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Dr. James Kierstead

James is a Research Fellow with the New Zealand Initiative and his main focus is on higher education policy, including academic freedom. James holds a BA in Classics from Oxford, an MA in Ancient History from the University of London, an MA in Political Science from Stanford, and a PhD in Classics from Stanford. He is also the co-host (with Michael Johnston) of Free Kiwis!, a podcast dedicated to free speech in a New Zealand context.

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79
65
Minutes
June 9, 2024

Ancient Economies, Declining Universities, and Free Speech with Dr. James Kierstead

Dr. James Kierstead is a Research Fellow with the New Zealand Initiative focussing on higher education policy, including academic freedom. James co-hosts Free Kiwis!, a podcast dedicated to free speech in New Zealand, and also has a background in classical studies, in particular democracy in Ancient Greece. We talk about the declining state of New Zealand universities and the impact this has on graduates bringing their ideologies into the public sector. We also dive into the importance of language learning and, the economies of ancient Greece city states, and what we can learn from the past.