Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities

93 episodes

ELIZA
09/02/2026 | 28 mins.
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
No Medical Miracle | The Rise and Fall of Paolo Macchiarini
08/26/2026 | 35 mins.
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
Bodies Upon The Gears | The Free Speech Movement of 1964 Part 2
08/19/2026 | 28 mins.
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 1
08/12/2026 | 33 mins.
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
Ghost Credits | Academia's Hidden Industry Ties
08/05/2026 | 27 mins.
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

About Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities

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.

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