Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities
Audacy
Show overview
Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities has been publishing since 2019, and across the 7 years since has built a catalogue of 82 episodes, alongside 6 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 50 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a monthly cadence, with the show now in its 5th season.
Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 30 min and 40 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-language Society & Culture show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 1 months ago, with 17 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 36 episodes published. Published by Audacy.
From the publisher
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: [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.
Latest Episodes
View all 82 episodesWhen Fascists Were Welcome | The National Party of America at Reed College
Broad Daylight: The Transylvania Book Heist
Weather Pledges | Corruption and Hazing at the University of Tennessee
Sworn In: The Hidden History of American Sororities
Frankly Fraud | “The $175 Million Scam”
Contamination on Campus: What Did NC State Know About Poe Hall?
Upside Down Stanford | The University of Austin
The Cambridge Five: From Students to Soviet Spies
Hostile Takeover | The Dramatic Reshaping of New College of Florida
Original Sin: The Rise and Fall of the CCNY Basketball Team
Bloat@Brown: DOGE Comes to Brown University
"100% Preventable": The Death of Bucknell Football Player Calvin Dickey Jr.
S5 Ep 4Assassination on Campus | Should UVU Memorialize Charlie Kirk?
The fight at Utah Valley University over whether or not to install a memorial to Charlie Kirk after his assassination on campusRead Matthew's work: https://www.uvureview.com/author/matthewfranke/For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S5 Ep 3Rush for Sale: The Business of Sorority Consulting
Sorority recruitment has grown increasingly competitive, with more applicants and the same limited number of spots. A new industry has emerged to meet the pressure: sorority rush consultants. For thousands of dollars, they promise to coach students through every step of the process. For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S5 Ep 2A Tale of Two Presidencies | Texas A&M Caught Up In Culture Wars
The story of Mark Welsh III, the beloved president of Texas A&M who was dramatically forced out as part of a conservative backlash to academic freedom in higher ed. Read Kate and Nico's Reporting: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/10/texas-a-m-mark-welsh-regents-abbott-fired/Read Jessica Priest's Reporting on Melissa McCoul's firing: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/19/texas-a-m-welsh-firing-professor-gender-mccoul/ For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S5 Ep 1Naked Orientation: When Yale Freshmen Were Photographed Nude
For decades, freshman orientation came with an unusual requirement: students had to pose for a photograph - completely naked.It wasn’t a fringe practice. Colleges across the country, including several Ivy League schools, did it.Why? And what happened to all those photos? For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Introducing Campus Files Season 2
trailerLast season, we brought you 35 stories from American colleges. Stories of drug rings, fraternity hazing, stolen body parts, campus cults and more. And now, Campus Files is coming back for another season, at a time when universities are all over the news. Starting March 11th, we’ll have a new episode every week. Listen to and follow Campus Files wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S4 Ep 36Epstein & MIT
In our last episode of the season (season 2 is in the works), we look at MIT's Media Lab, which long dazzled the public with its bold ideas and groundbreaking projects. But behind that reputation was a secret: much of the lab’s funding traced back to Jeffrey Epstein. Read Noam Cohen’s reporting: https://www.wired.com/story/for-jeffrey-epstein-mit-was-just-a-safety-school/For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S4 Ep 35Cayuga's Waiters
Cornell's oldest and most historic a capella group was suddenly shut down in 2017 when allegations of severe hazing came to light. For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S4 Ep 34Espionage 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 sprawling espionage campaign taking place on their own campus. For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices