BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.

Hello, I'm Matthew Price and this is Beyond Today from BBC Radio 4,

where we ask one big question about one big story every day.

Today what does the Hollywood College scandal tell us about class privilege?

This episode's about money, power, class and status. It's about the rich and the elite, lying and cheating and photoshopping their kids' images

onto an athlete's body to make them look sporty

and give them a better chance

of getting into America's top universities. The US University College

Cheating scandal involves dozens of important people. So far in all, 33 parents have been accused of taking part in a scheme that involved rigging

college entrance exams.

And the focus at the moment is on two Hollywood stars, the Emmy Award-winning actress

Felicity Huffman, she played Lynette Scarlvo in Desperate Housewives.

A man just gave me a credit card because of my booze.

That makes me feel less like a hooker.

And Laurie Lachlan, who plays Aunt Becky in full house.

You guys told her the story of the ugly duckling?

How?

You never tell that story unless it's about some other kid.

Now the FBI stumbled across the case when they were given a tip off about a Yale University

football coach who had taken bribes of up to $400,000 to accept students

who had no experience of playing the sport. The FBI eventually tracked down the mastermind of the whole operation, a guy called Rick Singer who agreed to help them.

He wore a wire and he ensnared his clients by recording their conversations.

...