The Rise, Rationale, and Reversal of Affirmative Action

Stay Tuned with Preet

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, Politics, Government, News

4.8 • 32.3K Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2025

⏱️ 74 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ended decades of race-conscious admissions in higher education. Supporters argue the ruling restores colorblind fairness, while critics warn it risks undoing decades of progress toward equal opportunity. On this week’s Stay Tuned with Preet, Yale Law Professor Justin Driver, author of The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Higher Education, joins Preet to trace the history of affirmative action — from Lyndon Johnson’s call for “true equality” in 1965 to the Court’s recent decision — and to explore what colleges can still do to build diverse classrooms within the confines of the law. Then, Preet answers your questions about the recent court ruling on deploying the National Guard to Portland, Oregon. In the bonus for Insiders, Justin Driver reflects on how his father’s sacrifices shaped his understanding of opportunity and education. Join the CAFE Insider community to stay informed without hysteria, fear-mongering, or rage-baiting. Head to cafe.com/insider to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work. Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website. You can now watch this episode! Head to CAFE’s Youtube channel and subscribe. Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at [email protected], or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	From Cafe and the Vox Media Podcast Network, welcome to stay tuned.
0:06.0	I'm Preet Bharara.
0:08.3	And so the Supreme Court says, yeah, eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,
0:13.0	except if you happen to appear Mexican and be hanging out near a Home Depot,
0:19.1	then it's okay for you to be, in effect, thrown up against
0:22.1	the wall and arrested.
0:28.3	That's Justin Driver.
0:30.2	He's a professor at Yale Law School and one of the nation's leading scholars on constitutional
0:34.4	law, education, and the Supreme Court.
0:37.9	Driver has written extensively about the court's role in shaping our education system.
0:42.3	His latest book, The Fall of Affirmative Action, explores how decades of legal battles have
0:47.7	redefined opportunity in higher education.
0:50.8	He joins me to discuss the Supreme Court's decision striking down affirmative action,
0:54.8	the future of diversity in higher education, and what this ruling reveals about race and equality in America today.
1:01.4	After the interview, I'll answer your questions about a recent court ruling on deploying the National Guard to Portland.
1:07.6	That's coming up. Stay tuned. Introducing the new Dell AIPC, powered by the Intel Corps Ultra processor.
1:23.9	It helps do your busy work for you So you can fast forward through
1:27.6	Enhancing security
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1:31.8	Synthesising data
1:33.1	Improving user experience
	...

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