The Intel Alumni Network in association with Intel Corporation presents a lively conversation focused the major transformative innovations of our time and Intel's place within that larger arc of history.

Founding Trustee and professor Niall Ferguson gives a seminar on the ideological, geopolitical, and technological challenges free societies face today. Session recorded at UATX Live on the University of Austin campus in February 2024.

Finishing off our series on freedom of speech, renowned historian Niall Ferguson discusses ideological conflict both between America and China and within the United States, and particularly our universities. Along the way, he shares important lessons from academic culture during the World Wars, how history ought to be taught, how optimistic we should be about the future of tech, and, of course, his newest project, the University of Austin.

Niall gave a special Adam Smith Tercentenary Lecture on 'Adam Smith, Globalisation and New World Order' at Panmure House on Thursday 30 November 2023.

On February 6 and 7, 2024, the James Madison Program hosted Niall Ferguson for its annual Charles E. Test, M.D. '37 Distinguished Lecture Series. This year's two-lecture series was titled "Liberty in a Cold Climate."

Lecture 2: The Constitution of Academic Liberty - February 7, 2024

Recent years have witnessed a steep decline in academic freedom and scholarly standards at U.S. universities. In this lecture, a theory of academic governance is proposed and the example given of a university constitution designed to promote academic freedom and standards in new ways.

On February 6 and 7, 2024, the James Madison Program hosted Niall Ferguson for its annual Charles E. Test, M.D. '37 Distinguished Lecture Series. This year's two-lecture series was titled "Liberty in a Cold Climate."

Lecture 1: The Crisis of Liberal Democracy - February 6, 2024

There is widespread agreement that liberal democracy is in crisis at home and abroad. But what is the nature of that crisis and how will it be resolved? The lecture proposes that the era of numerous liberal democracies may be drawing to a close. Most liberal democracies are unprepared for the challenges of a new cold war against illiberal, undemocratic opponents.

Hear from Founding Trustee Niall Ferguson on why the time to found the University of Austin is now. “Individual freedom is the sine qua non for the pursuit of truth. This is why we won’t fail. This is why we must succeed. A hundred intrepid young people will be in the founding class. We are in the midst of hiring the world-class faculty to teach them, and to teach them to the highest possible pedagogical standard.”

Historian Niall Ferguson has long argued that the world is in a new Cold War. Now he says there are signs of "détente" between the US and China, drawing parallels to the 1970s thaw in the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union, and how this could play to the West’s advantage. Speaking to DW’s Richard Walker at the 2024 Munich Security Conference, he argues that the Biden administration has made a mess of Middle East policy, and urges Germany to take defense spending more seriously in the light of the threat from Russia well beyond its war against Ukraine.

The author and historian reflects on Henry Kissinger's life. This conversation aired at charlierose.com on December 12, 2023.

In this interview, Ferguson discusses his stunning essay “The Treason of the Intellectuals,” published in December 2023 in the Free Press. The essay delves deeply into the changes Ferguson has observed in his 30-year career as an academic, especially over the past 10 years. He describes in the opening of his essay: “I have . . . witnessed the willingness of trustees, donors, and alumni to tolerate the politicization of American universities by an illiberal coalition of ‘woke’ progressives, adherents of ‘critical race theory,’ and apologists for Islamist extremism.” Ferguson also discusses the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay and what it means for all institutions of higher learning, as well as putting forth some solutions for addressing these issues.