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.htmlFor a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts
Sep 2
28 min
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
Aug 26
35 min
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
Aug 19
28 min
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
Aug 12
33 min
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
Aug 5
27 min
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/aboutFor a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts
Jul 22
31 min
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
Jul 15
32 min
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
Jul 8
30 min
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.htmlAnd here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/students-ai-cheating-solutions_n_6a173aa3e4b062ca52d7e393?hp_auth_done=1#commentsFor a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts
Jul 1
25 min
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
Jun 24
28 min
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