American Campus Podcast

Lauren Lassabe Shepherd

Higher Education

Civil Rights Movement

California Master Plan

Free Higher Education

Women's Suffrage

Racism In Academia

Racial Inequality

Student Movements

Hbcus

College Radio

College Equal Suffrage League

The Krebiozen Hoax

Personal Narratives

Black Women In Education

Cancel Culture

Cold War Liberalism

Vietnam War

College Football

Iranian Student Activism

U.S. Higher Education

a social and political history of higher education

40 ratings

Publishes	Twice weekly	Episodes	119	Founded	2 years ago
Number of Listeners		Categories	HistoryEducation

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Guests Host Reviews Talking Points

Latest Episodes

Blame the Intern with Alexandre Frenette

Text the show here!

Colleges really come out on top in the education-industrial complex.

References and suggested readings:

• Alexandre Frenette. 2026. Blame the Intern: On (Not) Breaking Into the Creative Economy. Princeton University Press.

• A... more

12 Apr 2026 • 32 min

Made up college rankings with Jonathan Beecher Field

Text the show here!

Create your own college ranking list! The parameters are totally up to you. Email Lauren at shephell@iu.edu. JBF will pick the winner of MANY FREE BOOKS!

References and suggested readings:

• JonathanBeecherField.net

• Scott Ro... more

8 Apr 2026 • 35 min

Sex testing and the path to transvestigating college athletes with Johanna Mellis

Text the show here!

The International Olympic Committee’s decision to sex test professional athletes, and what that means for college sports.

References and suggested readings:

• Johanna Mellis faculty profile

• End of Sport podcast

• Feminist S... more

5 Apr 2026 • 29 min

The history of college learning disability accommodations with Scott Gelber

Text the show here!

References and suggested readings:

• Scott M. Gelber. 2024. From Compensation to Accommodation: The History of Learning Disabilities in American Higher Education. History of Education Quarterly.

• Scott M. Gelber. 2020. Grading ... more

31 Mar 2026 • 19 min

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Recent Guests

Alexandre Frenette

Assistant Professor of Sociology at Vanderbilt University; author of Blame the Intern

Vanderbilt University

Episode: Blame the Intern with Alexandre Frenette

Jonathan Beecher Field

Associate Professor of American Literature at Clemson University

Clemson University

Episode: Made up college rankings with Jonathan Beecher Field

Johanna Mellis

Associate Professor of History at Ursinus College; co-host of End of Sport Podcast; expert on Olympic history and gender in sport

Ursinus College; End of Sport Podcast

Episode: Sex testing and the path to transvestigating college athletes with Johanna Mellis

Scott Gelber

Professor of education at Wheaton College

Wheaton College

Episode: The history of college learning disability accommodations with Scott Gelber

Dwaipayan Banerjee

Associate Professor of Science, Technology and India at MIT

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Episode: India's pipeline to Silicon Valley with Dwaipayan Banerjee

Danielle Casarez Lemi

Fellow at the John G. Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University; author of Doing Identity Labor; co-author of Sister Style

Southern Methodist University; Oxford University Press (publisher)

Episode: Publishing your academic book after leaving academia with Danielle Casarez Lemi

John P. Jackson Jr.

Professor in the James Madison College of Public Affairs at Michigan State University

Michigan State University, James Madison College of Public Affairs

Episode: Pioneer Fund, the dark money trust that won't let race science die with John P. Jackson Jr.

