Extremism at UCLA: A Conversation with Student Researchers Talla Khelghati and Brandon Broukhim

On January 6, 2021, hundreds of far-right protestors, many of them wearing white nationalist clothing and insignia, stormed the U.S. Capitol building. On February 16, UCLA student Christian Secor was arrested for his participation in the riot. In response to these developments, the Luskin Center for History and Policy released a report on white nationalism at UCLA titled “From Student Politics Capitol Insurrection: The Intensification of Extremism at UCLA and Beyond,” as a follow-up to prior research on the history of white nationalism in Southern California. This week’s episode features two of the report's authors, UCLA undergraduates Brandon Broukhim and Talla Khelghati. Brandon and Talla discuss the political dynamics among students on campus, the difficulties of stemming hate speech while maintaining free speech, and their suggestions for universities grappling with frayed campus climates.