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 discussion in search of the ideal candidate.
The Spectator editorial board is independent of Spectator’s news coverage and coverage by other Opinion columnists and writers. Spectator’s corporate board, including the editor in chief and managing editor, are not members of the editorial board.
Credits
• Edited by Luisa Sukkar
• Sound Engineering by Eesha Ramanathan
• Original music by
• Illustration by Ramona Delyser
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 revealed much more about the ethical precarity of anthropomorphizing animals in experimental settings. By contrasting Nim’s fate with that of other animals in Columbia’s care, this episode explores the unique privileges and perils that Nim encountered because of the way he was humanized.
Credits:
• Edited by Claire Schnatterbeck and Sophia Cordoba
• Produced by Julia Hay
• Music by Christina Li
• Illustration by Lizzie Melashvili
• Voice Acting by Claire Schnatterbeck, Jorge Hernandez, Vasily Tselioudis, Donovan Barcelona, and August Phillips
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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 the opium trade shape prestigious American institutions? Tune into this episode to reflect on the implications of Columbia’s connection to this complicated history.
Credits
• Edited by Claire Schnatterbeck, Sophia Cordoba
• Produced by Claire Schnatterbeck, Sophia Cordoba
• Music by Christina Li
• Illustration by Connor Sund
• Voice Acting by Ciro Salcedo
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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 Sophia Cordoba, Claire Schnatterbeck
• Produced by Claire Schnatterbeck
• Music by Murat Gulcelik
• Illustration by Macy Sinreich
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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 those making these discoveries justify their role in mass destruction, and how does Columbia reckon with that violence in 2023? Learn alongside Ellie and Charlotte as they engage with Columbia’s complex history of innovation, a story of conflicting moralities, and the foundations for a piece of science that altered the course of human history.
Credits
• Edited by Claire Schnatterbeck
• Produced by Julia Hay
• Music by Murat Gulcelik
• Illustration by Saumya Chaudhry
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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 students alike to understand what it means to live and learn as a heritage speaker.
Credits:
• Edited by Claire Schnatterbeck
• Produced by Julia Hay
• Music by Obi Okoli
• Illustration by Cassie Wang
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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 “rural student” actually exist? Schnatterbeck and Burke use their own rural backgrounds as a starting point and begin to explore what it means to be a rural student at an elite institution.
Credits:
• Script Edited by Sophia Cordoba and Caelan Bailey
• Produced by Claire Schatterbeck
• Music by Eva Scholz-Carlson
• Illustration by Julian Michaud
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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 something that isn’t physically tangible? Who owns these recordings, and why does their existence matter? Listen to explore the importance of being able to connect with the voices of one’s ancestors.
Credits:
• Script edited by Claire Schnatterbeck
• Audio produced by Julia Hay
• Music by Murat Gulcelik
Aakin Kuukin by Nicole Balsirow
• Illustration by
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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 former students, listening to exiled authors, and attending lectures.
Credits:
• Script edited by Claire Schnatterbeck
• Audio produced by Matthew Schwitzer
• Music
The Ear Theme
Stave - Obi Okoli
State of the World - MakaihBeats
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 - West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Stave (Short) - Obi Okoli
Dream Big - Audiobinger
• Illustration by Gabe de la Cruz
• Voice Acting by Matthew Schwitzer
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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 why there are discrepancies between the fears of students and New York Crime trends.
Credits:
• Script edited by Natalie Goldberg, Avery Reed, Claire Schnatterbeck, Abby Thayananthan
• Audio produced by Matthew Schwitzer
• Music
State of the World - Makaih Beats
The Ear Theme
Dream Big - Audiobinger
• Illustration by Cindy Jin
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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 them when necessary. The complexities of the role are complicated even further by financial considerations, time commitment, and so much more. In this Ear episode, reporter Abby Thayananthan speaks with current and former RAs to discuss the job as well as the unionizing, a hot topic on campus right now.
Credits:
• Produced by Matthew Schwitzer
• Music by
"State of the World" - Makaih Beats
"The Ear Theme"
"Dream Big" - Audiobinger
• Illustration by Macy Sinreich
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