This week, AEI presents the latest episode of Are You Kidding Me?. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to the podcast directly on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

A professor at Georgetown Law School was recently fired for remarks she made during a private zoom call about the academic performance of black students at Georgetown — raising several questions about the nature of and potential solutions to racial disparities in higher education. What are the root causes of racial disparities in schools? How much freedom should professors and administrators be given to explore explanations of disparities that move beyond institutional racism? Should objective measurements of performance — such as standardized tests — be abolished?

In this episode, Naomi and Ian are joined by University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax to discuss these issues and more. Professor Wax offers her defense of academic standards, arguing that movements seeking to deny the root causes of disparities and attribute all differences to structural racism are threatening the integrity of higher education institutions.