Harvard Newstalk

Earlier this month, Interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 announced that Harvard Law School Dean John F. Manning ’82 will serve as the University’s second highest administrator: the University provost. Unlike most top administrators, however, Manning has declined to schedule regular interviews with The Crimson and has proven to be one of Harvard's most media-shy deans. So who is John Manning? 

This week on Newstalk, reporters S. Mac Healey '27 and Saketh Sundar '27 join host Yael S. Goldstein '26 to discuss.

Many Harvard students describe a social scene where besides a handful of bright spots — such as Housing Day and the Harvard-Yale game — traditional college revelry characterized by roaring parties, vibrant and frequent tailgates, and school spirit in abundance has been missing at Harvard.

While administrators cite a hands-off approach to social life — and a lack of available funding for College-organized parties and concerts — some students said officially sanctioned social events did not meet the mark.

This week on Newstalk, reporters Natalie K Bandura '26 and Azusa M. Lippit '26 join host Yael S. Goldstein to discuss. 

Harvard will release regular decisions for the Class of 2028 later this month. But as tens of thousands of students around the world brace themselves to hear Harvard’s answer on whether they got in, one question remains: will Harvard continue to keep standardized test scores optional in its application? 

After Yale University and Dartmouth College announced they would return to standardized testing requirements, admissions experts are divided on whether Harvard will follow suit. This week on Newstalk, reporters Elyse C. Goncalves '27 and Matan H. Josephy '27 join host Frank S. Zhou '26 to discuss what's next. 

News clips in the episode’s opening montage come from CBS, NBC, ABC, and CBS Boston.

House Republicans subpoenaed three top Harvard officials last Friday, demanding internal documents and communications for an investigation into the University’s handling of antisemitism on campus.

This week on Newstalk, reporters Emma H. Haidar '26 and Cam E. Kettles '26 join host Frank S. Zhou '26 to discuss the threats the subpoena poses to Harvard; Editorial Board members Saul I.M. Arnow '26 and Lorenzo Z. Ruiz '27 join host Yael S. Goldstein '26 to discuss reactions to the subpoena and its implications for higher education.

The tenure of interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber '76 will likely be one of the most consequential for the University in recent history as he looks to heal a deeply divided campus. The longtime administrator has insisted that he is up for the challenge.

This week on Newstalk, reporters Cam E. Kettles '26 and Emma H. Haidar '26 join host Frank S. Zhou '26 to discuss Garber's rocky path ahead and potential contenders for the Harvard presidency.

The MBTA Red Line is closed maintenance from Feb. 5 to Feb. 14 as part of a project to reduce slowdowns and increase safety by upgrading track infrastructure. This week on Newstalk, reporters Aisling A. McLaughlin and Madeline E. Proctor join Nyla Nasir '27 to discuss their effect on Boston-area commuters. 

Music in this episode comes from freesound.org.

When longtime Harvard Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 suddenly became interim president earlier this month, the powerful but largely invisible administrator was unfamiliar to most Harvard affiliates.

But not Harvard’s unions. They know Garber well — and they can’t stand him.

This week on Newstalk (Season 2), reporters Aran Sonnad-Joshi '27 and Sheerea X. Yu '27 join host Yael S. Goldstein '26 to discuss Garber’s uneasy relationship with Harvard unions.

Sidechat, a popular social media platform on Harvard's campus, has come under scrutiny for an allegedly increasing amount of antisemitic posts and criticisms of insufficient content moderation. Host Yael S. Goldstein '26 discusses the issue with Joyce E. Kim '26 and Michelle N. Amponsah '26. Music in this episode comes freesound.org. 

Harvard’s crisis didn’t end with Gay’s resignation.

As the University faces a federal lawsuit and congressional investigation into antisemitism, Newstalk takes you inside Harvard’s most tumultuous crisis in recent memory.

We take you inside the fallout — from the Capitol building to Harvard’s students and faculty — to break down Gay’s plagiarism allegations, her handling of campus antisemitism, and where the crisis moves next. Crimson reporters and host Frank S. Zhou ’26 bring you the latest from the students who lived — and broke — the news. 

Harvard President Claudine Gay will resign Tuesday afternoon, bringing an end to the shortest presidency in the University's history. 

Gay’s resignation — just six months and two days into the presidency — comes amid growing allegations of plagiarism and lasting doubts over her ability to respond to antisemitism on campus after her disastrous congressional testimony Dec. 5.

The Crimson is committed to providing extensive coverage of all this and more. Stay on top of the news by following The Crimson’s website (thecrimson.com) and our multimedia platforms.

Newstalk is hosted by Frank S. Zhou '26. This episode of Newstalk was produced by Frank S. Zhou '26. Music in this episode by Bea Wall-Feng '25.

Harvard President Claudine Gay testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce hoping to tell the nation how she was fighting antisemitism at Harvard. By the end of the nearly six hour hearing, she was fighting to keep her job. 

