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Artwork for Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities

Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities

Audacy
University Of North Carolina
Harvard University
University Of Southern California
Fraternities
Higher Education
NCAA
Secret Court
Xanax
Department Of Education
Hazing
Cyril Wilcox
1920s Sexuality
College Of Charleston
Drug Culture
Mental Health
Education In America
Timothy Patrick Mccarthy
Homosexuality
Academic Fraud
Civil War

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 ... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes93Founded7 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
DocumentarySociety & CultureTrue Crime

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities

Latest Episodes

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 Un... more

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 tran... more

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 significan... more

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 transcri... more

Key Facts

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Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

Benjamin Wetmore
Founder of benladner.com, former AU student journalist
benladner.com / American University
Episode: BenLadner.com | American Universities Drudge Report
Ed O'Keefe
Journalist, former AU student journalist, later White House/CBS correspondent
CBS News / The Washington Post (early career)
Episode: BenLadner.com | American Universities Drudge Report
Jeff Schrager
Computer scientist and narrator who discusses ELIZA and its history
Independent researcher / Stanford connection mentioned
Episode: ELIZA | The Worlds First "AI" Chatbot
Bettina Aptaker
Organizer of FSM sit-ins at Berkeley
Free Speech Movement organizer
Episode: Bodies Upon The Gears | The Free Speech Movement of 1964 Part 2
Mario Savio
FSM activist and public face of the movement
Free Speech Movement
Episode: Bodies Upon The Gears | The Free Speech Movement of 1964 Part 2
Stacey Malkin
Founder of US Right to Know
US Right to Know
Episode: Ghost Credits | Academia's Hidden Industry Ties
Tom Philpott
Journalist covering food and agriculture policy
Previously at Mother Jones; interviewed for this episode
Episode: Ghost Credits | Academia's Hidden Industry Ties
Carrie Gillam
Investigative journalist
Mississippi Center for Public Integrity / Source in episode
Episode: Ghost Credits | Academia's Hidden Industry Ties
Kevin Folta
Professor, plant science
University of Florida
Episode: Ghost Credits | Academia's Hidden Industry Ties

Hosts

Margot Gray
Host of Campus Files; affiliated with Campus Files (Audacy) or related production.
Ian Mont
Host of Campus Files; affiliated with Campus Files (Audacy) or related production.
Ian Mandt
Producer/Host; part of Campus Files team.

Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars from 8.7k ratings
  • Awesome

    I love this show!! Could you guys please post your episodes with most recent first? It’s kind of a pain to scroll through everything to get to the new ones

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Mcg123456789
    United Statesa month ago
  • The fix needed

    I want to give 5 stars, as I enjoy the pod, but for the love of GOD, someone please work with Margo on the vocal fry! It is BRUTAL! Truly can be hard to listen to sometimes.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    Jason B13
    United Statesa month ago
  • No thank you

    This is a continued indoctrination of young college students and has one agenda only , a far left progressive uneducated opinion. Sounds like any kind of connection with Christianity or faith. This type of podcast will not last long, fortunately people including all generations are finding their faith in droves and exposing this type of rhetoric reporting. This is also why podcast and influencers will also be short lived as people with real skills aka the re newed growth in trades will be the n... more

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    MelNich1022
    United States2 months ago
  • Excellent

    Keep them coming! I love this show... 👍🏻👍🏻

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Katieswi
    United States2 months ago
  • Way she talks is awful

    Amazing subject matter. I can’t listen, the way she speaks is so annoying.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    kman718
    United States2 months ago

Listeners Say

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

Great reporting and deep dives into campus controversies.
Very informative and well researched, though some listeners feel bias.
Strong guests and solid investigative work; could be longer episodes.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Behind Closed Doors | Inside the Harlow Primate Lab
Q: What led you to leave the lab?
She left because she was graduating, but she also felt a responsibility toward the monkeys and believed she needed to do what she could for their welfare, indicating a conflict between career goals and ethical concerns.
ELIZA | The Worlds First "AI" Chatbot
Q: Why is it important to recognize when a machine is not truly understanding us?
Because assuming true cognition can mislead people about what AI can do, leading to overreliance or misattribution of intelligence to simple algorithms.
ELIZA | The Worlds First "AI" Chatbot
Q: Tell me more about your feelings of being sad.
The host prompts a discussion about emotions and the respondent explores how ELIZA's therapist role reveals human tendencies to personify and rely on machine dialogue, highlighting the limits of machine understanding.
Weather Pledges | Corruption and Hazing at the University of Tennessee
Q: Why was it difficult to prosecute hazing in Tennessee in this case?
There was no state anti-hazing law applicable here, and victims were reluctant to prosecute, which limited the ability to charge under state statutes and pushed investigators to consider public corruption and federal involvement.
Weather Pledges | Corruption and Hazing at the University of Tennessee
Q: Can you describe the initial signs that this was more than a reckless stunt?
The video evidence and the context of the incidents, along with witnesses and patrols, pointed toward a patterned hazing activity rather than isolated pranks, prompting investigators to treat it as potential hazing from early on.

Audience Metrics

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Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
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Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

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

This program investigates scandals, secrets, and controversies at American universities through in-depth investigative reporting and narrative storytelling. Episodes often combine archival material, firsthand accounts, and expert commentary to unpack issues like free speech, hazing, Title IX failures, admissions and athletics controversies, and the influence of funding on research and policy. A standout element is its willingness to connect institutional pride with real-world consequences, featuring survivors, journalists, academics, and policymakers to illuminate how colleges navigate misconduct, governance, and public accountability. The show likely appeals to listeners who want hard-hitting, long-form reporting on higher education, gover... more

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1. Gone South
2. Deep Cover
3. Focus: Adults in the Room
4. Betrayal Weekly
5. Scamfluencers

How many episodes of this podcast are there?

this podcast launched 7 years ago and published 93 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 this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Benjamin Wetmore
2. Ed O'Keefe
3. Jeff Schrager
4. Bettina Aptaker
5. Mario Savio
6. Stacey Malkin
7. Tom Philpott
8. Carrie Gillam

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