Hello and welcome to the political orphanage, a home for plucky misfits and problem solvers.

I'm your host Andrew Heaton, a man who graduated from a college whose mascot is a stage

coach.

We've got a fun chat with a sharp guest today

about the underlying structural problems of higher ed,

specifically the tipy top elite institutions. If you want to make college more affordable for

the average American, if you want to fix the system and make it less inequitable, less elitist and more accessible,

this episode is for you.

But also, if you just kind of hate

snoddy elite institutions and you want to mug on them for a while about how

awful they are and figure out specific ways that they're awful, this episode is also for you. You can pick your emotional orientation.

But before we get into that, before we get into the mechanics and the structure of higher ed, I want to frame things with the thought

experiment.

It's summer and you're strolling around your neighborhood after dark. It's cooled down a little, it's nice out.

There are some fireflies. And then, out of nowhere, in the sky, You see a UFO. This big silver flying saucer lands in a field across the street from you, and the gangplank descends.

And a big skinny gray alien climbs down from this intergalactic vehicle and paces over to you.

And it says,

Take me to the very best, greatest center of learning on your planet.

What is the name of the best center of learning? I have much technology to share with the planet's top minds.

And you say, well, I guess that's probably Harvard.

Yeah, I can give you directions to Harvard.

Harvard, the alien says.

...