Psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker is one of the leading defenders of academic freedom and liberal values of limited government, secularism, tolerance, and free enterprise.A year ago, he helped found the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard, "a faculty organization to advocate for the free and civil exchange of ideas inside and outside the classroom." In the wake of the reaction by the campus left to the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, he published "A Five-Point Plan To Save Harvard from Itself" in The Boston Globe. His ultra-influential home institution, he wrote, "is now the place where using the wrong pronoun is a hanging offense but calling for another Holocaust depends on context." Reason's Nick Gillespie and Pinker discuss if higher education is doomed, why so many people on the right and left are skeptical about moral and material progress, and how his "stereoscopic" photography fits into his larger worldview.Previous appearances:Steven Pinker: Rationality Has Made Us Richer, Kinder, and More FreeSteven Pinker Wants Enlightenment Now!Steven Pinker on the Decline in Violence and the "Better Angels of Our Nature"Biology vs. the Blank Slate: Q&A with Steven PinkerToday's sponsors:Better Help. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of you—because when you feel empowered, you're more prepared to take on everything life throws at you. Better Help is a great option. It's convenient, flexible, affordable, and entirely online. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist, and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Visit BetterHelp.com/TRI today to get 10 percent off your first month.The Reason Speakeasy is a live, unscripted, monthly event held in New York City that doubles as a taping of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie podcast. Tickets are $10 and include beer, wine, soda, and food. For details and to buy tickets, go here.Subscribe at YouTube: http://youtube.com/reasontvLike us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.MagazineFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reasonVisit the archive: https://reason.com/tags/reason-podcast