Now, in news scooped by The Crimson, Harvard’s governing boards will allow Gay to stay on as university president. Our reporters were at the capitol, reporting on the testimony that fueled the calls for Gay’s resignation. 

As the fallout unfolds, the reporters who got the scoop — Claire Yuan '25 and Miles J. Herszenhorn '25 — join host Frank S. Zhou '26 to dive deep into what it’s like to be in the room, how trust eroded within the university, and where Harvard is going next. 

Also in this episode, reporters J. Sellers Hill '25 and Cam Kettles '26 discuss the new face of pro-Palestine protests at Harvard as the Palestine Solidarity Committee takes a back seat on protest organizing. 

In the days since Hamas’ October 7 attack against Israel, Harvard has faced division on campus and national backlash over its response. 

Tomorrow, Harvard President Claudine Gay will stand before Congress’s House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Lawmakers will press her on antisemitism at Harvard as top donors continue to fume over the University’s handling of tensions on campus. Some have threatened to pull their funding. Others already have. How will the House committee grill her, and how will she respond?

This week on Newstalk, reporters Miles J. Herszenhorn ’25, Emma H. Haidar ’26, and Cam E. Kettles ’26 join host Frank S. Zhou ’26 to break down what to expect at the hearing and how donors are reacting on public platforms and private calls.

This week on The Harvard Crimson's Newstalk, guest host Yael S. Goldstein ’26 takes us inside the 2023 Harvard-Yale Game. We talk to the players, students, and alumni to hear what it’s like to make the trek to the Yale Bowl in the team’s 150th season, with spirits high and the full Ivy League title on the line. 

This week on The Harvard Crimson's Newstalk, reporter Asher J. Montgomery ’26 joins host Frank S. Zhou ’26 to dive deep into a controversial course at the Harvard Kennedy School that some students say has left emotional scars. Also in this episode, Muskaan Arshad ’25, Sally E. Edwards ’26, and Jack R. Trapanick ’26 discuss the results of last week’s elections for Cambridge's City Council and School Committee. 

This week on The Harvard Crimson's Newstalk, Sex Week president Julia R. Bhuiyan ’25 joins host Frank S. Zhou ’26 to discuss Sex Week at Harvard, a weeklong series of events encouraging students to better explore sex, sexuality, and body. Also in this episode, Jack R. Trapanick ’26 discusses Harvard’s agreement with the cities of Boston and Cambridge called Payment in Lieu of Taxes and why Harvard may not be paying enough. 

This week on The Harvard Crimson's Newstalk, reporter Cam E. Kettles '26 joins host Frank S. Zhou '26 to discuss Harvard's first primarily undergraduate union and its formation with a 99.4% vote amidst a national wave of undergraduate unionization. Also in this episode, Emily R. Willrich '25 and Camilla Wu '26 talk about faculty reactions to previous term course registration, a new system for spring semester classes. 

This week on The Harvard Crimson's Newstalk, reporters Miles J. Herszenhorn '25 and Claire Yuan '25 join host Frank S. Zhou '26 to discuss Harvard President Claudine Gay's first 100 days as her administration navigates backlash over the University's response to the war in Israel and Gaza, the fall of affirmative action, and a slew of deans searches. Also in this episode, Thomas J. Mete '26 and Asher J. Montgomery '26 talk about the ongoing hunt for a new dean of the Harvard Kennedy School.

A note before our regular episode this week. In the days following Hamas’ attacks, the war in Israel and Gaza has reverberated across Harvard’s campus. Backlash against student groups. Widespread criticism against the University’s response. A thousand-person rally that stretched across Harvard Yard. The Crimson is committed to providing extensive coverage of all this and more. Stay on top of the news by following The Crimson’s website (thecrimson.com) and our multimedia platforms.

This week on The Harvard Crimson's Newstalk, reporters Ryan H. Doan-Nguyen '25 and Yusuf S. Mian '25 join host Frank S. Zhou '26 to discuss the findings of an inquest into the police killing of Sayed Faisal — and the backlash the report has sparked among some residents. Also in this episode, Rahem D. Hamid '25 talks about Claudia Goldin, the first Harvard professor to win a Nobel Prize since 2019 and the third woman ever to win a Nobel Prize in economics.

This week on The Harvard Crimson's Newstalk, reporters Muskaan Arshad ’25 and Julian J. Giordano ’25 join host Frank S. Zhou ’26 to discuss the racist, transphobic tweets that sparked a protest and left Cambridge City Council candidates under fire. Also in this episode, J. Sellers Hill ’25 and Nia L. Orakwue ’25 talk about mental health resources at Harvard and why barriers to student trust and understanding persist.

This week on The Harvard Crimson's Newstalk, reporters Michelle N. Amponsah ’26 and Emma H. Haidar ’26 join host Frank S. Zhou ’26 to discuss changes to admissions interviews guidelines for alumni interviewing college applicants. Also in this episode, Rahem D. Hamid ’25 and Elias J. Schisgall ’25 talk about the controversial proposal to merge Harvard's small language programs and the future of the humanities at Harvard.