College Matters from The Chronicle

Cap down. Earbuds in. Eyes on phones. Despite what you may see in college viewbooks, many students say they feel lonely on campus — isolated in dorm rooms or walled off in tech bubbles. But talking about student loneliness is a tricky issue for colleges.

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Guest: Alexander C. Kafka, senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

During his September debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump amplified a debunked rumor that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s pet cats and dogs. Soon, Wittenberg University, a private institution in Springfield, began receiving violent threats. Michael Frandsen, the university’s president, feared the worst — and got an education in the viral power of misinformation.

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Guest: Michael Frandsen, president of Wittenberg University

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

You may not have heard much about higher education in the presidential campaign, but it’s definitely on the ballot.

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Guest: Rick Seltzer, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make  transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Outside consultants are helping cash-strapped colleges cut majors, like foreign languages, that once seemed essential — and are taking the heat for those unpopular decisions.

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Guest: David Jesse, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

As president of the U. of Florida, Ben Sasse, a former U.S. senator, steered millions of dollars toward consultants and hired his Republican allies to serve in lucrative jobs. And he threw some expensive parties.

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Guest: Garrett Shanley, reporter for The Independent Florida Alligator / intern at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

Would big-name universities pay a magazine to write puff pieces about them? You bet.

Guest: Francie Diep, senior reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education 

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For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

A feud among three professors inspired a debate over woke politics in academe.

Guest: Emma Pettit, senior reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education

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For more on today's episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

The lure of decent-paying jobs available without college degrees has some people rethinking whether college is necessary. The trend has big implications for the workforce, society, and the communities where people live and work.

Guest: Eric Kelderman, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education

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For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. 

When protests against the Israel-Hamas war swept across college campuses this past spring, student activists were joined in some cases by their professors. That’s what happened at Indiana University, where state police led a particularly aggressive crackdown on demonstrators. The professors’ reasons for participating were varied and complex, but their decisions point toward a thorny and persistent question: Do faculty members have any business joining student protests?

Guest: Kate Hidalgo Bellows, staff reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education

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For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

Where is my financial aid? What is college really going to cost me? These are the kinds of questions lots of students are asking this academic year, and it’s all because of a government screw-up. The disastrous rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA, has created uncertainty about students’ financial-aid packages — and many of the most vulnerable are having the hardest time.

Guest: Eric Hoover, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education

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For more, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.