Ohio State President Ted Carter blew up his $1.5 million-per-year job and put his 45-year marriage on the line over an “inappropriate relationship” with a local podcaster, according to a report.
Carter’s resignation — which came after he admitted he gave “inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership” to a woman who wanted help with her personal business — was “possibly connected” with Krisanthe Vlachos, host of the “Callout Podcast,” a show sponsor told NBC 4.
“JobsOhio is aware Ted Carter resigned this morning as President of The Ohio State University and that this situation is possibly connected to a relationship between him and the host of a podcast for veterans, which we sponsored,” JobsOhio, an economic development group, said in a statement.
“The Callout Podcast opportunity was consistent with that mission of outreach. The sponsorship of this podcast went through our standard and rigorous legal process, as with any sponsorship given by JobsOhio.”
Carter, 66, has been a regular fixture on Vlachos’ veterans-focused podcast for months, according to Vlachos’ LinkedIn and Instagram accounts.
A photo taken at the Student Veterans of America 2026 national conference in Colorado Springs in January shows the former university president smiling alongside Vlachos, who is clad in an all-black leather get-up.
In a caption alongside the photo, Vlachos refers to Carter as her “dear friend and mentor.”
Carter — who served in the US Navy for 38 years after his graduation from the US Naval Academy in 1981 — appeared in nine of the 14 videos posted by Vlachos so far this year.
Despite Carter’s stature as one of the most powerful public employees in Ohio, the podcast pulled pitiful audience numbers — with just a few hundred viewers each episode.
In January 2025, her podcast reportedly co-sponsored a performance by veterans and military family members at Ohio State, “Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret,” in partnership with the university, JobsOhio, AEP and the Columbus Region.
A few months later, Carter supposedly returned the favor — using Ohio State as a sponsor for Vlachos’ weekend-long event titled “Gaff-N-Go Rodeo,” aimed at connecting military veterans to power linemen, in Richmond, Virginia, according to the podcast Instagram account.
A video of Carter speaking during the event’s opening ceremony is captioned, “There’s an intersection between Veterans and Power Linemen I find so special. Walter ‘Ted’ Carter.”
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Thanks for signing up!
Carter’s resignation Monday came after he admitted to the university’s board of trustees that he “made a mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership” to a woman who wanted help with her private business, he said in a statement.
He did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the relationship, but said he was leaving with his wife of nearly 45 years.
Vlachos didn’t respond to a request for comment.
