Campus Files
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 at [email protected].
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.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 37 minutes
- Episodes
- 65
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
Espionage at Stanford
Most Chinese nationals at Stanford never intended to be intelligence assets. But under Chinese law, if the government demands information, they must comply. Two student journalists investigate the sp…
00:31:57 |
Wed 17 Sep 2025
Goodbye, DEI
Just a few years ago, colleges across the country were pouring resources into Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. Today, many of those same offices are being dismantled. In some states, …
00:28:50 |
Wed 10 Sep 2025
Harvard's Funding Freeze
Since World War II, America has led the world in science and medicine by making an unusual choice: instead of keeping research in government labs, it invested directly in universities. That partnersh…
00:30:45 |
Wed 03 Sep 2025
Presenting Gone South | Time of Death
From the Edward R. Murrow award-winning podcast Gone South: Mobile, Alabama’s biggest cold case reopens when Jim Barber, a police officer and adjunct professor, re-examines the 1980 murder of college…
00:41:31 |
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Breaking Deadlock
Lately you’ve probably been hearing about the Department of Education a lot as the Trump administration moves to dismantle it. For many, this move feels shocking and unprecedented. In reality, it's j…
00:27:19 |
Wed 20 Aug 2025
The Robinson Center
A student reporter uncovers troubling rumors about misconduct at University of Washington's prestigious Robinson Center, a school for students as young as 14.
For a transcript of this episode: https…
00:27:47 |
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Campus Cult
As a freshman at Long Beach State, Chele joined a church that was popular with other students. What she didn't know: the group had been accused of cult-like behavior by students nationwide. Years lat…
00:34:16 |
Wed 06 Aug 2025
The Army's Got Your Goat
In 1965 a group of 5 people broke into a secret Naval base to kidnap a key figure as part of a covert operation. That key figure? A goat named Bill. The kidnappers? West Point cadets.
For a transcri…
00:34:40 |
Wed 30 Jul 2025
Coach v. Physician
In 2019, the head doctor for Penn State’s football team was fired after resisting pressure from the head coach to clear injured players. His story exposes a deeper crisis in college sports: when wins…
00:30:36 |
Wed 23 Jul 2025
Operation Free Kick
The operation we now know as Operation Varsity Blues didn’t begin the way you might expect. It was uncovered by chance. Prosecutor Eric Rosen takes us behind the scenes of how investigators discovere…
00:31:23 |
Wed 16 Jul 2025
Who Speaks for Loyola?
In 2016, Loyola University welcomed a new president, sparking excitement on campus — the first woman and the first layperson ever to lead the school. But the honeymoon didn’t last. Soon, the student …
00:28:00 |
Wed 09 Jul 2025
Bessie on the Dome
Pranks are a legendy part of life on campus in America. There's one campus in particular that has a unique tradition of it's own. This is the story of how Bessie, a 300 pound fiberglass cow, found he…
00:33:52 |
Wed 02 Jul 2025
Higher Ed for Sale
Mills College, the first all-women’s college west of the Rocky Mountains, had a rich history of social justice and women's leadership. That is, until the school shocked everyone by announcing it was …
00:32:40 |
Wed 25 Jun 2025
The D
For years, Dartmouth’s student newspaper quietly struggled to stay afloat. Then in 2021, a student uncovered a case of massive financial fraud that would shake the paper to its core.
For a transcrip…
00:30:06 |
Wed 18 Jun 2025
The Harvard Morgue
Few people know that most of our modern medical knowledge is based on centuries old research using human remains, often stolen. While those practices are thankfully gone today, the market for human r…
00:29:32 |
Wed 11 Jun 2025
The Machine
It’s been called the most powerful—and most secretive—fraternity in America. For decades, a shadowy group known as The Machine has controlled student government at the University of Alabama through i…
00:31:39 |
Wed 04 Jun 2025
For Profit - Part 3: The Evidence is Clear
The future of for-profit schools, and the millions of students who have attended them hangs in the balance as a key legal protection is under threat from the courts and the Trump administration.
For…
00:38:10 |
Wed 28 May 2025
For Profit - Part 2: Thrown to the Wolves
Ashley Pizzuti fell in love with photography from an early age, and found what felt like the perfect opportunity to start the career of her dreams. She would soon learn that her school was part of an…
00:39:32 |
Wed 21 May 2025
For Profit - Part 1: The Pain Funnel
For the last 30 years, a group of schools have targeted America's most vulnerable students, saddling them with mountains of debt and a poor education, all for the sake of profit. Mike DiGiacomo fell …
00:35:29 |
Wed 14 May 2025
Weed in the Garden of Academe
Half of all college students and 73% of social fraternity members experience hazing. As it turns out, hazing has a long and deadly history in the United States and we know about this history in large…
00:32:02 |
Wed 07 May 2025
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