Podcast: Freakonomics Radio (LS 83 · TOP 0.01% what is this?)
Episode: 679. Why Does Vanderbilt Keep Winning?
Pub date: 2026-06-26

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It’s a hard time to run a university: public trust is low, political pressure is high, and finances are fragile. But Daniel Diermeier, who trained as a political scientist, has Vanderbilt humming. How? He says the key is choosing magnets over wedges.

SOURCES:
- Daniel Diermeier, chancellor of Vanderbilt University.

RESOURCES:
- "Higher Ed’s New Crisis Managers," by Lee Gardner (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2026).
- "Professors Need to Diversify What They Teach," by Jon Shields, Yuval Avnur, and Stephanie Muravchik (Persuasion, 2025).
- "A Call for Constructive Engagement," (American Association of Colleges and Universities, 2025).
- "2020 Statement on Anthropology and Human Rights," (American Anthropological Association, 2020).
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander (2010).
- "Kalven Committee: Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action," (The University of Chicago, 1967).

EXTRAS:
- Sign up here to pre-screen our new video show.
- "'A Low Moment in Higher Education,'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- "'If We’re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- "Do Boycotts Work?" by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

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