

[Tracy Mumford]

Set goes missing, you'll need to say, I'd like to report my stolen lego. Those are the headlines today on the.

[Unknown Host]

Daily A Closer look at the case of the man who was wrongfully deported.

[Tracy Mumford]

To El Salvador and how it's become.

[Unknown Host]

A test of presidential power.

[Tracy Mumford]

That's next in the New York Times audio app. Or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.