Hey there. It's Stephen Dubner. We are publishing an update of a series that we first ran a couple years ago about the supply and demand of a college education. This is part two of that series.

Don't worry if you missed the first episode. This one stands on its own.

And stay tuned until the end of this episode for a new conversation about the state of college today.

As always, thanks for listening. In 2019 the Department of Justice revealed the findings of an FBI investigation

with the code name Operation varsity Blues.

Here today to announce charges in the largest college admission scam ever prosecuted by the Department

of Justice.

The scam involved wealthy parents funneling bribes through a college consultant to get their children

into schools where they didn't belong.

There were fake test scores, fake athletic credentials, and cash payments to college coaches.

The actress Lori Laughlin and her fashion designer husband, Masimo Gianoi, paid half a million

dollars to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as recruits to the highly ranked

USC crew team, even though, as the New York Times put it, neither girl participated in the sport.

An applicant to Tulane University was described as an African American tennis whiz,

even though she didn't play competitive tennis,

and was white.

Among the other universities involved were Yale, Stanford, Georgetown,

some of the most elite schools in America.

All told, 57 people were charged as a result of Operation Varsity Blues, including

coaches, exam administrators, and of course, parents.

These parents are a catalog of wealth and privilege.

They include, for example, CEOs of private and public companies,

...