Creative Conversations, Barry Prize Winners 2024
Below is our series of conversations with 2024 Barry Prize winners on the joys and challenges of contemporary academic life.
Barry Prize Winner Akhil Reed Amar
Prof. Amar was interviewed by William Allen of Michigan State University. They discuss how the discipline of law, and the mission of the university itself, facilitates the thriving of a just and humane social order.
Read the transcript of this conversation here.
Barry Prize Winner Gary Anderson
Dr. Anderson was interviewed by Greg Forster of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters. They discuss the difficulties modern universities encounter in understanding religion and its place in general human experience, as well as some unexpected challenges that AI presents for language-dependent disciplines in particular.
Read the transcript of this conversation here.
Barry Prize Winner Marianne Bertrand
Dr. Bertrand was interviewed by Brandice Canes-Wrone of Stanford University. They discuss the debate over the Chicago Principles for academic freedom, and how the study of economics helps cultivate human well-being more broadly than most people appreciate.
Read the transcript of this conversation here.
Barry Prize Winner Nicholas Christakis
Dr. Christakis was interviewed by Margaret Chisolm of Johns Hopkins University. They discuss the vast scope of positive social behaviors we rely upon but mostly take for granted, and the importance of defending the university’s knowledge-seeking mission from the attacks of both the Right and Left.
Read the transcript of this conversation here.
Barry Prize Winner Brian Conrad
Dr. Conrad was interviewed by Sergiu Klainerman of Princeton University. They discuss his work as a mathematics scholar, why he got involved in fighting efforts to radically lower math standards in high-school curricula and admissions requirements, and why everyone should know something about math even in a world where computers are widely available.
Read the transcript of this conversation here.
Barry Prize Winner Jeannie Suk Gersen
Dr. Gersen was interviewed by Mary Ann Glendon of Harvard University. They discuss how handling difficult and controversial subjects with courage is necessary to advance knowledge in the disciplines and to prepare students well not only for their work, but for a good life and good citizenship.
Read the transcript of this conversation here.
Barry Prize Winner Karin Öberg
Dr. Öberg was interviewed by Santiago Schnell of Dartmouth. They discuss the university as a “civic friendship,” and how science pursues a deep human need not only to know but to experience awe and wonder at the beauty of our world.
Read the transcript of this conversation here.
Barry Prize Winner Megan Sykes
Dr. Sykes was interviewed by Barry Honig of Columbia University. They discuss cutting-edge medical developments that promise major new improvements in public health, and how the politicization of science and the university threaten to slow down medical progress.
Read the transcript of this conversation here.