The Trump administration has thrown so many curveballs at colleges and universities, it can be hard to keep track. But there's logic behind the many efforts, from cutting research grants to detaining international students involved in activism.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben and education correspondent Elissa Nadworny about what's at stake in the federal government's multi-pronged assault on higher education and what the administration hopes to accomplish.