Below are selections of audio and video recordings from recent talks, presentations, panel discussions, and media appearances. I also serve as co-host of the National Humanities Center’s two podcast series, Discovery & Inspiration and Nerds in the Woods, and its Virtual Book Club.
Withering Ivy: How Donald Trump Cuts the Roots of American Academia
April 28, 2025
Robert D. Newman joined philosopher Cheryl Misak and sociologist Ulrich Schreiterer at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin for this panel discussion on ongoing threats to academic freedom.
Jane Austin and the Future of the Humanities
February 1, 2025
The conditions of the humanities in institutions of higher learning seem to be dire and critical. Why is this so? What has happened? And what in the world does the beloved author, Jane Austen, have to do with any of this? Michael Kramp, professor of English at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, considers these questions with prominent leaders in different areas of the humanities, including Robert D. Newman, former president of the National Humanities Center.
“Time Out with Bill Hendrickson”
April 12, 2021
Time Out with Bill Hendrickson is a weekly radio program on WCOM–LP 103.5 FM, community radio for Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina. The show features in-depth interviews with interesting figures from education, business, sports, entertainment, and other arenas of public life. In this episode, host Bill Hendrickson interviews Robert D. Newman, president and director of the National Humanities Center.
Environmental Humanities at the Crossroads of Climate Change
March 7, 2019
This scholarly roundtable, featuring Center Fellows in conversation with NHC President and Director Robert D. Newman, explored the important role for humanists in ongoing public discourse about climate change.
UNC-TV’s “Conversation”: An Interview with Robert D. Newman
June 27, 2017
In this wide-ranging interview with Conversation host Mitchell Lewis, Robert D. Newman discusses the significance of the humanities in everyday life, the enduring importance of humanities scholarship, and the mission of the National Humanities Center to advance humanities research, teaching, and public engagement.
Rage and Beauty: Celebrating Complexity, Democracy and the Humanities
October 5, 2016
NHC director Robert D. Newman delivered a keynote address as a part of the ongoing Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Speaker Series at North Carolina Central University.
What Does the Future Hold for the Humanities?
February 9, 2016
Robert D. Newman joined Lloyd Kramer from UNC-Chapel Hill and Victoria Gallagher from NC State University as part of a town hall meeting to discuss the role of the humanities in an environment that has become increasingly concerned with financial outcomes from academic activities, technologically-focused, and oriented toward the concerns of the individual rather than the common good.
Humanities Moments and the Heroic
October 22, 2015
In his inaugural remarks as the sixth president and director of the National Humanities Center, Robert D. Newman shared his vision for the Center as the premier destination for humanities scholars, a national leader in the effort to strengthen teaching, and a vital resource for all who seek greater understanding of themselves and the world in which they live.