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Audacy

College holds a mythic place in American culture, hailed as the best four years of your life and revered as a beacon of integrity and excellence. But behind the polished campus tours and glossy brochures lies a far more complicated reality. 
Each episode of Campus Files uncovers a new story, exploring everything from rigged admissions to sports scandals, free speech, and hazing. 
Consider this your unofficial campus tour.
Do you have tips or story ideas? 
Send us an email: campusfilespod@gmail.com‬.
For additional stories on scandals that have rocked American institutions, check out seasons 1-3 of Gangster Capitalism in this feed:
Season 1: The College Admissions Scandal
Season 2: The NRA
Season 3: Jerry Falwell Jr. and Liberty University

Campus Files is an Audacy original podcast.

Gangster Capitalism

In the mid-20th century, Americans were paying closer attention to nutrition. MIT researchers wanted to determine the nutritional value of oats. But their study required children to eat oatmeal containing radioactive tracers. They found those children inside a state institution.

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Radioactive Oatmeal | MIT’s Experiments on Institutionalized Children

The early 2000s on American University, was a time of political intrigue... at least in student government. Eventually, one former student government member decided he'd had enough and created his own student paper named after the president of the University, Ben Ladner. As a result, he'd end up in court, in an alteraction with secret service, and more.

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

BenLadner.com | American Universities Drudge Report

Madeline had always loved animals, so she was thrilled to land a job at UW’s primate lab. But what she discovered inside was nothing like she expected -- and ultimately drove her to fight for greater accountability in scientific research.

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Behind Closed Doors | Inside the Harlow Primate Lab

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one researcher is credited with creating the very first chatbot, a technology that, almost exactly 60 years in the future, would explode into the mainstream, alter the global economy, and raise significant questions about the future. It turns out, that man, Joseph Weizenbaum, would also become one of its earliest critics, seeing it as deceptive, playing upon our natural vulnerabilities.

Read Jeff's book, Inventing ELIZA: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262052481/inventing-eliza/

Try ELIZA online: https://anthay.github.io/eliza.html

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

ELIZA | The Worlds First "AI" Chatbot

The Karolinska Institute is one of the world’s leading medical universities. When it hired Paolo Macchiarini, it saw a surgeon with a groundbreaking new procedure. But the university ignored warning signs, and patients paid the price.

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

No Medical Miracle | The Rise and Fall of Paolo Macchiarini

After Mario Savio's historic speech, students occupy Sproul Hall, leading to the largest non-war time arrest in US history to that point. The response from administration begins to turn the tide, but it all comes down to the Regents and the facutly.

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Bodies Upon The Gears | The Free Speech Movement of 1964 Part 2

For decades the entire University of California system had strict rules prohibiting all forms of political speech on campus. But after Freedom Summer, a group of students from across the political spectrum decide it's time to force change.

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Bodies Upon The Gears | The Free Speech Movement of 1964 Part 1

Academics were in classrooms, at conferences, on stages around the world, defending the safety of GMOs and herbicides. They looked independent. They weren't. Some of the most credentialed voices in agricultural science were quietly collaborating with Monsanto, taking money from the company whose products they were defending.

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Ghost Credits | Academia's Hidden Industry Ties

Over the last decade, college football has undergone a dramatic transformation. Universities now have a growing financial stake in the game, blurring the line between college athletics and professional sports. Few people embody that shift better than Lane Kiffin. Read Nicole Auerbach’s work: http://www.nauerbach.com/about

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Missing Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin's Dramatic College Football Career

Baylor is the largest Baptist university in the country. The rules there revolve around scripture. For most of its history, the school banned premarital sex. That meant no policy on sexual assault. No recourse for survivors.

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Above the Rules: Baylor's Sexual Assault Crisis

The story of Mark Welsh III, the beloved president of Texas A&M who was dramatically forced out as part of a conservative backlash to academic freedom in higher ed.

Read Kate and Nico's Reporting: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/10/texas-a-m-mark-welsh-regents-abbott-fired/
Read Jessica Priest's Reporting on Melissa McCoul's firing: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/19/texas-a-m-welsh-firing-professor-gender-mccoul/

For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

A Tale of Two Presidencies | Texas A&M Caught Up In Culture Wars

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