The Ear

Getting into Columbia is hard. Getting into its top finance clubs? Even harder. So what determines who gets in? What do these organizations do? And why is membership so coveted? Spectator audio reporter Antara Kshirsagar spoke to three finance club leaders about their ultra-competitive recruitment process, internal organization, and exclusive social networks that contribute to their professional growth on campus and beyond.

​​Credits

• Edited by Melina Nath

• Produced by Eesha Ramanathan

• Music by Matthew Lucia and Eva Scholz-Carlson

• Illustration by Ramona Delyser

Follow us on Instagram ⁠@SpectatorPodcasts⁠ and check out our ⁠other episodes⁠!

In this edition of The Ear, reporter Shanthi Ashok explores the nuances and repercussions of Columbia’s concession to President Donald Trump’s administration through interviews with three Columbia professors. 

​​Credits

• Edited by Nicole Sandrik-Arzadi, Melina Nath, and Luisa Sukkar

• Produced by Shanthi Ashok 

• Illustration by Sally Li Weitzner 

Follow us on Instagram @SpectatorPodcasts and check out our other episodes!

Many Columbia and New York City musicians find solace, joy, and support through Postcrypt Coffeehouse, an intimate musical venue in the basement of St. Paul’s Chapel. Listen as these musicians and organizers of this space share how they found this community and what its future holds as campus restrictions continue.

​​Credits

• Edited by Melina Nath and Luisa Sukkar

• Produced by Namya Manghnani and Eesha Ramanathan

• Music by James Krivchenia, Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek (Performed by Maraki Tamrat); Paul Stookey, Mary Travers, Peter Yarrow (Performed by Maraki Tamrat); Kayte Grace, Matthew Lucia, Gabriela McBride, Federico Stock

• Sound effects by newagesoup, calebowenw, and Garuda1982

• Illustration by Mila Petrolani

Follow us on Instagram @SpectatorPodcasts and check out our other episodes!

Welcome to “The Keepers: Who Holds Our History?”—an episode of The Ear exploring the critical and often overlooked role that archivists play in shaping historical memory. In this episode, reporters Ellie Carver-Horner and Shay Stulman interview Olivia Newsome, Barnard’s records coordination and processing archivist and coordinator at the Lesbian Herstory Archives. Join us as we delve into the ethical challenges that influence how history is established, examine who controls the past, and question who gets to tell the stories that define us.

​​Credits

• Edited by Sophia Cordoba and Lara-Nour Walton

• Produced by Eesha Ramanathan

• Music by Murat Gulcelik, Matthew Lucia, and Eva Scholz-Carlson

• Illustration by Ruth Weaver

Follow us on Instagram @SpectatorPodcasts and check out our other episodes!

On March 5, pro-Palestinian protestors occupied the Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning at Barnard, condemning the reported expulsion of three students. Over the span of five hours, Barnard’s campus transformed from a place where students were speeding to class to the site of an active bomb threat, with nine protesters at a sit-in arrested by NYPD. Join reporters Luisa Sukkar, Melina Nath, and Nicole Sandrik-Arzadi in the on-the-ground sounds from these events. 

Credits:

 Produced by Eesha Ramanathan

• Music by Eva Scholz-Carlson

• Illustration by Ramona Delyser 

Follow us on Instagram @SpectatorPodcasts and check out our other episodes!

Humans and dogs have an undoubtedly strong connection. However, how well do humans really know their canine counterparts? In this episode of The Ear, Melina Nath explores the work of Barnard’s Dog Cognition Lab, the first lab of its kind in the country, to answer questions about how dogs truly see the world.

Credits

• ​ Edited by Sophia Cordoba, Lara-Nour Walton

• ​ Produced by Melina Nath with assistance from Eleanor Moseley and Eesha Ramanathan

• ​ Music by Eva Scholz-Carlson and Matthew Lucia

• ​ Illustration by Eva Vu Stern

Follow us on Instagram @SpectatorPodcasts and check out our other episodes!

After 12 days of occupying South Lawn, pro-Palestinian protesters escalated their operations by occupying a building on April 30. Tune in to listen to reporters Lara-Nour Walton and Sophia Cordoba chronicle Hamilton Hall’s historic transformation to Hind’s Hall and the violent police crackdown that followed.

​​Credits

• Edited by Sophia Cordoba

• Produced by Sophia Cordoba

• Music by Eva-Scholz-Carlson

• Illustration by Kelsea Petersen

Follow us on Instagram @SpectatorPodcasts and check out our other episodes!

On April 17, over 100 Columbia students erected an encampment labeled the “Liberated Zone” to demand complete University divestment from Israel. They remained for 33 hours until University President Minouche Shafik authorized the New York Police Department to sweep the encampment, resulting in their arrests. Join reporters Lara-Nour Walton and Sophia Cordoba in living the sounds of the first “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.”

​​Credits

• Edited by Sophia Cordoba

• Produced by Sophia Cordoba

• Music by Eva Scholz-Carlson

• Illustration by Kelsea Petersen

Follow us on Instagram @SpectatorPodcasts and check out our other episodes!

Founded in 1930, Riverside Church in the City of New York strives to be interdenominational, interracial, and international.  While many in the Columbia community have seen Riverside Church, few are aware of its rich history—hosting the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mandela. In this episode of The Ear, Sophia Cordoba unpacks the history behind Riverside’s prominence in the struggle for racial justice.

​​Credits:

• Edited by Lara-Nour Walton

• Produced by Sophia Cordoba

• Music by Eva Scholz-Carlson and Matthew Schwizter

• Illustration by Macy Sinreich

• Voice Acting by Ted Schmiedeler

Follow us on Instagram @SpectatorPodcasts and check out our other episodes!

The idea of neurodiversity intentionally moves away from a “correct” method of thinking, so how might this present itself at Columbia, where students are selected based on “intellectual” capabilities? Students who are neurodivergent are a diverse population that should not be generalized. A shift from preconceived standards of how academic and social settings “should” be approached might allow populations at Columbia to recognize more diverse perspectives contributed by neurodivergent students. In this episode, reporter Luisa Sukkar speaks with students who identify as neurodivergent, representatives from Columbia offices for accommodations, psychological care professionals, and researchers in the field of neurodiversity.

​​Credits:

• Edited by Claire Schnatterbeck and Sophia Cordoba

• Produced by Claire Schnatterbeck

• Music by Sofia Schuster with additional music by Obi Okoli

• Illustration by Jonas Ma

Follow us on Instagram @SpectatorPodcasts and check out our other episodes!