The Harvard Plan: Jay & Alan

This week on Ye Gods with Scott Carter ...

We've been living in an age of cruelty for a while.

We are now in an age of corruption.

New York Times columnist David French urges us to create unity through resistance.

In an age of cruelty, kindness is rebellious.

In an age of corruption, virtue is rebellious.

I'm Scott Carter, listen to David French on Ye Gods wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, I'm Kelly McEvers and this is Embedded from NPR.

So we're gonna share a new series about the fight between the Trump Administration and the country's oldest university.

It's called The Harvard Plan, it's hosted by reporter Ilya Marritz, and produced by our friends at WNYC's On The Media and The Boston Globe.

The last episode followed the Trump Administration's attacks on the university through the perspectives of three very different Harvard professors.

This episode focuses on the decision-makers at Harvard and in the Trump Administration.

Turns out the two men at the top actually have a personal connection which eventually unraveled.

If you haven't heard the first episode, go back and listen.

If you have heard it, here's episode two.

And here's Ilya.

I'm Ilya Marritz, this is The Harvard Plan, season two, episode two.

Think about a teacher who made a difference in your life.

Did you stay in touch? Visit them? Maybe send a Christmas card? This story is about a teacher and student who went so much further than that.

The student was so inspired by the teacher, he followed in his footsteps, got the exact same academic degrees, then entered the same field, then they worked together closely.

They wrote papers, did research, got grants.

For decades it continued this way and then something changed.

The country changed and the younger man and the older man found themselves no longer colleagues.

They became adversaries in a big, big fight, a fight that is still raging today.

At stake are billions of dollars, academic freedom, and the future of science.