Academic Life

Academic Life

episodes

A podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Created and produced by Dr. Christina Gessler, the Academic Life podcast is inspired by today’s knowledge-producers around the world, working inside and outside the academy.

Subatomic Writing: Six Fundamental Lessons to Make Language Matter

October 10, 2024

Subatomic Writing: Six Fundamental Lessons to Make Language Matter

Jamie Zvirzdin

Subatomic Writing: Six Fundamental Lessons to Make Language Matter (Johns Hopkins UP, 2023), by Johns Hopkins University instructor Jamie Zvirzdin, is…

Black Woman on Board

October 3, 2024

Black Woman on Board

Donna J. Nicol

Today’s book is: Black Woman on Board: Claudia Hampton, the California State University, and the Fight to Save Affirmative Action (University of Roche…

Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World

September 26, 2024

Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World

Meredith Broussard

Why do we assume that computers always get it right? Today’s book is: Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World (MIT Press, 20…

Immigration Realities: Challenging Common Misperceptions

September 19, 2024

Immigration Realities: Challenging Common Misperceptions

Ernesto Castañeda and Carina Cione

Today’s book is: Immigration Realities: Challenging Common Misperceptions (Columbia UP, 2024), by Ernesto Castaneda and Carina Cione, which is a pract…

Before and After the Book Deal

September 12, 2024

Before and After the Book Deal

Courtney Maum

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about publishing but were too afraid to ask. Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Pub…

In the Garden Behind the Moon: A Memoir of Loss, Myth, and Magic

September 5, 2024

In the Garden Behind the Moon: A Memoir of Loss, Myth, and Magic

Alexandra Chan

Alexandra Chan thinks she has life figured out until, in the Year of the Ram, the death of her father—her last parent—brings her to her knees, an even…

You Will Get Through This: A Mental Health First-Aid Kit- Help for Depression, Anxiety, Grief, and More

August 29, 2024

You Will Get Through This

Julie Radico, Charity O'Reilly, and Nicole Helverson

You Will Get Through This: A Mental Health First-Aid Kit- Help for Depression, Anxiety, Grief, and More (Experiment, 2024) was written by three practi…

Find Your Argument: A Discussion with Allison Van Deventer and Katelyn Knox

August 22, 2024

Find Your Argument:

Allison Van Deventer and Katelyn Knox

Have you been told your draft isn’t ready yet, because you still need to find your argument? We have all gotten that feedback at some point. But what …

He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters: A Discussion with Schuyler Bailar

August 15, 2024

He/She/They

Schuyler Bailar

Schuyler Bailar didn’t set out to be an activist, but his very public transition to the Harvard men’s swim team put him in the spotlight. His choice t…

Decoding the Academic Job Market

August 8, 2024

Decoding the Academic Job Market

Jacquelyn Ardam

When professor jobs are scarce and most academic jobs are temporary, what do you do if you still want to work on a campus? Can you make the leap to ad…

Everyday Architecture in Context: Public Markets in Hong Kong (1842-1981) (Chinese U of Hong Kong Press, 2023)

August 1, 2024

Everyday Architecture in Context

Carmen C. M. Tsui

How do public markets, as ordinary as they seem, carry the weight of a city’s history? How do such everyday buildings reflect a city’s changing politi…

The Dissertation-To-Book Workbook: Exercises for Developing and Revising Your Book Manuscript (U Chicago Press, 2023)

July 25, 2024

The Dissertation-To-Book Workbook

Katelyn E. Knox and Allison Van Deventer

How do you turn a dissertation into a book? Today’s book is: The Dissertation-to-Book Workbook: Exercises for Developing and Revising Your Book Manus…

Freeman's Challenge: The Murder That Shook America's Original Prison for Profit

July 18, 2024

Freeman's Challenge

Robin Bernstein

Today’s book is: Freeman’s Challenge: The Murder That Shook America’s Original Prison for Profit (U Chicago Press, 2024), by Dr. Robin Bernstein, whic…

Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next

July 11, 2024

Preparing for War

Bradley Onishi

Watching the footage of the January 6 insurrection, Professor Bradley Onishi wondered: If I hadn't left evangelicalism, would I have been there? To…

Leaving Academia: Pursing Life Abroad

July 4, 2024

Leaving Academia: Pursing Life Abroad

Anne Boyd Rioux

Have you had that dream—the one where you just leave academia? You quit your job, sell all your stuff, and board a plane for somewhere far, far away. …

Sorayya Khan, "We Take Our Cities with Us: A Memoir" (Ohio State UP, 2022)

June 27, 2024

We Take Our Cities with Us

Sorayya Khan

Today’s book is: We Take Our Cities With Us (Ohio State UP, 2022), by Sorayya Khan. After her mother’s death, Sorayya Khan confronts her grief by revi…

PhDing While Parenting

June 20, 2024

PhDing While Parenting

Sisanda Nkoala

An increasing number of students worldwide attend graduate school while simultaneously navigating a variety of competing responsibilities in their per…

More Than A Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech

June 13, 2024

More than a Glitch

Meredith Broussard

Today’s book is: More Than A Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech (MIT Press, 2024), by Meredith Broussard. When technology rein…

The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck

June 6, 2024

The Artist's Joy

Merideth Hite Estevez

Today’s book is: The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck, Embracing Imperfection, and Loving Your Creative Life (Broadleaf Books, 2024), by Dr. M…

Transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice

May 30, 2024

Transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice

Gina Ann Garcia

What makes Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) uniquely Latinx? And how can university leaders, staff, and faculty transform these institutions into …