1920s style!Make a request for future episodes hereWe're prepping for an upcoming mailbag episode,

High school organizers have much to teach us about young peoples' political priorities.Make a request for future epi...

ft. John Dewey.Make a request for future episodes here!We're prepping for an upcoming mailbag episode,

Remember your old school yearbook photos? Where are they now?Make a request for future episodes here!We'r...

Trad wives make great teachers.Make a request for future episodes here!We're prepping for an upcoming mai...

On (corporate) foundation investments in knowledge production.Make a request for future episodes here!We'...

The straight college strikes back!References and suggested readings:Richard S. Price. October 6, 2025. The straight college strikes back: 1990s backlash against inclusiv...

References and suggested readings:Alison Bashford. 2025. Decoding the Hand: A History of Science, Medicine, and Magic. University of Chicago Press. Nao...

grift, edtech, enshittificationReferences and suggested readings:Justin Raden. October 23, 2025. Higher Ed’s Rush to Adopt AI is ...

References and suggested readings:Celene Reynolds. 2025. Unlawful Advances: How Feminists Transformed Title IX. Princeton University Press. “<...

Brought to us, in part, by the race scientistsReferences mentioned this episode:Henry Reichman. 2025.

“The reasons that I have for wishing to go to Harvard are several. I feel that Harvard can give me a better background and a better liberal education than any other university. I have always wanted to go there, as I have felt that it is not jus...

Oh my!References and suggested readings:Naomi Oreskes. 2025. Science on a Mission: How Military Funding Shaped What We Do and Don’t Know about the Ocean

References and suggested readings:Andy Hines, ed. 2025. University Keywords. Johns Hopkins University Press. Alyssa Battistoni. 2025.

As a student, she was a proud "Goldwater girl, right down to my cowgirl outfit and straw cowboy hat emblazoned with the slogan 'AuH20." -Hillary Clinton, Living History, 2003.References and suggested readings:Nichola...

The money behind truth.References and suggested readings:Maribel Morey. 2021. White Philanthropy: Carnegie Corporation's An American Dilemma and the Making of a White ...

References and suggested readings:Brad Bolman. 2025. Lab Dog: What Global Science Owes American Beagles. University of Chicago Press. Benjamin...

A lesson on dark money influence in campus culture warsReferences and suggested readings:Isaac Kamola. Spring 2025. Under...

From a student of Saul Bellow and Barack Obama.References and suggested readings:John K Wilson. August 2025. “100 Y...

On the rightwing origins of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.References and suggested readings:Mary Anne Franks. 2024. Fearless Speech: Break...

ft. Geronimo, both Roosevelt presidents, Franz Boas, and the phrenologistsReferences and suggested readings:Rachel Morgan. 2024. Sins of the Shovel: Looting, Mu...

On hedge funds, private equity, and the financialization of public colleges.References and suggested readings:The Coalition Against Campus Debt. 2024. Lend and Rule: F...

How public universities gave rise to public mediaReferences and suggested readings:Josh Shepperd. 2023. Shadow of the New Deal: The Victory of Public Broadcasting...

Does your campus use B&N Education or Follett?References and suggested readings:Katya Schwenk. September 10, 2025. “How Wall Street Broke th...

On blood money and “the moral costs of an elite education.”References and suggested readings:David S. Busch. 2025. Disciplining Democracy: How the Modern American Univ...