Mark S. Ferrara

Professor of English at SUNY Oneonta

SUNY Oneonta

Episode: China and the decline of American universities with Mark S. Ferrara

Curtis Dozier

Associate Professor of Greek and Roman Studies at Vassar College

Vassar College; Pharos, Doing Justice to the Classics

Episode: Why white nationalists love Plato with Curtis Dozier

Host

Lauren Lesab-Shepard

Host of American Campus Podcast

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 40 ratings

The exact podcast I'd been looking for
As a higher ed employee and grad student wanting to learn more about the history of my industry and (occasional) research subject, I found myself wishing for this exact podcast just a few weeks ago. A couple days later, Lauren shows up on In Bed with the Right. My prayers were answered. Thank you for this.
Apple Podcasts
5
Nonathan.
United States10 months ago
Wonderful! But Apple won’t let me listen to the latest episode?
I’m so glad I came across this podcast. I learned of it when the host was on In Bed with the Right (also highly recommended!). But for some reason Apple won’t let me play the latest episode.
Apple Podcasts
5
Littleworldcunningly
United Statesa year ago
Terrific podcast
This is a wonderful, and much needed podcast. Lively conversations with credentialed experts (as opposed to uninformed, pearl-clutching pundits) about pressing issues in higher ed.
Apple Podcasts
5
WPSHM
United Statesa year ago
A gem!
This little podcast is truly outstanding. Thoughtful and critical and timely in short and manageable episodes.
Apple Podcasts
5
ckernahan1
United Statesa year ago
Great Podcast!
Very informative on all things Higher Ed. A must listen for those working in the field and/or interested in the future of Higher Ed.
Apple Podcasts
5
FrankW11
United Statesa year ago

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Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

high quality conversations with minimal punditry

thoughtful and credentialed guests provide depth

strong scholarly context with accessible delivery

concise, timely explorations of complex topics

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

The history of college learning disability accommodations with Scott Gelber

Q: What did accommodations look like in this period, especially language-related waivers?

Accommodations included waivers for foreign language requirements, substitutions, or modifications after documentation and sometimes a 'fail first' policy; over time, there was a shift toward recognizing the need for accessible language instruction and the potential that waivers could impact degree options, prompting more nuanced policy debates.

The history of college learning disability accommodations with Scott Gelber

Q: It's an interesting periodization, the 70s to the 90s. And you've set us up to understand the 70s as a big turning point. But can you tell us why the periodization through the 90s?

Gelber explains that by the 90s the law and campus practices had converged toward patterns recognizable today, with more students with learning disabilities enrolled and policies becoming more standardized, though not identical to today. He emphasizes looking at the 70s as the turning point where attention to retention, graduation rates, and market pressures began reshaping accommodations.

Pioneer Fund, the dark money trust that won't let race science die with John P. Jackson Jr.

Q: I'm thinking about Boas, and the role that statistics plays in measuring race, culture, or language. Could you say a bit about how these terms were conflated or separated in the historical debate?

The discussion outlined how early scholars tried to pin down race using biological traits, but later scholars argued for culture and population-based explanations, with statistics playing a role in reframing 'race' as a meaningful concept in some contexts while acknowledging its social construct nature in others.

China and the decline of American universities with Mark S. Ferrara

Q: What is the texture of Chinese curriculum and the role of free speech there, according to Ferrara?

Ferrara describes a climate where topics are tacitly self-censored and the government guides funding toward approved research, with explicit limits on topics like Tiananmen Square; yet he notes that there is ongoing investment in humanities in some campuses and a push to train for a post-industrial economy.

China and the decline of American universities with Mark S. Ferrara

Q: How does Ferrara characterize the comparison between Chinese and American higher education today?

He argues China has massively invested in higher education since the late 20th century, building world-class universities through five-year plans, increasing enrollment dramatically, and attracting top faculty with lucrative packages, while the US has defunded research, attacked diversity initiatives, and restricted free speech on campuses.

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Frequently Asked Questions About American Campus Podcast

What is American Campus Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show offers concise historical explorations of higher education, focusing on policy shifts, student experiences, and the politics surrounding campuses. Recent episodes skew toward the evolution of disability accommodations, the global rise of higher education, race-conscious admissions, funding and philanthropy in universities, and how conservative and nationalist discourses intersect with academic life. Notable angles include the commercialization of student life, the influence of donor funding on research, and contentious discussions around how classical texts and curriculum are used in modern politics. Episodes tend to feature academics, historians, and practitioners who translate complex history into actionable takeaways for student... more

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Which podcasts are similar to American Campus Podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with American Campus Podcast:

1. In Bed With The Right
2. Know Your Enemy
3. Ordinary Unhappiness
4. 5-4
5. Taylor Lorenz’s Power User

How many episodes of American Campus Podcast are there?

American Campus Podcast launched 2 years ago and published 119 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on American Campus Podcast?

Recent guests on American Campus Podcast include:

1. Alexandre Frenette
2. Jonathan Beecher Field
3. Johanna Mellis
4. Scott Gelber
5. Dwaipayan Banerjee
6. Danielle Casarez Lemi
7. John P. Jackson Jr.
8. Mark S. Ferrara

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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