Lauren Lassabe Shepherd

Lauren Lassabe Shepherd, historian of U.S. higher education and host of the American Campus Podcast, explores how colleges connect to work and the economy. She discusses neoliberalism’s reshaping of campuses, the rise of adjunct and gig labor, culture-war pressures on academic freedom, and alternatives to the traditional university. Short, sharp conversations about institutional change and the future of learning.

Lauren Lassabe Shepherd, a historian of American higher education and host of the American Campus podcast, dives into the often-ignored power of university trustees. She unpacks their significant influence over crucial institutional decisions and contrasts this with student activism narratives. The conversation covers the historical Roth affair at Stanford, the conservative strategies shaping academia, and the challenges posed by labor casualization. With sharp insights, Shepherd critiques Hillsdale College's narrow curriculum and discusses the ethical dilemmas of funding in higher education.