Sarath Sanga

<p>Things are looking up, dear listeners. The semester is over, summer is nearly here, and David’s beloved Knicks are up 2-0 in the NBA Finals. </p><p>In this week’s episode, we take a step back and do some introspection. Here to discuss whether you should trust Yale, and other elite universities, more than <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nba-finals-2026-is-knicks-jalen-brunson-authoring-the-most-clutch-playoff-run-in-nba-history-140720324.html"><u>Jalen Brunson in the fourth quarter</u></a> is friend and colleague Sarath Sanga, Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Co-Director of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law. Sanga joins us to discuss both his new article,<em> </em><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6615940"><em>A Theory of Trust in Institutions</em></a>, co-authored by Yehonatan Givati, and the recent <a href="https://president.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2026-04/Report-of-the-Committee-on-Trust-in-Higher-Education.pdf"><u>Report</u></a> by the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education, of which Sanga was a member.</p><p>Sanga kicks off the episode by explaining his view of why higher education is hemorrhaging public trust. Sanga argues that universities, and other institutions, pre-commit to doing specific things, and they lose trust whenever they stray from this initial commitment. Sam questions whether universities are now, and always have been, finishing schools for elites and, if so, whether it makes sense to talk about institutions like Yale having a mandate. And David brings up a variety of counterexamples that call into question whether an institution going against its mandate, such as when a university fields varsity sports teams, actually decreases trust in the real world. We hope you enjoy!</p><p><strong>Referenced Readings</strong></p><ul><li><p><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6615940"><em>A Theory of Trust in Institutions</em></a>, by Sarath Sanga and Yehonatan Givati</p></li><li><p><a href="https://president.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2026-04/Report-of-the-Committee-on-Trust-in-Higher-Education.pdf"><em>Report of the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education</em></a>, by Yale University</p></li><li><p><a href="https://yaledailynews.com/articles/shut-up-and-dribble">&quot;Shut Up and Dribble&quot;</a>, by Ian Ayres</p></li></ul><p><strong>A Running List of Nominations for the Canon of American Legal Thought (1975-2025)</strong></p><ul><