Are Colleges Obsolete?
The rules of learning are changing, along with just about everything else.
As we approach the end of 2025, the future feels increasingly elusive. Institutions are straining to keep up with rapid change, and the old anchors of certainty—education among them—no longer hold quite as firmly. This week, we explored ideas that try to sharpen our view of what comes next.
The future belongs to the curious. Give the gift of big ideas.
This Week on the Next Big Idea Podcast
What will college look like in the future?
A few weeks ago, Rufus moderated a panel discussion at Vanderbilt’s New York City campus on artificial intelligence and the future of American higher education. Today, we’re bringing you that conversation. It features Nabiha Syed, executive director of Mozilla Foundation; Nicholas Dirks, president and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences; Julie Samuels, president and CEO of Tech:NYC; and Matthew Johnson-Roberson, inaugural dean of the College of Connected Computing at Vanderbilt.
Listen now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
This Week on the Next Big Idea Daily Podcast
Where does intelligence come from?
Your mind is an incredible thing. Every thought, memory, and decision emerges from billions of simple brain cells working together—neurons that, on their own, aren’t particularly smart. So how does intelligence arise from these basic building blocks? And what does that tell us about the artificial minds we’re creating?
Gaurav Suri and Jay McClelland—psychologists who’ve spent their careers studying neural networks at San Francisco State and Stanford—have a new book out called The Emergent Mind: How Intelligence Arises in People and Machines. Here five of their key insights on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
This week, Book of the Day is brought to you by Peacebuilding Starts at Home by Charles Hauss. Whether you are a community leader, educator, activist, or simply someone longing for a less divided world, Peacebuilding Starts at Home provides both the inspiration and the tools to begin. Pick up your copy today.
Book Bite of the Week
The New Great Power Rivalry—China, Russia, America—Explained
Michael McFaul is a professor and international affairs analyst, and a former U.S. ambassador to Russia. His new book explains how we got to this confrontational, challenging point in our relations with China and Russia. By understanding the great power competition of today, leaders and citizens can better strategize what to do about it. Pick up a copy on Amazon or check out the author’s summary here on the Next Big Idea app.