American Campus Podcast
a social and political history of higher education
American Campus Podcast
Charles Walgreen and the University of Chicago with Steven Melendez
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Professors teaching about communism and socialism? Un-American! Here’s some cash to make sure the university is preaching the supreme American virtue: capitalism.
If you caught our joint episode with the In Bed with the Right podcast in May 2025, you heard me give the TLDR version of the story of pharmacy magnate Charles Walgreen and the University of Chicago. But the case deserves a full episode, which journalist Steven Melendez lays out for us here.
References mentioned this episode:
- Steven Melendez. August, 12 2024. Any questions for the pharmacist? Drugstore magnate Charles R. Walgreen’s anti-communist crusade. Chicago Reader.
- Follow Steven Melendez on Bluesky
- Our previous episode discussing Walgreen on the In Bed with the Right podcast
Browse the American Campus bookshelf
Get in touch! Email Lauren at shephell@iu.edu. You can also anonymously request an episode or give feedback on the show.
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