Ben Sasse, former U.S. Senator from Nebraska and current University of Florida president, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December 2023 and given a 3-4 month life expectancy. Ross Douthat of the New York Times interviews Sasse about facing mortality, his political career, and his faith.

The conversation covers Sasse's cancer treatment at MD Anderson Houston, where his tumors have shrunk 76% through a clinical trial drug. Despite this progress, Sasse maintains that stage 4 pancreatic cancer remains terminal, with no survivors on record.

Sasse reflects on his eight-year Senate career, his transition to university leadership, and his efforts to reform higher education through projects like the Hamilton Center at University of Florida. The discussion explores American institutional collapse, technological disruption, and the future of civic engagement.

Throughout the interview, Sasse draws on his Christian faith, referencing The Book of Romans and theological concepts about suffering, mortality, and divine sovereignty as he processes his diagnosis and remaining time with his wife Melissa and three children.

Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Sasse's cancer was discovered after back pain from training led to full body scans on December 13-14, revealing tumors throughout his torso in five forms: lymphoma, vascular, lung, liver, and pancreatic cancer.

"Ben Sas's torso is chock full of tumors" - the doctor's blunt diagnosis after initially trying to soften the news with talk about advances in oncology care.

His clinical trial at MD Anderson Houston uses Revolution Medicine's drug Diraxon Raceab, taken orally, which has reduced tumor volume by 76% since December 29th.

Pain management involves balancing four variables: tumor-driven pain, treatment-driven nausea, digestive issues, and energy levels, with Sasse reducing morphine from 55mg to 30mg daily.

Despite dramatic tumor shrinkage, doctors explain stage 4 pancreatic cancer like dandelions that have already seeded everywhere - no one survives this diagnosis.

Senate Career and Institutional Collapse Diagnosis

Sasse's 2015 maiden Senate speech declared "the voters hate us all" due to Congress approval ratings bouncing between 9% and 15%, arguing politicians focus on tribal fights instead of real national problems.

"We're living through a technological revolution creating economic and cultural upheaval and institutional collapse" - Sasse's framework for understanding current American politics as secondary to deeper disruptions.

Despite being policy-conservative but dispositionally moderate, Sasse won all 93 Nebraska counties in 2014 by focusing on civic transmission rather than partisan anger.

He left the Senate because "it doesn't do anything right now" and he wanted to spend remaining time with family while pursuing university reform at University of Florida.

Higher Education Reform and the Hamilton Project

The Hamilton Center at University of Florida represents an effort to rebuild liberal arts education focused on "the good, the true, and the beautiful" rather than narrow ideological activism.

"What is the best use of 45 months of an 18 to 22 year old's time?" - Sasse's fundamental question about higher education's purpose in character and civic formation.

Five consecutive decades of students migrating from liberal arts to STEM majors reflects the failure of humanities departments to engage with grand questions about human flourishing.

Ivy League liberal professors quietly applied to Hamilton positions, suggesting broader academic hunger for rigorous, non-ideological scholarship beyond conservative circles.

Technology, Human Nature, and Future Divides

"AI is going to be human activity and behavior at warp speed for good and for ill" - Sasse predicts artificial intelligence will amplify both human virtues and vices.

The coming societal divide will be between people who use digital tools intentionally versus those who "outsource your attention and affections to somebody else's algorithm."

"We're living in a sex collapse" due to digital addiction replacing bodily engagement, with less sexual activity across all categories as people choose screens over physical intimacy.

John Dewey's industrial-scale childhood education model created harmful generational segregation, depriving 16-year-olds of 80-year-old wisdom and vice versa.

Faith, Family, and Facing Mortality

"To live as Christ, to die as gain" - Sasse found immediate peace with his diagnosis through Christian belief in resurrection and restoration.

His primary regrets involve misprioritization: taking too many business trips, not honoring Sabbath properly, and insufficient family time around dinner tables without devices.

"I would never want to go back to a time where I didn't know the prayer of pancreatic cancer" - quoting Tim Keller on how terminal illness reveals human finitude and dependence on God.

When discussing theological arguments with skeptics, Sasse references The Book of Romans chapter 1, where Paul addresses the moral issue of conscience and human brokenness.

"I don't feel ready, but to whom would I go?" - Sasse's response about readiness for death, expressing confidence in approaching God as "Abba Father" despite personal unworthiness.