Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 1997, a young out of town reporter moves from Los Angeles to Minnesota to cover the University of Minnesota Gophers. That year, the Gophers basketball team had made it to the NCAA Final Four in a stunning show of force. Two years later, the reporter broke a story that would throw the state into an uproad, and wipe that Final Four appearance from the history books. For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

AI has arrived on college campuses, and professors and administrators are racing to respond. But there’s no clear rulebook, and the stakes are high. At Ohio State, one professor believes many universities are getting the response all wrong. Read here: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/11/colleges-ai-education-students/685039/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/magazine/ai-higher-education-students-teachers.html And here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/students-ai-cheating-solutions_n_6a173aa3e4b062ca52d7e393?hp_auth_done=1#comments For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Speech on campus is the defining issue of higher education today. Many call for a return to the past when nearly anyone was received with respect. So, this week we look back to a moment in 1965 when the National Party of America, an openly fascist and anti-semitic political party was invited to speak at Reed College in Portland Oregon. Read Seth's writing: https://rightlandia.ghost.io/ For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Transylvania University houses one of the most valuable rare book collections in the country. In 2004, four college students decided to steal them. In broad daylight. For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

"It’s the middle of a September night at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and two young men light themselves on fire. Both are later rushed to the hospital. The resulting investigation uncovers alleged hazing, and possible public corruption within the justice system. For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts "

Pick up any history of women in higher education and you'll find sororities in a footnote, maybe a paragraph. But that's not the whole story. The first sororities weren't social clubs - they were academic lifelines for women. So how did that get forgotten? For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

In 2022, famous young entrepreneur and founder of the student financial aid startup Frank was charged with fraud and conspiracy, facing up to a 100 years in prison. How did this wunderkind turn into an alleged con-artist, and how did America's largest bank get duped? For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

Poe Hall, an academic building on NC State’s campus, shut its doors abruptly. It later emerged that the building was contaminated with PCBs, a known carcinogen, and had been for decades. Faculty, staff, and former students say they raised alarms after developing cancer, only to be ignored. For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

For the last decade at least, the question of free speech has been the defining issue of American higher education. One school set out to tackle those problems head on, but appears to have lost its way in the process, struggling to define itself even before opening its doors. Read Evan's piece: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/01/16/civil-war-university-of-austin-bari-weiss-00729688 For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

They were ambitious students at Cambridge University who went on to climb the ranks of British government and intelligence. But they had a secret. All the while, they were working for the Soviet Union. For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts

The story of the New College of Florida becoming a pawn in Ron Desantis' campaing for president, and what happens when a school is reshaped by force and against the will of students and faculty. For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts