PODCAST · society
The Ear
by The Columbia Daily Spectator
By investigating the past and present of Columbia University through audio projects, The Ear aims to uncover rich, controversial, and enduring stories that may be otherwise hidden from the community. The Ear is a podcast of the Columbia Daily Spectator, the undergraduate newspaper at Columbia.
Episodes
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A Step Inside the Ring: Women’s Wrestling’s Road to Varsity
Women’s wrestling was the first team of its kind in the Ivy League. In June, it announced that they will have varsity status starting in the 2027-28 academic year. Reporter Mia Martin, BC ’29, traces the team’s journey up until this point and looks ahead to the future of women’s wrestling at...
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Who Should Teach the Core? A Graduate Workers Union’s Clash with Columbia and its Impact on University Curriculum
In 2024, over 150 graduate workers taught in Columbia’s Core Curriculum. In 2025, that number dropped to zero. The Ear investigates how a contract fight led to the sudden disappearance of teaching jobs. Credits • Edited by Eesha Ramanathan • Engineered by Eesha Ramanathan • Original Music by...
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Two Schools, One Schedule: The Columbia-Juilliard Exchange
In this episode of Pod-Tone 292, reporter Sharanya Maulik speaks with students in the Columbia–Juilliard exchange about balancing Columbia academics with elite conservatory training. Through conversations about ambition, pressure, and future plans, students reveal what it means to build a life...
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A Small Click, A World of Access: Spectator Editorial Board on Columbia’s data breach
Over a year has passed since Columbia confirmed a major data breach of students’, employees’, and applicants’ personal data. In this roundtable, moderator Su Ertekin-Taner, a deputy editorial page editor, is joined by three other members of Spectator’s editorial board to discuss the stakes of the...
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A Stroll Through Shifting Shops: How Small Businesses in Morningside Heights Have Changed
Reporter Alexander Miles, CC ’29, takes a walk through Morningside Heights with community advocate Dan McSweeney, SIPA ’07, to explore the neighborhood’s changing commercial landscape. Credits • Edited by Namya Manghnani, Melina Nath, and Eesha Ramanathan • Engineered by Alexander Miles • Music…
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A Collector, a Cartoonist, and a Figure on ‘the Timeline’: The Life and Legacy of Adam Elkhadem
The Adam J. Elkhadem Foundation was founded in memory of Adam Elkhadem, CC ’18. Reporters Melina Nath and Ian Romero spoke to friends and family about Elkhadem’s life, the foundation, and the collective effort to finish his sophomore comic book, “Gluck,” in his honor. Credits • Edited by Eesha...
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Dressing the Part: Professional Style on Columbia’s Campus
On Columbia’s and Barnard’s campuses, what clothes you wear make up more than just an outfit—they become a language. In this episode of Pod-Tone 292, reporter Sharanya Maulik explores how students navigate professional fashion while balancing cultural identity, industry expectations, and…
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The General Studies Gap: What $30 Million Means for the School Designed for Nontraditional Students
The School of General Studies doesn’t provide full financial aid, has no dedicated housing for its student body, and recently received a $30 million investment from the University. In this episode of The Ear, Alexander Miles dives into the relationship between General Studies and the rest of the...
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Twin telepathy: How field hockey players Kate and Ashley Kim embrace sisterhood on the pitch
On this episode of A Look at the Lions, Spectator sits down with twin sister sophomore forwards Kate and Ashley Kim, who make up one of three sister duos on the Columbia field hockey team this season. From pushing one another through training to sharing tips in Korean at practice, the Kim sisters...
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Jagdish Bhagwati: The Columbia economist who helped shape India and the world
In this edition of Pod-Tone 292, audio reporter Shanthi Ashok explores the influential career, life, and legacy of University Professor Emeritus Jagdish Bhagwati. Through interviews with Bhagwati’s former peers, students, and colleagues, this episode dives deeper into his character and impact....
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In search of effective leadership: Spectator Editorial Board on Columbia’s next president
As the search for Columbia’s 21st president continues without student representation, four members of Spectator’s editorial board sit for a discussion of what they’re looking for in Columbia’s next chief executive. Moderator Achilles Frangos, Spectator’s editorial page editor, leads a roundtable...
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From Morningside Heights to Wall Street: An exploration of Columbia’s finance clubs
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…
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Trump vs. Columbia: What the University’s Concession Means Now
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...
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Performing post-gate closures: Columbia’s Postcrypt Coffeehouse
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...
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The Keepers: Who Holds Our History?
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...
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Arrests at Barnard: An account of the Milstein sit-in and the nine arrests that followed
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...
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Thinking twice about a dog’s thoughts: Barnard’s Dog Cognition Lab
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…
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From Hamilton Hall to Hind’s: Inside the Occupation
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…
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33 Hours in the ‘Liberated Zone’
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...
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Riverside Church and the Road to Racial Justice
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…
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Neurodivergent community and support at Columbia
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...
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Nim Chimpsky and Columbia’s Fraught History with Animal Experimentation
In this archival episode of The Ear, reporter Alicia Theologides Rodriguez commemorates the 50th anniversary of a controversial Columbia study that explored whether chimps possess the cognitive capacity to learn sign language. While the Nim project ultimately failed to prove its hypothesis, it...
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From Canton to Columbia: Low’s Legacy with Opium
In this episode of The Ear, reporter Shay Stulman explores the link between Columbia and the opium trade. She explores the profound impact this historical association has had on shaping esteemed American institutions. How do we reckon with the violent histories of philanthropic families? How did...
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Columbia’s ‘activist Ivy’ legacy amid pro-Palestinian campus resistance
Columbia boasts a student body that is known for being politically engaged. How did the institution earn the label? And does it still deserve the title today? In this episode of The Ear, reporters Nicole Sandrik-Arzadi and Lara-Nour Walton explore these questions and more. Credits: • Edited by...
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The Cradle of the Bomb: Columbia University and the Origins of the Manhattan Project
In this episode of The Ear, Ellie Carver-Horner and Charlotte Fay explore the complicated history of the atomic bomb, a controversial scientific creation that began at Columbia University in the basement of Pupin Hall. What role did Columbia play in the intricacies of nuclear discovery? How did...
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Life Behind Language: How Heritage Impacts Language Learning
With over 150 countries represented at Columbia, it is no surprise that the University must meet a vast array of language needs. For children of immigrants, learning their native language can mean a greater cultural connection. In this episode, reporter Sophia Cordoba speaks with professors and...
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Mapping Rurality: Defining Columbia’s ‘Rural Student’
Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, excavating, and investigating Columbia’s past and present. In this episode, Claire Burke and Claire Schnatterbeck investigate what makes a rural student. How do Columbia and Barnard define “rural”? Does the quintessential…
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Voices in the Archive: The Repatriation of Columbia's Indigenous Audio Recordings
In this episode of The Ear, Ellie Carver-Horner discusses the extensive archive of Indigenous audio recordings housed in the Columbia University Center for Ethnomusicology and the efforts the University is making to repatriate them. What is audio repatriation, and what does it look like to return...
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Searching for Said: Edward Said’s Legacy Beyond ‘Orientalism’
Twenty years after the death of Edward W. Said, a Columbia professor, renowned intellectual, and outspoken advocate of Palestine,reporter Lily Glaser seeks to understand his life, legacy, and impact on campus. In this episode of The Ear, Glaser rifles through his personal papers, speaking with...
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Perception vs. Reality: Student Crime Fears in NYC
In this episode of The Ear, reporter Alicia Theologides Rodriguez speaks with Columbia students from many backgrounds to better understand how fear impacts the way that they navigate New York. This episode explores the underlying reasons for different students’ fears in an attempt to understand…
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RAs at Columbia: The Trials and Triumphs
From connections to horror stories, and from perks to unionizing. Resident Advisors, otherwise known as as RAs, navigate a complex role in a residential community. They are students like any other, and yet they are also responsible for ensuring the well-being of their peers, and even policing…
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“Every Corner of the Globe”: Is Columbia Limiting International Students to America?
Since the early 1950s, Columbia admissions has rapidly expanded its international student population, which currently totals 36.2 percent of the student body. But have the rest of Columbia’s academic expectations adapted to this change? Should international students be expected to have in-depth...
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Organizing for Iran at Columbia and beyond
In this episode, reporter Adrien Wheaton-Schopp investigates the issues surrounding Iran’s recent wave of uprisings. In speaking with both Columbia students and protesters in New York City, he finds that themes of civic responsibility and compassion are repeatedly evoked as motivating factors for...
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Extreme Activism: ‘What We Did to be Seen’
Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, excavating, and investigating Columbia’s past and present. In this week’s episode, reporter Cyra Paladini speaks with members of the Purple Gang, an unintentional activist group that came into its own in the wake of an…
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Contemporary Curriculum: Changing the way we learn Black history
Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, excavating, and investigating Columbia’s past and present. How can we look beyond the syllabus to change the way we educate about Black history? In this episode, reporters Natalie Goldberg, Claire Schnatterbeck, and Avery Reed...
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Lust, Love, and Literature: The Columbia Murder that Launched the Beats
Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, excavating, and investigating Columbia’s past and present. In this week’s episode, reporter Andrew Kirdahy recounts the early formation of the Beat Generation on Columbia’s campus, detailing the murder in Riverside Park that...
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Disorientation: Navigating the Pandemic as an International Student
COVID-19 has totally changed students’ experience with higher education, and the difficulties faced by international students are especially challenging. Under global COVID-19 restrictions, international students are especially vulnerable to institutional decisions. Failing to receive financial...
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Some Food for Thought: The History of Dining on Campus
In this Ear episode, reporter Alan Chen outlines the history of Columbia’s dining halls. From the origins of the JJ’s Place pub to the bygone Wien Dining Hall, on-campus dining has changed over time. But how has the dining experience evolved? And how have the changes to Columbia Dining…
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Is It Frat Flu, Carman Cough or COVID-19?: Balancing a Pandemic with Student Health Needs
Columbia Health adamantly encourages students to reach out for care or guidance, however, students are struggling to get the medical help they need from the University. While finding the time to prioritize your personal health is difficult on top of a packed schedule, some students have found…
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When the Navy Came to Campus: Columbia’s Navy ROTC Debate
Content warning: This episode discusses issues of sexual abuse and assault. Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, excavating, and investigating Columbia’s past and present. In this week’s episode, reporter Annie Cheng traces the history of Columbia’s Navy ROTC...
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Understanding Rural Education Inequity
Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, excavating, and investigating Columbia’s past and present. In this week’s episode, reporter Natalie Goldberg investigates affirmative action initiatives specific to rural students. When financial strain, inadequate...
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Columbia’s Composers: Keeping Composure in Quarantine
Welcome back to The Ear! In this episode written for the Eye's Arts and Entertainment issue, reporter Matthew Lucia interviews the composers from Columbia’s fall 2020 advanced composition seminar to talk about their pieces, their writing process, and their mental health during the pandemic, and...
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Jazz: Universal Language or Community Divider?
Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, excavating, and investigating Columbia’s past and present. In this week’s episode, reporters Noah Sheidlower and Sam Hyman capture the voices and issues surrounding jazz at Columbia. How has the community’s perception and...
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Science and Skulls: Measuring Columbia’s Eugenicist Past
Content warning: This episode discusses Columbia’s history with eugenics, sterilization, and the Nazi Party. Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, detailing, and excavating Columbia’s past and present. In this week’s episode, reporters Miles Stephenson and Matthew...
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The Many Lives of Greek Life
Content Warning: This episode of The Ear discusses sexual violence and rape. Welcome back to The Ear, The Eye’s podcast dedicated to documenting, detailing, and excavating Columbia’s history! In this week’s episode, reporter Teresa Lawlor examines Students for a Reformed Fraternity System, a...
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Fall Break Debate, 50 Years Later
Welcome back to The Ear, The Eye’s podcast dedicated to documenting, detailing, and excavating Columbia’s history! In this week’s episode, reporter Claudia Gohn dives into the history of Columbia’s fall break and why it coincides with Election Day each year. The Ear dives into the proposal by...
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Chiseling the City
Welcome back to The Ear, The Eye’s podcast dedicated to documenting, detailing, and excavating Columbia’s history! In this week’s episode, reporter Briani Netzahuatl delves into the relationship between Columbia University and the surrounding neighborhoods of Morningside Heights and West Harlem…
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Two Murders, 47 Years Apart
Welcome back to The Ear, The Eye’s podcast dedicated to documenting, detailing, and excavating Columbia’s history! In this week’s episode, The Ear delves into the murder of Columbia Law professor Wolfgang Friedmann in 1972 and Columbia’s complicated Public Safety response. Reporter Cole Cahill...
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The Continued Crisis
Welcome back to The Ear, The Eye’s podcast dedicated to documenting, detailing, and excavating Columbia’s history! In this week’s episode, reporters Teresa Lawlor and Sam Hyman examine three health crises from Columbia’s history—the 1832 cholera epidemic, the 1918 influenza, and the outbreak of...
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The Woman at the Center of the Photograph
Welcome back to The Ear, The Eye’s podcast dedicated to documenting, detailing, and excavating Columbia’s history! In this week’s episode, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee—a brilliant and determined leader—defies easy categorization. Reporter Victoria Li traces Lee’s life from Barnard student to first...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
By investigating the past and present of Columbia University through audio projects, The Ear aims to uncover rich, controversial, and enduring stories that may be otherwise hidden from the community. The Ear is a podcast of the Columbia Daily Spectator, the undergraduate newspaper at Columbia.
HOSTED BY
The Columbia Daily Spectator
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Ear have?
The Ear currently has 51 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Ear about?
By investigating the past and present of Columbia University through audio projects, The Ear aims to uncover rich, controversial, and enduring stories that may be otherwise hidden from the community. The Ear is a podcast of the Columbia Daily Spectator, the undergraduate newspaper at Columbia.
How often does The Ear release new episodes?
The Ear has 51 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Ear?
You can listen to The Ear on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Ear?
The Ear is created and hosted by The Columbia Daily Spectator.
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