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Running to the Noise

Running to the Noise

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Running to the Noise is a society podcast hosted by Oberlin College & Conservatory. It has 28 episodes, with the latest published February 2026.

When First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to the graduating class of Oberlin College and Conservatory in 2015, she encouraged students to embrace Oberlin’s history and run to the “noise”— those challenging, contentious situations that threaten to divide us. As the first college in America to officially embrace the admission of black students, and the first co-ed school to grant bachelor’s degrees to women, Oberlin has been Running to the Noise almost since our inception. And that’s just what we’ll do in each episode of our podcast, hosted by College President Carmen Twillie Ambar.President Ambar will talk with all manner of interesting and influential people on and off our campus who are tackling some of the world’s toughest problems, working to spark positive change for everyone.

society ·en-US ·28 episodes

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Title
1

The Power of an Oberlin Education

2

From Big Dreams to City Hall: Ali Najmi ’06 on Electing Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Reshaping New York’s Courts

3

Cutting Through The Noise: Tamara Jade, EJ Marcus, and Seyquan Mack on Creativity, Community, and Building a Career That Lasts

4

Democracy on Trial, Part Two: Benjamin Wittes ’91 on the Justice Department, Authoritarian Drift, and How Citizens Push Back

5

Democracy on Trial: Benjamin Wittes ’91 on the Courts, Presidential Power, and the Future of American Justice (Part 1)

6

Artificial Intelligence: Tom Dietterich on the Promise and Pitfalls of Machines that Learn

7

The Empathy Machine: Joe Richman on Radio Diaries, Audio Storytelling, and Emotional Truth

8

Not Above Nature: Sonia Shah on What Other Species Teach Us

9

Seriously Funny: Ed Helms on Rutherford Falls, SNAFU, and Facing Hard Truths with Humor

10

Finding Her Voice: the Power of Artistic Mentorship with Georgia Heers and La Tanya Hall

11

Telling Stories That Matter with Soledad O'Brien

12

Meeting the World As It Is with Rumaan Alam

13

All the World's a Stage with Julie Taymor

14

Game-Changing Expertise: Season 1’s Most Powerful Moments

15

Second Acts and Arias with Limmie Pulliam

16

Tracking the Flu with Disease Detective Dr. Timothy Uyeki

17

Rethinking Our Place in Nature with Sonia Shah

18

The Theater of Discomfort with Corey Stoll

19

Getting Real About TV with Emily Nussbaum

20

More than Music with Rhiannon Giddens

21

How Black Women College Presidents Are Blazing the Trail for Future Generations

22

What it Means to be a Woman in Power with Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

23

The Fearlessness and Faith of Documentary Filmmaking with Shane Boris

24

Restoring Trust in the Media in an Age of Disinformation with Peter Baker

25

Helping Others Reach the Spotlight with Denyce Graves

26

The Radical Truth of Fiction with James McBride

27

Repairing a Fraying Democracy with Richard Haass

28

Using Your Platform For Good with Ed Helms

29

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