James Kierstead holds degrees in classics (BA Oxford, PhD Stanford), ancient history (MA London) and political science (MA Stanford). For ten years he lectured in classics at Victoria University of Wellington.
In 2022 he began working on university reform at the New Zealand Initiative think tank, and in 2023 the university disestablished his position. At the Initiative he has published reports on administrative bloat, academic freedom, and grade inflation at New Zealand universities.
As well as his scholarly publications on ancient and modern democracy, James has written for Quillette, n+1, Quadrant, The Spinoff, Times Higher Education, Tricycle, The Chronicle of Higher Education and other outlets. He is also the co-host (with Michael Johnston) of Free Kiwis!, a podcast which aims to bring liberalism to New Zealand.
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